One intriguing point for me is stated in your quote, “he [Dr. McMinn] talks
about how psychology looked at religious traditions such as forgiveness
and gratitude and took religion out and studied forgiveness and
gratitude.” He also mentioned that after completing his undergraduate
studies in the early 1980s, he was probed by colleagues regarding his
religious beliefs, presenting a potential incompatibility with modern
psychology (Westmont College, 2019). Considering the origin of positive
psychology in the religious virtues, it surprises me how some individuals
attempt to negate each other’s field (Westmont College, 2019).
It also confounds me the idea of denying Christianity's role in modern
psychology just as much as denying the influence of ancient Greek
philosophers Plato and Aristotle on the work of Augustine and Thomas
Aquinas (Johnson, 2010). Historically, this constitutes a psychological
integration of Christian intellectuals and non-Christian philosophers
(Johnson, 2010). Furthermore, one could defend the need to acknowledge
the contribution of philosophy to Christian psychologists and from
Christian psychologists to modern psychology.
I understand that only an individual high in openness can unleash the
full potential when theorizing and researching dues to a lack of capping
and limiting factors. A final question in my mind asks if a dogmatic
approach to science or Christianity could prevent a scientist from pursuing
the “real” truth.
References
Johnson, E. L. (Ed.) (2010).Psychology & Christianity: Five views. IVP
Academic.
Westmont College (2019, March 4).Mark McMinn, Jan 22, 2019[Video].
YouTube.https://youtu.be/I3gFPgcVAEw
