Modern psychology as a science and Christianity fit together in some aspects.
When it comes to identifying treatments and processes as to how to help a
patient, the value system that the psychologist can draw from is in line with
their Christian beliefs. The goals of psychology and Christianity are similar
in that they both seek out to address concerns in society and in individuals
and create a plan, an approach, to help them improve and achieve their
greatest potential. Some of these values include forgiveness and other forms
of etiquette that are incorporated in the practice of a psychologist (Hathaway
et al., 2021, ix). Psychologists often tackle very complex issues that are
deeply rooted in one's fundamental way of life, to include family counseling,
divorce, marriage, social work; etc. (Hathaway et al., 2021, 1). In the
process of determining how to improve the circumstances of an individual, a
psychologist must work with them to peel back their layers to determine the
intrinsic motivation fueling their actions. If that individual has a
particular worldview that is not working for them or has been faltering, then
they may be in need of a Christian realignment, to set them back on track to
reach their goals (Hathaway et al., 2021, 13) As soon as someone changes
their mindset and approach to a cumbersome situation, they can start to build
themselves back up and heal. If people are struggling with an existing
worldview, it may be up to the psychologist to suggest that they embrace values
in line with Christian ideology. Knowledge and truth stem from the human
experience, and psychology can be seen as a byproduct of Christianity, the
practice of offering services to help people that are in need. If there is a
scientific finding that opposes the Bible, the meaning behind the finding must
be traced back to the values it purports. As long as the values are aligned
and the essence of the finding stays true to Scripture, it is okay if the
scientific finding does not fit in with the Bible verbatim; we must understand
that the Old Testament was written during a time where science and technology
were limited, so any new findings and their relation to Scripture must be
analyzed through the context of the contemporary era.
You are encouraged to truly spend time thinking about these two fields and how
you believe they fit together, if at all.
Modern psychology as a science and Christianity fit together in some aspects.
When it comes to identifying treatments and processes as to how to help a
patient, the value system that the psychologist can draw from is in line with
their Christian beliefs. The goals of psychology and Christianity are similar
in that they both seek out to address concerns in society and in individuals
and create a plan, an approach, to help them improve and achieve their
greatest potential. Some of these values include forgiveness and other forms
of etiquette that are incorporated in the practice of a psychologist (Hathaway
et al., 2021, ix). Psychologists often tackle very complex issues that are
deeply rooted in one's fundamental way of life, to include family counseling,
divorce, marriage, social work; etc. (Hathaway et al., 2021, 1). In the
process of determining how to improve the circumstances of an individual, a
psychologist must work with them to peel back their layers to determine the
intrinsic motivation fueling their actions. If that individual has a
particular worldview that is not working for them or has been faltering, then
they may be in need of a Christian realignment, to set them back on track to
reach their goals (Hathaway et al., 2021, 13). As soon as someone changes
their mindset and approach to a cumbersome situation, that is when they can
start to build themselves back up, move forward, and heal. If people are
struggling with an existing worldview, it may be up to the psychologist to
suggest that they embrace values in line with Christian ideology. Knowledge and
truth ultimately stem from the human experience, and hence psychology can be
seen as a byproduct of Christianity, the practice of offering services to help
people that are in need. If there is a scientific finding that opposes the
Bible, the meaning behind the finding must be traced back to the values it
purports. As long as the values are aligned and the essence of the finding
stays true to Scripture, it is okay if the scientific finding does not fit in
with the Bible verbatim; we must understand that the Old Testament was written
during a time where science and technology were limited, so any new findings
and their relation to Scripture must be analyzed through the context of the
contemporary era. Modern psychological theory can supplement the word of the
Bible, especially since the Bible can be used as a reference in the practice of
psychology (Hathaway et al.,
2021, 7). In addition to all of this, psychological theory constantly builds
on itself, and the direction that it can take is highly dependent on the
worldview it is operating under, thus, the practice of psychology could be
cultivated through the lens of a Christian worldview (Hathaway et al., 2021,
15). Hathaway et al. discuss the idea of different types of integration such
as worldview, role, theoretical, application, implicit, and explicit integration to align
Christian thought with modern psychological practice through various means
(Hathaway et al., 2021, 15-6). In conclusion, modern psychology and
Christianity fit together in some aspects and can continue to fit together in
others as long as practitioners continue to develop the research under the
auspices of Christian ideology.
Reference
Hathaway, W.; Yarhouse, M. (2021). The Integration of Psychology and Christianity:
A Domain-based
approach. InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove IL.
