EMCAPP Journal 2

120 Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor Through the years, Christian theologians, bible scholars, practical ministers and philosophers have all contributed, in their own unique way, to our rich Christian traditi- on. Each has presented a perspective that has helped us live and serve, in practical ways, closer to the will of God. It is exciting to see so many great thinkers in Christian psychology, from all over the world, adding to this rich heritage. The cultural diversity of The EMCAPP Journal will help many of us in the United States generate a more culturally relevant product as it challenges the cultural bias that comes so naturally. I also appreciate that it is an Internet Journal and the immediacy with which it can reach a vast audience. As I read the various articles on Christian psychology in the most recent journal I disco- vered insights that sparked a renewal in my own personal work toward a distinct Christian psychology. My deepest gratitude goes out to those who have brought us this jour- nal and all of the contributors. My prayer is that all of us, as we work toward a common goal, be motivated by love and to the glory of God. Jay Kidwell, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology / Psychology Chair, Cincinnati Christian University, Cincinnati, Ohio USA Publication of The EMCAPP Journal will make invalua- ble contributions to Christians working in the social sci- ences. In recent decades, influential philosophical argu- ments have described contemporary social life in terms of a chaos of incommensurable rationalities. Incommen- surable rationalities emerge from commitments to diffe- rent ultimate standards. For Christians, that standard will be the vision of God based upon the life of Christ. For the social sciences, that standard will be an at least implicit and sometimes explicit reading of nature as the ultimate reality. Christian “rationality” will appear in successful efforts to bring observations about life into conformity with the standard represented by Christ. Social scientific “rationality” will appear in interpretations of observa- tions that are consistent with ontological naturalism. So why is publication of The EMCAPP Journal so impor- tant? Christian social scientists must struggle to work at the boundary between two rationalities. They will want to maintain their ultimate commitments to Christ, but also remain open to the legitimate insights of the naturalistic social sciences. Incommensurable rationalities, inciden- tally, will not be wholly incompatible; so, some social sci- entific observations will indeed be legitimate, with others instead being incompatible with or irrelevant to Chris- tian rationality. Hence, The EMCAPP Journal will serve as a “place” where Christian social scientists can “go” to expand the scope of their rationality at the boundary of the social sciences. More specifically, this will mean that Christian soci- al scientists contributing to The EMCAPP Journal will have new opportunities to help accomplish three critical goals. First, they will be able to publish projects that more clearly articulate Christian rationality within the chaotic incommensurability of the present. They may use soci- al scientific procedures, for example, to operationalize Christian beliefs and thus use empirical evidence to offer ever more compelling demonstrations of Christian ratio- nality. Second, they will use Christian frameworks to eva- luate the “rationality” of the naturalistic social sciences. Sometimes, Christian frameworks will explain how social scientific observations usefully clarify Christian forms of understanding. Other times, Christian arguments will suggest that the social sciences inappropriately attempt to explain faith away and thus engage in an attempted “colo- nization” of religion that can receive no ultimate philoso- phical justification. Third and finally, contributors to The EMCAPP Journal will want to develop and use empirical methodologies that bring Christian and social scientific rationalities into direct dialog. Such procedures will help Christians identify which social scientific observations are compatible with, incompatible with, or irrelevant to their own rationality. In summary, Christian social scientists everywhere should be excited about the publication of The EMCAPP Journal. They will surely want to contribute their own work to this this journal and to read its absolutely essen- tial contributions to the articulation of the loving Christi- an rationality that the world so desperately needs. P. J. Watson U. C. Foundation Professor of Psychology, University of Ten- nessee at Chattanooga, U.S.A. Editor – Edification: The Transdisciplinary Journal of Christian Psychology Thank you and well done for producing the first editi- on of what may well become one of the most important journals of the 21st century for psychologists who are also Christians. After a lengthy period of gestation this Journal documents some of the different approaches and ideas of Christians who study human behaviour in sick- ness and in health. Over the last 25 years many of us have struggled to ex- plore and develop approaches to mental and spiritual ill-

EMCAPP Journal 2

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