d I do not agree with the statement that “Psychology is just sinful human
beings sinfully thinking about other sinful human beings.” This statement
would correspond with the “against” approach according to Sandage and
Brown (Sandage, & Brown, 2018). Against approaches view psychology and
theology as incompatible. Entwistle describes this approach or model as the
Enemies model. While this statement acknowledges that all humans are
sinful, it implies that exploring how the human mind functions and wanting
to have a better understanding of the reasons behind people’s behavior is
sinful in itself. Proverbs 4:7 states “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get
wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” (English Standard Version,
2021:1978) This verse contains a command to pursue wisdom and insight.
This is in contrast to the statement which implies that pursing wisdom and
knowledge as it relates to psychology is sinful. Furthermore, Proverbs 2:6
says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding;” (English Standard Version, 2021:1978). This passage
acknowledges that the Lord provides wisdom and knowledge. Humans
pursuing knowledge and wisdom may, by their sinful nature, pervert the truth
and knowledge that they find. However, when the knowledge and wisdom
are given by the Lord, we can know that it is indeed truth and pure. My
personal beliefs align with the Allies model (Entwistle, 2015). I believe that
the pursuit of knowledge and gaining wisdom in the area of psychology will
ultimately lead to a better understanding and deeper relationship with God.
All knowledge and wisdom are from God and everything that we, as humans
do, should be to honor God and to seek Him. He created each person to
be specifically designed and by understanding His creation better we will be
able to have a better understanding of Him and who He is. By gaining more
knowledge in this area we will also be better equipped to help those around
us as He has commanded us to care for those who are in need.
References
Entwistle, D. N. (2015). Integrative approaches to psychology nd Christianity:
An introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of
integration. Cascade Books.
Sandage, S. J., & Brown, J. K. (2018). Relational integration of psychology and
Christian theology: Theory, research, and practice. Routledge.
English Standard Version Bible. (2020). The ESV Bible.
https://www.theesvbible.com/ (Original work published 1978)
