The purpose of this thesis is to investigate therapeutic spirituality which is reached to self healing through the life of Henri Nouwen and provide his spiritual theology to Korean Protestant Church for her Spiritual formation. So the procedure of th...
The purpose of this thesis is to investigate therapeutic spirituality which is reached to self healing through the life of Henri Nouwen and provide his spiritual theology to Korean Protestant Church for her Spiritual formation. So the procedure of the research is carried on as follows:
1. Overview of study on Henri Nouwen,
2. Nouwen's life and wound,
3. Nouwen's spirituality and self healing,
4. Nouwen's theology of therapeutic spirituality and its possibility of applying to Korean Church.
In the abstract of this study we deal with compiling results of
research for Heri Nowen's spiritual theology developed.
First, Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality is formed by what has been resulted from understanding and experience attained by personally going through healing and pain caused by his life. Accordingly, we know that therapeutic spirituality begins with process of investigation to solve pains from his own life. It is the examined spirituality for Nouwen to recogrize the cause of his pain which he has been not aware under unconsciousness and to experience directly healing process --- the first-solitude, contemplation, hospitality, compassion, the second-solitude and spirituality of Sabbath. That is to say, Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality is to begin from practical spirituality which finds out the cause of pain in unconsciousness .
Second, Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality is emphasized on the functions of church community by using tool of "sharing". That is to say, healing is obtained from when his wound is shared with others. Nouwen insistes that healing was occurred when someone disclosed his own pain and shared with other people. Human could look for his identity through faith community. And the community was the place where the weakest and most shameful appearance was disclosed naturally in front of brothers and sisters. Through his many writings he wants to suggest a way of active sharing practices, healing effects have been broken out within faith community including all Christians around the world. Because wound itself is occurred from the relations with other people, it can not be defined as wound if when his own wound is shared with others. Furthermore we believe that Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality is seems to contribute implementing essential function of church --- fellowship, sharing and the belt of Holy Spiritrepresented in faith community.
Third, Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality must be 'self healing' spirituality because a wounded healer would cure his own wound rather than he depends on pastor. Man has his own wound. He must accept his wound primarily and than he try to cure actively his wound for healing. Nouwen recognizes wound as raw material and takes it into objects for cure. On the way of spiritual reaching out --- the three movements of the spiritual life by Henri J. M. Nouwen, Nouwen overcame the first-solitude which can find isolation within his own inner world and the second-solitude which tries to follow Jesus Christ in his community. Also, he overcame a sense of unfulfiled vanity of mind with contemplation to look God, a sense of isolation and betrayal with hospitality welcoming warmly, and his painful experience with passion of empathy about we-are-suffering-together. And then he sublimated wounded mind into mercy and sympathy of care, death into spirituality of Sabbath confronted by resurrection. Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality may be called as the spirituality of "the wounded healer" (i.e., positive healing method that can take his own wound as raw material and cure himself as well as other people by sharing it ). Pain with problem itself is contained with medication and all kind of problems in the church community are contained with remedies. So, it is not needed to be consumed by a lot of church programs and pastor's activities any longer.
Fourth, Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality is practical one which combines theology with psychology harmoniously in the church. Jesus Christ's painful death on the cross is shown obviously that human's sin is very awful and stubborn. Pains caused by sin can't heal entirely by theology as well as psychology. We know that it is the fact that it is the fact that from the history of church the pains can not be solved with a lot of prayer and sederunt, diverse theological seminar and program. Accordingly, healing must be discovered in the balance between theology and psychology. Human's wound can be diagnosed specifically and found its cure method with the tool of psychology under logos, salvation through Jesus Christ's cross and help of Holy Spirit. As Henri Nouwen as pastor major in theology and as professor studied and taught psychology, his therapeutic spirituality is very practical one which is obtained fruition of combining theology with psychology. In this perspective, his spiritual theology seems to be very useful for solving practical problems induced due to the pains of Christians in the church.
Fifth, It seems to be a good opportunity that Korean Protestant Church will apply Henri Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality. When Korean people built economy growth in the seventies and in the eighties, the korean churches had contributions to korean economy development. Hower, the financial crisis of IMF broke out in the end of the nineties and new Millennium came. Korean people had experiences of many conflicts under the condition of insufficient economy recovery. These social and economic situations had effects on the church. The korean churches gradually have lost her confidence and have leaned toward materialistic blessing. In order to solved there problems It is helpful for the korean churchs to get Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality (self healing method of recovering the wounded ego). Also, there must be needed for the development of program which is capable of applying specifically in the pastoral field.
Finally we are comvinced that prayer in Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality seems to be so important element that a specific role of the prayer related with therapeutic spirituality must be applied. We believe that compassion and sympathy as two important components of Nouwen's therapeutic spirituality must be emphasized. At the same time Nouwen's two practical concepts of sharing and care must be adopted in order to recover the mission of the Korean Protestant Churches and conduce social and economic development.