CHRISTIAN HUMANISM AND PSYCHOTHERAPY: A RESPONSE TO BERGIN'S ANTITHESES

Abstract. Secular and religious values of psychotherapists influence the process of psychotherapy. The psychologist Allen Bergin has pointed out several major antitheses between values of secular psychotherapists and their religiously oriented clients. The present essay is a response to Bergin's antitheses, on the one hand, and to humanistic psychology, on the other, from the point of view of a Christian humanism. Karl Rahner's theological anthropology is proposed as one possible foundation for an explicit articulation of the relationship between psychotherapy and religion, and as a means to address apparently divergent values of psychotherapists and religious believers.     

BELIEFS OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER IN LIGHT OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENCE

Abstract. This paper states the author's understanding of the doctrines of the Christian faith in the light of her scientific background and her interpretation of current evolutionary, neuropsychologi–cal, and other scientific theories. It contains the actual ordination vows and her response to them, based upon an outline of questions suggested by the United Church of Christ.     

Formative and Transformative

This review essay discusses the significance of Charles Curran's contribution to the field of Catholic theological ethics. I suggest that Curran's theological voice is a distinct and important one, that his preoccupations mirror major concerns in moral theology, and that his approach has been shaped through his long‐standing ecumenical and interdisciplinary commitments. I consider four recent monographs and analyze Curran's impact under the headings of (1) the nature of moral theology; (2) the ecclesial shape of moral theology; (3) the (historical) contexts of moral theology; and (4) the (social) character of moral theology. I note that Curran's primary concern has been to honor the richness of the Catholic moral tradition, and that the range and depth of his work is unrivalled in contemporary Catholic moral theology. I conclude by suggesting that Curran's contribution to the discipline of moral theology has been both formative and transformative.     

“God is My First Aid Kit”: The Negotiation of Health and Illness among Christian Scientists

Christian Scientists’ rejection of conventional medical practices has generated considerable controversy. Using insights from theories of subcultural identity and cultural repertoires, we analyze elite discourse and adherent narratives from 20 Christian Scientists to examine how this nonmedicalized religion engages the challenges posed by the highly medicalized character of American society. The writings of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy primarily exhibit a critical posture toward conventional medicine, although conciliatory language is also evident in these same works. These discursive nuances provide Christian Science adherents with latitude in negotiating health and illness in their everyday lives. Interview data reveal that negotiated health practices are particularly evident in three domains: using prayer as a means of seeking divine guidance, developing metaphysical competency as a healer, and weighing options based on legal mandates for seeking medical treatment. We conclude by specifying the implications of our findings and identifying directions for future research.     

Book reviews

Books reviewed:
Gaillard, Christian. Le Musée Imaginaire de Carl Gustav Jung.
Young-Eisendrath, Polly & Dawson, Terence (eds.). The Cambridge Companion to Jung.
Stevens, Anthony. Ariadne's Clue: A Guide to the Symbols of Humankind.
Stein, Murray. Transformation: Emergence of the Self.
Stein, Murray. Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction.
Christopher, Shelley (ed.). Contemporary Perspectives on Psychotherapy and Homosexualities.
Marlan, Stanton (ed.). Fire in the Stone: The Alchemy of Desire.     

Journal reviews

Articles reviewed: Astor, James: ‘Some Jungian and Freudian perspectives on the Oedipus myth and beyond’. Colman Warren: ‘That within which passes show: Hamlet and the unknowable Self’. Halberstadt-Freud H. C: ‘Electra versus Oedipus à Femininity reconsidered’. Kulish, Nancy & Holtzman, Deanna: ‘Persephone, the loss of virginity and the female Oedipus complex’ Hopkins, Linda B: ‘D. W. Winnicott's analysis of Masud Khan: a preliminary study of failures of object usage’. Miletic, Michael (ed.): ‘Perspectives on the analyst's self-disclosure during psychoanalysis’. Miletic, Michael J. (ed.): ‘Perspectives on the analyst's self-disclosure during psychoanalysis’. Ornstein, Anna: ‘The fate of narcissistic rage in psychotherapy’. Solomon, Hester McFarland: ‘Love, Paradox of Self and Other’. Stack, Carolyn: ‘The analyst's new clothes: the impact of the therapist's unconscious conflicts on the treatment process’. Von Der Tann, Matthias: ‘Was lesen Jungianer in Berlin für das Examen?’–‘What do Jungians in Berlin read for their final paper?’     

A Call to Act Together

This is the text of the message issued by the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, meeting in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022. In their message, delegates stated that all are called by Christ's love to repentance, reconciliation, and justice in the face of war, inequality, and sins against creation.     

The Duality of American Christian Nationalism: Religious Traditionalism versus Christian Statism

While posited as a unified ideology, Christian Nationalism (CN) actually contains two distinct views of what it means to be a “Christian Nation”—one which envisions a Christian civil society separate from the profanities of politics, what we call “Religious Traditionalism.” The other envisions a Christian federal government where power is wielded exclusively by ethno-religious insiders, or “Christian Statism.” Multiple waves of two national surveys confirm that current measures of CN contain these two factors, which have become increasingly divergent in the past 20 years. In addition, we find that Christian Statism predicts nativism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and racial distrust while Religious Traditionalism, in most instances, predicts the opposite. Historically, Religious Traditionalists have always sought to influence civil society and focused mainly on family/sexual issues. But a different brand of CN has emerged, wherein all federal and state authority should rightfully and exclusively belong to Christian Statists.