The Dark Night of the Soul: spiritual distress and its psychiatric implications

The Dark Night of the Soul is an expression describing phases in a person's spiritual life associated with a crisis of faith or spiritual concerns about the relationship with God, and which has intrinsic aspects of spiritual growth. This paper is concerned with the way in which those going through periods of angst and disillusionment do not see them as pathological phenomena. On the contrary, through a process of attribution of religious meaning they view them as opportunities for reflecting on their lives and as agents for beneficial change. Similarities and differences between the Dark Night and a depressive episode are discussed and illustrated using the accounts of five important religious figures. Their narratives have been constructed using original texts and their biographies. The Dark Night has clinical implications owing to the risk of its being pathologised, serving as a reminder of the importance of incorporating existential issues into clinical practice.     

Use of religious and spiritual interventions by trainees in APA-accredited Christian clinical psychology programs

Little is known about the effectiveness of Christian clinical programs accredited by the American Psychological Association in training students to use religious and spiritual interventions in therapy. We surveyed 162 student therapists from three such programs regarding their training experiences and use of religious and spiritual interventions. Self-reported competency and use of religious and spiritual interventions correlated with a number of training components. However, none of the training components predicted unique variance in regression equations above and beyond that of general professional training, personal religiousness, and intervention-specific training. Suggestions are offered regarding intervention-specific training in both Christian and secular programs, the role of personal therapy in training, and the development of guidelines for competency in using religious and spiritual interventions.     

Skilled help for mental health concerns: comparing the perceptions of Catholic priests and Catholic parishioners

This brief pilot study explored associations between religious attachment (RA) and schizotypy in a nonclinical Christian sample (N = 96). Participants responded to questionnaires assessing the above constructs, as well as adult attachment and neuroticism. Religious attachment accounted for 15.2% of the variance in cognitive schizotypy. Anxious religious attachment uniquely predicted cognitive schizotypy, while its effects on other schizotypy traits were accounted for by adult attachment effects. Schizotypy research may benefit from considering attachment relationships in the religious domain. Should our findings be extended and replicated, they may aid the development of interventions, tailored for specific religious populations, which could improve treatment outcomes for schizotypal or schizophrenic individuals.     

Sexual violence perceptions among Christian college students

Sexual violence is a persistent problem, both nationally and globally, with college females having an elevated risk over their non-college peers. However, there have been limited studies exploring the beliefs that specific sub-populations, such as religious groups, have about sexual violence. A central objective of this study was to provide a better understanding of student needs in order to assist administrators and student service professionals as they offer support for students in Christian higher education settings. This study was a comprehensive, exploratory survey into the attitudes and perceptions of rape myth acceptance, sexism, authoritarianism, violence, and safety, as well as occurrence of sexual violence, among Christian college students at a mid-Atlantic Christian university was conducted. The results demonstrate which concepts relate to or were predicted by students’ rape myth acceptance, as well as ascertaining similarities and differences between secular and religious colleges. Recommendations for universities, program developers, and researchers are discussed.     

Effectiveness of an MP3 Christian mindfulness intervention on mindfulness and perceived stress

ABSTRACT

Mindfulness is enfolded in therapies addressing mental health conditions and is informed by secular and Buddhist models. However, mindfulness interventions can be rooted in other theoretical and spiritual frameworks including Christianity, which parallels Buddhist-based mindfulness practices. This study evaluates a mindfulness–based intervention drawing from Christian spiritual practices and discusses its practical implications. The researcher explored whether a Moving Picture Experts Group-3 (MP3)-based Christian mindfulness intervention would improve mindfulness states and decrease stress, measured by the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), respectively. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) resulted in significant differences between pre- and post-test scores in experimental versus control groups on the MAAS and PSS after a 6–8-week intervention of a student sample (n?=?80) from two private, religiously-affiliated universities. Higher MAAS scores reflected improved mindfulness states, F(1,80)?=?11.947, p?=?.01 with a partial η^2?=?.134. Lower PSS scores reflect lowered perceived stress, F(1,80)?=?3.849, p?=?.053 with a partial η^2?=?.047.     

Hebraica veritas in the Brest Bible

Abstract

The Brest Bible is regarded traditionally as the first translation of the entire Scriptures from the original languages into Polish. This study assesses this claim. A cursory analysis reveals that the Brest translators generally followed the hebraica veritas. They made use of Stephanus's Latin Bible (1556/57) whose Old Testament text was the literal Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible by Santes Pagnini (Pagnino); the Vulgate text was also included. It is shown that where there are significant differences between the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible of the sixteenth century and Pagnini's version, the Brest Bible follows Pagnini. Its translators followed Pagnini in Stephanus's edition verse by verse, and also applied the latter's division into chapters and verses to the Polish text. It is, then, suggested that there is doubt whether the Brest translators translated directly from the original version, it being more likely that they availed themselves chiefly of Pagnini's Latin version.     

Missionary Institutes in the wake of the Second Vatican Council: the case of the Missionaries of Africa

It is legitimate to imagine that the Church would have been different had it not been for the courage and insight of Pope John XXIII, who convened the Second Ecumenical Council, completed after him by Pope Paul VI. It initiated extensive reform in the Catholic Church, both in the way she understands herself and as she sees her presence and interaction with the (secular) world. This Ecumenical Council also invited Religious Congregations and Institutes of Consecrated Apostolic Life to engage in a process of renewal (aggiornamento) that would bring them also into line with the new theology of the Second Vatican Council. The Missionaries of Africa, under the leadership of Fr Léo Volker, undertook this thorough renewal before, during and after the 1967 General Chapter. This article explores how aggiornamento changed our Missionary Family and how it impacted on the local churches in Africa which we served.     

Three Orthodox Models of Christian Unity: Traditionalist,Mainstream, Prophetic

The assumption is often made that the Orthodox Church has a unified approach to ecumenical engagement with other churches. This paper argues that while there is a ‘mainstream’ model (reflected especially in the thought of Georges Florovsky), there is also a minority ‘traditionalist’ model. While having radically different attitudes towards the modern ecumenical movement (traditionalists are vehemently opposed), both of these accept the premise that the historical Orthodox Church alone is the fullness of the Christian Church and that doctrinal agreement and incorporation into the Orthodox Church must precede sacramental communion. A more open alternative model (‘prophetic’) reflects proposals made in the twentieth century by theologians such as Sergius Bulgakov, Nicholas Afanasiev, Anton Kartashev and Nicholas Zernov. These were not taken up at the time but it is argued that they deserve to be studied again by Orthodox bishops and ecumenical leaders as possibilities for bold prophetic action toward Christian unity.     

COLLECTIVE RELIGIO‐SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSIONS ON ISLAM AND HIV/AIDS: I. BIOMEDICAL SCIENTISTS

During the 1990s, biomedical scientists and Muslim religious scholars collaborated to construe Islamic responses for the ethical questions raised by the AIDS pandemic. This is the first of a two‐part study examining this collective legal reasoning (ijtihād jamā‘ī). The main thesis is that the role of the biomedical scientists is not limited to presenting scientific information. They engaged in the human rights discourse pertinent to people living with HIV/AIDS, gave an account of the preventive strategy adopted by the World Health Organization, and offered an (Islamic) virtue‐based preventive model. Finally, these scientists tried to draft a number of Islamic legal rulings (a?kām), usually seen in Islamic jurisprudence as the exclusive business of Muslim religious scholars. This multilayered role played by the scientists reflects intriguing developments in the Islamic religio‐ethical discourse in general and in the field of Islamic jurisprudence in particular.     

GLOBAL BIOETHICS: TRANSNATIONAL EXPERIENCES AND ISLAMIC BIOETHICS

In the 1970s “bioethics” emerged as a new interdisciplinary discourse on medicine, health care, and medical technologies, primarily in Western, developed countries. The main focus was on how individual patients could be empowered to cope with the challenges of science and technology. Since the 1990s, the main source of bioethical problems is the process of globalization, particularly neo‐liberal market ideology. Faced with new challenges such as poverty, inequality, environmental degradation, hunger, pandemics, and organ trafficking the bioethical discourse of empowering individuals is no longer sufficient. Global bioethics nowadays is concerned with applying and implementing a universal ethical framework. Islamic bioethics has contributed to creating such framework (exemplified in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights) while at the same time it is continuously articulating and interpreting this framework in specific settings and contexts.