Psychology & Christianity: Four Views

by Stanton L. Jones

Psychology has exploded across the academic and popular landscape in the last hundred years. Dozens of schools of thought have arisen and thousands of books have been written on the nature of our personalities, our development, our relationships and our inner well-being.All of this has been of interest (and sometimes of concern) to Christians because of the importance we place on a correct understanding of human nature. Psychology often seems disconnected...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830822631
• ISBN13: 9780830822638
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Length: 271 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Summary of the 4 Views

Overview: In Psychology & Christianity: 4 Views, editors Johnson and Jones layout for the reader four views of modern Psychology in the Christian arena. The bulk of this book is dedicated to articles written by proponents of these four views, one author per view. After each articulation of a view, the detracting view-holders give a short response and critique to the article. This main portion of the book is preceded by an introduction to the views, a brief history of Christians in psychology, and proceeded by some concluding remarks: all of which is co-authored by the editors. It is important to point out that all four views are authored by professed Christians who are striving, in different ways, to apply Biblical wisdom to their field of expertise. It is the differing ways of applying scripture to the field of Psychology that give rise to most of the differing opinions of the authors. This review will attempt to summarize each of the views under four titles: the scientist, the professional, the scholar, and the pastor. It is very likely that the authors of the papers would not label themselves as such, but these seem helpful for categorization. The Scientist: The first view that is presented is the "levels-of-explanation" approach. This view is espoused by David Myers, who is characterized in this review by the image of a scientist. In picturing such a man, images of Galileo, Newton, and Kepler might come to mind. The scientist of the view is striving for complete neutrality as he discovers the facts. The emphasis is on observing the world and coming to impartial conclusions based upon what has been scientifically observed. As a Christian, this scientist knows that all of nature has been created by God and reflects His rationality. Knowing this, the Christian scientist strives to know the very mind of God through close observation of His created order. Hunches are not enough for the scientist, he must check every supposition against reality to see if it is correct or false. The scientist strives for empiricism. His guiding verse for this is Deut. 18:22, "when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously." He seeks to judge all psychological claims by this same standard: truth is best verified by predictive power. What of theology and the Bible. Those are to be kept separate from the scientific process. To protect from collaboration, two witnesses to a crime are best kept separate until they give their testimony. So too, the Bible is best kept out of science. The Christian scientist talks about these two as differing methods for discovering truth. It is his delight when one of these sources independently corroborates the other. This is to be preferred over one guiding and supporting the other. In summary, psychology is a science and the psychologist is a scientist. The Christian psycholog

Wait for the new book

A thoughtful and well-balanced look at four different integration systems. It was an enjoyable and easy read. Anyone struggling with how to incorporate their Christian faith into their Psychology or counseling practice, will find this book helpful, but I would encourage you to wait a little while because the authors are in the process of putting out a new version that includes a fifth view, which I am looking forward to.

A valuable read

This text was required for a class I am taking but is a great resource for anyone considering any type of counseling, pastoral care or intensive discipleship.

A MUST READ FOR THOSE INVOLVED IN CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

The authors allow latitude to each of the contributors to tackle this thorny issue of integrating Psychology and Theology. The reader however, may experience a great deal of cognitive dissonance as he or she seeks the "one way" to conduct Christian Counseling. However, in the end the editors clearly encourage a systemic approach to the matter by encouraging the reader that "all truth is God's truth," and that it is only when we listen critically to what others have to say about the matter that we can then move on and develop our own approach. Those individuals desiring a purely nouthetic approach will be sorely dissappointed however, due to the fact that there is only one clear contributor that embraces nouthetic counseling as Jay Adams has outlined during his career. Yet, this is the crux of the book as the reader gets to the end because the editors make clear that while there is value in the nouthetic (philisophical) approach to counseling, there is value to be found in the other approaches as well. It is high time that a work such as this was published and anyone in the field of "Christian Counseling" will find not only a fair and balanced treatment of various positions, but a helpful resource, assisting the reader to work out his or her own integration philosophy with fear and trembling.

perplexing, but quite good

The format of 4 essay writers each writing their own essay and responding to the other three is fantastically done, even if some of the responses are a little non sequitur. The four positions presented are all rather similar to one another, so at times, it's hard to figure out who's really arguing for what. All of them respect psychology and are committed Christians. But, through the grand tradition of debate, all of them manage to mark out their territory effectively and respectfully. If the both pieces of the title appeal to you, then the book will not disappoint. If you're only interested in one or the other, however, this isn't your book.