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Observed Aversion to Raising Hell in Pastoral Care: The Conflict Between Doctrine and Practice

Observed Aversion to Raising Hell in Pastoral Care: The Conflict Between Doctrine and Practice OBSERVED AVERSION TO RAISING HELL IN PASTORAL CARE: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE E RIC S TODDART University of St. Andrews, Scotland G WILYM P RYCE University of Glasgow, Scotland Abstract This paper explores complexities in the relationship between beliefs about hell and the prac- tice of Christian pastoral care by clergy. It tests the hypotheses that observed aversion to rais- ing the topic will be greater the more inclusive the minister’s doctrine; that sensitivities are a strong motivation for the carer to seek a doctrinal ‘loophole’ to avoid it; and that inability to reconcile one’s beliefs about hell with aversion to raising the subject does not mean that a min- ister will necessarily follow through on the implications of his/her doctrine. The data is derived from a postal survey of clergy in Scotland, conducted across the Trinitarian denominations. It is concluded that a model of applied-theology is ameliorated even by its proponents in the con- text of hell and pastoral care. Key Words : eschatology, evangelicalism, Scotland, care, hell I NTRODUCTION Facing a person who is dying when you believe that those who are not Christians go to torment in hell is a challenge to how http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Empirical Theology Brill

Observed Aversion to Raising Hell in Pastoral Care: The Conflict Between Doctrine and Practice

Pryce, Gwilym; Stoddart, Eric
Journal of Empirical Theology , Volume 18 (2): 129 – Jan 1, 2005
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References (28)

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2005 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
0922-2936
eISSN
1570-9256
DOI
10.1163/157092505774649234
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

OBSERVED AVERSION TO RAISING HELL IN PASTORAL CARE: THE CONFLICT BETWEEN DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE E RIC S TODDART University of St. Andrews, Scotland G WILYM P RYCE University of Glasgow, Scotland Abstract This paper explores complexities in the relationship between beliefs about hell and the prac- tice of Christian pastoral care by clergy. It tests the hypotheses that observed aversion to rais- ing the topic will be greater the more inclusive the minister’s doctrine; that sensitivities are a strong motivation for the carer to seek a doctrinal ‘loophole’ to avoid it; and that inability to reconcile one’s beliefs about hell with aversion to raising the subject does not mean that a min- ister will necessarily follow through on the implications of his/her doctrine. The data is derived from a postal survey of clergy in Scotland, conducted across the Trinitarian denominations. It is concluded that a model of applied-theology is ameliorated even by its proponents in the con- text of hell and pastoral care. Key Words : eschatology, evangelicalism, Scotland, care, hell I NTRODUCTION Facing a person who is dying when you believe that those who are not Christians go to torment in hell is a challenge to how

Journal

Journal of Empirical Theology – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2005

Keywords: SCOTLAND; CARE; EVANGELICALISM; HELL; ESCHATOLOGY

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