The soul is the spiritual core
Considering The soul is the spiritual core This suggestion was put forward by Dr. John Calvin Chatros. Chatros, a professor of psychiatry at Rutgers University, published a profound paper titled, “Is Spirituality the Chief Controller of Human Happiness?” Let us take a moment to “test the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1).
In a previous post Patheos In the series “Body, Soul, Spirit: Soul 3,” I made two suggestions. The first suggestion is that we should think of all three – body, soul, and spirit – as constituting one person, the one beloved of God. The second suggestion is that we should nudge the concept of soul in the direction of our central self. This allows us to contrast soul with spirit. spirit It is the dimension we share with other people and with God. soul It refers to the self that constitutes our core, our essence, our deepest identity. So, I’m wondering: does Chatros’ theory match up with mine? Let’s see.
In the framework of spirituality, our soul is the “master controller” of our happiness
Chatros Practice Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In his work with substance abusers, Chatros has repeatedly witnessed amazing, instantaneous changes in lives. These changes begin with what Sigmund Freud called an “oceanic feeling.” This spiritual experience, a sense of timelessness and oneness with the whole of reality, inspires the soul to make the transformative decision to change, embrace health, and heal.
Loss of faith is the primary characteristic of the broken soul, the wounded soul, the broken hearted soul. Faith as we know it in Paul Tillich’s book “Faith” Be courageous It gives us the drive to heal what is broken. The oceanic feeling encourages us to have the faith to know our own worth.
The most important element in transformational healing is the soul’s confidence in its own worth. Self-esteem is essential. To unlock the soul’s spiritual power, it must treat itself with dignity, as valuable, and as loved.
“The key to unlocking awareness of spiritual experience is an integrated experience of self-worth (confidence, self-esteem, self-competence/self-efficacy) and dignity (rational choices, empathy and compassion, courage that begins with honesty).”
Chatros represents this self-transcending capacity of the soul with the Greek letter Σ.
“Σ opens up to a new level of mental functioning that can be consciously used along with mystical type experiences. Opening up to creative power/creative opening with a kernel of moral truth, being open-minded, loving, compassionate, acting with unyielding faith and powerful courage, is a functional “soul” experience. …This as yet unknown Σ, added consciousness, appears to be an organized spiritual nucleus with the characteristics of a functional soul acting as a master controller.”
This figure is from Chatros. A Framework for Spirituality It starts with the cognitive behavioral elements of thought, feeling, and action. These expand to the distinction between self-esteem and its expression as dignity. Self-esteem and dignity expand further to wisdom, justice, and generosity. This expansion into creativity/creative openness occurs when the spiritual core, or soul or Σ, is opened.
Note that the ethical expression of the faith process contains universal elements. Agape Love.
“The process of faith involves acquiring a spiritual attitude toward life through a meaningful commitment to enhancing the worth and dignity of all people, including oneself.”
The soul is the spiritual core It’s science, not theology.
Chatross keeps his theory of the soul within the realm of science.
“For spirituality to function as a master controller, Σ, the spiritual core, must be operational within the brain and nervous system…The framework of spirituality provides a framework for the functional use of this neuroscientific information.”
In private conversations, Chatros admits to being a reductionist, but that the scientific method is inadequate to explain some aspects of the soul and its belief processes.
“The source of the mystical qualities that arise from the opening of Σ and the creative force – the soul’s experience of connection, vitality, wholeness, peace, meaning, purpose, and moving forward into the present moment with faith as action driven by the core of one’s moral truth, the open-hearted agape loving compassion, and a renewed release of courage – is unknown and as yet unidentified.”
Dignity, self-respect, and unconditional positive regard
When the pastoral care movement gained momentum in the 1960s, Don Browning and others at the University of Chicago argued that therapists mediate God’s grace. God forgives sinners. God accepts us whether we accept ourselves or not. When therapists extend unconditional favor to their clients, God’s unconditional favor is mediated through the relationship. Therein lies the healing power that John Calvin Chatros describes, even though Chatros does not acknowledge mediated grace.
Elsewhere, I have called treating people with unconditional positive regard dignity-giving. When we grant dignity, the person to whom we grant dignity feels, “Hey! I’m worthy!” Dignity is first granted, then claimed. For the soul to become our spiritual core, we must first Team spirit It is expressed in relationships that give us a sense of worth, value and dignity. Spiritual relationships first. And they are the core.
One way to understand the Christian mission is to see it as liberating the world by granting dignity to all who are marginalized, ostracized or victimized, even those who, like Dr. Chatros’s patients, are victims of trauma and self-loathing.
The differences between the two can be summarized as follows: First, I position the therapeutic relationship as characterized by unconditional positive regard, whereas Chatros emphasizes the process of spiritual experience and faith. Second, Chatros understands the process of transformation as I do. But he attributes it exclusively to brain activity, a natural process, not to God’s grace.
Remember, what is the soul?
It seems to me that Chatross avoids a metaphysical explanation of the soul; rather, he gives a functional explanation. This is perfectly fine. I would like to point out that for Chatross, the soul is not a pre-existent or specially created immaterial entity that is given to the body at conception or birth. There is no substance dualism here.
Phenomenologically speaking, the soul is built up over time through experience. A soul battered by trauma can be strengthened through transformation, prompted by oceanic experiences that determine the soul has value, worth, and dignity. When the soul responds and enters a process of faith, courage takes control, leading the person to universal love. Chatros argues that all of this is the product of neurons firing in the brain. Well, almost. Whether it is God who intervenes in a mystical sense of oneness is something that cannot be explained scientifically.
What about soul-making?
Chatross’s theory is reminiscent of the philosopher John Hick, who in his brief book: Death and eternal lifeHick proposes the concept of “soul creation.” The ultimate goal of humans is to become souls worthy of living responsibly as citizens of God’s kingdom. If we fail to achieve this goal in this life, we are given a second chance in purgatory after death. In other words, the soul is not an immaterial substance added to the body at birth. Rather, the soul is our essential self on the long and difficult path to God.
According to John Wesley, a godly soul is a sanctified soul. Our souls are sanctified, according to Wesley, or “made,” according to Hick, when we wake up each morning with only the love of God and love of neighbor in our hearts.
Let me ask: does all this suggest that we become souls only after our self is transformed into a soul of love through the process of faith? What then becomes of the state of our pre-transformed self, the sinful self that still needs grace?
Add Chatlos to your 2025 calendar
John Calvin Chatros and theologian Katherine Keller will be hosting a conference on this very subject in the summer of 2025. Click on IRAS (Institute for Research on Religion in the Age of Science) when details of the 2025 Star Island Conference are released.
Conclusion
this Patheos Post, we have been testing the mind The soul is the spiritual core.
This larger Patheos In a series of lectures on the soul, I have previously presented working definitions of the terms “soul” and “spirit.” The word “soul” connotes who each of us is as an individual, our deepest essence, whereas the word “spirit” connotes the dimension of interpersonal reality that connects us in relationship to others. To speak of “soul” reminds us that we have a center, a centered self. To speak of “spirit” reminds us that we have an apron of relationship. The power of the spirit connects us to something greater than ourselves. Our souls grow and develop in spiritual relationship. Our souls are immortalized by a spiritual relationship with the eternal God. To think of the human being in its full sense means to include body, soul, and spirit in the human community and in relationship to God.
As Chatros says, your and my selves are constantly changing. Our selves as souls are growing with experience, gaining identity through decisions, and being transformed by God’s grace. And what’s more, I believe we are becoming who we are; that is, our future and ultimate destiny with God retroactively determines who we have always been. But if we have to assume that we are not souls until we have undergone a process of change, then I would hesitate to become a member of the soul-making club.
On the one hand, I am drawn to Jean Calvin Chatross’s idea of the soul as the spiritual core, and at this point I am connecting the self and the soul, but on the other hand I want to avoid the implication that we are not souls, but that the self is waiting for a transformation to turn into a soul.
Patheos ST 4141. The Soul 8. The Soul as the Spiritual Core
Patheos ST 4131 Soul 1 Theology of the Soul
Patheos ST 4132 Soul 2 Substance Dualism
Patheos ST 4133 Seoul 3 Trichotomy
Patheos ST 4134 Soul 4 Materialism
Patheos ST 4135 Soul 5 Emerging Dualism
Patheos ST 4136 Soul 6 Non-reductive Physicalism
Patheos ST 4137 Soul 7 Resurrection of the Body
Patheos ST 4141 Soul 8 The soul is the spiritual core
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for PatheosTed Peters publishes articles and announcements in the field of public theology. He is a Lutheran pastor and a professor emeritus at the Union of Graduate Theological Seminaries. He is an associate editor of the journal. Theology and Science, Co-authored with Robert John Russell on behalf of the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences, Berkeley, California. His single-volume systematic theology is God—The Future of the World, Ranked 3rdrd He also The Triune God plus Sin: the fundamental evil of the soul and society Similarly Boldly committing a sin: Justifying faith to fragile and wounded souls. Visit his website: TedsTimelyTake.com.
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