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.
d d d d 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
