Is Psychology biblical?

Psychology as defined :

There has never been a better one in this understanding than Christ.

 

Currently I am reading a book called Connected Parenting which is written by a secular child therapist. Funny, even though this lady displays no reference to faith in Christ, her techniques reflect Biblical truth. Not all psychology is bad. It's not to be a substitute for God's word. My 11 year old son is experiencing some pretty severe anxiety problems. He's a born worrier. It's driven his mom and I crazy at times but the one thing that calms him down more than anything else is God's word and prayer. The mirroring techniques using the power of empathy from Connected Parenting provide additional help in how to talk with him but the Bible comes first.

 

There is nothing inherently sinful or unbiblical in psychology. It is like so many other areas of human life (the Internet, education, science, radio, TV, etc.) They can be used for unbiblical purposes. They can be used by God-hating people. In the case of psychology and the like, psychologists who do not love God, or even know Him, are bound to come up with unbiblikcal applications for psychology. But that does not make psychology unbiblical.

 

David, some Christians are very adept at "thowing the baby out with the bath water" when it comes to modern psychology.

 

The difference between psychology and biblical revelation is that psychology is built on logical inferences derived from the study of the behaviors of sinful creatures, while biblical revelation is based on our Creator telling us exactly about our problem (sin/rebellion) and the solution, being conformed to the image of Christ.

 

No they were not Christians. The key word is "discernment."

 

Yep. This is pretty much how I would answer it too. Great answer! :thumbsup:

 

What teaching?

 

No....anything we find in psycology that is true, we will find in the Bible so why would a Christian subject themselves to the ungodly philosophies of men mixed with (very little) truth?

 

This is a big problem - the Bible doesn't tell us everything. It tells us what we need to know, but it's not a textbook. We have to internalize it and then go about searching for truth.

Psychology is an enormously helpful discipline and, like any other discipline, needs to be carefully examined for truth.

But all truth is God's truth.

 

I'm not sure that every single Christian College does teach it, but if they do I guess they will have to answer that Why? I think James Dobson made it popular among Evangelicals.

 

I agree & the Westminster seminary teaches how to apply it biblically.

 

Just wondering what do you feel is an enormously helpful discipline within psycology?

 

If you want to hang a shingle that says "Professional Counselor" you have to have a license. And, in order to get that license you have to study modern psychology. It doesn't mean you have to agree with everything that is taught but you have to demonstrate a working knowledge. That's why it's taught in even Christian colleges. One cannot operate in the secular world in the medical professions, social work, licensed counseling, etc., without a good knowledge of modern psychology. Again, you may not agree with everything that is taught but, nonetheless, it's a requirement for many professions in the real world.