I will be beginning a series of blogs on the book, Christians who Counsel, by Ray Anderson. He begins chapter one discussing a theological anthropology of human relationships. In the creation account of Genesis 2, where God says that Adam is "not good" by himself, we can often be completely dismissive of the true significance of what is being said here. God admits that his presence is not sufficient for the human creature to be complete. Even after bringing the animals to Adam, God realized that Adam needed a companion that would be the female to his maleness.
This declaration that the solitary human is not good is important. From it we can correct any belief that we have that unhappiness in life is necessarily a spiritual issue, between God and the individual. Here we see that God created us to be in relationship with one another. That relationship is to be one of equality and co-laboring.
Personally I find that this theological truth relieves me from thinking that my spiritual growth only comes from private prayer and meditation and that social relations fell into a different category. On the contrary, it is clearly evident that God created us to be in relationship with both God and other humans. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments are to obey God and love your neighbor. Neither can be separated from the other.
Anderson's conclusion is that there are three parts of being human that support one another. They are relating to yourself, relating to others, and relating to God. Relating to yourself properly means that you see yourself as God's creation and thus see value and purpose in your life and beauty in your life. Relating to others means that you have relationships that create meaning for your life and that allow for mutual help in times of need. Finally, relating to God means placing yourself in humble obedience to God's will and living in his grace.
This theological anthropology reminds us that we were created for real relationships and so true "spirituality" means that we are living with others in a vulnerable and open position. For therapists, it is the reminder that we can bring the kingdom of God simply by having fellowship with those who are in isolation, whether physically or emotionally. We can help people who have tried to live a full life in 2, 1, or even none of the three relational areas and bring them to wholeness in God's image for them.
2 comments:
Hello. I've just discovered your blog and have been reading it for the past couple of days. I'm glad to have access to your thoughts, especially the integration of faith and psychology. Some time perhaps you could write about how one studying intro psychology (such as myself) could start to integrate faith with those studies? I'm sure just walking with God and studying psychology is the foundation of that. Anyway, enjoying your writing.
Hi, I appreciate the encouraging comment. If you are interested in learning more about the integration of psychology and faith, I'd suggest you look at the links entitled "Psychology Blogs." As for learning about integrating faith with topics in intro psychology, I would recommend asking yourself "If this is true, how would it affect my faith?" I don't believe in separating "body" and "soul" so I would say that everything you learn about physiology, cognitive psych, and all the other topics you cover in intro psych will impact your understanding of your own spirituality in many unseen ways. Good luck with your studies and I hope that you test all knowledge with a humble faith that is willing to grow but never falters.
Post a Comment