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The Introduction to Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology &A Digital Commons @ George Fox University Faculty Publications - Grad School of Clinical Graduate School of Clinical Psychology Psychology 2001 Psychology, Theology & Care for the Soul (The Introduction to Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology & Theology) Mark R. McMinn George Fox University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gscp_fac Part of the Christianity Commons, and the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation McMinn, Mark R., "Psychology, Theology & Care for the Soul (The nI troduction to Care for the Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Psychology & Theology)" (2001). Faculty Publications - Grad School of Clinical Psychology. Paper 226. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/gscp_fac/226 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School of Clinical Psychology at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications - Grad School of Clinical Psychology by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Introduction PSYCHOLOGY, THEOLOGY & CARE FOR THE SOUL Mark R. McMinn A CON1YMeOAAfi Aomm™ENT ro, A wxuRY CAR >IBAUS, "ff cm JN1D You, soul, not your pocketbook." For a car with a $45,000 price tag, this claim is disput­ able, but the advertisers persist because they understand that the soul is market­ able. Contemporary book titles offer Chicken Soup for the Soul, Penguin Soup for the Soul and Duck Soup for the Soul; Tbe Soul of Sex; 100 Ways to Keep Your Soul Alive; Acupressure for the Soul; Chocolate for the Woman's Soul; a Flight Manual for the Soul; and Animal Guides for the Soul. We have soul music, soul food and soul mates. A quick visit to Amazon.com yields thousands of book titles containing the word soul. There is legitimate reason to question whether today's resurgence of soul language reflects a Christian understanding of persons. Under the grip of modernity, in the midst of our fascination with stimulus-response connections and scientific formulations of psychoanalysis, the concept of the soul was often reduced to irrelevant historical lore. But as the empiricism and rationalism of modernity fade into the pluralism of postmodernity, there is renewed interest in the soul--even though there is little agreement about what the soul is. One could argue that modernity itself brought about this interest in the soul. After all, in modern times the study of the soul-psyche--emerged as a highly visible discipline-psychology-that continues to attract thousands of new gradu­ ate students each year. Ellen Charry, in her contribution to this volume, describes the twentieth century as the "psychological century." And the discipline of psy­ chology was dominated by the clinical and counseling subdisciplines where the care of the psyche is explored in great detail. How can we claim that we lost the soul in a time when psychology experienced enormous growth in interest? The answer, like the question, lies in the epistemological assumptions of modernity. In order to achieve respect as a science, the study of psychology in the past cen­ tury often neglected the religious traditions that shaped the understanding of the Introduction 10 Care for the Soul soul before the Enlightenment. 1 Somehow we misplaced the soul even as we accurately. In short, psychologists care for the soul. The cure of the soul, most developed a thriving science of the psyche. Several contributors to this book note Christian psychologists would suggest, is God's work and is beyond the scope of that the notion of soul was usurped by modernity's notion of self. And in relegat­ mainstream psychological interventions. ing the care of selves to secular scientist-practitioners, we lost some critical The book title Care for the Soul, which is more comfortable for the psychologist aspects of caring for the soul. contributors, may raise offsetting tensions among many theologians. Yes, evangeli­ With the changing winds of postmodernity swirling around us, we stand at a cal Christian theology is about caring for the soul, but it is more interested in crossroads pondering the value and limits of science, the role of theological traditions exploring the cure of the soul through the confession of sin and through the 3 and the boundaries of spirituality. Now that we can conceive of the material world as redemption found in Jesus Christ. A throng of psychologists has emerged to care an aggregate of subatomic particles and build microscopes powerful enough to see for the soul, but the message of evangelical Christian theology offers a cure for the the building blocks of creation, how do we understand the connections that bind broken soul. atoms, molecules, cells, organisms, communities, cultures and societies together? So even the title of this book reflects some of the implicit tensions found at the Now that we have scientifically validated ways to treat panic attacks and psychophar­ intersection of theology and psychology. These tensions are not new-many schol­ 4 macological interventions for clinical depression, how do we make sense of the ars have explored them over the past several decades. Fortunately, many of these soul's journey through the "valley of the shadow of death" (Ps 23:4 NASB) or the "dark same scholars are willing to stand at these crossroads and carefully evaluate the night?" 2 After the end of a century that knew more mass destruction than any other, soul, helping to forge a Christian psychology that considers the rich traditions and how is the perversion and aggression of the human soul cured? doctrines of the past as well as the dynamic intellectual climate of the present. Modernity's psychology may have something to offer Christians who are inter­ Whether the goal is to care for the soul or to cure it, we must first vigorously ested in caring for souls. Thoughtful Christian psychologists contributed many of consider the soul. In chapter four Jeffrey Boyd articulates this need in his passion­ the chapters in this volume. But the central premise behind this book-and behind ate call for us to return to a theological understanding of the soul. Considering the the conference that inspired it-is that care for the soul must also draw from the soul is the shared task of psychology and theology, and it is the focus of this book. rich theological and ecclesiological traditions of the past and present. Our task is to explore the intersection of theology and psychology. Standing Together, but Not Too Close If the task of considering the soul is shared, the approach to the task is not. Contribu­ Care for the Soul or the Cure of the Soul? tors to this volume have diverse backgrounds, perspectives, areas of scholarly interest This book grew out of a Wheaton Theology Conference titled "The Cure of the and academic preparation. Indeed, one of the great values of this book is itc; multidis­ Soul: Exploring the Intersection of Theology and Psychology." The conference, ciplinary focus. Chapters have been contributed by philosophers, theologians, Bible which was cosponsored by the Wheaton College departments of Bible/theology scholars, clinical psychologists, developmental and social psychologists and biblical and psychology, brought together leading theologians, philosophers and psycholo­ counselors. During the days of the conference and as we were compiling the pages gists who are interested in the relationship between psychology and theology. of this book, we all stood together to look at the soul. And then we returned to our The title of the book, Care for the Soul, was changed only slightly from the con­ own professional worlds, having been privileged to hear and learn from one another. ference title, "The Cure of the Soul." The u in cure was replaced with an a. The One challenge of interdisciplinary work is learning when to emphasize our areas implications of this change are bigger than one letter. A number of psychologists at of commonality and when to emphasize our distinct and sometimes disparate per­ the conference expressed discomfort with the grandiosity implied in "The Cure of spectives. In The Prophet Kahlil Gibran advises two lovers to "stand together yet not the Soul." Surely curing the soul is not the job of psychologists. Psychologists treat too near together." A book such as Care for the Soul requires Christian psycholo­ the soul by easing suffering, helping people in emotional pain to reclaim meaning gists, theologians and biblical counselors to stand together; each contributor has and purpose and encouraging people to see themselves, others and the world more important perspectives to offer as we look at the soul. Yet each discipline has dis- 3 1Allen E. Bergin, "Psychotherapy and Religious Values," Journal of Consulting and Clinical Dennis L. Okholm and Timothy R. Phillips, eds., More Tban One Way? Four Views on Salvation Psychology48 (1980): 95-105; Stanton L. Jones, "A Constructive Relationship for Religion with in a Pluralistic World (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1995). - 4 the Science and Professional of Psychology: Perhaps the Boldest Model Yet," American See, for example, Paul C. Vitz, Psychology As Religion: Tbe Cult ofSelf Worship (Grand Rapids, Psychologist 49 (1994): 184-99. Mich.: Eerdmans, 1977); Jay E. Adams, Competent to Counsel (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker, 2John of the Cross, Dark Night of the Soul (New York: Doubleday, 1990). 1970). 12 Care for the Soul Introduction 13 tinct methods and bodies of knowledge that should not be quieted by the other dis­ 1970s and 1980s, a well-known Christian psychologist with theological training ciplines. wrote the book Can You Trust Psychology? In it he gave cautious affirmation to 9 Psychologists and counselors who are interested in the soul need theologians. some aspects of psychology, and he did so in a balanced and fair manner.
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