Pastoral Theological Perspective Research Articles

‘Love of the Nation’ and the Church in China: An Issue of Belonging and Moral Identity

Abstract This article contributes to a deeper understanding of Christian patriotism in China by reflecting on the phenomenon from a pastoral-theological perspective and by considering the sociocultural meaning of patriotism in the Chinese context. Through three examples, the author analyzes different discourses of Christian patriotic identity, which represent a large specter of contemporary Protestant Christianity in China. She demonstrates that the phenomenon of Chinese Christian patriotism primarily concerns moral identity and is only secondarily a political issue.

Assessing Kenyan Catholics’ Understanding of Human Sexuality on the Basis of Individuals Associated with Shalom Center in Mitunguu: A Theological-Pastoral Perspective

The aim of the article is to discuss the understanding of human sexuality evinced by a group of Kenyan Catholics from the methodological perspective of pastoral theology, pointing out certain conclusions and pastoral suggestions. The article comprises the following parts: theological-normative, sociological, and theological-postulating. The first synthetically presents human sexuality from the point of view of the teaching of the Catholic Church, the second discusses methodology and results of the conducted empirical research, while the third presents conclusions and suggestions for pastoral care of families. The research results show that the majority of respondents shared Catholic convictions on sexuality. However, less than half of the respondents believed that love of a man and a woman serves to transmit life to children and that true love of a man and woman requires an indissoluble marriage. A quite high percentage of respondents did not agree that sexual intercourse aims to forge a psychological and spiritual bond between the partners. Women more rarely than men shared Catholic convictions on human sexuality and more rarely than men believed that a human being should not be used as if he/ she was an object. This may show women’s lack of access to education as well as a strong impact of local traditional cultural models on their understanding of the role of women. These results point to some missionary-pastoral challenges, especially as regards education of youth, spouses, and spouses-to-be, as well as that of clergy, catechists, and lay employees of family ministry.

Liebe aus dem Internet. Tinder-App als Herausforderung für die pastorale Tätigkeit der Kirche

The contemporary, expansive development of the Internet and all kinds of mobile tools has changed all areas of human life. Food, health, entertainment, work, social and family ties – all this and many other areas of life are woven into virtual reality. This has also affected the way of getting to know the chosen ones in life. The mobile world has been offering many digital dating tools to seek love of one’s life”. One of them is the “Tinder” mobile application. It is this tool that the article examines, first by analyzing the phenomenon of this invention and its popularity in the context of social sciences, then by discussing it in the perspective of pastoral theology. In the sections of the article, the author presents the following issues: what Tinder consists of; the usage statistics for this tool; the philosophical-sociological background of online-dating; the characteristics of the generation of Tinder users and – finally – the challenges and inspirations Tinder presents to the pastoral care of the Church.

Social and Political Freedom: a Pastoral Theological Perspective—Part II

Social and Political Freedom: a Pastoral Theological Perspective—Part II

When Xenophobia Spreads Like a Plague: A Critical Pastoral Theological Reflection on Anti-Asian Racism During the COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT As the coronavirus pandemic exponentially mushrooms across the globe, xenophobia comes after it almost immediately. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, Asians and Asian Americans have been subject to various types of anti-Asian violence. From a pastoral theological perspective, this social phenomenon is deeply troubling because Asians and Asian Americans continue to be victimized by racial biases and social prejudices. How should we then address this communal crisis theologically? I answer this question by uncovering the hidden stereotypical, sociocultural narratives that have historically contributed to scapegoating people of Asian descent. In doing so, I critically appropriate René Girard’s social analytic framework and theological insights, especially engaging in his ideas such as mimetic desires, the scapegoat mechanism, and the sacralizing of violence. I argue that to dismantle and shift the scapegoating narrative, it is imperative for the racially victimized and socially marginalized to resist the toxic mechanism of victimization in solidarity.

Social and Political Freedom: A Pastoral Theological Perspective—Part I

Pastoral theology can contribute to the discourse on social-political freedom. More specifically, the concepts of care and faith—theologically, existentially, and psychologically understood—provide an innovative and illuminating perspective on the notions of social and political freedoms as well as how they are related. A focus on the dynamics of faith and care vis-a-vis freedom, for instance, also renders a diagnosis of the social-political pathologies of neoliberal capitalism with its atomization of human beings, distortion of accountability, and exploitation of human beings and the earth. To move in this direction, part I of this paper offers a brief overview of some of the salient features of discourses on political freedom in the West, namely, justice, equality, rights, reason, and agency. Noticeably absent is any connection between political freedom and civic care and civic faith. This sets the stage, then, for a discussion on care and faith vis-a-vis social and political freedom, which is developed in part II of this paper. Part II, which will appear in the next issue of this journal, develops a view of freedom relying first on the pre-political space of parent–child interactions and how they relate to the child’s emerging experience of and capacity for social freedom. Once this is developed, I shift to differentiating between social and political freedoms, which allows me to reimagine political freedom in terms of the dynamics of care and faith.

A Pastoral Theology of Dwelling: Political Belonging in the Face of a Pandemic, Racism, and the Anthropocene Age

ABSTRACT The recent pandemic has accompanied a surge of protests against racial injustice in the United States and around the world, which together are occurring during a growing recognition that the world is in the midst of a sixth extinction event. These three events (and others) have in common the question of how we (human and other-than-human beings) shall live or dwell together on this one earth. In this article, I first sketch out the various existential features of dwelling. This sets the foundation for moving to a pastoral theological perspective on dwelling and its relation to the pandemic, racism/classism, and the Anthropocene Age.

Guns and human suffering: A pastoral theological perspective

This article considers the immensity of human suffering caused by gun violence. In an attempt to understand why the United States has not been able to enact reasonable gun control measures, I explore the origins and influence of gun culture and its shaping by the National Rifle Association (NRA). This situation is discussed from theological perspectives and concepts of idolatry, redemptive violence, the spiraling effects of violence as sin, and the nonviolence of Jesus. Finally, I consider pastoral responses in caring for individuals, the faith tradition, the congregation, and the larger sociocultural context.

Pastoral Theology and Sovereignty: Thinking and Being Otherwise

ABSTRACT This article examines the issue of sovereignty from the perspective of pastoral theology and its core principle of care. It is argued that God's infinite care of human beings, manifested in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, makes sovereignty inoperative. Inoperativity means the foundation of care orders relationships such that sovereignty and its attending mimetic violence are deactivated, inviting the possibility of relations that do not operate out of questions and answers of who rules. What this pastoral theological perspective offers is the ‘weak' transgressive power of the reality of care when it comes to the ‘strong' governing power associated with sovereignty and its theologies of subordination. This ‘weak' transgressive power is or can be a source of political resistance. This ‘weak’ power of care precedes questions of sovereignty and, while sovereigns can eschew care, they cannot eradicate this existential reality, which is a source of resistance.

Subjective and Personal Dimension of Healthcare in Pastoral Theological Reflection

The aim of the article is to indicate new possibilities of health protection from the perspective of pastoral theology. The Church’s teaching on the protection of human life and health is very rich. It should also be pointed out that the Church supports all social initiatives to reform health care, especially is humanisation and personalisation, which can lead to better care for the sick, but also create new opportunities in the field of health prevention, in promoting healthy lifestyles and in supporting the pursuit of daily life hygiene. Thanks to the humanisation and personalisation of health care, it will be more effective to deformalize it, so that money, profit or savings do not obscure the most important goal: to provide comprehensive care for the sick person. The good of an ill person is body health and mental balance, but the greatest gift is always to be close to God, according to the principle that people are closest to God when they give health to other people.

고전 목회학에서 보는 목회 비효율성의 원인과 그 극복에 대한 연구 - Charles Bridges와 Thomas C. Oden을 중심으로 -

고전 목회학에서 보는 목회 비효율성의 원인과 그 극복에 대한 연구 - Charles Bridges와 Thomas C. Oden을 중심으로 -

An Orthodox Model of Practical/Pastoral Theology

AbstractThis study explores the Orthodox vision of theology as holistic, where liturgical and sacramental life on the one hand, and social action and commitment on the other hand are inextricably connected. Theology appears as an inseparable whole and therefore, all theology is implicitly practical/pastoral. The study approaches the Orthodox response to the western perspective of pastoral theology as engagement of the entire community of the Church. The concept of

The Meaning of Life

This essay answers the question of the meaning of life. It does so from the perspective of pastoral theology by turning to a children’s story: William Joyce’s award-winning The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. After the introduction, this essay has two basic parts. The first part describes the context of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, summarizes its narrative, and explores its reception. The second part articulates three ways in which The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is suggestive for pastoral theology with regard to questions of meaning—existentially, psychologically, and morally. In doing so, the essay builds on Donald Capps’s insights in The Poet’s Gift, assumes the perspective of Victor Frankl as articulated in Man’s Search for Meaning, and suggests that the reframing technique of dereflection is especially useful with regard to the preservation of meaning. This essay also includes a considerable amount of primary source material from an interview with William Joyce conducted by the author.

„... was das Ich nicht weiß und nicht versteht“

Abstract Dealing with Dreams from the Perspective of Pastoral Theology and Aesthetics. The article discusses a book on dreams and their origin, written from a strictly anthropological perspective by the psychological therapist and psychiatrist Boris Wandruszka, published in 2008. The questions is pursued as to why the medical author nevertheless refers to God as an agency of the dreams and how theology can help to clarify what such references can mean and should not mean.

긍정심리학에 대한 목회신학적 비평과 목회상담 활용가능성에 대한 연구

긍정심리학에 대한 목회신학적 비평과 목회상담 활용가능성에 대한 연구

Understanding Loss, Mourning, and Caring - From a Perspective of Pastoral Theology

The purpose of this article is to understand loss, mourning, and caring from a perspective of pastoral theology. While overcoming the linear description of loss and mourning, this study is also to explore the comprehensive process of loss and mourning, and to present an effective method of pastoral care in order to promote the healing of loss and mourning. As if going up the spiral steps, the process of mourning involves the dynamic and complicated dimensions which includes the interactive changes of emotion, and thought, and behavior. As such, pastoral caregiver helps the mourner to (re)form the relational self, while both listening empathically the voice of mourner and paying attention to the painful situation. Pastoral caregiver needs to share the sense of loss and grief, and needs to guide the mourner to establish the new and alternate relationship. Pastoral caregiver is able to use the following method of pastoral care in order to enhance the healing of mourning: 1) to express freely the sense of deep grief in a safe place, 2) to confront with the reality of loss, 3) to accept positively the mourner himself/herself, 4) to relate with other people in the community, 5) to reflect on the life and death in the religious/spiritual dimension, 6) to reorganize the sense of loss and to proceed with new life. In the healing process of mourning, ‘the ability to mourn deeply’ denotes ‘the ability to relate wholly.’ As such, pastoral caregiver leads the mourner to recover the relationships of mourner-mourner himself/herself, mourner-others(e.g., church community members or local community members), and mourner-the divine/God. From a perspective of pastoral theology, Christians enable to accept positively human finitude (which includes loss and death) in the providence of God’s creation. ‘We are able to mourn together’ means ‘we are able to love one another’ through the compassionate love of God. Especially, we enable to see God who suffers with us in the context of loss and grief, to share our own pain and suffering, and to make together a new hope in the presence of God.

TOWARD A PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL PHENOMENOLOGY: CONSTRUCTING A REFLEXIVE AND RELATIONAL PHENOMENOLOGICAL METHOD FROM A POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVE

Few practical or pastoral theologians reflect on the philosophical background of the qualitative methodologies that practical and pastoral theologians often use for their empirical research. In the absence of such reflection, pastoral theologians are in danger of choosing their research methods as one might choose a recipe from a cookbook, without reflecting on the philosophical grounding of such methods. Qualitative research methods, as social science methods, come with philosophical values that can conflict with theological commitments that pastoral theologians have. I perceive some urgency in the need for such reflection, especially as students in practical theology departments are expected to conduct qualitative research, despite the rarity of pastoral or practical theological reflection to help them navigate the complicated process of choosing a methodology congruent with their theological commitments.In this paper, after I locate my pastoral theology, I will reflect on one phenomenological research method, as this particular method is deeply rooted in a philosophy that has the potential to conflict with theological commitments that many pastoral theologians hold. I will examine the philosophy’s history and assumptions, which will lead to a revision of this method from a postcolonial and pastoral theological perspective. I argue that the reflexivity of the researcher needs to be included in the phenomenological reduction process.1

RESILIENCE OF FAITH COMMUNITIES ON THE CAPE FLATS (SA): A PASTORAL THEOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Coloured and Black communities on the Cape Flats were established on the Cape Flats as part of Verwoerdian Apartheid, a massive programme of social engineering implemented by the National Party which came to power in 1948 in South Africa (Schärf, 1990:233). Through legislation such as the Population Registration Act (1950) and its ‘twin partner’, the Group Areas Act (1950), people were forcibly removed and uprooted from homes and communities where they had been living for generations. Old, ordered communities were disrupted, families were forcefully removed from communities where they knew their neighbours and where social life was in many instances organised around the church, to new neighbourhoods where people were strangers to one another – ‘to soulless townships across the Cape Flats’. In these new townships on the Cape Flats, faith communities had to reestablish, re-align and re-invent themselves to face the new challenges presented to the people of the Cape Flats. Faith communities have indeed continued to play a vital role of healing, sustaining, guiding, reconciling, nurturing and empowering people throughout years of oppression and suppression, trials and tribulations. This paper looks at the resilience shown by faith communities on the Cape Flats over many years from a pastoral theological perspective and at some of the lessons we can learn with regard to congregational care.

A Social Constructionist Therapeutic Approach to the Authoritarianism in the Contemporary Korean Society: From a Perspective of Pastoral theology as Public Theology

A Social Constructionist Therapeutic Approach to the Authoritarianism in the Contemporary Korean Society: From a Perspective of Pastoral theology as Public Theology

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AS A RESOURCE FOR PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND CARE: A PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT

This article explores the potential of positive psychology as a conversation partner for pastoral theology and its related practical disciplines. It begins with a brief introduction to the field of positive psychology, followed by a review of pastoral theologian Robert Wicks’ use of positive psychology in a recent text and a reflection on implications for pastoral theology and care. The article then offers a critical evaluation of positive psychology, noting its strengths and weaknesses from a pastoral theological perspective, as well as critiques in the scholarly and popular literature. The article concludes with a preliminary assessment of the value of positive psychology for the field of pastoral theology and care.