Eduvest – Journal of Universal Studies
Volume 2 Number 1, January 2022
146 http://eduvest.greenvest.co.id
In her research, Miller-McLemore found that many marginalized people cannot be served
well by using Boisen's living human document approach, especially marginalized women
and black people. Boisen's concept of living human documents has yet to answer
questions like this, especially since the locus is only in mental hospitals. According to
her, pastoral theology's trademark of empathy for the living human document is
confounded by the limitations of empathy in the midst of the living human web.
Sometimes a person must admit an inability to understand fully the lived reality of the
oppressions suffered by another (Miller-McLemore, 2005)
Therefore, Miller-McLemore emphasizes the interconnectedness of theology and
pastoral ministry, no longer relying solely on psychological support but social, political,
and other aspects. Unlike the concept of a living human document, the living human web
cannot simply be "read" (Boisen) and interpreted (Gerkin) like a "document".(Miller-
McLemore, 2005) Marginalized people, including women and blacks, still cannot or can't
even speak, so how can they be "read" and interpreted? That's why, according to Miller-
McLemore, theology and pastoral ministry must be able to encourage the marginalized to
speak for themselves.(Miller-McLemore, 2005)
This Miller-McLemore critique is noteworthy. We live in a complex
contemporary era, and reliance on psychology alone will not help much theology and
pastoral care. The choice of a mental hospital as a "laboratory" to read and interpret living
human documents limits the "space" and "reach" of theology and the pastoral ministry
itself. Likewise, the approach is very individualistic, not paying attention to the external
context that also influences the inner world of the people with problems. However, the
concept of "the living human web" from Miller-McLemore also tends to ignore individual
aspects of a person because of giving too wide space to the socio-political context.
Therefore, in my opinion, a holistic pastoral approach is an excellent alternative in
reading and interpreting human documents living in an increasingly complex world.
B. Holistic Pastoral Approach on The Idea Of Living Human Documents
The term "holistic" comes from the word "holism." This word means the activity
of the parts of a whole concerning the function of the whole.Lorens Bagus, Kamus
Filsafat (Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama, 2000), 293. The paradigm of this approach is
that the whole is considered a whole, which consists of many different but interconnected
parts that influence and form a living organism. To develop holistic theology and pastoral
care based on living human documents, we will look at and analyze humans and the
problems they face from the physical aspect, psychological/mental aspect, social aspect,
and spiritual aspect.Daniel Susanto, Clinical Pastoral Education and Its Significance for
Indonesia: A Study of Transfer of CPE from the USA to Indonesia, Illustrated by the CPE
Transfer to the Netherlands (Kampen: Drukkerij van den Berg, 1999).
The birth and development of this holistic pastoral approach cannot be separated
from the theological reflection of the church or a particular person on the various contexts
faced by humans from time to time, and is an attempt to translate the pastoral function
into its context. It is realized that the traditional approach in developing theology and
pastoral care is no longer effective and efficient in responding to various issues that occur
in human life, both individually and in community life, including in various
contemporary issues that develop in society. Aart van Beek, a pastoral theologian who
has lived and taught in Indonesia for a long time, said that a holistic pastoral approach is
the most relevant approach to be applied in Indonesia because congregations and
communities still struggle a lot around issues of poverty, social injustice, pluralism,
environmental issues. life, and various other socio-economic pathologies.(van Beek,
2002) Then, what kind of holistic pastoral approach is meant?