My worldview is that the truth of the Bible supersedes that of the sciences but on
topics unaddressed by the Bible, scientific statements that are not contradictory to
the Bible are acceptable if they are consistent and can logically supplement the
truth of the Bible. While I was studying mathematics as an undergraduate, my
proclivity for logical thinking with my overconfidence in my ability to reason
resulted in my favoring science over faith. As I continued my studies, I eventually
adopted anti-religious beliefs, which were pervasive among those in mathematics
and the sciences. The abandonment of faith led to my nihilism. After waking up in
a hospital from a suicide attempt, I confessed I was misguided by my pride. I
acknowledged my limited knowledge and errant thinking. With humility and in
brokenness, I returned to God.
a a a a a a a a a a My experience informs my view of integration of theology and psychology.
Prior to my existential crisis, my preference for the objectivity of mathematics and
the sciences was influenced by my openness to ideas and my tendency to
question conventional wisdom. As I discovered, there are dangers to applying an
object-oriented “objective” version of psychology onto people. Regarding this
version of psychology, Stahlman (2020) points out and warns, “many thought that
the human soul was not suitable for empirical examination, so it was abandoned
for this psychological research. As a result, psychology lost its
philosophical/theological foundation and…has had mostly negative results, neither
making humanity more sane nor more happy, while resulting in a society that
increasingly seems consumed by chaos” (p. 1). After experiencing the
consequence of over-reliance on the sciences, I will not elevate psychology above
the truth of the Bible. I believe God is omniscient and I know humans are limited
in their understanding, which is why “[m]ost theologians… emphasized the priority
of faith over reason, since faith comes from God via revelation, and philosophy
from the reasoning of fallen human beings” (Entwistle, 2015, p. 23). At the same
time, I do not deny the sciences altogether. I accept psychology as subordinate to
and filtered through the truth of theology.
References
Entwistle, D. N. (2015). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An
introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of
integration (3rd ed.). Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Stahlman, M. (2020). The inner senses and human engineering. Dianoetikon: A
Practical Journal, 1(2000), 1-26. http://digitallife.center/index.php/journal/vol-1-no-1-
ecology-of-the-inner-senses
