I am so excited to be taking this class. a As a budding thought leader in the field
of Psychology it is imperative that we understand where Psychology gets it truth
and knowledge versus the origin of truth and knowledge in Christianity. a In writing
this discussion, I would first like to delve into a few definitions. A "worldview" is
noted to be a person's basic belief system regarding any thing/topic (Wolters,
2005). A "Biblical worldview" speaks of a worldview from a Biblical perspective, in
which all truth originates from the word of Almighty God and His creation
(Wolters, 2005). It is important to distinguish the two because anyone can and
does have a worldview, whereas Christians adhere to a Biblical worldview. a Having
a Biblical worldview originates with the Scriptures starting in Genesis 1:1 (KJV)
with the story of Creation and continues throughout God's Holy word ending in
Revelations. Another key definition is Epistemology, which is the study of
knowledge and belief (Wolters, 2005). a
Psychology by its very definition is "the study of mind and behavior" (Merriam-
Webster, 1898). a Psychology originates from Greek, psyche meaning breath,
principle of life, life, soul with logia, speech, word and reason (Henriques &
Michalski, 2020). The goal of Psychology includes giving a secular or non-
Christian worldview of the mind and human behavior Wilhelm Wundt was a
professor of physiological psychology at the University of a Leipzig, and is
considered the father of modern psychology )Johnson, 2010, p. 19). Scripture
says, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth" (John 17:17, KJV). In
other words, Christianity originates from God and His Word. a a Scripture also says,
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God (John 1:1, NIV). a The goal of Christianity is to provide man with truth, God's
truth, so that man can receive the gift of salvation that God has freely provided, in
order to inherit eternal life. a
When a psychological study opposes God's Holy Word, scripture states that we as
Christians are to examine it through the lens of God's Holy Word. A Scripture that
comes to mind, sounds pretty harsh, but cuts to the chase on this dilemma. "God
forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou
mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged"
(Romans 3:4, KJV). The ultimate end of our journey is to be able to stand before a
Holy God, so we must defend His Word in this life. a I certainly do not want God to
be angry at me at the end of life's journey, at the time of judgement. a
Modern Psychology fits in the church and vice versa, a as the Bible is a guideline
for living, and does not answer every question. a For example, the question of
Autism and Developmental psychology is not explained in the Bible. I have a 20
year old son who was diagnosed at the age of three on the Autism Spectrum. a a
The course I just took 725 Developmental Psychology, answered some age-old
questions that have been unanswered thus far on our journey together. The
church did not always show compassion and understanding towards my son in
earlier years until a Psychologist started attending and was able to help my fellow
church-goers to understand my son a bit better.
I believe that modern Psychology and Christianity fit together to a degree as in my
aforementioned last paragraph, I fknow that a God created the brain and our mind
and in all its complexities and in studying the mind, we learn more about it and
how to better help our fellow man. a I close by quoting 2 Timothy 2; 15, "Study to
shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth" As a budding thought leader my ultimate goal in
my PhD journey is to discover truth.
References
Genesis 1:1. The Holy Bible. King James Version.
Henriques, G., & Michalski, J. (2020). Defining Behavior and its Relationship to the
Science of Psychology. a a Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 54(2), 328–
353. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-019-09504-4 Links to an external site.
John 1:1. The Holy Bible. New International Version..
John 17:17. a The Holy Bible. a King James Version.
Johnson, E. L. (2010). Psychology and Christianity: a Five Views. (2nd. ed.).
Intervarsity Press
Romans 3:4. a The Holy Bible. a King James Version.
Wolters, A. M. (2005) a a Creation regained: a Biblical basics for a reformational
worldview a (2nd ed.). William B. Erdmans Publishing Company.
2 Timothy 2:15. The Holy Bible. King James Version. a
