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EVER EXPANDING EDGES: TRINITY, CRISIS, AND CARE — PASTORAL THEOLOGY AND SCIENTIFIC METHODOLOGY A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Claremont School of Theology In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by John Clement Libert May 2000 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Copyright 2000 John Clement Libert ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation, written by John Clement Libert under the direction of his Faculty Committee, and approved by its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the School of Theology at Claremont in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Faculty Committee ____________ I 1 Chairpenon M(hj / 2 , ^°°° Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission ABSTRACT Ever Expanding Edges: Trinity, Crisis, and Care — Pastoral Theology and Scientific Methodology by John Clement Libert The predicament that gives rise to this dissertation is the inadequacy of current models of Christian pastoral theology for enabling the distinguishing of the presence of the divine in the spiritual directive work which clergy perform with individual parishioners. While there are numerous and diverse models of pastoral theology, with specific notions and interventions of caring available to the parish clergy, these models have no criteria for distinguishing between authentic elements of the divine-human encounter and inauthentic elements of that occasion, which is a definitive moment in the life of a Christian. Models of pastoral theology and care currently available have few parameters for assisting in the work of differentiating true elements of the divine from false. Thus, one of the most pressing needs for pastoral theology is the creation of a model which will enable the distinguishing of data having a bearing upon the nature and human experience of God in distinction from those other psychic events which have a bearing only upon psychology or the psychology of religion. Since this is the age of scientific reasoning this model of pastoral theology and care will attempt a construction according to a soft scientific design. The thesis of this dissertation is that a pastoral theology of caring which focuses upon spiritual discernment can be constructed from New Testament texts and other Christian discernment programs and practices for utilization by the parish minister working on Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. issues of spiritual development and guidance with the laity not using psychological data, but rather theological data. Chapter I the dissertation begins with a review of several important, viable paradigms in pastoral theology. It will then critique these paradigms by highlighting potential strengths and weaknesses as well as looking for elements which can be featured in our proposed model. In the second chapter we will propose our own methodology and explicate its five essential theses. Chapter 3 provides our theological and anthropological assumptions and deals with the issue of religious pluralism. Chapter 4 explicates an understanding of the divine nature and the human possibility of the experience of that nature. Chapter 5 contributes a theory of the human self in light of our proposed theological conjectures. Chapter 6 supplies a New Testament hermeneutic which sheds fight on our interpretation of religious language and religious experience and serves as our theological data base. Chapter 7 explicates the nature of peak human religious experience and Chapter 8 explores their opposite, negating, human religious experience. Both chapters suggest the manner in which self is created and transformed through these experiences. Chapter 9 suggests supplemental criteria for diagnosing and assessment which clergy might utilize with local churches and parishioners. Chapter 10 illustrates the way in which the proposed model might be used with lay persons by showing three cases studies. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Page Prologue....................................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1. A Proposal for a Pastoral Theology.....................................................................11 Theology ...........................................................................................................11 Theology as Pastoral Theology........................................................................15 Prevailing Models of Pastoral Theology..........................................................20 Orthodox Pastoral Theology.............................................................................21 Liberal Pastoral Theology................................................................................22 Neo-Orthodox Pastoral Theology...................................................................26 Liberation Pastoral Theology...........................................................................28 Pastoral Theology as Contextual Moral Theology.........................................29 Pastoral Theology as Spiritual Formation.......................................................32 A Pastoral Theology of the Ever Expanding Edge........................................35 2. A Model for a Scientific Pastoral Theology.......................................................37 Basic Design......................................................................................................37 The Prospect of an Experiential Model of Pastoral Theology......................39 Proposition One: The Fundamental Grounds for this Pastoral Theology are New Testament Scriptures and Human Edge Experiences..................41 Proposition Two: The Predominate Procedure of Examination of the New Testament Source is a Multidimensional Interpretation of Selected Subject Matter.............................................................................44 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Proposition Three: The Examination of the Edge Experience Source can be Understood as an Inquiry into the Sacred Nature of the Divine-Human Encounter...............................................................................53 Proposition Four: This Pastoral Theology will translate the Connection and Interplay of these Twin Foundations which does Justice to Our Definition of Religious Experience...............................................................60 Proposition Five: This Pastoral Theology will also feature an Empirical Method informed by the Scientific Model for Theology of Nancey Murphy.........................................................................................62 3 The Concept, Truth, and Knowledge of God....................................................66 Theology and the Idea of God..........................................................................66 Christian Theology as Pastoral Theology.......................................................70 The Experience of God as the Subject of Pastoral Theology........................74 The Knowability of God: Self-Disclosure and Self-Demonstration of the Divine.....................................................................................................76 The Community of the Divine Self-Disclosure ...............................................83 Diversity Within the Christian Experience of God’s Self-Demonstrations..........................................................................................88 The Justification for a Christian Discernment Formula..................................95 4. The Trinitarian God................................................................................................97 The Essence and Urge of the Divine Persons.................................................97 The Trinity as the Personal Character of God: Jesus and the Father..........100 The Character of the Personhood of the Triune God....................................107 The Person of Jesus and the Destiny of Persons............................................Ill The Person of the Holy Spirit: An All-Embracing Field of Force................118 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Basic Nature and Capabilities of the Trinitarian God...................................120 The Divine Field of Force as Holy Spirit......................................................122 The Holy Love of God and the Trinity..........................................................125 5 A Theological Understanding of the Human Self: Appropriation of Divine Likeness................................................................................................130 A Christian Self-Understanding....................................................................130 The Dignity and Destiny of Persons: Divine Congruity..............................134 Self-Postures and Authentic Selfhood...........................................................138 Pneumatology and the Self: The Field of the Spirit and the Creation of Persons and Community..........................................................150 6. Transformative Religious Experience................................................................155 Nuances and Dynamics...................................................................................155 Discernment Practices in the Earliest Christian Communities.....................167 The New Testament Texts: The Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit ...................168 Discerning the Qualities of God in the Early Church..................................169 7. The Affirming Edge Experience..........................................................................185 A Heuristic of the Edge.................................................................................185 The Edge Dimension of Human Experience................................................187 The Affirming Edge in the New Testament.................................................190 Ecstasy and Mysticism...................................................................................195 Aesthetics and Theology of Beauty.............................................................200 The Spirit, the Contours, and Lure of Love...............................................204 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Fecund Outgrowth of the Spirit....................................................................212 Faith and Hope...............................................................................................215 8 The Opposing Edge Experience............................................................................220 Novel Horizons Through Negation..............................................................220 Sin as the Trial and Anguish of Non-identitv...............................................226 Overthrow and Passing of Former Self.......................................................237 Non-Self and Negative Identity in Dehumanization and Oppression...................................................................................................240 Self-Fracture: Grief, Loss, and Death..........................................................248 Illness and the Breaking of the Body...........................................................250 9. A Proposal for Diagnostic Discernment Criteria..............................................254 Establishment of Adequate Criteria for Assessment in this Pastoral Theology............................................................................254 Pastoral Assessment as an Exposition of Religious Affections..................259 Jon Sobrino: Discerning God by Way of the Poor of the Earth.................260 Jonathan Edwards: Discerning God’s Beauty in Human Beauty...............263 John Wesley: The Grace of Perfection and Warm Love.............................275 10. Suggestions for Pastoral Practice.......................................................................280 The Pastor as Theological Edge Interpreter..................................................280 Case Study 1. Martha: Self-Transcending Lover of the Poor......................283 The Negative Edge.........................................................................................287 Case Study 2. Naomi: Alone and Self-Transcending on Her Own..............288 Case Study 3. Christianne: Self-Transcending Feminist..............................289 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Self-Transcending Sermons, Theological Studies, Meetings, and Bake Sales...............................................................................................291 Bibliography.......................................................................................................................293 vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.