care of souls
CARE OF SOULS
A new form of counselling technique is emerging within Christian circles. It is called “soul care”. The term, itself, is an old concept which has been around for centuries, but its nature has evolved poorly having been buried under man’s interpretation of theology and science and, as a result, has lost its lustre. It is “new” because David Benner, PhD., in his book Care of Souls, resurrects the old, dusting off the residues of man’s attempt to turn this wonderful form of care into something scientific, and gives it a new face through his merging of psychology and spirituality into what he refers to as “psychospirituality”. It is soul care for the new millennium, which acknowledges the contributions of psychology as science, but does not allow them to overshadow the necessity to treat man as a spiritual being, created in the image of God. In other words, psychology is not to be afraid of the spiritual aspects of human nature, and Christians, or other spirituals, are not be afraid of the psychological. Benner’s model for soul care is basic. He begins by asserting that all humanity is incomplete until it finds its rest in God. All are on a search for meaning, success, happiness, etc. which underlies a basic longing to come into communion with God. Whether the individual is conscious of the reasons for his search is irrelevant to the fact that the Spirit calls all into the endeavour to know God better. Before Benner begins defining his psychospirituality, he lays the foundation by focussing on what he believes to be the essence of Christian spirituality. He states that, Christians view their spirituality in their commitment to Jesus Christ, which is nurtured by grace in the forms of fellowship, scripture and prayer. Relationship with God, Who is a mystery that can only be known through Jesus, is a basic tenet of Christian spirituality. However, Benner also asserts that knowledge of God needs to also come through knowledge of oneself.
A new form of counselling technique is emerging within Christian circles. It is called “soul care”. The term, itself, is an old concept which has been around for centuries, but its nature has evolved poorly having been buried under man’s interpretation of theology and science and, as a result, has lost its lustre. It is “new” because David Benner, PhD., in his book Care of Souls, resurrects the old, dusting off the residues of man’s attempt to turn this wonderful form of care into something scientific, and gives it a new face through his merging of psychology and spirituality into what he refers to as “psychospirituality”. It is soul care for the new millennium, which acknowledges the contributions of psychology as science, but does not allow them to overshadow the necessity to treat man as a spiritual being, created in the image of God. In other words, psychology is not to be afraid of the spiritual aspects of human nature, and Christians, or other spirituals, are not be afraid of the psychological. Benner’s model for soul care is basic. He begins by asserting that all humanity is incomplete until it finds its rest in God. All are on a search for meaning, success, happiness, etc. which underlies a basic longing to come into communion with God. Whether the individual is conscious of the reasons for his search is irrelevant to the fact that the Spirit calls all into the endeavour to know God better. Before Benner begins defining his psychospirituality, he lays the foundation by focussing on what he believes to be the essence of Christian spirituality. He states that, Christians view their spirituality in their commitment to Jesus Christ, which is nurtured by grace in the forms of fellowship, scripture and prayer. Relationship with God, Who is a mystery that can only be known through Jesus, is a basic tenet of Christian spirituality. However, Benner also asserts that knowledge of God needs to also come through knowledge of oneself.