Page 30 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Christian Psychology as a Challenge

doctrine and confessions. It should perhaps re- approach that does not take into consideration
frame its traditional convictions regarding the the whole spectrum of life.
mystery of God’s presence and actions in this
world of suffering and hopelessness; it should Meiburgh (1990:122), in his article on cura ani-
perhaps reformulate its understanding of power marum in the Dictionary of Pastoral Care and
(omnipotence, threat power), thus, the endea- Counseling, pointed out how pietism’s preoccu-
vour to move from a paternalistic and exclusi- pation with the welfare of the individual soul
ve model, to a more vulnerable model which is became the seedbed for the growth of popular
inclusive, interdisciplinary, systemic and inter- psychology. Due to the influence of psychology
faith-based. pastoral care moved from salvation to self-rea-
What is most needed in the profession of care- lization under God.
giving is that caregivers should turn back to the
ABC of cura animarum, namely to rediscover The influence of the Enlightenment can be dis-
the connection between passion, compassion cerned in those approaches that viewed pasto-
and hope and its connection to its theological ral care as the development of virtue and the
roots within the wisdom tradition of the Chri- promotion of human autonomy. Under the in-
stian faith. The implication will be to redisco- fluence of psychology, ‚soul care‘ is often under-
ver the eschatological character (the dynamics stood as the transformation of human beings
between a messianic spirit of future expecta- through psychoanalysis or other psychothera-
tions and the mystery of the presence of God peutic techniques in order to encourage self-
in suffering) of cure and hope, and to free ‘soul realization. This emphasis runs the danger of
care’ from a pietistic concentration on the re- exclusivism: The negation of the importance of
ductionism of a soul-sin-penitence-conversion the role of spirituality in processes of healing
approach. Christian spiritual healing is about and self-realisation.
the endeavour to carry ‘God’s healing’ and ‘life-
giving balm’. It seems that without the emphasis on the spi-
ritual dimension of life, faith and the religious
Over the centuries, ‘soul care’ has developed realm of transcendence, suffering and the chal-
a variety of nuances. The more orthodox ap- lenge of meaning-giving, the inevitable reality
proach, with the accent on the church and its of tragedy, the existential realm of transience,
offices, regarded ‘soul care’ or ‚pastoral care‘ as a the human predicament of helplessness and the
learning process that aimed at better knowledge quest for hope, the tradition of cura animarum
and insight into ecclesiastical doctrine and the is in the danger of deserting its unique features
admonition-practices of denominations. The and starts to embark on avenues that have al-
reformed tradition concentrated predominant- ready been occupied by the other helping pro-
ly on salvation and redemption: souls must be fessions. The real danger lurks that caregivers
saved (redemption perspective). could become merely quasi-psychologists or
J. Adams in his book More than Redemption artificial sociologists.
(1979), made it clear that the ‘more’ in redemp-
tion points to salvation and the realm of sin. The According to Davies (2001: xvi), one can ren-
focus therefore in nouthetic counselling should der absorption of the self in an egoistic cultu-
be on discipline and admonition (Adams 1970). re of consumption as “the death of the soul”.
How then can we reintroduce talking about the
In many pious circles, the focus was on the pu- ‘human soul’ and the compassionate culture of
rification and sanctification of human life be- cura animarum and hope care in such a culture
cause of following Christ and the personal in- of self-assurance and super-saturation?
ternalisation of justification. In this approach, Are we merely dealing with the human self in
discipline played an important role in caring. soul care or with the factor of transcendence,
Pietism put the emphasis once again on indivi- meaning-giving, anticipation, hope in a spiri-
dual conversion with the danger of an exclusive tuality of caregiving?

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