Psychology's Influence upon Christianity
In light of the above comments it might seem odd that Christians have taken such an interest in psychology, but they have. Christianity Today says, ''Right now evangelicals are swimming in psychology like a bird dog in a lake; they hardly seem to realize how much has changed (in Christianity over the last thirty years). They certainly do not feel in danger. But there is danger...'' (Christianity Today, May 17, 1993*, p. 31). Christianity and psychology both deal with the issue of how to live; yet, they come at it from different angles, draw different conclusions, and basically are not compatible.
So why has psychology had such an influence upon Christianity in the last 30 years? We might suggest several reasons. First, Satan is always busy attempting to undermine the authority of God's Word. The first recorded temptation in the Garden of Eden was to doubt the Word of God (Gen. 3:1), and this has been Satan's focus ever since. Today, virtually every error found in the Christian ranks can be traced back to some form of rejection of the Bible as God's final authority. It may be pragmatism (which adds success to the Bible; mysticism (which adds experience); tradition (which adds the past); legalism (which adds man's rules); or philosophy such as psychology (which adds man's wisdom). The end result is all the same: The Word of God takes a back seat to the inventions of men. Secondly, there is very little understanding or desire for biblical truth and theology today. The Bible is not being expounded in many pulpits today. Christian radio saturates the airwaves with talk shows and pop-psychology. Christian magazines aimed at the laymen are full of testimonies but devoid of solid spiritual food, and far too few believers study the Word for themselves. As a result, we are a spiritually starved people who are no longer able to discern truth from error. So, when an appealing error such as psychology rears its head we are all too ready to accept it as being from God.
Thirdly, seemingly good and respected Christian institutions and leaders support a Scripture/psychology blend. Some of our finest Seminaries, Bible schools, and mission organizations promote ''Christian psychology.'' Numerous para church organizations have sprung up with the primary purpose of spreading this error. Is it any wonder that the average believer is confused?
Finally, confusion over the concept of, ''AII truth is God's truth.‖ This has become the battle cry of those who wish to integrate psychology with Scripture, The idea runs like this: God is the author of all truth, therefore, whenever truth is discovered, we can be sure that it is from God. If mathematical and scientific truth can be discovered apart from the Word of God, why can't psychological truth be found and accepted in the same way. In reply we could make several observations: 1) There is a difference between facts and truth. Two plus two equals four, that is a fact, but it is not truth in the sense in which the Bible uses truth. Note that Jesus claimed to be ''truth'' (John 14:6). In other words, we must be careful that we define our terms properly. 2) Apart from the verification of God's Word the observations of mankind can never be proven as ''true.'' For example, many medical and scientific ''facts'' or ''truths'' will be proven wrong in the future. To place the observations of mankind, in any field, on par with God's truth is a mistake. Infallible truth is found only in the Scriptures. 3) The Bible does not claim to be a textbook on maths or medicine or science.
When it speaks on these issues it is accurate, but these things are not its focus. The Bible does, however, claim to be a textbook on living, the same claim made by psychology. Scriptures declare itself to be able to equip us to live life in such a way as to please God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:3). To imply that the Word of God is inadequate to teach us how to live in this world is to deny its power and sufficiency.
However, even though psychology has made great inroads into Christianity, this does not mean that there is unanimity among Christian psychologists. As a matter of fact there is no such thing as a branch of psychology known as ''Christian psychology.'' Instead, what we find is a variety of ways that various types of secular psychology have been integrated with Christianity. Below we will briefly overview the systems espoused by some of the prominent individuals in the field of Christian psychology:
Overview of the Teachings of Various Christian
Psychologists
All of the men mentioned below believe in and promote many good causes and biblical concepts. We do not doubt that these individuals are believers, nor do we attempt to judge their motives. As far as we know, they all love the Lord and desire to minister to His people. Yet, the God who warns us not to judge motives (1 Corinthians 4:3-5), calls us to be discerners of what is being taught in His name (Titus 1:9). The purpose of this section is to draw attention to some areas in which―Christian psychologists'' have departed from the teachings of Scripture.
Bruce Narramore:
He is basically Rogerian (see chart on p. 3) with some Christian principles. In The lntegration of Psychology and Theology, Bruce Narramore says: ''All truth is God's truth, wherever it is found'' (p. 13). ''There is no distinctly Christian
theory or model or research (of psychology)'' (p. 15), ''The church has the responsibility to respond to the claims of
psychology by restudying, clarifying, reaffirming, enlarging, or correcting its understanding'' (p. 19). Air of this clarifying and correcting will, of course, be in light of newly discovered psychological ''truth'' outside of the Bible.
With this philosophy in mind we are not surprised to find this statement from Bruce Narramore, ''Under the influence of humanistic psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, many of us Christians have begun to see our need for self-love and self-esteem'' (You're Someone Special, p. 22).
Gary Collins:
In his book, Can You Trust Psychology? Collins mentions these thoughts: Psychology is a God-given field of knowledge enabling us to more adequately help people who live in a society permeated with change and complexity unknown in the days of Jesus and Paul (p. 91). ―God has allowed us to discover psychological techniques and insights that He has not chosen to reveal in the Bible'' (pp. 96, 97). ''The Word of God never claims to have all the answers to all of life's problems'' (p. 97). One of the problems for which Scripture has no answer is our basic human desire for self-fulfillment and a positive self-image (pp. 144-146). (Of course, Scripture does not give us an answer for this problem because it is not a need that God has placed in our hearts. Rather, it is one of those psychological ''truths'' that God has chosen apparently to reveal outside of His Word, and that to ungodly men.)
Since Collins clearly supported the integrational position throughout his book, we are surprised to find this statement toward the end: ''It is too early to answer decisively if psychology and Christianity can be integrated'' (p. 130). This is an amazing answer to Collins' own question, ―Can you trust psychology?'' In essence, he does not know; yet, uncertainty does not keep him, and other Christian psychologists, from flooding the Christian market with psychological answers to
life's problems.
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