The College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy is a theologically based covenant community, dedicated to "recovery of the soul" and promoting competency in the clinical pastoral field.
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William Alberts, a CPSP Diplomate in Clinical Pastoral Supervision, has published another reflective, thoughtful and provocative article, On Being Whole Not Holy. The article can be found in CounterPunch published on March 18, 2009.
The opening paragraph of his article, On Being Whole Not Holy, is a grabber:
Religion is automatically seen as inherently good for people, yet it often stunts a person’s emotional, intellectual and multicultural growth. While there are important exceptions, it stresses believing over thinking, certainty over inquiry, conformity over diversity, entitlement over enlightenment. It emphasizes rightness of belief over one’s right to believe as one chooses. It is about being right not one’s right of being. It values uniqueness of faith not faith in everyone’s uniqueness. Its priority is evangelizing people not ending inequalities. It has difficulty handling one’s right to be different—and especially one’s right to be wrong. It is far more about being an integral part of the status quo than about empowering those who are without economic and political status. It is much more comfortable with the way things are than with striving to make things the way they should be for the common good.
I consider On Being Whole Not Holy a must reads for those in the clinical pastoral field. Clinical trainees as well as their training supervisors might benefit if they established a process to critique their own unique faith journey in light of Dr. Albert's assertion:
Therein is our common ground: our humanness. Religion—and politics—should be judged by the extent to which it teaches people to love themselves and to make room for and to value and love other persons for themselves.
I regret that the current climate within the clinical pastoral field seems more focused on "being holy" rather than "being whole". This we do not only at the expense of our own humanity but at the expense of the humanity of those we serve.
If taken to heart, Bill Albert's On Being Whole Not Holy, might help us find our way back to a higher calling.
-Perry Miller, Editor
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Rev. William E. Alberts, Ph.D. is a hospital chaplain, and a diplomate in the College of Pastoral Supervision and Psychotherapy. Both a Unitarian Universalist and a United Methodist minister, he has written research reports, essays and articles on racism, war, politics and religion. He can be reached at william.alberts@bmc.org.
Posted by Perry Miller, Editor at March 21, 2009 4:42 PM
