Psykologi og den kristne del 4

James Dobson:

Dobson teaches many unbiblical and unscientific faddish ideas

such as the Freudian theory that our lives are basically set by age six; the right-brain, left-brain myth; the birth-order pop-

psychology; and new age mind over matter. His fundamental teaching, however, has to do with self-esteem. His ideas on

this subject do not originate in Scripture because they are not found in Scripture, but rather in the humanistic teachings of Adler, Fromm, Maslow and Rogers.

Dobson's beliefs concerning our need for a good self-image can be found in all of his books and on virtually every radio broadcast of ''Focus on the family.‖  His famous illustration of Lee Harvey Oswald (Hide or Seek, p. 18|) explains his views well. In Prophets of Psychoheresy 11| the authors sum it up this  way:  ''Dobson's  description  of  Oswald's  life  reveals  a psychological viewpoint influenced by underlying ideologies of the   Freudian   unconscious,   Adlerian   inferiority,   and   the humanistic belief  in the intrinsic goodness of man and the universal victimization of the individual by parents and society. The culprit is society (mainly parents) and the diagnosis is low self-esteem with feelings of inferiority and inadequacy. In fact, those    feelings    are    presented    as    overwhelming    and uncontrollable   and   thus   cause   rebellion.   Therefore   the universal     solution     to     personal     problems,     rebellion, unhappiness,  and  hostility  presented  throughout  Dobson's books is raising self-esteem'' (pp. 24, 25).

The following quote from What Wives Wished Their Husbands Knew About Women, states well Dobson's system, ―lf I could write  a  prescription  for  the  women  of  the  world,  it  would provide each one of them with a healthy dose of self-esteem and  personal  worth  (taken  three  times  a  day  until  the symptoms  disappear).  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  their greatest need'' (p. 35).

Larry Crabb:

ln Understanding People, Crabb states, ―It  is my view that counseling models must demonstrate more than consistency with Scripture; they must in fact emerge from it'' (p. 29). Yet, at the  same  time  he  believes  in  what  he  calls  ''spoiling  the Egyptians,'' (see p. 1 of this booklet) i e. taking the best from secular   psychology   and   combining   it   with   Christianity (something that not even Collins is sure can be done).

But  as  Martin  Bobgan  says,  ―Glasser's  responsibility  has nothing to do with God or His measure of right and wrong; Ellis equates godlessness with mental health; the hope Fankl gives is  not a sure hope because it is man-centered; the love of Fromm is a far cry from the love that Jesus teaches and gives; Adler's  guide  is  self  rather  than  God;  Harris'  acceptance disregards God's law; Freud hardly understood himself and he repudiated God;  Perl's expression focuses on feelings  and self; and Skinner's methods of self-control work better with animals than humans.

Why not give credit where credit is due? To the Lord and His  Word!  Why  not  look  to  God's  Word  concerning responsibility,  truth,  meaning,  hope,  love,  guidance  for effective  living,  understanding  oneself,  expression  and self-control instead of rummaging around in the broken cisterns of the opinions of unredeemed men'' (Prophets of Psychoheresy 1, p. 134)?

Freud and Adler play a major role in the way Crabb views man. Freud taught that we each are controlled by a reservoir of drives and impulses that he called the unconscious. This is the basic theme of Inside Out, as Crabb instructs us to enter the dark regions of the soul to find light (p. 32). While in the dark cave of the soul, we are to explore the imperfection of key relationships  until  we  experience  deep  disappointment  (p.107).   This   self-induced   confusion   and   disappointment supposedly leads to an awareness of our sin of self-protection to love (p. 196).

Adler, on the other hand, taught that behaviour is directed to the goal of overcoming inferiority and thereby gaining a sense

of worthwhileness in both relationships and tasks in life. It is from Adler that Crabb develops his theory that our behaviour is

motivated   by  needs   for   worthwhileness   (deep   longings) through security (relationships) and significance (impact) (see Bobgan, p. 132).

But as biblical counselor Wendell Miller says, ―Light  is not found in the dark regions of our souls but in Jesus (John 14:6) and  His  Word  (Psalm  1  19:130).  Christian  growth  is  not achieved by self-awareness but instead, it is a work of God (Philippians 1:6, 2:13) in which the believer obediently does 'of His good pleasure.‘ ''

Minirth & Meier

In the writings and broadcast ministries of these men, as with the Christian psychologists mentioned above, much of their teachings do not emerge from Scripture but can be traced to secular psychologists. If you would like to be a Freudian with a biblical facade, Minirth and Maier would be a good choice.

Note the following views, not found in Scripture but found in Freud, that are taught by these men:

1. Depression is anger.
2. The existence of the unconscious mind (in Happiness Is a Choice they equated ''heart'' in Jeremiah 17:9 with ''unconscious,'' no lexicon would agree).
3. In Introduction to Psychology and Counseling (p. 298) they  said,  ―One  can  see  in  Paul's  writings  to  early Christians  some  of  the  ideas  later  developed  by Sigmund Freud (id, superego, ego).''
4. At  least  partially  believe  in  Odeipus  Complex  (see Happiness pp. 80-97)
5. Believe in dream analysis (in Happiness, pp. 1 14, 1 15 they say, ―In our dreams all of our current unconscious conflicts are symbolized. Every dream has symbolic meaning.   Dreams   are   usually   unconscious   wish fulfillments in symbolic form‖)
6. Believe in unconscious defense mechanism.
7. Teach that 85% of adult behaviour patterns are set by their sixth birthday
8. Often     recommend     insight     therapy     (in      the Psychotherapy Handbook it says, ―the history of insight psychotherapy can be traced to Freud‖).

In addition to the source of their information, Minirth and Meier often make statements that they claim to be fact that do not even have a basis in research. For example, in Happiness they say, ''Holding grudges depletes certain brain chemicals and  therefore  results  in  depression.  Forgiveness  restores those  chemicals.''  The first  statement  is  unproven  and  the second   is   unheard   of   in   research.   Another   is   that homosexuality is a result of an absent father, while lesbianism is  a  result  usually of  an  absent  or  hostile mother  and,  by Freudian necessity, before the age of  six (see Bobgan, p.303).