Discussion Thread: LOE and Integration in Action
How did Dr. Worthington demonstrate a Levels of Explanation approach in his
talk on forgiveness?
c c c c In his lecture, Dr. Worthington defines forgiveness in two different categories.
First, forgiveness is a decision about how we intend to act towards a person (The
Table | Biola CCT, 2014). Second, emotional forgiveness replaces negative
emotions with positive ones (The Table | Biola CCT, 2014). Additionally, Dr.
Worthington describes several science-based benefits of forgiveness, including
bettering an individual’s overall health with a lower risk of cardiovascular events,
better immune function, and lower cortisol levels (The Table | Biola CCT, 2014).
Forgiveness also leads to better mental health, including less risk of depression
and less rumination (playing something repeatedly in mind) (The Table | Biola
CCT, 2014). Rumination is related to several psychological issues, including anger,
anxiety, post-traumatic, psychosomatic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders (The
Table | Biola CCT, 2014). Nonetheless, forgiveness leads to less rumination and
fewer psychological disorders (The Table | Biola CCT, 2014).
c c c c The levels of explanation (LOE) assume a clear distinction between the
disciplines of theology and psychology (Johnson, 2010). LOE recognizes all levels
of reality (theological, social, psychological, biological, chemical, and physics) as
crucial but emphasizes the need for clear boundaries within disciplines (Johnson,
2010). Although mentioning God and religion in his talk, Dr. Worthington makes
clear distinctions when discussing the science-based benefits of forgiveness,
which corresponds to an LOE view.
How did Dr. McMinn demonstrate an Integration approach in his talk on Positive
Psychology and the church?
c c c c In the next lecture, we learned that Dr. McMinn is a well-rounded academic in
psychology with a recent interest in the frontier land of psychology, moral
philosophy, Christian theology, and positive psychology (Westmont College, 2019).
Decades ago, the possibility of a book integrating psychology and theology was
unthinkable due to an “existing” antagonism between these two conflicting sides
(Westmont College, 2019). After finishing his undergraduate studies around 1980,
he was questioned by colleagues about his religious beliefs as incongruent with
the field of psychology (Westmont College, 2019).
c c c c He explains positive psychology as an approach that investigates, in his words,
“what goes right with people” and its positive features (Westmont College, 2019).
Positive psychology matters to the church because it aims to reclaim something
that was lost in society (Westmont College, 2019). The field originated from an
exploration of religious virtues, which were later separated from religion, aiming to
study them scientifically (Westmont College, 2019). Dr. McMinn questions the
possibility of bringing faith back into the discussion to develop stronger and more
vibrant constructs (Westmont College, 2019).
c c c c The integration view accepts modern psychology more than the biblical
counseling view and recognizes both, the Christian faith and modern psychology
as having something valuable to contribute, in particular to contemporary
counseling (Johnson, 2010). In Dr. McMinn’s lecture, the absence of an “either/or”
stance is clear, with an alternative focus on optimizing the modern psychology
findings through biblical interpretation.
What did you learn about the distinction between these two approaches to
studying psychological phenomena (LOE and Integration) from watching their
talks?
c c c c These lectures were valuable illustrations to solidify the information presented
by Johnsons (2010) in his book Psychology & Christianity: Five views. Although
both lecturers talked about God/faith in their speeches, their emphasis
significantly differed. While Dr. Worthington relied on his scientific findings as to
the primary source of knowledge, Dr. McMinn attempts to intertwine science and
religious interpretations. When discussing the benefits of forgiveness, Dr. McMinn
factually presents the information, contrary, Dr. Worthington’s claim on the
benefits of biblical interpretation when speaking about positive psychology (The
Table | Biola CCT, 2014; Westmont College, 2019).
References
Johnson, E. L. (Ed.) (2010). Psychology & Christianity: Five views. IVP Academic.
The Table | Biola CCT (2014, June 24). Why you should forgive and how to do it
[Everett Worthington, Jr. on Forgiveness] [Video]. YouTube.
https://youtu.be/5Or9OuxuYKw
Westmont College (2019, March 4). Mark McMinn, Jan 22, 2019 [Video]. YouTube.
https://youtu.be/I3gFPgcVAEw
