June 20, 2009 · 2:33 pm

A Christian Psychology 2


Chapter 2 of Eric Johnson’s book, Foundations for Soul Care(IVP, 2007) traces the use of the bible as soul healing agent throughout the history of the church. Eric explores the work of early church fathers, medieval church, reformation, and Puritanism as examples of soul care writings based on the biblical text.

The chapter then moves to consider the historical movement of the relationship between Christianity and science. While early scientists saw their field of study as something revealing evidence of God’s handiwork, a “fracture” begins with Enlightenment thinking.

Ironically, while Christianity contributed to the development of the scientific revolution, that revolution came to be increasingly linked to an alternative worldview: modernism (p. 63)

 Eric does a nice job summarizing the transition. One moves from the use of metaphysics, tradition, and revelation (Eric’s words) to a focus on the specific object of study and the use of observation. Thus, human reason and empiricism rule the day.

At core what distinguishes modernism and Christianity as ways of thinking about human life are their different ultimate commitments. Christianity assumes a God-centered worldview in which the individual self (with its submissive reason) is seen as relatively important in relation to the rest of creation but relatively unimportant in comparison to the infinite God. In such a framework, science is a noble task done first for the glory of God and second for the benefit of humanity, a good means to a greater end. Modernism inherited the self of Christianity, but without its God to keep things in proper perspective, the self became the center of the universe (an anti-Copernican revolution!), eventually regarding its own experience, together with its autonomous reason, as the foundations of truth and morality…Consequently, individualism–and not relationship–was established at the base of the modern worldview. (p. 65)

Eric goes on to talk about how Christianity imbibed the modernistic assumptions (either trying to use empiricism to defend fundamentalism or accepting that psychology is the best way to understand human functioning).

Eric does a good job summarizing the modern pastoral care movement and capitulation to psychotherapy models. Further, he shows how a Barthian model of soul care was not quite liberalism nor evangelicalism. Finally, he reviews the postmodern turn and “postliberal recovery.”

Johnson’s take on modern pastoral care movement? It doesn’t offer much to the evangelical in the way of thinking biblically about souls. The postliberal engagement with the Bible does two things: re-engages the text of Scripture as a real dialogue partner while not dismissing the helps within positivist psychology.

If you are unfamiliar with the modern history of Christian counseling and pastoral care, this is a great chapter to start with. You can get  a quick overview plus a bibliography to point you to original sources. The next chapters deal with evangelical and fundamentalist counseling models and how they dealt with Scripture (i.e., biblical counseling or integrationism).

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June 19, 2009 · 8:50 am

Vital Religion per Ben Franklin


I think vital religion has always suffered when orthodoxy is more regarded than virtue. And the Scriptures assure me that at the last day we shall not be examined by what we thought, but what we did…

Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

by W. Isaacson (Simon & Shuster, 2003)

My wife is reading this book and pointed out the quote to me. From Isaacson’s take, Franklin is less a deist than many have reported. And while he fought with some of his relatives over the meaning of faith, I think he does capture this sentiment right. It is possible to concern yourself so much with orthodoxy that you fail to miss the heart of the Gospel. Yes, Franklin did try to have virtue via his own power (a friend of his said something to the effect that Franklin’s efforts failed to tackle the virtue of humility or the vice of pride).  But nonetheless, virtue or act is what is asked of individuals. Did you clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned?

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June 18, 2009 · 4:02 pm

Making sense of things and the suffering it brings


Ever had the experience of having your brain work overtime to try to make sense of some action, something done to you?

Some things make no sense and we know it–things like the premature death of a single parent, a genocide, impulsive choices that make matters much worse, etc. Yet our minds keep trying to figure it out. Why? How come? What does it mean? If only I could understand what God was up to then I could…

Sometimes, trying to understand the incomprehensible compounds and adds to our present sufferings.

We then tend to respond in one of three ways, (a) give up and stop functioning, or (b) develop antiseptic conclusions (e.g., God is going to use this to bless me later), or (c) put our heads down, ignore the pain and do the thing in front of us.

Response b may in fact be true but often it is used to help the person dissociate from the incomprehensible in a way to keep living and moving.

What do you find most helpful when dealing with an unsuccessful attempt to make sense out of suffering? How do you avoid giving in to ruminations about unanswerable angsts or hopelessness or its opposite, baseless optimism that denies the present reality?

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June 16, 2009 · 12:40 pm

Ethics Codes and Christian Counselors


Last night was the last class session of my ethics and practicum orientation classes. In both places students were discussing matters related to mandated abuse reporting, dual relationships, and attitudes towards state and professional ethics codes.

Evangelical or conservative people tend to have several responses to ethics codes that I want to highlight here.

1. Fear. Actually almost every student has this reaction. The rules can be complex and their are vague rules about everything (barter, dual relationships, advertising, competency, etc) which may even seemingly contradict other rules. While they have been written to protect the client, following them often leads to both client and counselor having vulnerable feelings (i.e., abuse reporting rules) and feeling a bit out of control.

2. Rejection (or dismissal). One’s feelings about government regulation and whether submitting oneself to a secular agency (licensing board, professional organization) may tempt the counselor to think little of the codes. In particular, the heavy emphasis on avoiding dual relationships where possible seems wrongheaded to many ministry minded individuals. It would seem that sterile counseling relationships (no touch, no informality, no friendship, keeping mental health records, etc.) run counter to the values of brother/sister relationships in church settings.

3. Fastidiousness. Maybe this is really just as number one. But some respond to ethics codes by being ethics junkies. They fastidiously keep every iota and in so doing tend to suck the humanity out of the counseling relationship.

A better way?

The first time you face something completely new, fear is common. With repeated contact, comfort can develop. At least that is what I told myself after my 3rd statistics and research design class. Remembering that these rules are designed not merely to catch you doing wrong but to help protect you and your clients might help. The more you talk about them with others (including the spirit of the rule, not just the letter), the more you will relax.

Also, paranoia is not a good character feature for counselors. Thus, if you have a tendency to see the government as all bad all the time…if you think alarmist conservative talk radio is right from God’s mouth to your ear…if you look at every psychological ethics rule as anti-Christian, you may not be right for this field. In fact, such feelings may induce pride, arrogance and forgetting that the number one goal is avoiding client exploitation and increasing client protection (yes, even from themself).  Further, 1 Peter 2 reminds you to submit to your authorities and governments–even if they are harsh…so you can silence ignorant talk and not use your “freedom as a cover-up for evil.”

Finally, don’t forget to be human. Cross your t’s, dot your i’s but do it while showing concern for the person in front of you. Some of your ethical standards may seem foreign to others. A kind explanation can do wonders.

Hey, and don’t forget to seek out consultation and/or supervision. There is NO reason you should be going this path alone.

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June 15, 2009 · 9:46 am

Getting Ready for Rwanda and remembrances from 1986


Spent some time getting supplies ready for my upcoming trip (June 22-July1). I’m always a bit stymied on what and how much to bring for clothes. Should I go light like a good Brit would? 2 shirts, 2 pants and call it good? What about my camera? I have a digital as well as a quality Minolta with a couple of lenses to choose from. What makes for a few nice gifts for those I meet?

I’ll be sure to have a couple of notebooks handy for writing my thoughts–since I won’t be bringing my laptop. Hope I can still write legibly. In looking for a few items, I came across my last travel journal from 1986-7 (Wow, 22 years since my last trip off the continent!). I was given it by college classmate Beth Lindenschmid (so it says on the inside cover) as a gift before leaving for a semester in Israel. What fun reading through it. Here’s a couple of things I noticed about life in 1987:

  1. I must have been popular. I got lots of letters from friends and family. And I wrote them too (and not the easy email kind).
  2. Out of all the folks I was either corresponding with or hanging out with, only one (outside of my parents) have I had any contact with in the last few years. Sad.
  3. I was worried about money. Postage seemed to be a big concern for me in my travel journal. How would I get to Egypt (I didn’t)?
  4. A good day entailed a nice view of some place in Israel, a freshly made pita, and a few friends for conversation. Pretty simple life.  
  5. I seemed pretty flexible then. We traveled places without an itinerary, found rooms to rent by meeting people on the street, walked in pretty remote places without as much as a map. I don’t feel quite as flexible as that on this trip though given our lack of specific itinerary (or correctly stated: our lack of knowing said itinerary), I’m likely to need to be more flexible than I like to be.  

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June 12, 2009 · 4:37 am

Why do people come to therapy?


In staff meeting yesterday Diane Langberg quoted J. Hillman (Dream Animals, 1997, p. 2):

“People come to therapy really for blessing. Not so much to fix what’s broken, but to get what’s broken blessed”

Sounds accurate to me

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June 11, 2009 · 9:01 am

Counselor Self Care


One of my former students, Eartha Holland, just got a short essay published by the Black American Association of Christian Counselors (BAACC). She had some really good points so I got permission from her to post her page here. Some good reminders of the necessity of caring for our own souls.Eartha-BAACC Self Care Article

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June 10, 2009 · 2:08 pm

A Christian Psychology Proposal 1


This summer I’m choosing to read through Eric Johnson’s Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal (IVP, 2007). Eric is the founding director of the Society for Christian Psychology. I’ve skimmed large portions of it before, had numerous, enjoyable conversations with Eric over the years, and am familiar (and mostly agree) with his ideas. But, I thought I might share of few tidbits now and again from what I’m reading. But realize the book is 700 plus pages (he tells me he had to cut 1/3 of his book to get it published!). So, I will not be blogging through it like I have done with others books.

What distinguishes this Christian Psychology?

The book attempts to lay out a framework of Christian psychology. Johnson says that a framework ought to include these core distinctives:

1. It is doxological. It should glorify God in all that it aims to do and understand.

2. It is semiodiscursive. Here, he uses this word to convey that any psychology is a use of words, descriptions, and interpretations that point to meaning. “…soul care is interested in the referential function of various aspects of human life: language, emotions, mental images, actions…”

3. It is dialogical/trialogical. It is relational and interactive rather than something that exists by itself.

4. It is canonical. The bible, Johnson says, is the Text of texts. There is a standard that is our guide for soul care.

5. It is psychological. It is interested in the “nature of human beings and their psychopathology and recovery….Christian soul-care providers study the bible not for its own sake but for the light it sheds on the nature of human beings and their well-being and improvement.” (p. 16) 

I encourage interested parties to read his first chapters. Chapter one, “The Place for the Bible in Christian Soul Care” acknowledges that “The entire canon shows a concern with human well-being with reference to God.” He goes on to explicate that by sampling from Old and New Testaments as well as to define “soul-healing to include both salvation and sanctification in both vertical and horizontal dimension. Soul healing is not merely for creating the right relationship with God but also for healing and strengthening human to human relationships.  Chapter 2 and 3 talk about the misuses of the Bible in both biblical counseling and Christian psychological venues.

This book is exceptionally focused on the foundations. So, we may not expect great focus on whether soul care will greatly reduce mental healthy symptoms. But, lest we only think pragmatic thoughts, we ought to step back and consider the basis of the practical–the theoretical and theological bases for our work.

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June 9, 2009 · 2:17 pm

Grade inflation?


My latest edition of the APA Monitor on Psychology has a little stat from www.gradeinflation.com that might interest you. Check out the extensive information at this site. Among other things are the findings that grade inflation began to be evident in the 1960s but really took of in the 1980s and hasn’t stopped.

In the 1930s, the average GPA at American colleges and universities was about 2.35, a number that corresponds with data compiled by W. Perry in 1943. By the 1950s, the average GPA was about 2.52. GPAs took off in the 1960s with grades at private schools rising faster than public schools, lulled in the 1970s, and began to rise again in the 1980s at a rate of about 0.10 to 0.15 increase in GPA per decade. The grade inflation that began in the 1980s has yet to end.

Further, private (and more expensive) schools seem to have much higher inflation in grades that in public schools. The author suggests that the reason is likely the result of the consumer mentality of education these days–you pay a lot for a degree, you want the reward of a good grade.

The author believes that the resurgence of grade inflation in the 1980s principally was caused by the emergence of a consumer-based culture in higher education. Students are paying more for a product every year, and increasingly they want and get the reward of a good grade for their purchase. In this culture, professors are not only compelled to grade easier, but also to water down course content. Both intellectual rigor and grading standards have weakened. The evidence for this is not merely anecdotal. Students are highly disengaged from learning, are studying less than ever, and are less literate. Yet grades continue to rise. (emphasis mine)

According to the author, schools with lax selection standards and community colleges (who probably accept most everyone with a high school diploma or GED) seem to have a much lower grade inflation rate. Why? There isn’t pressure on the profs to give great grades.

Other factors involved?

1. Not denying the author’s findings but we should remember that prestigious schools (with larger rejection rates) do not have a normal distributions of students. Most are high quality. It becomes harder and harder to determine the quality of the very very good from the really good. When there is confusion there will always be pressure to get as much as you can for your work as a student.

2. The philosophy of “everyone wins” is pervasive. Every kid gets a medal for trying at their sport. Every college kid gets an A for trying. I can’t deny that this idea exists.

3. Frankly, education is something to be consumed these days. “What can I do with this” is a much more frequent question than it was when I was in grad school in the 1980s. I don’t see as many students just in it for the love of learning. Is that because of the inflation of costs? Consumption driven education (i.e., my program) is concerned about the outcome rather than building the best creative and critical thinkers. If you value outcome over thinking, you have less to separate the genius students from the competent students. Therefore competency is rewarded and grades inflate because more are able to meet the standard of “competent.”

Grade inflation at Biblical?

Absolutely. But not equally across domains. I suspect we counselors give higher grades than do theology profs. Is it because we are soft and want everyone to be happy and like us? No. We have different philosophies. Like number 3 above, theology tends to focus on critical thinking and abstract ideas. As a result, there will be more diversity of grades with the best students getting the highest grades. However, in counseling classes we focus on skills(not to say we don’t want to build and support critical thinking). We tell the students the skills we want to see and if they can exhibit those skills, they get the good grade. In many ways, we have a Pass/Fail approach to grading (or in some of our courses, does not meet expectations, meets, exceeds) with the understanding that most will meet expectations if we have been really clear about our skills focus. The grade signifies they have the skill. Maybe our philosophy indicates that the grading system of A though F doesn’t really help determine who really is the most competent. For example, I can have students get As in their academic courses but not be interpersonally competent. When you choose a counselor, do you really want to pick on the basis of their GPA or on their ability to exhibit the skill of kindness, insight, and trustworthiness?

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June 8, 2009 · 10:01 am

Hooking up less difficult than admitting love?


Listened this am to NPR’s Morning edition and a story on “hooking up.” Definitely worth your listening for the 8 minute story. Here’s a couple of amazing thoughts (not quotes) from female interviewees:

1. The hook-up is all about the tension, build-up, and the sex.

2. Dating actually costs too much money; hook-ups are much cheaper

3. Talking about being in love is more embarrassing than talking about one’s sex life (hooking up) on the radio.

4. Dating a guy means bringing him into your circle of close friends and the preference is to have the hook-up but do nothing that could harm real friendships

5. It is vulnerable to be needy of love. Not so of sex.

Scary stuff here. Think about it. Taking your clothes off and sharing genital sexual activity with an acquaintance puts you in a less vulnerable position than asking someone out for a formal date?  Can someone explain that one to me?

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