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Psychology in christian perspective an analysis of key issues notes
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Psychology in christian perspective an analysis of key issues notes
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“You don’t have to see a psychologist, Jesus will help you solve all your problems.” A dignified lady at my church once criticized my mother for putting my family in counseling to receive much needed help from professionals. She believed asking for help denied the power of Jesus. On the contrary, I believe the science of psychology should work together with biblical principles and also acknowledge Jesus Christ as the truth and only way of salvation. Psychologists work from five different perspectives: neuroscience, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, and psychodynamic. The biggest problem with these perspectives is that they try to fix mental problems through human means while Christians believe Jesus heals. However, despite this, four out of the five perspectives share core beliefs with Christians and match biblical principles. While most possess occasional anti-biblical beliefs, all the …show more content…
Every behavior ultimately can be broken down into its biological components, so this perspective has broad appeal (Feldman, 2011, p.19). The Bible supports the neuroscience perspective of psychology as it states, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5 New International Version). Thus, scientists should analyze genetics because humans all have flawed genes due to sin. Also, the Bible contains support for the fact that genetics affect actions. For example, Jesus talks about types of men who should not marry women. He states, Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For there are eunuchs who were born that way...” (Matthew 19:11-12). Here, he explains that some people have homosexuality tendencies due to their genetic makeup. Using the neuroscience perspective of psychology correlates with the Bible, as both believe imperfect genetics affect
The integration of psychology and Christianity is a rarely touched subject that Entwistle opened the door wide open with this complex and informative book. Entwistle uses is own worldview and research to supply the information for this book with a spiritual twist. Entwistle did accomplish to gather concise information and while also remaining objective. I do think that in the information that was provided I took it as him putting psychology and Christianity on the same pedestal. God is the creator and the maker of all and there is no equal or greater than him. I do feel like integrating psychology and Christianity can open the minds of individuals and show them another way to look at individual
This paper will be reviewing the book “Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: an introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations and models of integration, by David N. Entwistle. As the title states, this book discusses how to integrate psychology and theology. It also dives into why it is so important to be able to integrate the two. Entwistle explains that just because the two are different does not mean they should be separated, and that we have to use both our worldviews. “Weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could either perspective alone.”
Psychoanalysis teaches that who you are is set in stone. There may be ways of coping with the depression you face, the anger you wrestle with, and the difficulty in relating to others that you struggle with; but in the end, these flaws are a part of you, there is no removing them. Psychoanalysis teaches that while you were young, while you were weak, while you were impressionable, these flaws were formed, rooted, set in you. Christianity has one message, a message of hope, a hope formed in the fact that, as Paul joyfully proclaims in Romans: “while we were still weak…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Homosexuality is a product of biology because according to research, the hormones of the females are stronger. Dr. Hamer states that sexual orientation, male homosexuality is genetically influenced. This is passed down through their mothers to the hormone of their offspring. Sexual identity is wired into the genes, which discounts the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are a choice. Since sexual differentiation occurs within the womb, as a result of hormonal influences, it has been hypothesized that homosexuality may result from differential hormone balance in the wombs of those who eventually exhibit a homosexual orientation. According to a study, the question is whether homosexual practice changes the brain or whether the brain results in homosexual practice. According to Dr. Hamer, male homosexuality might be linked to a set of five DNA sequences located on the Xq28 region of the X chromosome. Therefore, if homosexual orientAtion were completely genetic, one would expect that it would not change over the course of one's life.
David Entwistle’s Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity David Entwistle's (2010) Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity is geared more towards Christians with conservative evangelical views and provides the reader with an outline to different worldview disputes and truth-seeking groundwork that surround the connection that underlies psychology and theology. In addition to analyzing the possible connection between psychology and theology, Entwisle discusses the consideration of integrating Christian faith with the practice of psychology. “Christian understandings of person-hood, the purpose of human life, our need for God, and the ethical teachings of Christian faith are integral to psychology, not merely parallel to it” (p. 199). Entwistle’s viewpoint on this matter is clearly stated. He believes that it is necessary for theology and psychology to be integrated in order to fully understand human nature.
My mother is a school counselor and is working on her Ph.D in psychology and counseling, my father is a marriage and drug rehabilitation counselor, and was a minister in his younger years. I agree heavily with the concerns as well as the conclusion with the article. It is important to not trust all clergymen with every problem, some are best left to psychiatrists, and many clergymen are not qualified to help. They may even make the problem worse. But it is also very important to recognize that no two psychiatric cases are the same, each require unique approaches. And, regardless of your opinion on religion, it can be a useful as a tool to help change people’s lives, as the head of a state hospital said, “I’d appoint a horse-doctor to the staff if I thought he might do my patients any good!”
Human identity can be summed up by looking at it from two perspectives. Who we are in our natural state and who we are in Christ. Mankind in his natural state is driven by his sin nature. Romans 1-8 perfectly lays out who and what we are in our natural state. It also lays out who and what we are in Christ. “For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.” (Romans 3:9 NIV) In Romans 1:29-31, Paul gives a long list of wicked behaviors that are still prevalent in today’s society, which lets me know that we, in our natural state, are the same as we always have been. There are no exceptions to the rule, besides that of Christ. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (3:23) Paul emphasizes in Romans 1-3 how people have tried to free themselves from their sin nature by depending on the Law to no avail. The Law could not bring about justification (Acts 13:39), produce righteousness (Galatians 2:21), produce life (Galatians 3:21), bring about perfection (Hebrews 7:19) or free the conscience from a knowledge of sin (Hebrews 10:1-4). (Johnson, 1896) The fact is that God’s standards are perfect and we alone can never live up to them by any religious act or moral behavior. The good news is that God knew all of this. He knew that by our strength alone, we could not overcome our own sin nature. He sent us a perfect sacrifice to permanently fulfill the Law. That sacrifice was his only Son, Jesus Christ. “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:25) Through faith in Jesus Christ, the grace of God has been given to us. Now, rather than being bound we are made free. Instead of unrighteousness abounding in ou...
After reading a few of the chapters in "Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith", I feel as if I have learned more in one sitting than many in years of my life. The chapters were not life altering, but simply stated things that I have overlooked. The topics that affected me most were on living with the mysteries of faith, benefits of true rest, and the emotion of happiness. Yes, they are really in no way related, but each of these topics impacted me in a different way, and made me think about what was being presented.
Throughout the Bible many facts, lessons, and teachings are mentioned, but one thing which is not directly mentioned is psychology. However, just because this subject is not specifically mentioned does not mean that it is not in the Bible. For instance, one way that these two often correlate is in the area of emotion. Another, area is traits and actions that match up in both of these. But, it should also be noted that not all areas of psychology and the Bible match. In the end hopefully each of these points will help show just how these two subjects can be connected, even if it may not always appear so at first glance.
Integrating Christianity with psychology has been an interest of mine for a number of years. I have benefited personally from the writings of those who have brought together the truths of both perspectives. As such, I looked forward to the opportunity to take a course on integrating the two subjects, and I was not disappointed. Studying various theories, concepts, and models of integration has changed my perceptions and challenged my beliefs about integrating psychology with Christian theology.
In Entwistle’s book, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity (2010), the reasoning for the need of integration of psychology and Christianity is provided. Entwistle explores both psychology and Christianity to illuminate the historical arguments that surround the evolution of both mindsets. Also provided is an explanation of the terminology associated with the philosophical discussion to enable comprehension by the less experienced in the field.
The first possible cause of homosexuality is genetic factors. Homosexuality is a trait from birth (Buchanan, 2000). Studies found that identical twins share many common traits. A study found that identical twins normally share homosexual behavior if one of them is homosexual. This proved that genes are likely to cause homosexuality. In addition, according to (Santinover, 2002), homosexuality is a heritable behavior. Based on heritability studies, almost any human trait is heritable including the homosexual behavior. He stated that behavioral genes are found in specific chromosome. Thus, the behavior is obviously heritable. Moreover, Italian University of Padova (2004) believes that homosexual trait is passed from mother to male offspring by natural ...
At the same time psychological researchers are avoiding the fusion of religion and psychology, so are religious organizations. Religion once feared psychology's tendency to view God as "nothing but" the projection of the idealized father (Ciarrocchi, 2000). Many religions hold that divine acts can override laws of nature, a view that is usually seen as incompatible with scientific belief. Although some researchers find that the relationship between religion and psychology is not receiving enough attention, others believe that combining the two is important. If the explosion of research publications on religion and spirituality by the American Psychological Association (APA) is any indication, psychologists cannot seem to read enough on the topic (e.g., Donahue & Benson, 1996; Pargament & Park, 1996; Graham-Pole, Wass, Eyeberg, & Chu, 1989). Overall, bot...
Over the years, there has been a debate whether homosexuality is due to nature or nurture. In other words, are you born gay, or do you become gay? Scientists look into its background and origins of homosexuality. Some believe it is developmental or some have even tried to diagnose a disorder back originally. There are many valid points to either side that can be discussed and much information to be researched about this topic. On one hand, people may say that you are born gay due to your genetic makeup because they always seem to know that they have been gay; on the other hand some people may argue that your surroundings sway you to become gay because some people may not come out until their later years. Both sides pose important questions such as; is there a chance that you could have a gay offspring if nobody in your family line was ever gay if it deals with genetics? Or maybe if you are born gay, then why don’t people talk about it or even come out until later in life? Does your family situation involving how many brothers and/or sisters you have effect the sexuality of someone or is that aspect just completely disregarded? All of these questions can be answered with simple explanations and when it comes down to it all, there is no correct side to this argument; it is all what people believe. Despite all of this, the real question is, is homosexuality a result of a person’s environment and surroundings or of his biology and genetics?
However, a couple years ago, the issue seemed to only be discussed by people in the social sciences. Psychologists, such as Sigmund Freud, studied homosexuals broadly and were coming up with specification for their "abnormal" behavior. All of the reasons that the people who were studied, created links to homosexuality was because of experiences that homosexual have happened to them while growing up. Typically speaking, psychology believed that a person 's surrounding could explain homosexuality. However, in the past eight or ten years, the subject of homosexuality has and is steadily making it into the world of biology. Studies have been done recently are coming up with a genetic explication for sexual predilection. The fact that many of the scientists taking part into researches of this sort are gays, Chandler Burr an American journalist, scientist of genetics, and biology as well, verbally expressed “which expounds a lot about the issue, that homosexual people are intrigued and curious about their “abnormal” nature themselves”. It may also serve as proof, that homosexuality is not the personal choice, and also saying about the moral competence of sexual minority people. The words "sexual orientation," which in the 1980s superseded "sexual predilection," declares the deeply rooted nature of sexual desire and love. It implicatively