Discussion Thread: What It Looks Like in Your Research Area
a a a An objective and impartial analysis of Johnson’s (2010) quote
can be seen as valid but as omitting aspects that could be seen as
fundamental for creating what is addressed today as the “science of
psychology and the art of counseling.” Modern psychology was developed
by investigating religious virtues and separating them from their scriptural
context to facilitate a scientific analysis without biblical interpretation
(Westmont College, 2019). However, the word “fundamentally” opens room
for debate. One could argue that psychology and counseling as
fundamentally philosophical enterprises due to Augustine’s inspiration from
Plato’s philosophical practices and Aquinas’ inspiration from Aristotle’s
work (Johnson, 2010). As the two most prestigious intellectuals in the
church’s first 1,500 years, Augustine and Aquinas were greatly inspired
by the theological and psychological labor of Plato and Aristotle, two
non-Christian philosophers (Johnson, 2010).
a a a Regarding my area of research, in a previous assignment in this
course, I realized the critical role of self-control throughout the Christian
and human history. Aware of the role of self-control in modern society
as a predictor of several positive outcomes (financial, academic, social,
etc.), my reflection on Wolter’s Grand Narrative and my topic of
research brought me to realize its significant role in humanity
(Duckworth & Gross, 2014; Wolters, 2005). Nowadays, behavioral
geneticists understand the relevance of nature (genetic) and nurture
(environmental) on self-control (Moffitt et al., 2011). Nature’s work can
be seen in God’s gift of free will. Nature allows the possibility to sin
(posse peccare) or not to sin (posse non peccare) (Sproul, 2000).
Nurture’s work is observed when the serpent influenced Adam and Eve’s
choice to eat the forbidden fruit and disobey God (King James Bible,
1769/2017).
a a a At the beginning of this course, I was confident that a level of
explanation would be my choice of view when doing research. My initial
concern with the approaches allowing biblical interpretation was regarding
the validity of my research findings. However, as far as I can tell, in
the integration view, the biblical contribution would occur primarily when
selecting a research topic, formulating the hypothesis, or during the
discussion after the experiment has been completed following strict
scientific standards. What reassured me is that the methodology still
follows scientific protocols to secure the integrity of the results. At this
point, I have learned valuable philosophical and theological information to
consider an integration view as a viable alternative.
References
Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control and grit: Related but
separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological
Science, 23(5), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414541462
Johnson, E. L. (Ed.) (2010). Psychology & Christianity: Five views. IVP
Academic.
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online.
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/ (Original work published 1769)
Moffitt, T.E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J.,
Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B. W., Ross, S., Sears, M.
R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-
control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2693-2698.
Sproul, R.C. (2000). The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the
Concepts that Shaped our World. Crossway.
Westmont College (2019, March 4). Mark McMinn, Jan 22, 2019 [Video].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/I3gFPgcVAEw
Wolters, A.M. (2005). Creation Regained (2nd ed.). William B. Eerdmans
Publishing.
