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).
c c c 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.
c c c 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
