We have a wonderful Creator that have given us free will and choice. c The
readings of Eric Johnson (2010) gives us five views in which to view
Psychology. c In His infinite wisdom God has provided the free gift of Salvation
to all, which it what we just celebrated in Christendom. in the Resurrection. c
Scripture says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life" (John 3:16, KJV). c Psychology seeks to answer the never-ending questions
of the mind. c It can never answer the questions of the soul, because that is
deeper that any Psychologist can bear witness to. c
I like when you brought up the subject of evolution, which is the antithesis for
God's creation of the earth and mankind. c Since childhood and learning about
evolution, I have always felt that man was not smart in that the theory of
evolution held no bearing, because it created more questions than answers. c In
my child-like thinking back then, the story of Creation seemed much more
plausible and easily acceptable to me . I am in agreement with you that the
common goal of the Pychological view and the Christian view is the search for
truth. I also think the two fit together and overlap although they have not
covenanted. c Years ago someone asked me how I could major in Psychology
and play with other individuals' minds. I explained to them I was not going into
Psychology to play with individuals' minds. I was going into Psychology to
educate individuals with strategies and interventions using Psychology and the
scriptures.
Although Psychology targets maladaptive cognitive and behavioral c aspects and
allows clients to optimize their mental health through narratives and different
strategies, it is similar to the Christian view. Psychology collects data and
analyzes empirical facts through sometimes present and sometimes archived
studies. Christians also seek to maximize the potential of the body, spirit and
soul (mind, emotions, and will) by past and present revelations from the bible,
prayer and personal testimonies.
The very foundataion of the Christian view, believes that God existed in the
beginning (MEV, 2014, Gen. 1). The Christian view is solidified by having faith
to hope that things will be brought into existence by speaking the word (MEV,
2014, Psa. 33: 6). The point you made related to the premise of evolution in
science, and that man did not evolve from the monkey, but from
microevolutions was very fitting. There have been evolutions of decay over
generations concerning culture, morals, gender, socioeconomic status etc.
According to the bible, we are to be in health and prosper as our minds
prosper (MEV, 2014, 3 Joh. 1: 2). Additionally, the bible states we are not to
follow the world view, but be c transformed by renewing our minds (MEV, 2014,
Rom. 12: 2). I also agree that through compassion and uniting the
Psychological view and the Christian view the greater good will be maximized
in families to minimize maladaptive behaviors and thought processes for
optimal unity of spirit, soul and body for individuals, communities, and nations. c
I really liked how you compared and contrasted some of the different aspects
of science and The Holy Bible. In my opinion, you made an excellent point
when you compared Christians and psychologists saying that both seek to help
God's children and that, "Christians act as servants in a spiritual capacity."
Moreover, you really elucidated an important point which I think the author is
making. Wolters (2005) writes that he hopes that readers take seriously his
request to make the Holy Bible part of their current worldview, and not to
compartmentalize it as a piece of history which is no longer relevant. At any
rate, it seems to me that spirituality and science work together to help resolve
people's mental problems. As psychologists we must take seriously the fact
that research indicates that the more spiritual someone is, the more likely they
are to have good mental and physical health. Li et al., (2016) conducted a
longitudinal study from 1992 to 2012 whose participants (N = 74,534) were
nurses in the US. Li et al., investigated whether attendance at church was
associated with the participants’ physical and/or mental health outcomes. The
researchers discovered that regular attendance at religious services significantly
decreased a woman’s chance of being diagnosed with any form of cancer, any
cardiovascular disease, any suicidality and/or any mental health disorder (Li et
al., 2016).As God said to Noah, "l will establish my covenant with you. Never
again will all the creatures of the world be cut off by the waters of a flood.
This is the sign of the covenant I have set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will
be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" c (9 Gen. 9:13). This
quote from the Old Testament intimates that God wants the relationship
between himself and humanity to last forever. Furthermore, if I allow the notion
of an eternal relationship between God and man to inform my opinion it is
logical to conclude that giving priority to what the Bible is saying will enhance
my spirituality, which, in turn, will improve the likelihood that I will be able to
help my clients to improve their mental health. c
References
Evangelical heritage version (EHV). SCA Northwestern Publishing House. (2019).
Retrieved May 15, 2022, from https://online.nph.net/ehv
Li, S., Stampfer, M. J., Williams, D. R., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2016). Association
of Religious Service attendance with mortality among women. JAMA Internal
Medicine, 176(6), 777. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.1615
Modern English Version, Parsley, R. ( 2014). Breakthrough Jubilee Bible. Military
Bible Association, Passio, Fl.
