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Psychological Heresy

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by John of Japan, Dec 6, 2007.

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  1. mcdirector

    mcdirector Active Member

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    My concern is that when we develop coursework like human growth and development (an entry level course), we are left with no one to quote but the likes of Skinner because so few Christians are leading the way in research. If no Christian school of education can find a Christian psychologist to quote, we have a quandry. We have no experts in the field of psychology because we have a scant field. I'm sure the same is true in psychiatry.

    I do think we should be out there in this field.
     
    #21 mcdirector, Dec 7, 2007
  2. John of Japan

    John of Japan Well-Known Member
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    Bitsy, this is a good point. It would be great if more Christians were to enter the research fields of psychology. But there are some good Christian psychologists and psychiatrists out there. I know it's not on human growth and development per se, but Meier, Minirity and Wichern (all evangelical Christians, two psychiatrists and one Ph. D.) have a good college textbook out, Introduction to Psychology and Counseling. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0801062756/?tag=baptis04-20 There are other good men out there too.

    The problem in the research field is that psychology is so much wrapped in subjective judgement. Skinner did fine when he stuck to actual science, but he also did a lot of subjective theorizing. It is at that point that we have the objective truths of the Bible about sin, redemption, repentance, change, mental illness (Nebuchadnezzar, demonology, David's feined madness, King Saul's condition, etc.).

    I think much good has been done in pure science regarding the connections between the body and the emotions, the brain and actions, comparing twins (genetically close) and how they are alike and different, etc. This kind of research is good, but if the scientist is honest and diligent, even a lost scientist can come up with good data. It is then up to the Christian psychologist to make the links.

    When I teach counseling in Japanese, I have a chart with three columns with various methods compared in the entries. The left one is pure secular psychology, the theories and methods of completely lost people with no regard for God's truth. The right one is the Bible and eternal truth. The middle one is science truly based on the scientific method, and not simply speculation by lost theorists. I guess the key for the Christian counselor is to know the differences. :type:
     
    #22 John of Japan, Dec 7, 2007
  3. rice492

    rice492 New Member

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    I read this thread with great interest. I promise not to rehash what has already been written.

    I believe that a characteristic of this thread and a question asked by Mcdirector are related.

    I believe the thread covered well the legitimate debate among Christians about the causes and cures for mental suffering. Because questions about the causes and cures for mental suffering are so close to the Gospel message of sin and redemption, the “debate” sometimes gets ugly. That hasn’t happened here.

    Throughout the thread “psychology” is used synonymously for “counseling” and “psychological issues” is used synonymously for “mental illness/emotional pain.”

    Mcdirector asked, “Is it possible that the lack of reference of Christians in these books is because we are not encouraging Christians to go into these fields?” I believe the answer is “yes.”

    Psychology is much more than counseling. Psychology is about the brain, behavior, perception, motivation, learning, memory, thought, personality, and more. If wonder if, because we often get so “fired up” about counseling psychology and equate counseling psychology with the entire discipline, many Christian students decide they wouldn’t touch it with a 10 foot pole. Without Christian thought leaders in psychology (in the broad sense) we are inadequately represented in psychology in the more narrow counseling sense.
     
    #23 rice492, Dec 12, 2007
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