• Where do each (psychology and Christianity) get their truth and knowledge?
Christianity and psychology are both empiricism-based philosophies. Each
includes the five methods of psychological research
• Naturalist Observation
• Survey Method
• Case Study
• Correlational Design
• Experimental Method
• What are the goals of psychology and Christianity?
I truly believe God wants us to fellowship and help one another throughout our
life’s journey. The Lord God wants man to seek counsel on Earth as in Heaven.
The word “counsel” appears 133 times throughout the books of the Bible (King
James Version Bible, 1769/2017). The five goals of psychology are description,
prediction, explanation, control, and application (Jackson, 2015). These same
goals appear throughout the Bible. Examples are below:
• Description requires recording of a particular behavior and describing it
accurately to attain a comprehensive understanding of the same.
- Genesis, how God created Earth.
• Prediction attempts to understand the relationship between the behavior we
are describing with the other types of behavior.
- Noah and the Ark, the Great Flood
• Explanation attempts to explain the causal factors of behavior and attain
understanding of the conditions in which the behavior occurs or not.
-The Bible says God gave King Solomon great wisdom and he spoke 3,000
Proverbs (King James Version Bible, 1769/2017, 1 Kings 4:29-34). This verse
introduces both Solomon and his wise sayings. Proverbs are short statements of
contrasts about universal truths and human behavior.
• Control focuses on three things: making a particular behavior happen,
reducing it, or enhancing it
What does the Bible say about bringing people to the Lord?
-In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus tells his followers, “All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you” (King James
Version Bible, 1769/2017).
• Application
-In Colossians 3:1-15, Paul describes what a transformed life looks like. Our
gradual inside-out transformation as Christians represents some major changes in
several areas of our life, which I will outline below (King James Version Bible,
1769/2017).
• What happens when a psychological study suggests a scientific finding that
opposes the Bible?
Treat the study as information- like you would a study that did not oppose the
Bible. I would pray for direction on whether/how to use the study to help my
patients, recognizing that the positions in the study aren't my own, but those of
other practitioners/scholars in the field. James 1:5 says the Lord gives wisdom to
him/her who asks. He can show how to relay the info. without compromising my
beliefs (King James Version Bible, 1769/2017).
• Where does modern psychology fit in the church?
James 1:5 (King James Version Bible, 1769/2017). People of faith shouldn't be
afraid of modern psychology any more than they are of the physical doctor,
dentist, or car mechanic. Psychology helps us understand ourselves and others.
The bible teaches a lot about wise counsel and seeking wisdom. We are to learn
what we don't know wherever possible, including how our minds work.
• Where does the church fit in modern psychology?
The teachings of the church form much of our moral code and guides how we
should interact with each other. It can also be a support system and a place to
form social bonds.
References
Jackson, S. L. (2015). Research methods and statistics: A critical thinking approach
(pp. 15-16). Cengage Learning
King James Bible. (2017). Bible Gateway.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204%3A13&version=
KJV (Original work published 1769)
