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Book Review: Vision from a Little Known Country: A Boisen Reader

Vision From a Little Known Country: A Boisen Reader. Glenn H. Asquith,Jr. (Ed.) (Decatur, GA: Journal of Pastoral Care Publications, Inc., 1992). 244 pp. $22.50. Glenn H. Asquith has edited a remarkable collection of Anton Boisen's journal articles from 1923-1961, and gathered together several significant personages in the pastoral care and education field who have written "A Critique of Boisen's Life and Work" (Fred Eastman, Seward Hiltner, Paul Pruyser, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Ross Snyder, David Steere, Carol North, William M. Clements, and Glenn Asquith, Jr.). The introduction to the book contains a history of Boisen's life and development as a person, which gives the reader a picture of this curious man. The title of the book itself is derived from the vision that Boisen had regarding Clinical Pastoral Education (1920) which he recorded in his autobiography as "A Little Known Country." Professor Asquith notes, "He began an exploration which not only led to the formation of clinical pastoral education but also its extensive research and writing in psychology of religion" (p. 3). The journal articles begin with Boisen's first published article on mental disorder (Mental Hygiene, April, 1923) where he calls for a dialogue and cooperation between religion and medicine. The selected articles focus on such themes as challenging seminaries, proposing theological education in clinics, developing a theology for understanding psychiatric experiences, and attempts to differentiate between the problem of sin and salvation in the light of psychopathology. Each of the articles offers a significant picture of Boisen's thinking and development. The reader will argue with some of Boisen's' thoughts and conclusionse.g., his concluding paragraph in the 1948 article "The Minister As Counselor" where he states: "I see neither the possibility nor the desirability of establishing a new profession of religious counselors. " The articles indicate Boisen's sincere belief in the necessity of pastoral research, as well as his own struggle to present a scientific understanding of the pastoral function and task. Boisen's use ofthe case method in theological discussion is presented in a 1941 article, "Theology in the Light of Psychiatric Experience." The article outlines a methodology for a pastoral interview that still stands as a model for teaching and learning the uniqueness of pastoral visitation (as compared to psychiatric or social work interviewing). Anyone who believes that Boisen is the "Father" of Clinical Pastoral Education will delight in this article alone. The second part of the book is a critique of Boisen's life and work. The authors of each article present a different view of Boisen. This section is a wonderfully done composite of Boisen, which up to this time has not been brought together in such a format. The articles are written by persons who knew and corresponded with Boisen as early as 1920 (Fred Eastman), to Henri Nouwen thoughts on "Boisen and Theology Through Living Human Documents" (1968), and to Carol North and William M. Clements attempt to apply DSM III criteria to arrive at a psychiatric diagnosis of Boisen. Ross Snyder, and David Steere offer insightful and challenging questions to theological education and the future of Clinical Pastoral Education in light of Boisen's thinking. Vision From A Little Known Country: A Boisen Reader is a book that any person who believes that Anton Boisen is a significant person in the Clinical Pastoral Education movement will not only read, but re-read, and quote from. There are literally hundreds of fascinating and thought provoking one liners that teachers, supervisors, and students ofCPE can discuss, cogitate over, and wonder about. There are few books in the Clinical Pastoral Education field that give such a clear picture of not only the man, Anton Boisen, but a history ofCPE's roots, and where the movement has moved from these roots-in both positive and negative