Christian Psychology Integration
Integration Paper
Why is it essential to consider how, or if it is possible to integrate psychology and Christianity? One of the biggest reasons is that you need to have a good understanding as to where you stand. The Bible says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9, NIV). Do Psychology and Christianity blend well together? There are certain psychologists that think of Christianity to scare people into doing the right thing. Then some Christians view psychology as unnecessary and a waste of time because the only following of the mind should be in the Bible. According to the text, “The integration if psychology and Christianity is a multifaceted attempt to discern the underlying truths about the nature and functioning of human beings from the unique vantage points of psychology and Christianity” (Entwistle, 2015, p.260). There are six models of integration of psychology and Christianity they are; Enemies model, Spies model, Colonialists model, Rebuilders model, Neutral Parties model, and the Allies model. There are good points to each of these models that a person …show more content…
may follow. However, there are limitations of psychology, and limitations of theology, so it’s important to understand the views of what you believe. Theological truth does place boundaries on our use of psychology and our psychological thinking. The reason for this is that secular assumptions often shape psychology in an incorrect non-Christian perspective. If we do find issues or conflict between psychology and theology, we would expect the unity of truth to triumph. That allows unity to be established between the two. Integration of psychology and theology needs to be done in a cautious and humble way. The Bible says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16, NIV). Upon consideration of the evidence from various disciplines of study, it seems like the Allies model best captures the relationship between psychological science and Christian faith. According to the text, “The Allies model recognizes God’s sovereignty” (Entwistle, 2015, p.184).
What Methods of Knowing Are Appropriate for Christians
There are three methods of knowing; the logical approach, empiricism, and hermeneutics. The logical approach has both deductive logic that finds truth by combining premises based on standard rules, and inductive logic that tries to develop generalizations. Empiricism focuses on the experience to measure the knowledge. This knowledge is obtained through experiences that we’ve already experienced. One can also know through revelation. Special revelation is where God reveals himself through his word or work. The last method of knowing is known as hermeneutics which are rules of interpretation. This method is widely used by evangelicals that want to understand God’s word. It is through the method of hermeneutics that we are able to understand what the verses referenced above, truly mean about special and general revelation. When it comes to methods of knowing with psychology and theology a person should be willing to ask these three questions; where am I, where am I trying to go, and lastly how do I get there? With the Allies model, it will always start with the methodology viewpoint, which is how can I get there. Then after that, it examines the other two world view questions. According to the text, “Our ability to know is contingent, limited, and fallible” (Entwistle, 2015, p. 118). With the Theocentric Unified Model of Knowing, a person would be able to take the knowledge learned from all the various areas and figure out how it all ties together. According to the text, “The Allies model is premised on the belief that God’s truths are revealed in the book of God’s word and works” (Entwistle, 2015, p.247). No matter what is discovered, all truth needs to be compared with and proven true in God's Word.
Allies Model1
The Allies model believes that both disciplines are equal and work together perfectly. According to the text, “The Allies model, like other models, allows us to observe the psychological effects of religious belief and practice” (Enwistle, 2015, p.255). With the Allies model, it contains parts from all the disciplines. It rejects the claim from the Enemies model that says psychology and Christianity are mutually exclusive. It also rejects the claim from the Spies model that believe religion is only valuable to express psychological truths and benefits. The Allies model doesn’t believe that psychology is beneath theology. On the other hand, it agrees with the Spies model in the fact that good psychology can be found in religion. The Allies model agrees with the Rebuilders model that secular assumptions can destroy psychological theories.
View of Two Books Concept.
Two books concepts are the Christian combatants that hold value in both the books but view God’s Word to a higher value. All truth is God’s truth. The Bible says, “Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLV). In contrast, the secular combatants only see value in the natural world, in God’s works but they don’t acknowledge that it was created by God.
The two-book model is accepted by both the Neutral Parties model and the Allies model. They both require skills with different ways of reading or different practices. The Allies model does oppose the amount of neutral independence that is practiced by the Neutral Parties model. According to the text, “Failure leads people who follow the Neutral Parties model to embrace modernist assumptions about objectivity” (Entwistle, 2015, p.248). The Allies model completely opposes that.
Strengths & Weakness.
The biggest strength of the Allies model is that God’s works and his word are understood.
According to the text, “Our ultimate goals include serving and praising God with all of our being, and fulfilling our call to love our neighbor” (Entwistle, 2015, p.184). Christian combatant’s strengths are that they hold value in Scripture and the study of finding the theological truth, but they also see value and knowledge in psychology. Yes, there has been tension between the two, but this model has moved past it. The weaknesses are defining precisely what assumptions are and that can get tricky. The Allies model is too dependent on human thinking, and with that comes error. The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:12,
NIV).
Conclusion
While each of the six models; Enemies model, Spies model, Colonialists model, Rebuilders model, Neutral Parties model, and the Allies model all have parts that are beneficial to an individual’s standpoint. The model that is most cohesive is the Allies model. Integration has come a long way with psychology and theology in the Allies model. There is value in understanding God’s truth. Psychology today is not biblically based, never has been, and probably never will be. Even though some ideas may resemble biblical thought, the psychological version did not originate in the Bible nor is the Bible the source for evaluating psychological theory and practice, as it might be for the Christian psychologist. The Bible was not written as a psychological treatise. It does, however, provide many stories and instructional materials, which illuminate God's way of dealing with human beings–God's psychology in action, if you please.
Psychology can help provide us with the tools to really understand what it means to be human. I think all people need to keep an open mind and look at the bigger picture. God will always come before everything, but everything is God as given in the Allies model. God wants us to have a good understanding of his creation, so to do that we must look at all the facts that are presented to us. The mind is a beautiful thing that was created with the intent to grow God’s word. The best way to do that is to understand how the brain works and functions. Psychology can help a person better understand themselves, and grow more as an individual. The more you learn about whom you are, the better chance you should learn about who God is. God doesn’t make mistakes, so really Psychology just gives you a better understanding of who God made in his image. The Bible says, "And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3, NIV).
Why is it essential to consider how, or if it is possible to integrate psychology and Christianity? One of the biggest reasons is that you need to have a good understanding as to where you stand. The Bible says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:9, NIV). Do Psychology and Christianity blend well together? There are certain psychologists that think of Christianity to scare people into doing the right thing. Then some Christians view psychology as unnecessary and a waste of time because the only following of the mind should be in the Bible. According to the text, “The integration if psychology and Christianity is a multifaceted attempt to discern the underlying truths about the nature and functioning of human beings from the unique vantage points of psychology and Christianity” (Entwistle, 2015, p.260). There are six models of integration of psychology and Christianity they are; Enemies model, Spies model, Colonialists model, Rebuilders model, Neutral Parties model, and the Allies model. There are good points to each of these models that a person …show more content…
may follow. However, there are limitations of psychology, and limitations of theology, so it’s important to understand the views of what you believe. Theological truth does place boundaries on our use of psychology and our psychological thinking. The reason for this is that secular assumptions often shape psychology in an incorrect non-Christian perspective. If we do find issues or conflict between psychology and theology, we would expect the unity of truth to triumph. That allows unity to be established between the two. Integration of psychology and theology needs to be done in a cautious and humble way. The Bible says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16, NIV). Upon consideration of the evidence from various disciplines of study, it seems like the Allies model best captures the relationship between psychological science and Christian faith. According to the text, “The Allies model recognizes God’s sovereignty” (Entwistle, 2015, p.184).
What Methods of Knowing Are Appropriate for Christians
There are three methods of knowing; the logical approach, empiricism, and hermeneutics. The logical approach has both deductive logic that finds truth by combining premises based on standard rules, and inductive logic that tries to develop generalizations. Empiricism focuses on the experience to measure the knowledge. This knowledge is obtained through experiences that we’ve already experienced. One can also know through revelation. Special revelation is where God reveals himself through his word or work. The last method of knowing is known as hermeneutics which are rules of interpretation. This method is widely used by evangelicals that want to understand God’s word. It is through the method of hermeneutics that we are able to understand what the verses referenced above, truly mean about special and general revelation. When it comes to methods of knowing with psychology and theology a person should be willing to ask these three questions; where am I, where am I trying to go, and lastly how do I get there? With the Allies model, it will always start with the methodology viewpoint, which is how can I get there. Then after that, it examines the other two world view questions. According to the text, “Our ability to know is contingent, limited, and fallible” (Entwistle, 2015, p. 118). With the Theocentric Unified Model of Knowing, a person would be able to take the knowledge learned from all the various areas and figure out how it all ties together. According to the text, “The Allies model is premised on the belief that God’s truths are revealed in the book of God’s word and works” (Entwistle, 2015, p.247). No matter what is discovered, all truth needs to be compared with and proven true in God's Word.
Allies Model1
The Allies model believes that both disciplines are equal and work together perfectly. According to the text, “The Allies model, like other models, allows us to observe the psychological effects of religious belief and practice” (Enwistle, 2015, p.255). With the Allies model, it contains parts from all the disciplines. It rejects the claim from the Enemies model that says psychology and Christianity are mutually exclusive. It also rejects the claim from the Spies model that believe religion is only valuable to express psychological truths and benefits. The Allies model doesn’t believe that psychology is beneath theology. On the other hand, it agrees with the Spies model in the fact that good psychology can be found in religion. The Allies model agrees with the Rebuilders model that secular assumptions can destroy psychological theories.
View of Two Books Concept.
Two books concepts are the Christian combatants that hold value in both the books but view God’s Word to a higher value. All truth is God’s truth. The Bible says, “Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6, NLV). In contrast, the secular combatants only see value in the natural world, in God’s works but they don’t acknowledge that it was created by God.
The two-book model is accepted by both the Neutral Parties model and the Allies model. They both require skills with different ways of reading or different practices. The Allies model does oppose the amount of neutral independence that is practiced by the Neutral Parties model. According to the text, “Failure leads people who follow the Neutral Parties model to embrace modernist assumptions about objectivity” (Entwistle, 2015, p.248). The Allies model completely opposes that.
Strengths & Weakness.
The biggest strength of the Allies model is that God’s works and his word are understood.
According to the text, “Our ultimate goals include serving and praising God with all of our being, and fulfilling our call to love our neighbor” (Entwistle, 2015, p.184). Christian combatant’s strengths are that they hold value in Scripture and the study of finding the theological truth, but they also see value and knowledge in psychology. Yes, there has been tension between the two, but this model has moved past it. The weaknesses are defining precisely what assumptions are and that can get tricky. The Allies model is too dependent on human thinking, and with that comes error. The Bible says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:12,
NIV).
Conclusion
While each of the six models; Enemies model, Spies model, Colonialists model, Rebuilders model, Neutral Parties model, and the Allies model all have parts that are beneficial to an individual’s standpoint. The model that is most cohesive is the Allies model. Integration has come a long way with psychology and theology in the Allies model. There is value in understanding God’s truth. Psychology today is not biblically based, never has been, and probably never will be. Even though some ideas may resemble biblical thought, the psychological version did not originate in the Bible nor is the Bible the source for evaluating psychological theory and practice, as it might be for the Christian psychologist. The Bible was not written as a psychological treatise. It does, however, provide many stories and instructional materials, which illuminate God's way of dealing with human beings–God's psychology in action, if you please.
Psychology can help provide us with the tools to really understand what it means to be human. I think all people need to keep an open mind and look at the bigger picture. God will always come before everything, but everything is God as given in the Allies model. God wants us to have a good understanding of his creation, so to do that we must look at all the facts that are presented to us. The mind is a beautiful thing that was created with the intent to grow God’s word. The best way to do that is to understand how the brain works and functions. Psychology can help a person better understand themselves, and grow more as an individual. The more you learn about whom you are, the better chance you should learn about who God is. God doesn’t make mistakes, so really Psychology just gives you a better understanding of who God made in his image. The Bible says, "And he said, I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3, NIV).