By Prince t
© God’s Business Mag, 2008
All rights Reserved. To use this article please contact: Prince on 0721290602/ 011 211 3651 or
Email: monnapt@gmail.com
Offenders will be prosecuted.
Ennerdale: The church is slowly discovering its purpose and mandate within the communities in which it is based. This morning I attended a “couple’s breakfast” hosted by AFM Shalom Ministries in Ennerdale.
The heart of the ‘talks’ or discussions at this breakfast I gathered were relationships-based: between parents and children. The major discussion seemed to revolve around “basics” of ‘rearing’ children, and I use the word ‘rearing’ very loosely here. One speaker nostalgically traced her childhood memories under the now so-called, yet extremely effective way of raising children her parents subjected her to: the so-called old-school-parenting system. She very thankfully praised her parents for instilling in her “values, which I would love to pass on to my children”, she said matter-of-factly.
In our societies today, no wonder the young people are referred to as the ‘generation x, a question of ‘values’ let alone morals never really arise. Lack of values and morals are the most celebrated traits in our times. This is a shame. I have personally seen very old people who still behave like babes, now that’s pathetic and I won’t mince my words about it.
Not so long ago, the South African government in its quest to Americanize or Europeanize its citizens passed a law, which has no value or place in an African country or context. Africans are raised to respect the elders, and other people are raised to negotiate ‘rights’. Rights or respect? Which should we opt for in today’s times of brutal moral decadence our communities are living at the mercy of? I reckon, like me you opted for respect, because within respect exists the highest order of ‘Rights’ and their upholding and enforcement.
This (above) widely opposed (I say so because I was involved in a match against it) piece of legislature gave way to a heart ranching onslaught of unbridled truancy to our children. It allowed children at the age of twelve years old to make life altering decisions without the consent of their parents. A twelve year old girl can now go to the hospital and solicit for an abortion, legally without her parents ever knowing about it. I guess they will only know when something goes wrong and she dies, in which case they will be acting solely as ‘undertakers’ (those funeral guys, know them?)
Times are changing and this has come as a rude awakening for committed and loving parents, especially the church. There is need now more than ever before in its inception for the church to brace itself and go beyond praying and fasting to squarely tackling-head-on the perils of our times that threatens its sanctity and legitimacy as the moral pulse and barometer of our communities.
In its quest to do this the church is doing church the “unusual” lethargic way it used to. It has and must definitely be as fast and ahead of its time than technology is, or else it is only remedying what has been damaged. A proactive church is what our communities need today. That old, lethargic hymn-singing church did well for its time, but it is not enough for today.
Get me right here. What I am saying here is not, that the church should bring the world into the church but that the church should aggressively now more than ever before go out into the world and dilute and in time completely transform it (the world philosophies about life) into the image and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Education is needed. And I want to speak briefly about “Temperaments” or as they are often referred to as “The Four Temperaments”. These formed part of the discussions that took place at the breakfast I just made mention of above.
Mrs. Mc Gluwa, the speaker who presented this topic, did it in the vernacular so that no one says they didn’t get it. (She spoke in Afrikaans).
I summary her presentation was: if we don’t understand our children and if we can’t provide the answers to their questions, verbalized, subliminal and unvoiced, then the world will. The world has nothing to offer us, as I just showed you through the types of legislatures our governments are toying with.
BRIEF HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE FOUR TEMPAREMENTS:
Temperament theory has its roots in the ancient four humors theory of the Greek doctor Hippocrates (460-370 BC), who believed certain human moods, emotions and behaviors were caused by body fluids (called "humors"): blood, yellow bile, black bile, and phlegm. Next, Galen (131-200 AD) developed the first typology of temperament in his dissertation De temperamentis, and searched for physiological reasons for different behaviors in humans.
In The Canon of Medicine, Avicenna (980-1037) then extended the theory of temperaments to encompass "emotional aspects, mental capacity, moral attitudes, self-awareness, movements and dreams."
Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) disregarded the idea of fluids as defining human behavior, and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925), Alfred Adler (1879-1937), Erich Adickes (1866-1925), Eduard Spränger (1914), Ernst Kretschmer (1920), and Erich Fromm (1947) all theorized on the four temperaments (with different names) and greatly shaped our modern theories of temperament.
Hans Eysenck (1916-1997) was one of the first psychologists to analyze personality differences using a psycho-statistical method (factor analysis), and his research led him to believe that temperament is biologically based. He proposed in his book Dimensions of Personality that Neuroticism (N) or the tendency to experience negative emotions, and Extraversion (E) which is the tendency to enjoy positive events, especially social ones were his equivalnet of the four ancient temperaments.
THE FOURTEMPAREMENTS:
According to Hans Eysenck, temperaments are divided into two biological based categories: which are: NEUROTICISM (N) or the ability of a human being to experience NEGATIVE Emotions, and secondly EXTRAVERSION (E)which is the tendency of a human being to experience or enjoy POSITIVE social events especially. The following is his classification of the four, in relation to his Neurotic and Extraversion classification of the same.
• High N, High E = Choleric
• High N, Low E = Melancholic (also called "Melancholy"/pl. "-ies")
• Low N, High E = Sanguine
• Low N, Low E = Phlegmatic
1. Sanguine
Sanguine indicates the personality of an individual with the temperament of blood, the season of spring (wet and hot). A person who is sanguine is generally light hearted, fun loving, spontaneous and confident. However they can be arrogant, and indulgent. He/She can be day-dreamy and off-task to the point of not accomplishing anything.This also describes the manic phase of a bipolar disorder. Their humour is often exploitative.
2. Choleric corresponds to the fluid of yellow bile, the season of summer (dry and hot). Cholerics are doers and leaders. They have a lot of ambition, energy, and passion, and try to instill it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were cholerics. On the negative side, they are easily angered or bad-tempered.
In folk medicine, a baby referred to as having "colic" is one who cries frequently and seems to be constantly angry.
3. Melancholic is the personality of an individual characterized by black bile; hence (Greek μελας, melas, "black", + χολη, kholé, "bile"); a person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a melancholic disposition. Often very kind and considerate, melancholics can be highly creative - as in poetry and art - but also can become overly pre-occupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world, thus becoming depressed.
The temperament is associated with the season of autumn (dry and cold). A melancholic is also often a perfectionist, being very particular about what they want and how they want it in some cases. This often results in being unsatisfied with one's own artistic or creative works and always pointing out to themselves what could and should be improved.
This temperament describes the depressed phase of a bipolar disorder.
There is no bodily fluid corresponding to black bile; the medulla of the adrenal glands, which decomposes very rapidly after death, can be associated with it.
4. Phlegmatic
A phlegmatic person is calm and unemotional. Phlegmatic means "pertaining to phlegm", corresponds to the season of winter (wet and cold). While phlegmatics are generally self-content and kind, their shy personality can often inhibit enthusiasm in others and make themselves lazy and resistant to change. They are very consistent, relaxed, rational, curious, and observant, making them good administrators and diplomats. Like the sanguine personality, the phlegmatic has many friends. However the phlegmatic is more reliable and compassionate; these characteristics typically make the phlegmatic a more dependable friend.
Armed with this information and much more, christians will be able not only to understand their children, but also to interact with them in ways that would foster a dialogue of understand amongst them all. This is needed now than a decade ago, or else we have no one to blame because very soon we will cry fowl after the world has finished dealing with our children. Prayer is fuondational, but prayer must go with action. The world acts while we pray in a vaccum. The Bible encourages action (see James).
No comments:
Post a Comment