Page 48 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 8

Christian Psychology as a Challenge

does. It is this priestly “proprium” that makes it stance” that stands für the “wholeness” of “soul
a part of the greater task of “shepherding” and care” in the pastoral work. Is it a consciousness
it’s the focus on the “soul” or the psychic con- of meaning and value of life? Is it the faithful
dition of the individual that makes it different hope for redemption and eternal consistency of
from other issues a parochial shepherd has to the personal unit? Louw speaks of a “stereome-
deal with. Of course at this point we get stuck tric” correlation of the different dimensions of
again with the problem mentioned above: the a Christian or biblical understanding of “psy-
accurate anthropological and theological un- che”, “soul” etc. By this he illustrates an over-
derstanding of the interaction between God laying interaction of different connotations and
and “soul”! Once again: here lies the very pro- meanings. In other words: the different expres-
blem of a seriously considered “pastoral care” sions form a multidimensional unit in which
or “soul care” – not so much in the methodical every aspect helps to disclose the other.
reductionism as Sathler-Rosa points out. The
methodical problem is a secondary one compa- Surprisingly to me Louw chooses the term “spi-
red to the inner-christian or inner-theological rituality” as an access to distinguish the very
challenge to give explanations for Gods interac- characteristics of “soul care”? Without any de-
tion with the human “soul” or “psyche” (terms fining explanation of the term “spirit” he con-
with no proper biblical foundation and with di- siders “spirituality” as a quality of “soul care” in
verse meanings). Louw refers to this very pro- tradition (Leech). Obviously the term is used
blem in his discussion on the meaning of “psy- by many authors and with different connota-
che” in Christian (biblical?) tradition of “soul tions. Is spirituality an opposite to secularity
care”. He comes to the conclusion that “psyche” (Cox) or is it a way to develop personal ma-
in this tradition refers to the “quality of life as turity? Louw quotes Cobb et al.: “Spirituality
determined by the normative dimension in the is for many people a way of engaging with the
wisdom tradition, namely the ethos of love and purpose and meaning of human existence and
grace”. “Psyche” as a quality of life is presented provides a reliable perspective on their lived ex-
as an anthropological topos of moral conduct perience and an orientation to the world”. This
as well as of acceptance (regarding Tillich). In very common understanding expresses a basic
this finally relational understanding of “psyche” need for meaning and value of human life in its
God appears as the counterpart and origin of daily experiences. According to this approach
man’s Life in mutal consense and cooperation. “soul care” as spiritual help is one among many
The interaction between God and man which is contributes to human wholeness of personality.
called “psyche” has the quality of awareness and
presence. These anthropological propositions Whether this is what we would expect from the
essentially bring forth the dynamics of emotio- header of this essay can be discussed contradic-
nal, kognitive and intentional self-organisation tious. A couple of thesises about spirituality is
of man’s transcendental consciousness creating maybe helpful to launch further discussions,
faith, hope and love. Louw makes it clear, that but it is a thin contribution to an adequate un-
this dynamics refer to what theology calls the derstanding of Gods part in “soul care” or the
covenantal interaction between God and man. psychic response to God’s presence in his word,
Only in this clearly confined (i.e. by the will of in his spirit, in his church.
God or by commandments) relationship there
is such a life-changing presence and awareness Conclusion: there is much to learn from Louw’s
of God in man’s everyday reality. exposition of semantic or etymological back-
grounds and of the thus revealed perspectives
When it comes to the meaning of “soul care” in on “pastoral care” and “soul care”. The basic
pastoral theology Low refers to the combination anthropological problems are only partly dealt
of “soul”, “care” and “cure” as the “core identity with and the theological problem of God’s reve-
of caregiving”. What contents essentially consti- lation in the human “psyche” has – as far as I can
tute this combination? What is the “inner sub- see – merely been touched. Spiritual guidance

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