Of Idolatries and Ersatz Liturgies: The False Gods of Spiritual Assessment
With the increased costs of health care, hospitals have put increased pressure on chaplains to show efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, with the drive of evidence-based medicine, new techniques of spiritual assessment are being created, allowing chaplains to demonstrate their effectiveness. I...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2013
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2013, Volume: 19, Issue: 3, Pages: 332-347 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | With the increased costs of health care, hospitals have put increased pressure on chaplains to show efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, with the drive of evidence-based medicine, new techniques of spiritual assessment are being created, allowing chaplains to demonstrate their effectiveness. In this paper, I demonstrate the circular nature of the construction of these tools of spiritual assessment and argue that they are created in the image and likeness of generic chaplaincy. I also demonstrate how these tools come to direct spiritual therapy. However, these spiritual assessments and therapies are idols and ersatz liturgies directed at medical rather than spiritual ends. I conclude with a reflection on Jean-Luc Marion’s distinction between idol and icon, and argue that only the true Liturgy of the Church can deliver true grace, true spiritual therapy. |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbt024 |