Daniel J. Louw

Pastoral hermeneutics and the challenge of a global economy: care to the living human Web.

The author discusses the relationship between a pastoral hermeneutics and the current social context as determined by international communication and globalization. He explores the influence of telecommunications on the human quest for meaning and the implication of this for pastoral care and counseling. A paradigm shift is proposed in terms of care to the living human web. A pastoral assessment which interprets the undergirding philosophy and belief system of globalization and its influence on human dignity is suggested; and a pastoral ministry which takes up its prophetic task and voices the needs of people in terms of a “globalization from below” is explicated.

“God as Friend”: Metaphoric Theology in Pastoral Care

Because of postmodernitys claim of deconstruction, the naming of God has become a crucial issue for a hermeneutics of pastoral care. Inadequate and inappropriate perceptions of God, because of specific experiences of faith, create unhelpful images of God which eventually lead to a “pathology of faith.” Taking into consideration the figurative means of symbolic language and its rootedness in culture, this article explores the possibility of the metaphor, “God as Friend,” in order to move beyond the paradigm of the “suffering God” (theopaschitic theology) to the paradigm of the “faithful God”—God as our “Soul Friend.”

CURA VITAE: THE HERMENEUTICS OF SPIRITUAL HEALING AND THE BEAUTIFICATION OF LIFE

In the social and healing sciences the notion of a holistic approach in human health is a well-established concept. In care-giving an interdisciplinary model is inevitable. However, what is the contribution of a Christian spiritual approach to human health and healing? It is argued that the human soul (nephesh) is a relational concept embedded in the concrete existential realities of life. The methodological background is an existential philosophical analysis of our being. A pastoral hermeneutics is developed that takes the unique dimension of an eschatological approach to healing into account. In order to help pastoral caregivers to ‘see’ the bigger picture, a diagram is designed that could assist the pastor to make a pastoral diagnosis in order to understand better the spiritual dimension of human health. Spiritual healing is in the first place an aesthetic category (the meaning, purpose, value, destiny and quality of life) and not a moral issue about good and bad, benevolence and evil.

‘Marketplace Masculinities’ Within the International Public Arena of Global Media: Towards a Christian Spiritual Approach to Male Embodiment and ‘Genital Ensoulment’

AbstractUnder the pressure of deconstruction, criticism within the gender discourse, and the fading away of the traditional patriarchal male role functions, male identity is in a crisis. Due to the impact of the mass media, masculinities are currently mostly determined by the healthiness, body-image and achievement ethics of a market-driven economy (marketplace masculinities). It becomes closely associated with the instant need-satisfaction of a consumerist society. As a public issue, maleness is moulded by power, six-pack fitness, wealth, success, money and phallus. Plastic instant masculinity is shaped by the ancient old symbol of phallus, the post-modern Zeus: Rambo, and the leisure idol of playboy. This article considers the extent to which the Christian spiritual notion of phronesis within inhabitational theology can reframe masculinities, and argues that from a spiritual perspective males can grow into compassionate men. The article concludes that patriarchal headship should be transformed and replaced by the theological public of servant-hood and the trans-cultural notion of an eschatological identity.

'Theological complexity' and the blindness of theory-barbarism in a pastoral hermeneutics: towards the 'infiniscience of God' in processes of hoping and faithful knowing (epistemology)

Theory formation in theology is often directed by the rationalistic principle of simplification. In pastoral caregiving, it leads to the tendency to offer instant answers to the very complex notion of ‘meaning in suffering’. In this regard, the question surfaces whether the philosophical construct of ‘theodicy’, and its attempt to link God in some way or another to human suffering, should be introduced as an appropriate, paradigmatic framework for dealing with processes of caregiving and comforting. It is argued that a causative approach of rationalistic explanation and positivistic clarity (the attempt to give a logical answer and establish a direct connection between the will of God and the phenomenon of undeserved suffering) is insufficient to really comfort people in order to hope and to address the human quest for meaning. The notion of complexity and the philosophical construct of ‘chaosmos’ are critically assessed in order to revisit the interplay between the God-factor and the complexity of human suffering in a pastoral hermeneutics. Instead of hope as the projection of easy solutions for the future (wishful thinking and speculative dreaming), the theological paradox of hoping despite the evidence that the future is bleak (hope against hope) is explored by means of the theopaschitic paradigm of a ‘suffering God’. Instead of the omni-categories of an ‘all-powerful God’ (pantokrator), the pathos-category of an ‘infiniscient God’ is proposed in order to deal with chaosmos and complexity in theory formation for a theology of caregiving in suffering.

THE HERMENEUTICS OF INTERCULTURAL PASTORAL CARE: FROM 'PSYCHE' TO 'POSITION' (HABITUS) WITHIN THE HEALING DYNAMICS OF LIFE (CURA VITAE)

In a systemic approach to life care (cura vitae), position and habitus becomes more predominant as guiding constructs in theory formation for a pastoral anthropology than personality and behaviour and their relatedness to psychoanalyses. It is argued that habitus is directly connected to the Biblical principle of wisdom (sapientia), as well as to the spiritual dimension of meaning. In a praxis approach habitus should play a decisive role in intercultural care. In this regard paradigms and the analyses of the appropriateness of constructs containing dominant life views and belief systems become extremely important in the making of a pastoral diagnosis. In this regard an existential approach for an intercultural pastoral hermeneutics is proposed.

The aesthetics of ‘manhood’ within the paradigmatic framework of theopaschitic theology. From Brett Murray’s painting ‘The Spear’ and the opened fly to the iconic view of ‘The Anchor’ and the spiritual art of male genitals

The Brett Murray painting of president Zuma with an opened fly probes into the realm of manhood. It reveals the so called ‘masculinity crisis’ in the gender discourse. From a practical theological point of view it poses the question whether one can exclude male genitals from a holistic anthropology that views corporeality and sexuality as essential elements of the ‘human soul’. The following question is posed: To what extent can the theopaschitic paradigm and Christian iconic view on life contribute to the transformation of existing images on being male and masculinity? Can such a theological approach change existing paradigms determined by domination and patriarchal power? It is accepted that masculinities are products of social and cultural images. In this regard manhood is a social and cultural construct. The Brett Murray painting emphasizes the fact that the penis is still a phallic symbol and as a ‘public’ subjected to the gaze of social media. The public reactions on Brett Murray’s ‘The Spear’ are scrutinized by a Christian spiritual hermeneutics. The objective of the article is to emphasize the role of aesthetics in the establishment of a poetic gaze on manhood. It is an attempt to transform thrusting manhood into ‘compassionate intimacy’. It is argued that male genitals should be viewed as sacred and ‘soulful’ parts of human embodiment.

Fides Quaerens Spem A Pastoral and Theological Response to Suffering and Evil

Pastoral care must recover its unique identity as a theological discipline. In addressing the reality of evil, pastoral care reinterprets divine power as compassionate and creative empowerment, the basis for hopeful activity.

Toward A Structured, Tri-Domain Model Of Companioning In Christian Formation By Pastoral Agents In A Congregational Setting: A Preliminary Report On An International Research Project:

A preliminary report is presented by an international project team working on developing a model for a structured and holistic approach to companioning parishioners in the journey of formation in the Christian life. A holistic model involves working in three domains: positive psychology, spirituality, and personal and social ethics. Structure is provided by utilizing four self-assessment instruments to inform the work the pastor and the parishioner do together.

Missio Dei as embodiment of Passio Dei : the role of God-images in the Mission-outreach and pastoral caregiving of the church – a hermeneutical approach

CITATION: Louw, D. J. 2016. Missio Dei as embodiment of Passio Dei : the role of God-images in the Mission-outreach and pastoral caregiving of the church – a hermeneutical approach. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology, 44(3):336–354, doi:10.7832/44-3-163