Being Human

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.

Responsibility

In my History and Systems of Psychology class we were given a scenario where we were asked whether or not we should take responsibility for the ways in which psychology has been used to abuse others. At first I had some trouble understanding so here's an example that helped me:
A client comes in and says their last therapist was verbally abusive. As a therapist myself do I see myself as connected to all other therapists as a member of that group? Do I therefore apologize to the client because I am "one" with that other therapist? Will the client hold me somewhat responsible (unconsciously) simply because I am a therapist?

I know that sometimes I take too much responsibility for things that occur. Just because I am mean to someone does not mean that I cause their reaction - but I nevertheless can think that way. But is taking responsibility for the actions of other people healthy? Should I apologize for being a man because men have done awful things? Should I apologize for being white because white people have done awful things?

I think the answer is a tentative yes. As a member of a group - whether voluntarily or not - I am connected with the other members of my group. People will therefore see me as being "one of them" and an apology can be useful for accepting that stereotyping people together is just a part of human nature. I need to accept that everybody places other people into groups and makes assumptions about them. We are not isolated from our group identity.

However, I recognize that I am not fully connected with people in my group and am thus autonomous and independent. It is not right for me to distrust all people of one group just because one member has done me wrong. I accept that one person holds the final responsibility. So while I am willing to accept that others will hold me responsible for what members of my groups have done - from other Christians, other psychologists, other men, other whites, other tall people, etc - I hope that I will be judged in the end for my own actions and for how I have shaped the groups I find myself in.