Dr. Worthington’s lecture on forgiveness demonstrates a Levels of
Explanation approach by relating Christian Faith and Psychological
Research. The biological level of explanation was indirectly referenced
when Dr. Worthington spoke on how not forgiving can negatively alter
health. Holding on to grudges is detrimental to mental, physical, and
spiritual health if people are less willing to forgive. Just as there is no big
or little sin, the amount of hurt should not depend on how to retaliate. He
gave a plethora of examples of how people had given their issues to God,
whether they wanted God to put (His wrath on them or the weight was
lifted off them and whatever God deemed as suitable punishment was left
up to him to decide. The lecture was very thought-provoking because, in
his inquiries, it would be straightforward to pick some truth from multiple
answers. It is true how consideration is given to those that have hurt us; in
the way, they seek our forgiveness. We are more inclined to forgive
someone who shows great remorse. (Scripturally, we are instructed to
disregard but how to forgive is when psychology must guide that action.
There are various ways to achieve this forgiveness; one could be led by
deciding to do what is right, whereas emotions direct the other. It is not
good to hold on to those negative emotions, and the healing can begin
once the decision is made to forgive.
Dr. McMinn demonstrates an Integration approach in his Positive
Psychology and the church through optimism regarding what is a person’s
issue. According to (Johnson, 2010), Committing to integrating faith and
learning is committed to totality in living a Christian life. (He explained
how positive psychology can balance faith and promote contentment and
individual success.” As with anything else, Satan’s purpose is to make us
forget about everything in our life that is going well but focus on how
everything has taken a turn for the worse. This lecture focused on what
occurs within the dialogue of science and faith; the church and positive
psychology were allowed to use what is done in a private setting can be
supported by the church. With the implementation of the Integration View
of Psychology, the word of God is not ignored, but it is unspoken that
spiritual guidance is the ultimate source needed to tread through life’s
obstacles; the psychological piece is necessary to display how the actions
and reactions are triggered. In collaboration with the biblical truth with
psychological findings, systems can be created to guard God’s teachings
and embrace acknowledgment that psychology can coexist. According to
(Schnitkler et al., 2017), “Psychology of religion has started to uncover
how prized moral virtues such as humility and gratitude are cultivated in
life-long processes of group-supported ventures of individual
development. Dr. McMinn relayed that we perceive ourselves in not
statistically accurate ways. God’s demonstration of humility is portrayed
when he rode in on a donkey. We would have pulled out all the stops and
made a grand entrance, but He did not have to make his presence known;
He had nothing to prove.
From the views of Dr. Worthington and Dr. McMinn, it was evident that the
paths are distinct and take diverse methods to travel. Eventually, they will
arrive at an area of similarity but possess different approaches. The
question of whether one way is right and the other is incorrect is tough to
decipher. There is no win-win with either of these views because they are
artificial. An older minister who rendered sermons at my father’s church
often referred to the scripture about an eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth. He would say jokingly, “If we take that scripture out of context, we
would all be blind and toothless.” From then until now, this statement
resonated with me from then until now about how we should not try to
hurt someone just as they hurt us. Vengeance is mine saith the Lord (King
James Bible, 2008, Deuteronomy 32:35). If we allow God to fight our
battles, some stressors that lead us to seek psychological support could
be lessened. The trials of life are meant to enable us to recognize and rely
on the strength of our Father, and where we see to the corner, He can see
around the corner.
(References
Johnson, E. L., & Myers, D. G. (2010). Psychology & Christianity: Five Views
(Second ed.). IVP Academic.
Schnitker, Sarah & Emmons, Robert. (2017). The Psychology of Virtue:
Integrating Positive Psychology and the Psychology of Religion.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. 9. 239-241. 10.1037/rel0000133.
King James Bible. (2008). Oxford University Press. (Original work published
1769).
