Jesús como paradigma ético del cuidado pastoral
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Dialogue III of the seminar Christian Ethics for Biblical Counseling addresses the central question of how Jesus treated morally compromised individuals, dismantling the false pastoral alternative that forces a choice between speaking the truth and losing the person, or retaining the person and silencing the truth. In Jesus, truth and mercy are not balanced in variable proportions; rather, they are manifested together, in the very same act, toward the same person (John 8:11). The text outlines four principles of the lifestyle Jesus teaches: agape love, which entails emptying the "I" so that the "you" may be empowered; teaching through one's own life; purity of heart; and the cross as the ultimate foundation. Drawing on the fictional case of Rubén and Camila, a worship leader who abuses a young woman under his spiritual authority, the Dialogue explores four tensions: whether the Christological paradigm serves as an example or a foundation; whether acceptance precedes change or vice versa; whether there is a right to ministerial office; and what the Christian community owes to the harmed person who has left. It concludes that biblical restoration does not restore a position but rather entrusts a burden; that genuine repentance is verified through concrete reparation to the harmed individuals; and that no Christian community can make decisions regarding the offender without first seeking out the one who was wounded by the fall.
Author: Leal Ramirez, Sergio
Language: English
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204683402