Metaphoric theology and God images in a hermeneutics for pastoral care and counselling

Abstract

Because of the recent development in pastoral care, a hermeneutic model is proposed. Metaphors in pastoral care and counselling are embedded in the life stories of parishioners. As an interpreter of Stories/stories, it is the diagnostic task of the pastor to make a pastoral assessment of the meaning and significance of these stories in terms of God images. In order to do that, the pastoral issues regarding encounter (partnership, companionship, commitment and intimacy) have been linked to the following pastoral metaphors in Scripture: shepherd, servant, wisdom and paraclete. With regard to metaphoric theology, God as Friend is our choice for a pastoral encounter which takes the notion of salvation seriously.