Loving Father Research Articles

Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body by Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes

Reviewed by: Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body by Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes Frederick Gaiser jan-olav henriksen and karl olav sandnes, Jesus as Healer: A Gospel for the Body (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016). Pp. x + 273. Paper $35. In the introduction to this valuable book, Jan-Olav Henriksen and Karl Olav Sandnes explain, among other things, what they mean by their subtitle, "A Gospel for the Body," that is, to "recognize in what ways God may be seen to have a healing presence in the world" (p. 5). They will do this both through NT studies that have moved beyond much of historical criticism's rationalist approach to texts and through a systematic theology that is more open to both empirical studies and the field of religious studies (p. 3). Early on S. provides a simple, yet highly valuable contribution: charts categorizing all Jesus's healing stories in terms of NT book, sickness/diagnosis, healing method, and outcome. He goes on to provide a thorough assessment of Jesus as healer in NT scholarship. At the end of this forty-page overview he offers a conclusion that is actually a statement of a position that H. and S. will seek to challenge directly, namely, the prevailing notion that Jesus's healings are caused exclusively by natural reasons. Prevailing NT scholarship, says S., "attempts to explain away the wondrous in these stories, that which is said to have caused the amazement of the spectators" (p. 63). Although S. does not reject the view that natural causation was a factor in Jesus's cures, it alone cannot explain why or how Jesus was regarded as extraordinary when compared to other healers of the time. S. does not neglect the hard issues, including a discussion of raising the dead (pp. 64-69). Here he challenges the position of John Dominic Crossan that the resurrection stories are metaphors or allegories. Indeed, writes S., "in [NT] perspective, a mythic, fictitious, or parabolic interpretation is unable to account for these texts" (p. 69). Needless to say, S. and H. are not biblical literalists, but they are willing to let the NT speak on its own terms. After thoroughly examining such issues as Jesus as healer in the Gospels, Jesus still a healer through his disciples, and healing in the early church, S. concludes his section of the book with a chapter entitled "Toward a Theology of Jesus as Healer." The final paragraphs of this section raise the question of whether the NT regards Jesus as the exclusive healer: "Were [Jesus's healings], and their perpetuation among his followers, the only option for remedying sickness?" (p. 125). This question is important because much of the tradition has responded affirmatively. S., however, after carefully working through the relevant texts, answers his own question in the negative, concluding that "Jesus is at work as a healer in a way that encapsulates both creation and redemption" (p. 130). Similar to S.'s overview of NT scholarship on healing, H. provides a review of both classical and recent discussion about miracles, an invaluable summary for the reader. Of course, these reviews by both authors cannot be exhaustive, but they are a very helpful index to the material. Before this, H. devotes a chapter to the question "What Is Healing?" Rejecting an attempt at a brief definition, he hopes "to interpret and clarify the phenomenon of healing from the point of view of psychology, science, and theology" (p. 136). This is but one more example of how seriously the authors take significant questions and how carefully they look for appropriate responses. In the following chapter, H. cites favorably Lars Lindström's definition of Christian healing: "the full salvation of the entire man, body, mind, and spirit through the re-integration of a life founded on a new relationship to God as a loving Father" (Lindström, Christian Spiritual Healing: A Psychological Study. Ideology and Experience [End Page 337] in the British Healing Movement [Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Psychologia et Sociologia Religionum 7; Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, 1992] 170). Once again, this holistic approach describes what H. and S. are about throughout their book. In the chapter entitled...

Balloons of Hope

A neurology fellow describes an emotionally draining workday beginning with a long commute delayed by a scene of accidental death. During patient rounds, the day continued with misery as this physician watched and declared brain death in two patients. Opioids took away the life of a young, loving father from his growing family. Opioids robbed an unborn child from seeing her mother. Opioids made this physician feel helpless and caused him to think, Why is this happening? How to stop it? And when does it end? This narrative essay illustrates, with words and art, the need to stamp out the opioid epidemic.

Father Love and Mother Love: Contributions of Parental Acceptance to Children's Psychological Adjustment

Research on child development increasingly includes data on both parents and from different cultures. However, the relative importance of fathers versus mothers for child adjustment is still under debate. The present review compares the contributions of perceived paternal and maternal acceptance to various child adjustment indicators among samples of families around the world. We reviewed 127 published studies that included child‐reported paternal and maternal acceptance and developmental outcomes. Regardless of the sex of parent, children benefited from perceived parental acceptance. Fathers and mothers were often found to both predict adjustment significantly to varying degrees. Paternal acceptance tended to be related to children's problem behavior and psychopathology, whereas maternal acceptance was more likely to contribute to socioemotional development. Paternal and maternal acceptance also often jointly contributed to child adjustment through their interaction with each other and with other predictors. Moreover, the link between parental acceptance and adjustment was often moderated by child gender and cultural context.

Thomas Maurice Little

Thomas Maurice Little (“Maurice”), who has died aged 75, was a dedicated and skilled paediatrician, a committed volunteer for several charities, and a loving husband and father. He was born near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, during the second world war, to Emily (nee Ross) and John Little, who were dairy farmers. After attending Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Maurice read medicine at Queen’s University, Belfast. After graduating he left leaving Northern Ireland to work in Liverpool. …

Iman di Tengah Penderitaan: Suatu Inspirasi Teologis-Biblis Kristiani

Suffering is a reality experienced by every human being as an integral part of their life. As part of one’s life, suffering is inevitable. Some people whose faith in the benevolent God has been shaken by their worst suffering ask the question: “Why does not God eliminate suffering if He is gracious and omnipotent?” This article sheds light on the problem of suffering using the Scriptures and theology, to find the different meanings behind it. From the biblical perspective, it will explore a number of meanings of suffering that essentially assert how suffering also serves to bring goodness to human life. These meanings are then complemented with a theological perspective which is based on the three aspects of soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. Through this exploration, Christians are invited to “make peace” with their suffering by way of finding its different meanings. Suffering as a ‘gift’ might help the believers embrace life in its fullness and accept their being human. The concept of God as the ‘Loving Father’ could also help them find strength in facing suffering and grow in their faith as God’s children.

“He Just Snapped”

This article presents findings and recommendations for journalists and educators based on a study of more than 20 years’ reporting of infanticide, filicide and family murder–suicide in the United Kingdom’s national and regional press. On average, 50 children die each year at the hands of parents in the United Kingdom, and the deaths receive significant media attention. This study finds journalists exhibit a gender-biased trend in their writing depending on the sex of the perpetrator. Furthermore, most media coverage fails to acknowledge that killings by men are often the culmination of long-term domestic violence. Findings suggest news values and sourcing strategies are distorting the true picture and foregrounding tragedy narratives for the predominantly male perpetrators, often blaming women for leading a loving father to “snap”. In sharp contrast, mothers who kill are more negatively portrayed. The research finds that crime reporters need training in domestic violence to look beyond simplistic stereotypes.

In Memoriam: Grady L. Hallman, MD (1930–2017)

In Memoriam: Grady L. Hallman, MD (1930–2017)

Richard F. Mayer, MD (1929-2016).

Our friend and colleague Dick Mayer passed away on November 22, 2016. Dick was on the faculty at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore for 50 years. He was a kind and generous man who enhanced the lives of patients with neuromuscular diseases and the many students and physicians who had the opportunity to work and learn with him. He was a dedicated academic neurologist who, just 2 weeks prior to his death, was teaching neuromuscular fellows and participating in the academic life of the Department of Neurology. Not only did Dick positively influence many others as a neurologist, but he cherished his wife Janet, to whom he was married for 56 years, and was a dedicated and loving father to his 5 children. Dr. Russell thanks the other faculty members of the Neuromuscular Division at the University of Maryland for their support of Dr. Mayer: Bryan Cupka, MD, Charlene E. Hafer-Macko, MD, Justin Kwan, MD, Neil Porter, MD, and Lindsay Zilliox, MD, MS.

Wstydliwy problem erotyzmu

Usually we are ashamed to touch the issue of eroticism, although it is a quite natural one and, in fact, very close to us. It seems that roots of this shyness date back to the biblical paradise and to the original sin committed by the first people. Since the exile from paradise the erotic sphere is a kind of taboo that we are afraid to invade. Bataille measures wits with this problem very courageously, showing that eroticism played a key role in the pagan religions. With a help of eroticism it was possible to make a transgression (exceed ban), reach sacrum and thereby fully experience the existence. Then Christianity distanced to eroticism and, paradoxically, by associating it with unclean sacrum, permanently closed it within the limits of profanum. Eroticism is however a powerful force with multiple effects, which should not be reduced to a purely sexual experience. Also in Christianity love for God reveals his ecstatic capacity, which can be seen even on the example of the mystical visions of Saint Teresa of Ávila. Looking from this perspective, the positive qualities of a pagan religious eroticism can be better understood and valued. Especially eleusinian mysteries that are associated with a cult of the goddess Demeter seem to be spiritually close to the Christian cults. Whereas in the first case we have a profund love of Mother and Daughter, in the other one a love of Father and Son. The two religions have similar characteristics of a care for moral purity and for a faith in the eternal life. Therefore, in some aspects, they complement each other. Also the similarity of religious symbols that are present in both religions is surprising.

In Memoriam: Jon Carlson, EdD, PsyD

In Memoriam: Jon Carlson, EdD, PsyD Len Sperry, incoming Editor and Jon Sperry, incoming Editor Jon Carlson passed from this life on February 1, 2017. He has left a legacy to Adlerian Psychology and NASAP that is unparalleled. Besides being a loving father, husband, and friend to many, Jon was a talented and highly effective teacher, writer, editor, and role model. He has the rare distinction of publishing more than 240 books, articles, and book chapters, and developing 300 professional videos that have been used in psychotherapy training programs throughout the world. Jon’s contributions to Adlerian Psychology are equally significant. Many are obvious, while others are not so obvious. The most obvious was his coeditorship of this journal for more than a decade. Among his numerous publications, several were Adlerian focused. Most of these were in his specialties of psychotherapy, psychopathology, and couple and family therapy. Most recently, he was very proud of his role in the launch of AdlerPedia, the most extensive and comprehensive website covering every facet of Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology from the early years to the most recent developments. His dream was to make Adler’s message available, free of charge, to the widest possible audience. While these accomplishments stagger the imagination, there are some less obvious yet profoundly important contributions that few know about. Jon’s commitment to Individual Psychology imbued every fiber of his being, and he continually advocated for it in his teaching, his consulting, and his clinical practice both within and outside NASAP. In fact, his Adlerian roots were well known within professional psychology and counseling organizations. For instance, his influence on the profession of psychology is particularly noteworthy given psychology’s limited receptivity to the Adlerian approach. Jon accomplished what no one else had done when he received lifetime achievement awards from the American Psychological Association. He broke a publication barrier of sorts when APA Books agreed to publish not one but two of his Adlerian psychotherapy books, as well as a half dozen or so DVDs on Adlerian therapy. Jon’s influence on the American Counseling Association (ACA) has also been noteworthy. In the early 1980s, when the ACA was developing standards for graduate programs, Jon was very instrumental in ensuring that all [End Page 90] counseling students would be exposed to the Adlerian approach. So, it is not too surprising that counselors and counselor educators are well represented in NASAP membership. Finally, Jon’s Adlerian influence on the highly regarded Evolution of Psychotherapy conference needs mentioning. Every four years when it is held, the conference focuses on only the “in” approaches and selects high-visibility presenters. For the 2013 conference, Jon was chosen to present on Adlerian therapy. He was also invited to present at the 2017 conference this December. In a very real sense, Jon has kept Adler and Individual Psychology alive for those inside and outside NASAP. Next to Rudolf Dreikurs, MD, in our estimation, Jon has had the most impact on Individual Psychology and NASAP. We have begun planning for a special section of The Journal of Individual Psychology to be published later this year. We envision it to be a fitting memorial to Jon that will highlight both his personal and his professional contributions to Individual Psychology. We welcome inquiries from those who are potential contributors. [End Page 91] Copyright © 2017 University of Texas Press

Evaluation of the Responsible, Engaged, and Loving (REAL) Fathers Initiative on Physical Child Punishment and Intimate Partner Violence in Northern Uganda

Violence against women and violence against children in Uganda are recognized as significant public health concerns. Exposure to violence at home as a child can increase the likelihood of perpetrating or experiencing violence later in life. These two forms of violence share similar risk factors and often, but not always, co-occur at the household level. Parenting programs have shown promise in reducing physical child punishment. Targeting men has also been proven effective in transforming attitudes related to gender roles and expectations and intimate partner violence (IPV) against women. The REAL Fathers Initiative is a 12-session father mentoring program implemented by volunteers that is designed to reduce child exposure to violence at home, breaking the cycle of intergenerational violence. Evaluation results comparing survey data among men exposed to the intervention and those unexposed demonstrate significant reductions in IPV at end line (aOR 0.48, CI 0.31, 0.76, p < 0.001) and over the longer term follow-up (aOR 0.47, CI 0.31, 0.77, p < 0.001) and significant reductions in physical child punishment at long-term follow-up (aOR 0.52, CI 0.32, 0.82, p < 0.001).

‘See our Succumbing Fatherland, Overwhelmed by Disaster, Woe and Strife’: Coping with Crisis during the Reign of Louis Bonaparte

During the reign of Louis Bonaparte (1806–10) the Kingdom of Holland suffered three major catastrophes: the explosion in the city of Leiden (1807) and floods in the provinces of Zeeland (1808) and Gelderland (1809). This paper will illustrate the close relationship between crisis, collective identity and politics during these years and show how these crises were used as political tools by rivalling parties. On the one hand, the king took the opportunity to present himself as a caring and loving father of the Dutch people by offering them emotional and financial support. On the other hand, writers used these occurrences to express their feelings of fear and discomfort concerning the foreign regime: in their opinion the series of disasters was directly related to the loss of sovereignty and the general decline of the fatherland.

People

People

Malcolm H. Chisholm – A Memoir

Graphical

Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas

Reviewed by: Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas Karina Robson Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil by John F. X. Knasas (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 2013), xvi + 304 pp. Professor John F. X. Knasas (University of St. Thomas, Houston), known as an “existential Thomist” for his emphasis on Aquinas’s metaphysics of being, has taken on one of the most hotly debated topics in philosophy of religion: the problem of evil. In Aquinas and the Cry of Rachel: Thomistic Reflections on the Problem of Evil, Knasas does not shy away from addressing the “hard cases.” Along the way, he considers an impressive array of alternative positions, which makes sense since one of Knasas’s aims is to argue that there are several philosophically viable answers to how God and evil can coexist. Knasas also unfolds an innovative, metaphysically grounded philosophical psychology that helps explain why our prima facie intuitions about certain instantiations of being, their inherent preciousness, and evil are often incorrect, or at least philosophically unprovable. Finally, Knasas has clearly done his textual homework; in the course of the monograph, he probes myriad texts from Thomas on evil, most of which he translated by himself (often with additional references to other translations and related debates). There is a fluidity between Knasas’s interpretive and constructive projects that might present an obstacle to some interested readers. Even so, Knasas’s work is valuable well beyond the Thomistic discussion, due to its treatment of so many key alternative accounts, as well as the challenges he poses to them. Chapter 1 sets up the work via a discussion of Jacques Maritain’s insistence that human persons are irreplaceable “wholes” unto themselves. Although this sentiment is widespread and plays an important role in the literature on evil, Knasas argues over the course of the book that the truth of this idea can only be known theologically (viz., via [End Page 720] special revelation). In a purely philosophical context, even a theistic one, we can at most verify that human beings are “principal parts” of the universe. For Knasas, this means that other parts of the universe are generally, but not exclusively, oriented toward the good of such higher parts and that human beings have special obligations to each other on account of their status. Philosophy cannot prove, however, that human persons are ends in themselves whose individual flourishing God can never override for the sake of another individual, the species, or the universe more broadly. As Knasas moves into his initial exposition of Aquinas on the metaphysics of being, human psychology, and evil in chapters 2–4, he draws on the psychology of three paradigmatic reactions to evil noted in chapter 1: Rachel’s inconsolable cry for her dead children (Matt 2:16); the retreat of the survivors to small, earthly joys in Albert Camus’s The Plague; and the insistence on fatherly love in Anthony Flew’s “Theology and Falsification.” Knasas holds that these responses to evil, while certainly understandable psychologically, are limited in their ability to raise philosophical doubts about the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient, and all-good creator God. “[T]he problem of evil,” Knasas says, “is generated by an inappropriate aggrandizement of persons and other things” (16). Knasas’s philosophical psychology draws on the metaphysics of being so prominent in this and his other works. The crux is this: Human persons are not just beings—potential forms endowed with existence. They are also “intellectors of being,” which renders them special “epiphanies” of being, and thus also of the good. In virtue of their ability to appreciate existence itself, the whole of created being, and its Source, human beings have a privileged status before God and moral obligations to their fellow intellectors. At the same time, Knasas argues, human persons are not philosophically quite as important as is often assumed, and the process of discerning being can play tricks on the human mind. Mentally taking in existents that lie at spatial, temporal, or conceptual extremes—a vast ocean view, a single atom, a fast...

Jägerstätter by Felix Mitterer

Reviewed by: Jägerstätter by Felix Mitterer Vincent Kling Felix Mitterer, Jägerstätter. Translation by Gregor Thuswaldner with Robert Dassanowsky. Introduction by Gregor Thuswaldner. Studies in Central European History Culture & Literature. New Orleans: U of New Orleans P, 2015. 106pp. The preface and introduction to this English edition of Mitterer’s acclaimed play sketch in the factors that long prevented the unusual and heroic story of Franz Jägerstätter from becoming generally known, in comparison with the reputations of other Austrian resistance figures. A simple farmer with no wider associations, Jägerstätter acted entirely alone, not as a member of any group or organization that could have drawn attention to him. Fully aware from early on of what awaited him, he was guided by his conscience as roused through the Gospels, and it is apt that the first book about him, Gordon Zahn’s In Solitary Witness (1964; 2nd ed. 1984), was titled Er folgte seinem Gewissen in its German translation (1967). Guided by his unshakable Catholic viewpoint, he was so at odds with his pastor and bishop in his lifetime that Church authorities blocked discussion of him in diocesan publications after 1945. Seditiously “disobedient” to his religious authorities and unpardonably “treasonous” to the state, he had no advocate and might well have remained virtually unknown had not Zahn come across his story in the course of other research. Zahn’s book, in turn, “influenced Vietnam War protesters in the United States”; indeed, Daniel Ellsberg stated that it was the example of Jägerstätter that lent him the courage to publish the Pentagon Papers. But respect for Jägerstätter is hardly unanimous. Considered a traitor by many even today, his beatification in 2007 was vehemently disputed in some rightist Catholic circles—especially by the military chaplain who confirmed Heinz-Christian Strache as an adult—to such an extent that Cardinal Schönborn of Vienna had to issue a reminder of the official status of the declaration, citing the words of Pope Benedict xvi (not precisely a liberal), who extolled the heroism of the new beatus and declared St. Radegund, Jägerstätter’s home village in Upper Austria, a place of pilgrimage to the memory of a moral hero worthy of emulation. The prefatory materials in this edition are of great value to anyone, especially to the non-specialist. (The back matter includes the same photographs from the original German edition.) The footnotes and bibliography gather into one place most of the salient sources from the standpoint of the historian [End Page 153] and thus constitute a good beginning point for additional research. Thuswaldner likewise brings together the major literary and filmic treatments of the subject in connection with detailing how Mitterer came to write his play on a commission by actor Gregor Bloéb (brother of actor Tobias Moretti, incidentally) in 2011. Besides Mitterer’s play, by now famous, Thuswaldner mentions a one-woman show called Franziska Jägerstätter erzählt and another play and a novel about the man. The introduction also contains a well-argued appreciation of Mitterer, underestimated because so much of his work is popular in tone and deceptively provincial and folkloristic—but with universal value and insight apparent to those who pay attention. Noting that the premiere at the Theater in der Josefstadt in June 2013 was a success, Thuswaldner also conveys Mitterer’s stated reasons for writing the play in the first place, most of them related to the human warmth of the subject. Jägerstätter started as anything but a conventional saint—a drinker and a brawler who became a loving husband and father, an adventurous and high-spirited youth (he owned the first motorcycle in the area) whose deepening faith arose from an utterly unpretentious and courageous nature that did not allow his fierce convictions to be even slightly compromised. Mitterer stresses the protagonist as “a struggling and insecure human being” and gains great emotional immediacy by focusing on Jägerstätter’s discordant environment, not only family and friends but also “his priest and bishop who repeatedly urge him not to follow his conscience, but to take up arms in Hitler’s...

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation as an Encounter with God and Experience of His Mercy

In summary it should be stated that the right experience of sacrament of penance and reconciliation depends on meeting with God who is the merciful Father. Without this fundamental meaning this sacrament will be taking the form of less or more formal duty. The penitent will never experience undeserved mercy and love which obtains for free from the Father of mercy who is still looking him for. In order to reach an objective one should eliminated the wrong images of God as the ruthless or implacable guard and bookkeeper which is the obstacle in the sensitive experience of Father love. One should explain anew the problem of the free choice of the man and his freedom which in case of misunderstanding make him a tool of unconscious mechanism, impulses, and injured. The achievement of social sciences should be considered but the conclusions should be treated carefully, because they may exceed the scope their own competence. The Church should defend this difficult and at the same time constructive sacrament and its practice, showing its beauty and also both individual and community fruits.

Przebaczenie grzechów w nauczaniu Jana Chryzostoma. Zarys problematyki

This article attempts to show the teaching of John Chrysostom (c. 350-407) on the mercy of God and His love for mankind, which mani­fests itself in the forgiveness of sins. God loves all people, but sometimes allows them to suffer in order to bring them closer to Himself and show them His love (Chrysostom uses here the image of the father and the doctor). The loving close­ness of God is an invitation for sinners to return to their loving Father. The Church is an area of activity of the merciful God. It is in the Church that the sinner can obtain forgiveness by practicing repentance. However, the return to the merciful Father cannot be limited to an act of will, but the decision of will must be followed by action – concrete attitude expressing a real desire to implement the decision.

Jomar S. Tinaza, MD (1969-2015)

Jomar S. Tinaza, MD (1969-2015)

The "Beloved Sons" of Jubilees

This paper focuses on the Jubilean portrayal of Shem, Isaac, and Jacob as beloved sons. In all three cases, their parents’ affection for their scions is modeled on Jacob’s favoring of Joseph, thus indicating that Shem, Isaac, and Jacob were loved more than their brothers. The themes of human parental love, divine election, birthright, and inheritance being interwoven in all three cases, human parental love functions primarily to signal the status of those sons who form the heirs through whom the Israelite line will be maintained. Their characterization as “beloved” also highlights Israel’s prominence amongst the nations - their siblings, in contrast, being destined to become the fathers of the gentile nations. On basis of the fact that the biblical texts relate the image of God as father to His love for and election of His children, Jubilees also presents human parental love as following (upon) God’s election of a favored son. The combination of the motif of God as a loving father with the verse that “Because He loved your fathers, He chose their heirs after them” (Deut 4:37) appears to have led the Jubilean author to assume that the Israelites’ ancestors were the object of divine parental love. He then takes this idea one step further, presenting patriarchal parental love as paralleling God’s love/election.