Page 134 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Foundational Discussions in Christian Psychology

working: human orientation is existentially presupposes the whole as a functioning unit.
embedded and takes place within the struc- Whether soul or body, kidney or penis, mind
tures of culture, social contexts, community or heart, each part is connected to one another
dynamics and eco-systems. Human contex- and constitute a ‘soulful whole’. Soulfulness is
tuality is essentially demarcated but the rea- therefore about as systemic psychophysical and
lities, of suffering, misery and death. social unit consisting of processes of interactive
• The spiritual realm of wisdom thinking and networking.
its connection to a sound conscience, mo-
ral awareness, integral, consistent and re- Our position can be summed up in the following
sponsible thoughtfulness, comprehension, quotation: “Soul is not a thing, but a quality or a
insight, human respond-ability (accounta- dimension of experiencing life and ourselves. It
bility). The spiritual realm of life includes has to do with depth, values, relatedness, heart
worldviews and is defined by constructs and personal substance” (Moore 1992:5). 7
and different schemata of interpretation re-
presenting belief systems. Spirituality also This qualitative and integral approach to an-
represents the aspect of telos (purposeful thropology can be summoned up in the follo-
devotion) in soulfulness; it constitutes a dis- wing diagrammatic design and figure regar-
position/habitus of God-directed dedicati- ding the systemic dynamics of the human soul
on and space of sacred eusebeia in all relati- (a nēfēsh-disposition). The figure helps one to
onships: ethos of unconditional love. understand that spiritual wholeness includes
all the dimensions of our being human: the co-
In conclusion gnitive, conative, and affective dimension. In
Stereometric thinking helps one to understand pastoral anthropology an ego-awareness and I-
that a disembodied soul is pagan thinking and identity (me-experience) bring about an under-
not in accordance with Christian wisdom thin- standing of individuality and uniqueness. It de-
king. Our human body is sacred because our monstrates the fact that the dynamics of a per-
soulful expressions of love and gratitude are ex- son is contextually and culturally embedded.
hibited through every part of our being human;
even the human sexual organs are soulful and Furthermore, the diagram wants to illustrate
expresses the ‘beauty of the human soul’. Beauty the point that integration in one’s life (spiritu-
then means that every part of the human anato- al wholeness) depends on patterns of thinking,
my is designed to glorify God, i.e. to reflect the schemata of interpretation and the quality of
healing dimension of unconditional love and belief systems and philosophical life views. Pa-
unqualified grace. radigmatic issues are essential for the fostering
of spiritual wholeness and healing. It is in this
What we have in mind is wholeness and unity. A regard that the Christian paradigms of for ex-
human being is an embodiment of soul as well ample unconditional, kenotic love and sacri-
as an ensoulment of body. One does not have ficial outreach (diakonia) play a fundamental
a soul; one is one’s soul in terms of mind, will, role in a pastoral anthropology for the spiritual
emotion and body within the dynamics of re- healing of life (cura vitae) (Louw 2008).
lationships and cultural contexts. The religious
dynamics in this embodiment and ensoulment Reflection on anthropology in pastoral care-
is spirituality as expressed in our directedness giving, should take into consideration that in
towards transcendence (the divine and the ulti- the wisdom tradition of Hebrew thinking, our
mate) and enfleshed within all the realms of life. being human is always embedded within and
framed by the realm of suffering and death. Out
human misery and awareness of transience and
A biblical perspective should always think along 7 See in this regard the argument in Nauer 2005:471 for
the lines of a holistic approach. Each part of the cura animarum and its connectedness to nēphēsh. Hu-
body, whether it is soul, spirit, mind or kidney, mans don’t have nēphēsh, they are nēphēsh (2005:472).
We are in our totality soul, in all relations.
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