Reconceptualizing Virtue in Christian Psychology, Part 2
March 24th, 2008[Editor's note: This is the last post for the month of March, 2008. This post is the second of two from Wolfram Soldan of IGNIS.]
Last week we compared the Christian and secular approaches to virtue in general. This week I would like to take a look at the six core-virtues developed by Peterson & Seligman (2004) in their important, but secular catalogue of the virtues. As I mentioned last week, there are corresponding biblical terms, so I have added the key Greek terms to show the biblical origins of the Christian understanding of the core-virtues.
• Wisdom and knowledge (sophia, words derived from ginosko): Bible and Positive Psychology similarly understand wisdom as the practice of “the good life” and don’t equate it with intelligence. But in the Bible the aim of human wisdom and knowledge is directed explicitly to God and is closely tied to intimate and obedient relationship with him. This connection is made throughout the entire Bible, in doctrinal passages (e.g., Col 2:2), as well as proverbs, parables, and narratives.
• Courage (hypomone): Most often the Bible speaks about this topic in opposition to fear especially the fear of man. But the concept “endurance” (hypomone) comes close to the definition of courage developed by Peterson & Seligman. Even so, this term is also more associated with one’s relationship to God than with stable human traits (see for example to story of Peter in Jo 13: 38, 18:10f, 26f, 21:15ff).
• Love (agape): Humans are connected to each other by altruistic love according to Peterson & Seligman. Although Christians often consider agape to be the highest virtue, it is clear that in biblical understanding it is something that comes entirely from God, as a fruit (Gal 5:22), as a way (1Co 12:31b), as an outpouring (Rm 5:5), and at last even as God in the person of Christ (1Jn 4:16).
• Justice (dikaiosyne): The Bible and Positive Psychology agree that justice should rule social human relationships. Justice, however, in the Bible is based in one’s relationship to God (e.g., Mt 5:20, 6:33) and His (eternal) reign. (e.g. Ps 15, Prov 11) that consider the character-trait aspect, Paul is stressing the character of gift or grace so much, that justice as a (mere) human character-trait almost is vanishing. But even in the OT the justice of God or given by God is the much more important and more frequently mentioned topic than the aspect of character trait.
• Temperence (enkrateia): Very near to the meaning offered by Peterson & Seligman is the Greek root “enkrat(eia)” that does not convey the relational dimension as much as the other biblical virtue-terms do. But it is not often used (6 times: 3 times as a noun, elsewhere as a verb or adjective), and some Bible translations misread it as “abstinence” instead of temperance. The long passage on virtue in 2Pe 1 is very interesting. It contains several virtue-terms (besides one of the few uses of the term virtue itself, it includes the already mentioned endurance, and love as the ultimate goal), but all in a very clear relational context to God in an interesting hierarchical ordinance. In the middle of this list is enkrateia.
• Transcendence obviously is much more personal, intense, intimate and specific in its meaning in the Bible than one will find in contemporary Positive Psychology. In fact, the abstract term “transcendence” has no place in the Bible, since it doesn’t make a philosophical distinction between a divine and a creational realm, so much as a division between holy and unholy.
So a look at individual virtues underscores last week’s point that the virtues in the Bible have basically a relational quality, particularly focused on God. This leads us to question the modern Positive Psychology emphasis on virtues as stable character traits. Also, the possibility of faking the virtues is taken for granted. With this background, basing one’s science of the virtues on self-report questionnaires seems highly questionable (cf., Ps 139:23f). The very dynamic, theocentric and relational orientation to the virtues in the Bible makes it highly relevant to therapy, but it would seem to pose a big problem for serious empirical research (especially quantitative).
References
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
October 28th, 2009 at 7:41 am
I am trying to send the following remarks to Dr. Wolfram Soldan but cannot find an email address for him. I will add the note here and hope it can reach him.
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Dr. Wolfram Soldan,
Greetings in His name from Sweden.
I am an American citizen as well as Swedish, living in Sweden. My wife and I have lived here for 36 years working with an International mission organization called “Torchbearers”.
Part of my ministry is traveling within Eastern Europe. In these last years Latvia has been a focal point of ministry especially with public school teachers. I have had contact with several Psychologists living in SE Latvia and teaching at the U of Daugavpils. One psychologist gave me a link with your article regarding Christian counseling. It was both informative and stimulating.
Though probably nothing of what I will write is startling or new to you I thought I would ventilate a little!
I have found I Corinthians 2 to be a critical presentation of spiritual truth which deals with the spiritual and natural mind. A Christian possesses the mind of God, which of necessity is spiritual while the unbeliever possesses only a natural mind. The natural mind has no capacity in itself to comprehend spiritual principles. It is only by the Holy Spirit that man can understand the mind of God. IQ is not a factor in this equation. Man knows only man but God knows both Himself and man whom He created in His own likeness. v. 11
No human being can, be using any scientific means of investigation or measurement, delve into the mind or heart of God with the purpose of extracting His wisdom or knowledge. vs. 9-10
When I studied psychology at the U some of my professors wrote their own textbooks. I had already completed 4½ of Bible College so thankfully I had God’s Word as a filter through which to sift the theories of human behavior being presented.
To this day I peruse journals with the anticipation of finding more of His wisdom REGARDLESS of who the author may be for the Holy Spirit is the conveyer of any and all spiritual truth. Having said that I must understand that I am sifting through fallen man’s rubble which is foolishness to God and which deems God’s wisdom as foolishness to himself. I Corinthians 1:25-28, 2:14, 3:19,
Of course some of the professors taught note-worthy information and facts. However, I can clearly remember that when they said something that I thought was very good and I could relate to and use in personal encounters, it is as if the Holy Spirit said, “The Father said it first!” In other words, any relational principles which should govern human behavior or our relationship with God Himself must of necessity have been postulated by God first in His Word.
II Timothy 3:16-17 No human being can add to what God has already stated in His Word. However, the joy of discovery is ours by the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of our mind and soul.
The primary difference in my understanding as a university student and my professor’s teaching is that I am a Christian indwelt by God Himself. If my professor is not a Christian he can only present information which he with his natural mind can perceive.
More than once Paul clearly declared that what he was teaching, though deep and at times seemingly complex, was not being conveyed with mans wisdom. He made a clear distinction between man and God’s wisdom. I Corinthians 2:1-5, I Thessalonians 2:1-13 (esp. 5 and 13).
The principles of human behavior he taught were being related directly to the life of Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:20, 4:19 He indicated that all of his human achievements, many as they were, were not to be compared to a drop of spiritual wisdom revealed to him by the Holy Spirit.
It is very comforting to know that as one wades through information and theories postulated by man that the Holy Spirit guides our reasoning processes in order to love truth and grace and filter out that which is not of His mind and heart.
May God continue to richly bless you and the ministry He has shaped for you.
Sharing His life,
Wally Schoon
Brunnsvägen 53
570 15 holsbybrunn
Sweden