Psychology And Scripture: A Comparative Analysis

For many decades, psychology and Christianity have been viewed as two fields that are mutually exclusive. Through the perpetual changes that both have gone through from pre-modernity, modernity, and post-modern thinking, researchers and theologians are working to find an appropriate and functional synthesis to bring the two together. Integration can be very difficult because psychology and Christianity have different worldviews. The goal of psychology is to fully understand the human mind, whereas Scripture teaches that humans cannot fully understand themselves. Psychology as a science has been said to have a dehumanizing effect as it encourages people to be normal and well-adjusted. Christianity encourages individuals to give their problems …show more content…
Myers is called the Levels-of-Explanation view. A great way to start with this approach is to understand that it emphasizes a multi-layered perspective. This view offers a lens that welcomes openness and complementary perspectives that can be used to build bridges between the gaps between science and faith. During this journey, it is crucial for individuals to be cautious of bias and cultures. The L-O-E approach points out that people tend to stick to their own perspective when they are searching for truth. This can result in individuals being guided by their personal, subjective values. On an even deeper level, this means there are thousands of different explanations to how psychology and Christianity can coincide. In order to achieve a proper integration, Myers suggests to be wary of these psychological biases, values, and limits, while at the same time understanding that human beings have limitations and finitude as well. This relieves people from having to always pick a side or extreme for every situation. Instead, the author stated that the psychological science should be viewed as just one more way of exploring human nature. He also claims that both perspectives of psychology and faith are necessary in order to obtain the truth. This view stresses that the truth is often subjective because of the fact that individuals view the world in different ways. This idea is accepting of different perspectives because it allows scientists to …show more content…
Jones’ integration view has a heavy respect for both theology and psychology. It believes the two should be related somehow because they actually inform each other. The integration view suggests individuals to learn everything they can about both fields, but the ultimate Lordship is to become a devoted follower of Christ. When science seems to be inconsistent or misaligned with the Bible, the integration view will question the facts within science. This approach believes in drawing the foundation from Scripture and applying it into the search for ultimate answers. God’s word should be the guide for how we study science and how we practice psychology. Humans cannot fully understand themselves through Scripture alone, and should look at psychology and science as additional tools to get one step closer. A lot of Christian psychology problems use this approach by intertwining sin and the theories within psychology. This view also allows Christian faith to reinterpret psychology. It recognizes the role of God’s creation in culture and science. It also seeks to engage the culture and impact on contemporary psychology. Certain weaknesses and limitations were pointed out about the integration model by the other views. It has been said that this approach assumes a dualistic separation between biblical research and research on individuals. Also, this view assumes that modern psychology is perfected and allows secularism to set the agenda for psychology. Another weakness is