This article focuses on the anxiety about whether God loves one or not. In the author’s
nearly 30-year ministry, this pastoral difficulty continues to perplex and afflict. While
the presenting problem is what in theological parlance is ‘a lack of assurance’, a side
difficulty is the poor and incorrect doctrine of God often associated with this. A Baylor
University Study in 2006 characterises the kind of God that different groups of Americans
believe in. While the phrase ‘a lack of assurance’ is a part of dogmatic parlance, and has
fallen out of use, the feeling of not belonging to God can be overwhelming for people. This
feeling may be overwhelming. This makes it a pastoral issue. This article suggests a
pastoral response to this issue and a proposal for a clarification in the nature and character
of God using the therapeutic theology of 19th-century Scottish minister-theologian John
McLeod Campbell.
Description:
This research is part of the
project, ‘Pastoral Care and
Trauma Counselling’, directed
by Prof. Dr Maake Masango,
Department of Practical
Theology, Faculty of Theology,
University of Pretoria.