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 theEnemiesmodel. 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 theAlliesmodel
(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)
