Page 43 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Christian Psychology as a Challenge

values and convictions that give meaning to in cultural convictions and taboos.
life, motivates people to endure in suffering • Spirituality acknowledges the fact that in all
and help to display a kind of resilience and models and approaches to life one should
hopeful anticipation. In this regard, it is em- try to foster human dignity, to promote
phasised that spirituality is closely related to sound vales for the preservation and con-
the capacity of the human spirit to discover servation of life and to empower humans
purposefulness in life and to deal with ulti- to live to the full capacity of their lives by
mate values regarding destiny and fate. means of justice and a non-discriminatory
• Spirituality is used to describe a kind of in- understanding of equality. It tries to nurture
terplay between schemata of interpretation and cultivate a reconciliatory spirit that fo-
(a hermeneutics of life) and a sense of cal- cuses on harmony and peace.
ling and vocation wherein the realm of the • As an exponent of spiritual healing, soul
beyond play a decisive role. Spirituality em- in soul care refers to the whole of our hu-
phasises that there is more in life that can man being. It is more comprehensive than
be seen and observed on a phenomenologi- merely spirit, ego, self-awareness, cognitive
cal level by means of sheer observation and structuring, psychic coherence, and iden-
sensual awareness. In this sense, spirituality tity. It describes the quality of human re-
is used to describe an affiliation between lationships in terms of ultimate values and
meaningful living, a purposed driven life an integral sense of wholeness, peace and
and the realm of transcendence. constructive anticipatory modes of hoping.
• Spirituality refers to the meta-realm of life. Soul care, thus, wants to promote human
Even in physics, one has to reckon with un- wholeness and dignity within the dynamics
expected events or issues that transcend a and healing of life (cura vitae) (Louw 2008).
causative approach (see quantum physics). One can thus argue that the plight for hu-
• Spirituality links worldviews to basic prin- man rights and the advocacy for human
ciples, convictions and assumptions that dignity can indeed be viewed as important
can help people to cope with fate and trage- issues on the agenda of pastoral caregiving
dy. It refers to mystery in life and recognises and theology . Humanitas and dignitas
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the sublime within the ridiculous. are becoming important topics in a pasto-
• Spirituality is used to describe the interplay ral and spiritual reflection on the praxis of
between a divine factor and religious expe- caregiving. „Dignitas became closely asso-
riences within devotional practices, rituals ciated with humanitas as to be construed as
of worship and attempts to be connected to a synonym. To be able to say what dignity
a deity or ‘god’. is would be to describe the fundamental
• Spirituality refers to the psychic capacity in meaning of being human’ (Meeks 1984: ix).
the human spirit to transcend the limitati- Dignity means to be human. ‘For this rea-
ons of the human ego and personal capaci- son, dignity has become the key concept in
ties of self-understanding in the direction the worldwide struggle for human rights’
of a moral awareness and a conscientious (Meeks 1984: ix). For Rombach (1987:379),
sensitivity for a normative framework. Spi- dignity then describes the humane human
rituality links ethos to ethics and creates a being (Der menschliche Mensch); the hu-
sense of congruency and integrity in the man being shaped by the social processes
ego-structure of personal orientation and of identity and meaningful space (Identi-
direction. tät = a spiritual networking of meaning as
• pirituality represents a sacramental under-
standing of life. Life as a whole is therefore 5 According to Huber (1996:115), the concept dignity
sacred and should be treated with respect, (dignitas) as a social category is primarily related to that
of honour (honor). As a theological category, it is traditi-
simplicity and a kind of awe. In this regard, onally associated with the notion of the imago dei (crea-
spirituality draws on sacred texts, written ted in the image of God) (Huber 1996:115). Humanitas
documents and oral traditions as embedded and dignitas are currently dictating the agenda of public
theology.
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