4 Mat Review of Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity 2nd Ed.
4 MAT Review of Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity 2nd Ed.
COUN 506
Sherrita L. Hedgepeth
Liberty University
July 14, 2012
Summary
David Entwistle's (2010) Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity appears to be a text with a primary audience which appears to be conservative evangelical Christians. The basic ‘meat’ of the book is the premise that "weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could with either perspective alone" (p. 3). Entwistle’s view is that in faithful reading of both the book of God's work (nature) and the book of God's word (theology), this textbook seems to be the work of an individual whose true request is for a form of psychology that is aimed at the treatment of the total patient, mind, body and soul. "Christian understandings of personhood, the purpose of human life, our need for God, and the ethical teachings of Christian faith," Entwistle argues, "are integral to psychology, not merely parallel to it" (p. 199). By making his opinion clear throughout several sections within the text Entwistle is projecting his position on the subject of integrating theology and psychology very clear.
The main focus in this text is on the "integrative approaches in a well-conceived Christian worldview" (p. 63) and far less of the text is about any particular theory or theological view point. Like anything in life if you do not know where it came from you cannot see its future and that’s the foundation laid by the earlier chapters of the book in which he covered the history of psychology, theological beliefs and the development of the current relationship between the two. A large theme within the book is the theory of worldviews. The definition of worldview provided by the text states “a worldview is a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic make-up of the world” (pg 56). Worldviews were then broken down into
COUN 506
Sherrita L. Hedgepeth
Liberty University
July 14, 2012
Summary
David Entwistle's (2010) Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity appears to be a text with a primary audience which appears to be conservative evangelical Christians. The basic ‘meat’ of the book is the premise that "weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could with either perspective alone" (p. 3). Entwistle’s view is that in faithful reading of both the book of God's work (nature) and the book of God's word (theology), this textbook seems to be the work of an individual whose true request is for a form of psychology that is aimed at the treatment of the total patient, mind, body and soul. "Christian understandings of personhood, the purpose of human life, our need for God, and the ethical teachings of Christian faith," Entwistle argues, "are integral to psychology, not merely parallel to it" (p. 199). By making his opinion clear throughout several sections within the text Entwistle is projecting his position on the subject of integrating theology and psychology very clear.
The main focus in this text is on the "integrative approaches in a well-conceived Christian worldview" (p. 63) and far less of the text is about any particular theory or theological view point. Like anything in life if you do not know where it came from you cannot see its future and that’s the foundation laid by the earlier chapters of the book in which he covered the history of psychology, theological beliefs and the development of the current relationship between the two. A large theme within the book is the theory of worldviews. The definition of worldview provided by the text states “a worldview is a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic make-up of the world” (pg 56). Worldviews were then broken down into
Cited: Bible, H. (2011). New International Version. Retrieved July 14, 2012, from BibleGateway.com: www.biblegateway.com/passage Entwistle, D