Integration Of Christianity Research Articles

Christian Integrity Regained: Reformational Worldview Engagement for Everyday Medical Practice

AbstractHow does one committed to the claims of Christ and a biblical story of redemption live Christianly and navigate the competing worldviews encountered in everyday medical practice? Adopting the practical conceptual framework promoted by Reformed Christian philosopher and theologian Albert Wolters, we argue for an all-encompassing biblical understanding of God’s cosmic redemption plan for the entire creation order in contrast to a more typical sacred/secular duality. We then apply the concepts of structure and direction, drawn from a pretheological understanding of human life drawn from the Scripture, to a semi-fictional case study in discerning Christian faithfulness in everyday mundane aspects of medicine. Our subsequent analysis seeks to render an interpretation of what it means to live life consistent with that worldview when confronted with challenges like those presented in the case.

Kadi Courts in the Ottoman Balkans and Christians in 18th Century (According to the Sofia Documents)

The article deals with the status of Christian population of Sofia under the Ottoman rule and legal pluralism. The aim of the investigation is to analyze the degree of integration of Christians to the Ottoman system of law and to understand the reasons of Christian’s access to the Shari‘a courts. The legal status of Christians in the Ottoman Empire was defined by the so-called Millet system. The Orthodoxies in Ottoman Empire had three ways of resolving their disputes: they could turn to the Episcopal court, the communal court or the Ottoman court, which made a decision according to Shari‘a and Kanun. As it could be argued, on the contrary to popular belief, Christian’s going to Shari‘a courts were not rare. They had the opportunity to choose what kind of court to prefer for resolving their personal and family disputes.

Beginnings: Why the Doctrine of Creation Matters for the Integration of Psychology and Christianity

This article considers what integration efforts in psychology would look like if informed by a trinitarian account of creation. Further theological reflection about the doctrine of creation reveals four key conclusions that are valuable for conceiving the relationship between theology and psychology: (1) The goodness of the created realm establishes the investigation and exploration of human nature through science and psychology; (2) Human nature can be explored through psychology because God’s providential care allows a certain “order” of creation to be preserved despite the reality of sin; (3) God endows humanity with creative abilities to discover and develop the created realm and culture through the science of psychology; (4) God’s trinitarian relations with the world establishes the theological basis for the social, embodied, and relational aspects of human nature that are able to be discerned through the study of psychology. The implications that these four key conclusions have for psychological research and clinical psychology will also be discussed.

English as a Site of Evangelical Contact: A Critical Ethnography of Missionary English Teaching between South and North Koreans

ABSTRACTDrawing from a larger ethnography of North Korean young adults learning English in Christian educational programs in South Korea, this article explores the power relations between evangelicals and minority people and the political economy of missionary English teaching. This article follows Christian educational programs that provided various forms of resources—including English teaching—to North Korean young adults to examine how access to resources was regulated in relation to learner identity. Building on the sociolinguistic framework of political economy of language and emerging research on religion and second language learning, this study illustrates the integration of Christianity and English, and the intersection of religion, nationalism, and neoliberalism. The findings elucidate how English works as a secular resource in religious spaces, thus serving as a site of religious contact between people of divergent goals. Issues of professional ethics are also discussed.

Review: A State of Mixture. Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity, by Richard E. Payne

Richard E. Payne. A State of Mixture. Christians, Zoroastrians, and Iranian Political Culture in Late Antiquity . Transformation of the Classical Heritage, vol. 56. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2015. ISBN: 9780520286191. 301 pp. $95.00. A State of Mixture is a rich and complex study of the interweaving of Christian and Zoroastrian communities in late antique Iran. Payne draws on a wealth of sources, most notably East Syrian hagiography, providing a portrait of a “state of mixture” in place of older and misleading views of the two communities as discrete groups at perennial odds with each other. Payne shows how Christians constantly negotiated their position in the Sasanian state, repeatedly testing boundary lines and overlapping their communal identities with those of the Zoroastrian communities amongst whom they lived. State authorities used intercommunal boundaries to reinforce socioreligious and political norms and to foster the integration of Christians into their own, hierarchically organised cosmological project. Examining periods of apparently savage persecution and looking beyond the fervour and outrage of Christian martryological texts, Payne clearly demonstrates the fluidity of the Sasanian state and the deep integration of Christian nobles within its structures, providing a context for efforts by the last major Sasanian king, Khusrau II, to appropriate the traditional role of the Roman emperor as the touchstone for the world's Christians after Iran's victories at the turn of the seventh century. Payne organises his study into five self-contained chapters that lead the reader chronologically and geographically through the late antique Iranian landscape, from the persecutions of Shapur II …

IDEA THEOCRACY AS THE BASIS OF CHRISTIAN UNITY’S PROBLEM IN THE WORK OF V. S. SOLOVYOV

Purpose. Current state of Christian integrity’s problem is determined of that historical and cultural process of modern age, which characterized by striving for unity, panhuman solidarity and question formulation in global scale. The subject of research is philosophical base of Christian integrity’s in V.S. Solovyov work. The author set a goal to analyze theocracy ideas as one of Christian integrity’s foundations in philosopher’s scholarly writings. Methodology. Mostly investigation based on composition of categorical analysis and historical approach to material, on conjunction of historical-philosophical, cultural, and comparative analysis. Results. The results of work are in the assumption that integration of the Eastern and the Western Churches is the beginning of real world theocracy implementation. This suggestion was made by the authors due to analysis of Christian integrity’s problem in V.S. Solovyov work. V.S. Solovyov understand the world theocracy as world’s Christianization and unification under the leadership of universal church. Practical implications. The results of this research can be used in education, in religious and cultural studies, in courses on the historical of religious philosophical as theoretical material.

The Status of Spiritual Well-being among Early Adult and the Effects of Christian Integrative Art Therapy

The Status of Spiritual Well-being among Early Adult and the Effects of Christian Integrative Art Therapy

The Art of Empire: Christian Art in Its Imperial Context ed. by Robin M. Jensen and Lee M. Jefferson

Reviewed by: The Art of Empire: Christian Art in Its Imperial Context ed. by Robin M. Jensen and Lee M. Jefferson Daniel C. Cochran The Art of Empire: Christian Art in Its Imperial Context Robin M. Jensen and Lee M. Jefferson, Eds. Minneapolis: Fortress Press 2015. Pp. xi + 356. ISBN 978–1-4514–8766–4 The Art of Empire brings together nine scholars to reconsider the relationship between Roman imperial and Christian art during the fourth and fifth centuries. Grabar and Kitzinger once argued that in the wake of Constantine’s conversion Christians abandoned the popular funerary representations of Jesus as a peaceful miracle worker and humble shepherd in favor of images that rendered Jesus as a powerful king. No longer dressed in plain robes and carrying a simple wand or scraggly sheep, this post-Constantinian Christ donned royal purple and golden garments and sat confidently upon a jewel-encrusted throne. With the imperial adoption of Christianity, these scholars argue, came Christianity’s adoption of imperial art, language, and ritual. Mathews was among the first to critique this widely accepted narrative. In his provocative study, The Clash of Gods (1993), Mathews argued against what he refers to as the “Emperor Mystique,” that is, the thesis that post-Constantinian Christian art adopted wholesale the style and iconography of Roman imperial art. He proposed instead that Christians sought to depict Jesus as superior to the most powerful pagan gods. While Mathews’s central thesis remains controversial, his work succeeded in sparking debate about the nature of imperial influence on Christian art. The essays in The Art of Empire build upon Mathews’s work, offering critiques of his thesis while also seeking to extend his efforts to nuance our understanding of late antique Christian art within the context of the Roman Empire. After a brief introduction that situates the volume in relation to this past scholarship, Jensen’s opening chapter explores the relationship between imperial images of tribute, adventus, and apotheosis and Christian representations of the adoration of the magi, the entry into Jerusalem, and the [End Page 287] ascension. Jensen critiques both the traditional assumption that the Christian motifs simply adopted imperial iconography and Mathews’s argument that Christians looked to secular motifs such as the gentleman’s homecoming. Drawing on the writings of Tertullian and Leo the Great, Jensen argues instead that Christians presented Jesus as a foil to the emperor; they appropriated but subverted the iconography of imperial power, proclaiming that the reign of Jesus was “different from that of any secular ruler” (33). Jefferson also explores the subversive possibilities of early Christian art, arguing that the traditio legis motif popular in the fourth century was a proclamation of ecclesiastical authority and not, as sometimes argued, an attempt to present Christ as an emperor. Jefferson argues that the motif highlights Peter more than Christ, emphasizing the apostle’s role as a new Moses and leader of the universal church. While Jefferson draws on a wide range of material, he does not allow for variant interpretations. This reader wonders, for example, if the traditio legis on the sarcophagi of aristocratic converts really had the same connotations of ecclesiastical authority as images commissioned for basilicas and viewed within the context of the liturgy. Boin’s essay likewise focuses on Peter, suggesting that memories of Peter were used in the fourth century to excuse the integration of Christians into Roman society and, conversely, to argue for their rigid separation. Boin contends that the integration of Christian and mythological scenes in such mausolea as Rome’s Tor de’Schiavi reveals that the more flexible approach to religious identity persisted well into the fourth century, much to the consternation of bishops. Boin’s essay deals less with Christian art than the other contributions but his conclusion adds further nuance to the study of Christian identities in Late Antiquity. Harley-McGowan’s essay defends Grabar against Mathews’s harsh critique, arguing that Grabar’s approach emphasizes the creativity of artisans who appropriated and transformed imperial motifs to fit Christian theological contexts. She demonstrates, for example, that early depictions of Christ’s victory over death relied upon the subtle alteration of imperial...

Johannes Nissen, The Gospel of John and the Religious Quest: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Eugene, Ore., Pickwick Publications, 2013, 210 pp.

Johannes Nissen, The Gospel of John and the Religious Quest: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Eugene, Ore., Pickwick Publications, 2013, 210 pp. In his introduction, Johannes Nissen explains that his concern in writing this book to consider how from a Christian perspective, and in particular via the fourth gospel, we may be engaged in a dialogue with the diversity of our (p. 1). He places the emphasis on the religious quest, that is, the personal aspect of faith meeting faith, rather than the encounter between religions as faith systems. In the context of the contemporary landscape, he finds a study of the fourth gospel particularly relevant to address the question of how we can maintain genuine Christian integrity while at the same time being open to people of other faiths (p. 3). His book does not interpret the whole gospel as would a commentary, but addresses contemporary questions and challenges on the basis of selected readings. Nissen explains the rationale for the choice of texts by their special relevance for dealing with the contemporary quest and encounter, and their key role for an interpretation of the theology of the fourth gospel. Why the passion narrative would be excluded may be questioned in view of the second criterion mentioned. However, the commentary never neglects to point to the cross as the cornerstone of John's theology. Part one of the book explains in its first chapter the significance of the language of symbols and metaphors in John, drawn not so much from social and political life as in the Synoptics, but mainly from biological realities, such as birth, life, growth. Nissen then chooses to treat some of the most important symbols in John: the Word, Rebirth, Water, Bread, Light, Truth, Love, Way, Tree. All these chapters have a similar structure. The reader first learns about some of the major historical and exegetical issues in the text of the gospel, then is introduced to contemporary perspectives and texts by seekers in the North and South, with particular references to publications documenting inter-religious dialogue experiences in Denmark. Both in his exegetical remarks and the dialogue with contemporary authors, Nissen refers to important missiological issues in a careful and detailed way. Issues thus addressed are, among others, the relation and distinction between inculturation and syncretism, old or modern gnostic understandings of John's gospel, and the insistence on incarnation, continuity and discontinuity between human longings for salvation and John's understanding of Christ's message. A pivotal point in the encounter of Eastern and Western spirituality is the uniqueness of Jesus' incarnation --it is not one among many. Belief in resurrection as opposed to the idea of reincarnation is likewise presented as a core part of Christianity. In the second part of the book, Nissen addresses issues of dialogue brought about by a study of John's gospel in thematic chapters. He summarizes insights drawn from detailed studies and relates them to missiological challenges. Chapter 12 highlights questions of inculturation and contextualization. Nissen understands John as responding to people influenced by a pre-Gnostic syncretistic feeling, and he shows how John takes up the concerns of his contemporaries and deliberately makes a portrait of Jesus that is attractive to readers in such a context. The consequence has been that some biblical scholars have not hesitated to consider the fourth gospel as gnostic or docetic. However, John's insistence on the historicity and reality of the incarnation, as well as his emphasis on the reality of Jesus' death on the cross, make such a misunderstanding impossible. Chapter 13 provides a good introduction to the debates on models of dialogue with religions. After an accurate description of Christocentric exclusivism, Christocentric inclusivism, and theocentric pluralism, Nissen argues that no comprehensive solution is available from the Bible, except that it seems that the biblical texts in general would not justify a pluralist nor a radical exclusivist position. …

"Que la penitencia no debe obstar a los descendientes que de él hubiere". Integración y ascenso social de una familia judeoconversa: el caso de los Ramírez de Lucena (Córdoba)

This paper focuses on the evolution of one of the main judeoconverso lineages of the Kingdom of Cordoba in the Early Modern Era, the Ramirez. Native of Espejo, soon they found in Lucena, the capital of the Marquisate of Comares, the perfect place to hide their past and ennobled near their lord. The protagonists of this study are their close relationship with the Marquis, their desire to produce a new family memory, and the matrimonial and economic strategies that allowed them to become one of the more powerful groups in the oligarchy of Lucena and one of the paradigmatic examples of integration of the New Christians in the Andalusian territory.

Studying Wisdom: Toward a Christian Integrative Perspective

Wisdom is both a current topic of empirical investigation and a vital part of religious thought. What is the proper relationship between the science of wisdom and religious tradition? We suggest four possible approaches: remove the study of wisdom from its religious moorings, disregard the science of wisdom, look for commonalities in wisdom traditions, and look for particular contributions with religious faiths. Whereas the first two approaches introduce a number of problems for those committed to the integration of faith and psychology, the latter two approaches create a number of intriguing possibilities. Three potential areas of wisdom investigation are offered that fit within the fourth approach to relating wisdom and religion. Finally, a specific example of an empirical study is provided.

A Christian Integrative Perspective on Nurturing Civic Development Among Emerging Adults

This article explores civic development and its roles in the lives of emerging adults, and the ways in which college contexts—particularly Christian colleges and universities—may foster adaptive civic development. First, the article presents an argument for the importance of fostering civic development as rooted in historic truths of the Christian faith and integrated with a Christian worldview. Second, several exemplary programs at Christian colleges and universities that are successfully engaged in promoting civic development among students are described. Finally, a number of specific practical suggestions for Christian higher educational professionals who work with emerging adult students and who are concerned with encouraging positive civic formation are proposed.

Integration of Christianity in Research and Statistics Courses

Teaching pedagogy and praxis on the integration of research skills with Christianity are introduced with practical classroom strategies. The authors discuss the purpose of Christian integration in statistics and research design courses as a spiritual and scientific endeavor. They discuss how they address students’ attitudes towards research with respect for their faith and cultural traditions. The development of research skills and personal virtue character development are a third theme.

Teaching Christian Integration in Psychology and Counseling Courses

In the last 45 years, psychologists, counselors, academicians, and pastors have developed a wide variety of models describing the relationship between Christianity and clinical psychology/counseling. Some espouse no interaction between the fields (e.g., nouthetic counseling. Adams, 1970), while others advocate for a meaningful interaction (e.g., integration, McMinn & Campbell, 2007). Some models expand on how one defines science (e.g transformational psychology, Coe & Hall, 2010) and others on how one conceptualins psychology itself (e.g., Christian psychology, Johnson, 2007). For the sake of reading simplicity, the term in this special edition encapsulates the models that advocate for some form of meaningful engagement between psychology/counseling and Christianity. We recognize, however, the distinctiveness of these various models embedded in the term as we use it here. Integration models are now leading to operation-alized clinical strategies that are garnering empirical support (See Evidence-Based Practices j'br Christian Counseling and Psychotherapy, Aten, Johnson, Worthington, & Hook, 2013). Novel new intervention strategies likewise merit exploration (See Transformative Encounters, Appleby & Ohlschlager, 2013). This is an exciting time for those advocating for a meaningful relationship between Christianity and mental health treatment. One wonders, however, if the progress in models arid intervention strategies has left behind some important aspects. Meaningful questions remain. Psychology and counseling have numerous specialized bodies of knowledge captured in specific courses. What resources are available for instructors to make them more effective in teaching integration in these courses? Garzon and Hall (2012) observe that current resources are almost nonexistent or quite dated in this area. Over time, the Journal of Psychology and Theology (JPT) has taken the lead in providing resources. One course-specific exploration of teaching integration identified in the literature occurred with JPT's 1995 special edition on undergraduate teaching (volume 23, issue 4). In 2009, JPT published another special edition, this time with a focus on new research in how students learn integration and explorations of how to reach integration in graduate education contexts such as classroom learning, non-traditional environments (online), statistics, and clinical supervision in internship. More recently, Devers (2013) published an article in JPT encouraging the use of embodied integration, a pedagogical strategy building on the idea that the brain relies on bodily states and actions to inform cognition. Accordingly, this special edition of the JPT builds on these resources with a focus on course-specific integration at both the undergraduate and graduate psychology and counseling level. Current Integration Learning Theory and Research Course-specific integration must begin with present theories on how students learn integration. Randall Sorenson's theory of how students learn integration stands out as the lone well-articulated and researched model in the literature (Sorenson, Derflinger, Bufford, & McMinn, 2004). Basing his ideas on attachment theory (e.g., Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1988; Main & Solomon, 1986), he proposed that students learn integration best through attachment-based mentoring relationships with professors. These relationships, to Sorenson, are the primary mediating pathway that facilitates significant integration learning (Sorenson et al.). Professors who desire their conceptual ideas about integration to be absorbed must seek to. develop meaningful relationships with their students. Research has supported Sorenson's ideas (Sorenson, 1994, 1997; Sorenson et al., 2004, Staten, Sorenson, & Vande Kemp, 1998). These studies have found that students value getting a sense of a professor's spiritual journey or on-going personal relationship with God. …

Comic Books, Mock Trials, and Zombies: Engaging Integrative Biopsychology Themes in the Classroom

Several topics in biopsychology can be used to explore the integrative process in the classroom. While many of these can be addressed in a straightforward lecture/discussion format, there are a variety of pedagogical approaches that can be utilized to engage students in a more robust fashion. Three integrative topics relevant to biopsychology courses (embodiment, emergent agency, and enhancement) are addressed, and recommendations for how to incorporate online resources, case studies, novels, cinema, and classroom activities are provided. From contemporary film and television, to comic books and recent medical technologies and drugs, a variety of classroom exercises and atypical pedagogical assignments can offer students the opportunity to investigate and engage in the process of Christian integration.

Culturally Competent and Spiritually Sensitive Therapy with Lesbian and Gay Christians

This article presents results from a retrospective qualitative study of 27 lesbian and gay (LG) Christians that examined religious and spiritual issues and resolutions. Participants were also asked to identify the necessary knowledge and skills that practitioners (social workers, therapists, pastoral care providers, and so on) working with clients who are coming out need to help such clients integrate their sexual orientation and religion or spirituality. By analyzing the stories of participants, the authors identified information to enhance practitioners' cultural competence and spiritual sensitivity. Themes identified as important were having a historical perspective, self-awareness, and a nonjudgmental attitude; expanding definitions; and understanding the power of words. Participants described both their negative and positive experiences in integrating their faith and sexual orientation, and offered pragmatic suggestions for LG Christians. Themes identified were reframing scripture and tradition, supportive pastoral relationships, affirming Christian communities, peer support, and educational resources. This article will increase practitioner understanding of how to support the integration of sexual orientation and Christianity for LG clients who are coming out. It is also a resource for LG Christians who can benefit from reading stories of those who have successfully integrated their faith and sexual orientation.

The Practice of Integration with Postmodern Therapies: Exploring the Use of Ingram's (1995) Model with Emotionally Focused Therapy

Christians who counsel utilize many models to integrate psychology and theology (Enwistle, 2004; Johnson & Jones, 2010). Indeed, the literature on integration reveals four key areas of focus: the development of frameworks for theoretical integration (e.g., Farnsworth 1982; Ingram, 1995), identifying and discussing relevant theological themes that apply to the work of therapy (e.g., Anderson & Guernsey, 1985; Beck & Demarest, 2005), presenting and evaluating secular counseling theory (Tan, 2011; Yarhouse & Sells, 2009), and the practice of integration in the therapy room (e.g., Eck, 2002; McMinn & Campbell, 2007). One dimension of the practice of integration that remains unexplored is how specific models of Christian integration may be applied with reference to specific therapeutic approaches. This article seeks to address this gap by engaging Ingram's (1995) model of theological integration to examine Emotionally-Focused Couple's Therapy (EFCT). Ingram's Model of Theological reflection Rychlak (1993) argued for a model of complementarity in the field of psychology based on four upon which theories of psychology are derived: Physikos (non-biotic universe), Bios (biology), Socius (social conditions), and Logos (realm of meaning-making). Ingram (1995) expanded on this model in two significant ways: by adding a fifth ground, Theos (realm of spirituality), and by allowing for interaction between groundings. Ingram thus proposed a multiple ground interactive three-dimensional model (see Figure 1) which avoids the problems of linearity and conceptual dependence inherent in hierarchical models. This interactive model also avoids the problem of reductionism that results when a counseling theory is viewed through a single lens: i.e., Physikos, Bios, Socius, Logos, or Theos. By setting Theos apart from the other grounds Ingram reinforces that, for the Christian therapist, Theos does not merely provide one of a palette of worldviews but is that which stands apart from and grounds all things. In this way Theos both gives meaning to and critiques the other grounds. Ingram's proposal highlights an important but sometimes overlooked consideration in the work of theological integration. Namely, while the greatest level of conflict or difference between Christian and secular worldviews tends to be encountered at the level of the Logos (i.e. constructed meanings) there is frequent agreement with respect to the observed phenomena of life (Physikos, Bios). [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Emotionally-Focused Couple's Therapy Emotionally-Focused Couple's Therapy (EFCT) has a strong research base (Denton, Burleson, Clark, Rodriquez, & Hobbs, 2000; Johnson & Lebow, 2000) and is capable of helping couples resolve primary attachment emotions activated as a result of life-cycle transitions (Dankoski, 2001); a chronically ill family member (Cloutier, Manion, Walker, & Johnson, 2002; Kowal, Johnson, & Lee, 2003; McLean et al., 2008); experiences of trauma (Johnson & Williams-Keeler, 1998; MacIntosh & Johnson, 2008); resolving attachment injuries in couples (Makinen & Johnson, 2006); and an emotionally withdrawn male spouse (Johnson & Talitman, 1997). The literature indicates that the creation of an emotionally safe relationship through increased empathy, a softening of blame, and an increased emotional awareness on the part of an emotionally unavailable partner, has value that lasts well beyond the end of therapy (Dandeneau & Johnson, 1994; Greenberg, James, & Conry, 1988; Johnson & Talitman, 1997; Johnson & Williams-Keeler, 1998). References to EFCT in the pastoral and Christian marital counseling literature highlight the importance of working with attachment in couples' therapy (Morris, 2002), providing a mechanism by which couples can learn to trust and foster mutual empathy and supportive stances with one another (Bailey, 2002), and examining the fit between EFCT and conservative Christians (Mutter, Ande, & Hugo, 2010). …

Integration of Psychology and Christianity: 2022

This paper forecasts changes to the integration of Psychology and Christianity for the next decade. The focus of the paper is on proposals to address six trends that are seen as hope for the future of the integrationist movement: the healthcare crisis, education, research, application, global networks and technology.

Integration, Multicultural Counseling, and Social Justice

In this article, we explore the integration of psychology and Christianity in the areas of multicultural counseling and social justice. First, we give a brief overview of the multicultural counseling and social justice movements. Second, we explore two aspects of Christianity that we believe make integration in this area difficult. Third, we critically evaluate the multicultural counseling and social justice movements from a Christian perspective. Fourth, we discuss three ideas that we believe will improve dialogue in this area of integration.

Disaster Spiritual and Emotional Care in Professional Psychology: A Christian Integrative Approach

In this article, I introduce a Christian integrative approach to disaster spiritual and emotional care in professional psychology. I also contextualize the subfield of disaster intervention within my view of how integration overall will develop in the future. Practice guidelines for integrative disaster spiritual and emotional care are offered, as well as a series of diverse examples of faith-based disaster interventions. Theological and integrative implications are also raised, as well as thoughts on how disaster spiritual and emotional care will contribute to the future of integration.