Saint Paul and Divorce

Many divorced Christians believe that in divorce they have betrayed their Christian faith. Counselors and ministers can help divorced Christians to understand that (a) not all human troubles are the consequence of moral failure, (b) the apostle Paul's strict teachings on divorce can be evaluated in light of his other teachings, (c) Paul's strict view of divorce had the surprising consequence of advancing women's rights, and (d) Paul and the Church have themselves not been able to escape contributing to dissension and estrangement. The purpose of this paper is to encourage divorce counselors to help their disturbed Christian clients to appreciate Saint Paul's doctrine of divorce in historical perspective.     

A conversation with Susan Stryker

This article does not have an abstract     

Couple Therapy and Attachment: An Interview with Susan Johnson

Susan M. Johnson is an international expert in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT). She is a Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Marital and Family Therapy Clinic at Ottawa Civic Hospital. She is the author of The Practice of Emotionally Focused Marital Therapy – Creating Connection (Brunner/Mazel, 1996) and the co‐author of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples: The Heart of the Matter. EFT is now one of the most empirically validated couples therapies and is accepted as such by the American Psychological Association. On sabbatical in 1999, she went to New Zealand and then visited Australia in April, conducting workshops in Sydney and Perth.     

Tracing Saint Germain: Absolute Knowledge and the Specter of Immortality

So‐called New Age practices and popular culture phenomena have virtually inundated the postmodern world, giving rise to numerous critical responses as well as welcome investments in their presumed significance. Sometimes dubbed a “religion”, New Age ideas and their various cultural manifestations have provoked sectarian and at times vituperative responses from significant critics of various ideological persuasions. Umberto Eco indicts the New Age movement for its lack of critical thinking, chastising the odd preference for a multiplicity of mystical truths, ranging from Dan Brown’s novels to faith in psychics. His position echoes the sentiments of a number of scholars who view New Age adherents as self‐centered and gullible. Slavoj ?i?ek, from his Marxist/Lacanian position, excoriates New Agers as deluded because of their withdrawal from political commitment, and he also views them as merely another symptom reproducing the mystified logic of consumer capitalism. Given the range of critical responses to New Age beliefs, it is particularly important to understand their historical antecedents. Some of these, such as the Saint Germain phenomenon, can be mined for what they disclose about the deeper motivations underlying the present willingness to grasp at arcane and ephemeral beliefs and dubious cultural practices. Some fall within the purview of “spiritualism”, including the search for a confirmation of immortality, which Saint Germain has symbolized for many, including certain of the nobility of pre‐revolutionary France. Saint Germain provides an ideological and psychoanalytic test case for what drives the alternative quests of New Age occultism. By reading Isabel Cooper‐Oakley’s work on Saint Germain, in conjunction with other representations, the objective is to launch a dialogue with both Eco and ?i?ek that builds a critical response to the New Age from a more informed historical and cultural studies approach.     

Book Review: The Other Feminists: Activists in the Liberal Establishment,by Susan M. Hartmann. Yale University Press,New Haven,CT, 1998

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -     

The Real Book of Mormon Musical: Latter-day Saint Family Home Evening as a Weekly Ritual

Abstract

Scholars of religious ritual have noted that inadequate attention has been paid to religious ritual in the social sciences. Based on what has been done, it is apparent that sacred family rituals (when done well and with relational sensitivity) can enhance structure, meaning, and family unity. The present study examines the family-level ritual practice of weekly Family Home Evening among members of 26 Latter-day Saint (LDS) families (N?=?58 individuals). Qualitative analyses found the following three themes: (a) Family Home Evening as a Conversation; (b) Challenges of Family Home Evening; and (c) The Value of Family Home Evening. Primary data that support and illustrate the three themes are presented, along with implications and applications.