Spiritual Formation in Christian School Counseling Programs

This article makes the case that Christian school counselors should be more directly engaged in student spiritual formation. To accomplish this aim, the historical context for the discussion is first explored, followed by a review of contemporary medical and psychological research associating a positive spirituality with healthy functioning across a variety of developmental domains. The argument is then situated within developmental theory and systems thinking as well as the Christian theological—philosophical writings of John Macmurray. Recommendations for improving Christian school counseling practice as they relate to student spiritual formation are included.     

Ecology and its Spiritual Significance: a Christian Reading

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - The present paper is based on the contention that there are two conceptions of the understanding of nature, nature as an object and nature as...     

Prolonging life: an Orthodox Christian perspective.

While Orthodox Christianity does not find explicit statements about the morality of prolonging life in the usual doctrinal sources, the Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church, there are elements in Tradition which bear upon the issue. These include Orthodox spirituality's emphasis on the "wholeness" of the human person, its liturgical and synergistic view of human life, and its understanding of our moral ambiguity as fallen human beings in a fallen world. This last point, in particular, means that we do not usually have a clear choice between right and wrong, and that we cannot always trust ourselves to know which choice is the right, or even the better one. Therefore, we must always approach decisions about death and dying with humility and in a spirit of repentance, aware of the imperfection of all we do and trusting in the mercy of God.     

Christian Life Emphasis in the Retirement Community: A Koinonia of Spiritual Awareness

ABSTRACT

Retirement Community living sponsored by groups of churches or related, in any direct sense, to a purpose that is called Christian, should, in very specific ways, demonstrate that faith in Christ is an integral part of resident life.

An organization, within the retirement community of Holly Hall in Houston, Texas, seeks to fulfill that requirement by a deliberate commitment to what is called Christian Life Emphasis. It involves a variety of bonding rituals and a ministry of resident to resident that enables spiritual awareness to permeate the continuum of care.     

Christian Perspectives on Spiritual Needs of a Human Being

SUMMARY

Each human being, independent of culture, time, and age has three fundamental needs. A need for biophysical exchanges, a need for psychosocial exchanges, and a need for spiritual-integrated exchanges. Spiritual needs are not separated from biological, social, psychological, and material aspects of life. Christian spirituality today is oriented toward responding to life, to its beauty and injustices, to the universe, and is responsive and responsible to the poor. Some specific tasks for older people today are commitment to the great causes of justice, peace, and environmental protection, and a deeper bond of love for God and fellow man.     

Therapists' Use of Religious and Spiritual Interventions in Christian Counseling: A Preliminary Report

This study explored the use of religious and spiritual interventions in counseling by Christian therapists (N = 100). Use of religious and spiritual interventions correlated with personal religiousness and clinical training involving religious clients and religious and spiritual interventions. Course work involving either psychology or theology did not correlate with use of or self‐reported competency in using religious and spiritual interventions. Self‐reported competency was associated with personal religiousness; professional beliefs, attitudes, and values; personal experiences with counseling; and clinical training involving religious clients and religious and spiritual interventions. It is suggested that training programs incorporate clinical rotations, workshops, and supervision involving religious clients and religious and spiritual interventions to teach therapists to use religious and spiritual interventions in counseling.     

A noble quest: cultivating Christian spirituality in Catholic adolescents and the usefulness of 12 pastoral practices

The essay considers the process of cultivating Christian spirituality in Catholic adolescents. It will integrate and document official Catholic Church teachings on the subject and also unofficial scholarly reflections. The exposé briefly defines adolescent spirituality and situates the process of cultivating adolescent spirituality in Catholic youth ministry. The concentration of the inquiry is predominantly single‐minded – addressing briefly – 12 Catholic spiritual virtues, traits, practices, and disciplines that cultivate adolescent spirituality in US Catholic young people.     

The dilemma of conscience in Christian belief: A pastoral perspective

This article describes the crisis of integrity experienced by a trinitarian Christian attempting to take seriously the results of current Jesus scholarship. It explores a number of traditional methods for reconciling the Jesus of history with the Christ of faith, and proposes a different paradigm, based on the structure of kairos time and the psychological dynamics of friendship.     

Spiritual experience and mental distress: A clergy perspective

This qualitative study is based on a small group of clergy in the UK. The study explored the clergy’s views and perceptions on the relationship between spiritual experience and mental distress. Six clergy were interviewed using a semi-structured technique, and the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed thematically. The findings explore the nature of spirituality in relation to mental distress highlighting a relationship between mental distress and spiritual experience and add to the debate surrounding these concepts. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Ethical issues in managed care: a Catholic Christian perspective.

A Christian analysis of the moral conflicts that exist among physicians and health care institutions requires a detailed treatment of the ethical issues in managed care. To be viable, managed care, as with any system of health care, must be economically sound and morally defensible. While managed care is per se a morally neutral concept, as it is currently practiced in the United States, it is morally dubious at best, and in many instances is antithetical to a Catholic Christian ethics of health care. The moral status of any system of managed care ought to be judged with respect to its congruence with Gospel teachings about the care of the sick, Papal Encyclicals, and the documents of the Second Vatican Council. In this essay, I look at the important conceptual or definitional issues of managed care, assess these concerns over against the source and content of a Catholic ethic of health care, and outline the necessary moral requirements of any licit system of health care.     

Chapter 9: A Christian Education for the Spiritual Growth of Senior Adults

SUMMARY

Spiritual maturity among older adults is not automatic. The achievement of this most significant and worthy goal is, in part, an individual's choice. However, it is assisted by the deliberate efforts of Christian education, as a church seeks to meet the needs of seniors by appealing to their life concerns. How this is done may vary, but the needs and interests of senior adults dictate that it must be done. This article provides an overview of older adults' needs as they relate to spiritual development, and then offers some general suggestions a church might consider for guiding them toward spiritual maturity.     

Spiritual pain: a brief overview and an initial response within the Christian tradition

The author notes that spiritual pain is widespread, both within individuals and society. Drawing on personal experiences and a literature survey, he offers an overview of current work on spiritual pain. As distinct from palliative caregivers, he suggests that spiritual pain can be noticed, but is difficult to define. Drawing on some of the Church's spiritual masters, the author offers a broad typology for spiritual pain, claiming that current methods for attending to spiritual pain are too complex to be useful. He therefore offers, and briefly explores, the image of retreat for attending to spiritual pain--compassionate hospitality, tempered by a form of "tough love" that enables the retreatAnt to embrace, welcome, and dialogue with pain. He suggests that essential features within such an image include an experience of support; a safe and sacred space, a sense of freedom; appropriate expressions of reassurance, and opportunities for forgiveness and reconciliation.     

A systematic review of religion/spirituality and sport: A psychological perspective

ObjectiveThe study aimed to review the existing literature on religion/spirituality (R/S) in sport from the psychological perspective.DesignA systematic review using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was employed.MethodThe literature search was completed in December 2018 using five different databases and Google Scholar. The titles and abstracts of the articles were reviewed for the selection process. The selected articles were classified into nine categories: the role of religion/spirituality, consultants, confidence, religious/spiritual faith, flow or being in the zone, identity, anxiety and depression, coping with adversity, and well-being and healing.ResultsA total of 56 studies met the criteria. The selected articles comprised various types of study design that were quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, as well as conceptual, review, theoretical, commentary, and perspective articles. The findings show that R/S can play a significant role among athletes in several ways (e.g., coping with uncertainties, building team cohesion, and alleviating anxiety). This study has also uncovered a few issues that should be emphasized for future research such as developing quantitative tools for R/S and sport-performance measurement and designing a religious/spiritual coping strategy that can be used among athletes from various cultures/religions.ConclusionAlthough R/S is often overlooked in sport psychology, the existing literature shows that it can have positive effects on mental health and contribute to achieving better sporting performance.     

Boundary maintenance and capital punishment: A sociological perspective

Capital punishment represents a sociolegal dilemma in the United States. While there is seemingly popular support in the country for the death penalty, a clear discriminatory bias exists challenging the foundation of American justice–that of fair treatment before the law. A review of sentencing practices and executions indicates major regional (south/non-south) differences regarding the proportion of executions in terms of both numbers and race. This social process is explained in terms of societal reaction/boundary maintenance model. One means of avoiding these regional biases and to ensure a more objective adjudication process would be to make capital crimes a federal offense.