Christian Psychology

As an undergraduate student of psychology, my focus has been, as Landrum and Davis (2014) describe, “learning about psychology, not learning ‘to do’ psychology” (p. 13). Furthermore, as a Christian, I have been especially interested in how psychology and Christianity integrate. Desiring to stay true to my Christian faith but also to learn from psychology and pursue the evidence, I have sought to understand both. Through personal experience and undergraduate training, I have discovered that incorporating psychology and Christianity produces better psychology and a healthier Christianity.

The question of why integrate two seemingly disparate disciplines of psychology and Christian theology is an important one to consider. Everyone has a worldview,

4:18, Ephesians 6:12) as opposed to a purely materialistic worldview which suggests that “only physical things exist” (Hergenhahn & Henley, 2014, p. 597). Christian theology understands that God is spirit (Erickson, 2015, p.88), and that He interacts with the world and with people. The stories of Jacob and Moses in the Old Testament are examples of God interacting with people and events in the world. The incarnation of Jesus Christ, of God becoming a man, shows physical and spiritual realities interacting. Furthermore, the Bible indicates that human nature is both material and immaterial. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 writes, “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (New International Version). Whether soul and spirit are synonymous or separate aspects is still being debated (cf. Heb. 4:12 and Matt. 10:28), however, theologians generally agree the human nature consists of material (seen) and immaterial (unseen) components (Erickson,

Sins consequences effect people not just physically, but also spiritually (Genesis 3:3; Romans 6:23). Physically, sin invades the human gene pool (Arthur, 2005, p. 58), brings sickness and disease, and ultimately results in death. Spiritually, sin separates humans from God, others, and produces spiritual death. Esqueda (2014) describes the result of sin, “Sin disrupted the human relationships with God, oneself, one another, and creation” (p. 95). Sin affects an individual’s thoughts and behavior resulting in harmful words and actions toward others, oneself, God, and the environment.

How is sin experienced, or felt, and how does it control behavior? God explains to the prophet Jeremiah how sin was destroying the people of Judah, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13, NIV). Sin is experienced as a thirst or unfulfilled longing in the soul. Pascal (2000) offers