 |
|
|
|||||||
|
Calvin, the CPE supervisor?Today in one of my courses, The Theology of John Calvin, we got to see the softer side of Calvin. When he isn't fighting off his opponents he reveals a warm, pastoral side of himself that is truly worthy of emulation. Yet, some of his comments caused me to reflect on aspects of pastoral care. As I prepared for precept, I read Calvin's words to a father whose son has just died. He writes:The Lord has taken back to Himself the son whom He had given you and as if entrusted into your hands. There is no ground, therefore, for those silly and wicked complaints of foolish people: 'O blind death! O horrid fate! O inflexible disaster, inescapable and intractable! O cruel fortune!' The Lord who had lodged him here for a season, at this stage of his career has called him back.... And therefore He took him away, because it was of advantage both to him to leave this world, and to you by this bereavement to humble you or to give you occasion to practice patience. (296) This kind of pastoral care seems to reflect exactly what my Chaplaincy supervisor this summer told me to stay away from. Common phrases by well-intentioned people can cause disastrous effects in a pastoral care setting. Chaplains learn never to utter such cliches (i.e. "God needed another angel in heaven," "It's okay, you can have another child," etc.) to the patient who has just suffered a profound loss. In Calvin's defense, my preceptor offered a helpful challenge to modern notions of pastoral care, that are unapologetically baptized techniques appropriated from secular psychotherapeutic theories. My chaplaincy supervisor at the hospital constantly challenged such unqualified borrowing of secular therapy in pastoral care. Yet, I have a feeling that he too would cringe if one of his students offered the kind of care that Calvin offers this grieving father. My question is this: where do we draw the line? Is there a way to employ helpful techniques from secular psychology and still maintain distinctively 'Christian' pastoral care? If so, what might it look like in practice? posted by Jake at 11/22/2004 01:46:00 PM  
2 Comments: |
Friends w/ Blogs
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 My Reading Queue 
 
 
 
 Just Finished 
 
 
 The Looooong List 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Previous Posts Jake's Movie Reviews ------------ Just in time for the holidays... ------------ "Yet hope remains..." ------------ On the Virtues of Blogging ------------ Archives November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007
|
Macrina in Gregory of Nyssa's "On the Soul and the Resurrection" actually rebukes her brother Gregory for getting emotional at his brother Basil's death! She says it betrays his lack of faith in the resurrection.
Though I wouldn't go that far, I'm with you in thinking Calvin (and the Cappodocians) be onto something, rather than dismissing them as hopelessly insensitive.
Way to stand up to the Therapeurocracy.
Good point.