DESCRIPTION:

This is a seminar in the Ph.D. program in Pastoral Theology, open to a limited number of students at the masters' level. Conciliation is our task in ministry; reconciliation is God's work. Forgiving and being forgiven are central experiences for both the healer and for the one seeking healing. The interrelationship between reconciliation, forgiveness and healing will be explored in depth utilizing theological, ethical, anthropological, psychological fields of study and reflection on human alienation and brokenness. Particular attention will be paid to object relations perspectives on intrapsychic healing, to systems approaches to reconciliation, to ethics of character and virtue as guides to reparation and restitution.

The course is focused for students who plan a vocation in pastoral counseling, the teaching of pastoral care, counseling and pastoral care, or will be seeking certification in pastoral psychotherapy. The goal of the seminar is to deepen theory and practice skill so that participants will know theological, ethical, psychological and anthropological roots of reconciliation, will be correlating and applying them to life situations in ministry, and be able to hear and follow the call to be reconciling persons.

The seminar will meet for two hours a week for lecture, for discussion, for presentations by participants, for both exposition and experiencing of theory and praxis.

Augsburger, David. Conflict Mediation Across Cultures. Westminster, 1992.

_________. Hate-Work: Working through the Pain and Pleasures of Hate. Westminster, 2004.

_________. Helping People Forgive. Westminster, 1996.

Jones, L. Gregory. Embodying Forgiveness. Eerdmans, 1995.

Patton, John. Is Human Forgiveness Possible? Abingdon, 1985.

Schults, LeRon and Steven J. Sandage. The Faces of Forgiveness. Baker, 2003.

Schwager, Raymond. Must There Be Scapegoats? Harper & Row, 1987.

Sharp, Gene. The Politics of Nonviolent Action. 3 vols. Porter Sargent, 1973.

Shriver, Donald W., Jr. An Ethic for Enemies. Oxford University Press, 1995.

Wiesenthal, Simon. The Sunflower. Schocken, 1997

Wink, Walter. Engaging the Powers. Fortress, 1992.

(An extensive bibliography will be supplied.)

Rigorous participation in the seminar presentations, experiences, and discussions and a major research project. Students will be able to choose from a wide variety of specific topics for their papers and for class presentations but all will focus on the healing process of reconciliation, forgiveness and personal transformation.

The seminar is designed for Ph.D. and Th.M. students working in the areas of pastoral counseling and pastoral care. It is open to doctoral students in other specializations and to M.A. and M.Div. students (by permission of the professor) who have completed at least two courses in pastoral counseling or care.

This seminar is a part of the curriculum for the Practical Theology Ph.D., and is available as an elective for M.A. and M.Div. students, with permission of the instructor.