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 to 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.” (p.3)
Entwistle explains that our worldview greatly impacts how our Christian and psychology worldviews. God created us all differently; some of us grew up in small towns, large families, different countries, large cities. We all come from different homes lives, have different family units and the list goes on. Because we are all created differently our opinions and reactions are all different, making our worldviews all unique. Entwistle believes that our worldview is not something chosen for us or something we choose. He believes that it is created by our life experiences. He begins by introducing 5 models that involve integration. These models are enemies, spies, colonialist, neutral parties and allies. He states that the models “represent different ways of conceptualizing the relationship between psychology and religion in general or psychology and Christianity, in particular.” (p. 136) Those that follow the enemy model take an “either/or” (p.137) position. They agree that both topics should be separated at all times. There is no in between on the two. With the...
... middle of paper ...
...to be able to take effective action unless I first finish my education in this field. Along with completing my education, I also plan to continue growing in my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It would be impossible for me to effectively integrate both psychology and my Christian faith if these two are not in line. Enwistle focuses a great deal on people’s worldview. After reading this text, I saw the importance of being open to others worldviews. As a counselor I will be coming in contact with people from all different walks of life. If a client comes to see me, I cannot expect them to have the same perspective as I do. If I am not open to their perspective then I will not be able to help them move past whatever their situation maybe. By recognizing that everyone has a different worldview, it will allow me to be open and more understanding towards them.
Faw mentions two important questions that come up when psychology and Christianity is combined. The first being “the bible’s own claims to sufficiency” (Faw, 1995, p. 18) and the second questioning if nonbelievers can understand and learn the truth. The bible’s sufficiency says that no outside source can be used or relied on however; we still use technology and medicine as it keeps us healthy but if we do use it we should use it wisely and in the eyes of God and his Word. The second concern, that nonbelievers can not understand the truth, states that God is the only one who knows the whole truth and we are just made in his image. I believe that we are all taught something different determinant on how we are raised and this leads to everyone having different viewpoint and differing opinions. This can be a positive thing and can also relate to our views on knowing what is right and what is wrong. We all had a distinctive upbringings and if we were raised to believe one thing is right, someone else in the world may be taught that it is wrong. Even thought we all have differing views on many things, it does not mean that we should not hate, we should accept people for who they
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.
Entwistle’s book explores the links and integration between psychology and Christianity. As the title explains this book paints a picture of the conflicting worldviews and philosophical foundations that people perceive about how they can be integrated. Entwistle provides research through scholarly reflection and various models that link both psychology and Christianity together. Entwistle remarked by saying “There are many events that raise both theological and psychological questions and such events serve as useful springboards to investigate links between Christian theology and other disciplines” (Entwistle, 2015, p. 8). This statement sets the stage for the readers to understand how some events throughout history have laid the
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
“Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity” (2010) is about the purposeful integration of psychology and Christianity. Entwistle, discusses the integration of scripture and nature, holding to historic orthodox Christianity that “Scripture and the natural world have their origins in God’s creativity and revelation” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 136). Theology clarifies the Word of God (Bible), and Psychology corresponds with the works of God. A working definition of integration is offered,
The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.
Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration is a book that fully looks at and examines the correlation between theology and psychology. Theology is a “branch of inquiry that among other things seeks to understand what it means to be human” (p. 3). Understanding that “all truth is God’s truth” (p. 13). Psychology is “one of several academic disciplines that attempt to understand human behavior” (p. 3). These two subjects are individualistically studied but the purpose of this book is to analyze he integration of the two. For some time different researchers have posed perspectives in support to keep the two separate. However, Entwistle explores both pros and cons and even explores the prospective of others. Entwistle defines worldview as, “a window through which he or she views the world, framed by assumptions and beliefs that color what he or she sees” (p. 55). Often time people will believe in their own ideas and beliefs to be accurate. In addition to this the author introduces a Christian worldview which is imperative when exploring the idea of integrating the two perspectives of theology and psychology. Every individual has to desire truth avoiding being partial to just their view of the world.
A person’s worldviews enable him to understand the reality of life, and the purpose why he exists in the first place. Worldviews are like lenses in different glasses. Hence, people may put them on however, what their eyes see may be different from what the rest of the world sees. All of humanity’s beliefs, decisions, and actions are deciphered based on the set of glasses that people wear. They may not be aware of it, but people have their own worldviews. One of these worldviews is that of the Christian. When a person gets to experience the Lord, he yearns to follow Christ’s teaching and glorify Him only. The following paragraphs will discuss the important aspects in Christian worldview.
Our Entwistle textbook is enlightening. It is interesting to think that if I had not taken this course, I would be completely clueless to how Christianity and psychology are approached in regards to one another. Before, I did not even know that there was any controversial topics when it came to the two interacting. I have always fallen into the "all truth is God's truth" boat, so I love learning about theology and I also love learning about psychology, but this course has opened up my perspective on how many approaches there actually are. Until you are immersed in figuring out your view on the integration of the two, the topic doesn't really come up, or didn't for me in my day to day. I was caught by surprise when I had a friend become distraught over the fact that I had a Christian psychology course because he was taught that the only thing pure in this world is a Christian perspective and everything else should not be meddled in. This is why this course, and
Although Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity is a great book, it is a difficult read which is a negative aspect of the book. One must read the book slowly so they will fully comprehend all the concepts within the book. If a person reads it too fast they will miss some of the points Entwistle makes regarding the integration of psychology and Christianity. One such point is, “the integration of psychology and Christianity emerged largely, though not exclusively, from the Christian liberal-arts tradition” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 16). This is an important argument Entwistle made in support of integration. Although Entwistle’s book is a difficult read, one of the most positive things about the book is that he takes his time developing each concept so we thoroughly understand them. He gives footnotes at the bottom of each page so we have other valuable resources. Another positive aspect is that Entwistle provides the views of those who disagree with him regarding the integration of psychology and
The key concept that Entwistle (2010) proposes for integrating psychology and theology is the model of the “Two Books.” This model recognizes that there are two sources, or “books” for knowledge, the book of God’s word, the Bible, and the book of God’s works, or creation. Entwisle’s (2010) understanding “holds that both Scripture and the natural world have their origins in God’s creativity and revelation” (p. 136). Whereas I believed this perspective, Entwistle’s analysis would reveal biases I was not aware I held.
Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity was written by David N. Entwistle. He is a licensed psychologist that works for Malone University in Ohio. The book displays important information about the integration of psychology and theology. Entwistle clarifies the historical reasons for the separation between the two areas. As he mentioned these historic events, he demonstrated how the knowledge today may reflect what happened in the past. For example, “During the past century, the relationship of faith and science has been a topic of intense debate” (Entwistle, 2015, p.8). The Tertullian only carried the view of faith and didn’t see any purpose for science. However, not all individuals
In regard to the views that he has concerning Christian psychologists and non-Christian psychology: “At the present time there is no acceptable Christian psychology that is markedly different from non-Christian psychology. It is difficult to imply that we function in a manner that is fundamentally distinct from our non-Christian colleagues" (MacArthur, 2001, p. 145).
Instead of supplant lies with truth, psychological conduct treatment just replaces unhelpful musings with accommodating ones. This opens wide the way to relativism. The cognitive behavioral perspective of human instinct is inaccurate. The theory is established in naturalism and hence is not discerning of the otherworldly and does not acknowledge the idea of God. All things being equal, in some ways the social cognitive view suggests the way that individuals have a wicked nature. In any case, it likewise recommends that people are equipped for self-salvation. We are most certainly not. Reconsidering our contemplations won 't spare
Bartholomew and Goheen (2004) in their research show that, whether or not we recognize it, each person has a worldview. In essence, each person has implicit assumptions as well as prejudices about the world, which in most occasions influence the manner in which we regard situations around us. Generally, a worldview is a kind of lenses that corrupts our view of the world around us. Singularly, our level of education and cultural background, as well as upbringing among many other environmental factors shapes our worldview. For most people, their worldview is nothing more than what they have observed in the environment. To such people, they wouldn’t be in a position to offer a rational reason of their beliefs to others Naugle (2002).