The case of Mr. Darma: A pastoral theological approach to the dying by using case study method

Abstract

I. Introduction Each dying person is unique. This dissertation does not attempt to give a general "Method Approach", valid for all dying persons. Discussing the dying person on a general, theoretical-intellectual level, and one does not really touch on the problem of dying itself. To avoid the danger of generality, this thesis starts with the real case of Mr. Darma, written up in accordance with the Case Study Method customarily used in the SEAGST Doctor of Pastoral Studies Program. This method has four steps: case description, analysis, interpretation, and strategy for pastoral action. This approach is holistic and multi-disciplinary, relating theology and social sciences in a critical way. II. The Case of Mr. Darma Mr. Darma, a businessman, is chairperson of a local Church Council. He is 42 and his wife 38 years old. They have two sons and four daughters, ranging in age from 18 to 4 years. The family lives in a regional capital (kota Kabupaten) in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Mr. Darma's parents were active church members. He himself faithfully attended Sunday school and Confirmation Class. After the death of his father when he was four years old, he was raised by his mother, who passed away three years before Mr. Darma fell ill with cancer. The first signs of Mr. Darma's illness were lumps on his neck. It was thought to be "black-magic", the work of someone in the congregation who hated him as chairperson of the Church Council. Treatment by a medicine man (dukun) had no effect. On the contrary, one more lump appeared. Mr.Darma then decided to see a medical doctor who diagnosed cancer and suggested treatment abroad. Having gone abroad, he was operated and given extensive x-ray treatments. One week after his return home, Mr.Darma developed a fever. It was then that he was visited by two pastors, his uncle and a friend active in a prayer fellowship. At their urging he attended a rally of the "Divine healing Group". During a later conversation with his pastor Mr.Darma said: "As you can see, Pastor, all efforts at healing me have been unsuccessful. The devil has whispered in my ear, The Lord has forsaken you. He is no longer with you. If He loved you, He would have heard your prayer. The Lord is gracious, Pastor, but He does not love me nor my wife and my children. What kind of sin has been committed by me or my parents or my ancestors that I am suffering like this? I feel I am no longer being tested, but punished. The Lord is the Holy God, who punishes sinners up to the fourth generation." Then, in another conversation with his uncle, he addressed his dead parents, saying: "Father, mother, if I recover I will build you a tomb of cement. Please, let me live, because your grandchildren have not grown up yet." Near the end of his life Mr.Darma took Holy Communion at the urging of his wife. Half an hour later he died. II. Analysis The case having been described as objectively as possible, is now analyzed from five perspectives: that of pastoral interaction, language, psychology, and religion and socio-religious dynamics. 1. Pastoral Interaction The role of the pastors and other visitors was more that of advisors and scolders than that of friends trying to share in Mr. Darma's suffering. 2. Language Speaking about God Mr. Darma used metaphors as "the Wholly Other", "the God who punishes" sinners anti "the God who loves the righteous". 3. Psychology Mr.Darma experienced stages of emotion i.e. shock, refusal, bargaining, fear/depression and acceptance. He has emotional adjustment problems connected with God, himself and people around him. 4. Reigion Because of his father's early death, Mr. Darma's image of God is more colored by the influence of his mother than his father. He sees God as a com- forting mother who gives him everything he needs. He experiences God on a mystical feeling level. Therefore his illness and suffering are perceived as punishment. 5. Socio-religious dynamics A strong influence on Mr.Darma is the traditional Batak religion i.e. its concept of God; its dualistic view of humankind; the function of the parent. The parent, while alive, is as a revealed God and, after his or her death, as the ancestor's spirit able to bless or punish the descendants -even able the descendants to the world of the dead. Since Mr. Darma received little Biblical instruction about the relationship between sin and sickness, he concluded that this illness was God’s punishment for his sins. Conclusion From what has been found in the analysis of the case, it can be concluded that Mr.Darma has a theological and psychological problem concerning the image of God. His image of God as Punisher is stronger than that of God as a loving Father. Therefore Mr. Darma does not have a clear understanding of death, of life after death or about the relationship between the living and the dead. III. Interpretation Based on the case Description and analysis, the following can be argued: 1. Mr. Darma is inclined to understand God more as a Judge than as a gracious Father. This can be attributed to theological, psychological, cultural-religious and social factors. a. Theological factors Mr. Darma's concept of God was influenced by Pietism and Calvinism. Pietism Pietism, emphasizing personal righteousness, is a strong aspect in the teaching of the HKI Church of which Mr. Darma was a member. It colored his operative theology which was influenced by his Sunday school education, Confirmation Class and the sermons he heard on Sundays. He had to memorize the Ten Commandments and moralistic songs. He was taught that God is the lawgiver who has to be feared, blessing those who obey and punishing those who he kept hearing sermons which emphasized personal righteousness and spoke dis- approvingly of human weakness. These sermons left the impression with Mr. Darma that God had refused to heal him during the rally of the Divine Healing Team, because his faith was not strong enough. Calvinism Calvinism, emphasizing church discipline, is a dominant factor in the HKI church. Breaking the church rules is punishable. As chairperson of the Church council Mr. Darma had to censure others. This affirmed his image of a punishing God. b. Psychological factors Due to his father's early death and the strong influence of his mother Mr.Darma knew God in a mystic, affective way. He never experienced a father figure who while refusing his child's requests still loved it. When he was not given what he asked for, he interpreted that as punishment. c. Cultural-religious factors Batak culture reenforces the image of God as Punisher. According to Batak belief "Debate Sori" (god of fortune) is the source of good fortune as well as misfortune and "Debata Dihurmajati" is the source of lucky and unlucky days. Relying more on Barak beliefs than Biblical learning, sickness meant to Mr. Darma punishment from God, given to him because of his own, his parent's and his ancestors' trespasses. d. Social factors Mr. Darma was disappointed in the pastors who visited him during his ill ness. According to him, a pastor's function is to listen to people with problems, especially religious problems. His one-sided image of God as Punisher was not corrected, unfortunately, due to lack of a good pastoral relationship. 2. Mr. Darma cannot really understand the idea of a Loving God. It was not clear to him that the Ten Commandments are not meant for gaining merits but for keeping them in response to God's saving grace. The purpose of God's law is not to burden His people, but to reveal His love. Good works are the result of (not the condition for) our status as God's children who have received everything from the Father. They need not be done by people accused before the law of God, in order to gain His favor. 3. The consequence of Mr. Darma's inability to see God as loving is that he is not sure that there will be a life after death for him. His life being colored by a legalistic spirituality he does not understand that illness and death are not signs that he is no longer in Christ. In the first place this causes him to suffer emotionally, not being able to accept that he is dying. In the second place he views his relationship with the deceased according to Batak culture and not based on a life in Jesus Christ. 4. During his grief and suffering, caused by cancer, Mr.Darma was not well pastorally assisted by the people or pastors who came to counsel him in gaining an adequate image of God. They themselves did not realize that they, in counselling the patient, were representatives of God. This inadequacy only further confirmed Mr. Darma in his image of the punishing God. IV. Pastoral Action Based on previous findings we can say that the case of Mr. Darma addresses primary problems relating to theology, psychology and pastoral care. It also addresses secondary issues as the socio-religious influence of the Batak culture. These two, of course, are interrelated. So in planning pastoral action we have to pay attention to both sets of problems. The first step in planning pastoral action will be to remove Mr. Darma's psychological block by enabling him to accept a new and more complete image of God. This will enlarge his theological knowledge and help him in coping with his illness. Lutheran theology about God may provide a suitable model here. Furthermore, it is important for pastors and church workers to increase their skill in pastoral counseling through personal and theological reflection on their work and to improve communication with the client.

The Relevance of this Thesis The relevance of this dissertation is found in the following: 1. This Thesis shows that and how the knowledge of God determines the way people view and cope with disease, death, life after death, and their understanding of the relationship between the living and the dead;, 2. This thesis, it is hoped, may be used as a source of understanding of Darma's case and as an aid in ministering to dying people in general; 3. The multi-disciplinary approach of this thesis, relating theology and social sciences, may strengthen the effectiveness of pastoral care of dying persons.