College

Leaving for college today! Sorry for the delay, but the posts will come back in a couple of weeks.

Radiolab

I'm sticking to what I said about postponing my psychology and Christianity series for now, but I decided to pop back in for a minute to tell you about Radiolab, which I discovered last night.

Radiolab describes itself as such: "Radiolab believes your ears are a portal to another world. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience. Big questions are investigated, tinkered with, and encouraged to grow. Bring your curiosity, and we'll feed it with possibility."

Personally, it's a little trippy. But it's also really very interesting, especially for those of you who are auditory learners (like myself). It isn't just listening to someone talk; though it has that too. But in this podcast, audio effects are like color accents in the visual world, bringing out new and engaging depth.

The podcast episode I listened to first was called "Words". The whole question of the program was exploring the connection between thought and language. What is thinking without language? What is it like to live without language? To find out their discoveries and theories (not all of which I agree with but are extremely absorbing), go to the Radiolab website or the podcast on iTunes which is FREE! 

Update

I fear that my next installment of this series will be a bit late. I'm moving so I have lots of packing to do. Also too, there are some edits that I need to make to my last post. Hold tight, see you soon.

-Jamie

Psychology vs. Christianity: The Sufficiency of Scripture

Last post focused mainly on defining psychology. Today I'm going to get started on one of the big arguments against psychology as posed by John MacArthur: psychology denies the sufficiency of Scripture.

I will be working very much in response to a sermon by MacArthur on the sufficiency of Scripture. In it he says this (I included the first paragraph because, though it does not directly talk about psychology, marriage and family is an area that falls within the study of psychology. Remember that my dad is a marriage and family therapist):

Further, another category in which we see this kind of abandonment of the belief of biblical sufficiency is in the matter of marriage and family, for one. There was a time when we believed that the Bible gave us adequate insight into marriage and the family. That if we studied the Word of God, we would be able to live life in the family to its fullest, that marriage could be all that God ever intended if lived by biblical principles. Families can be all that God ever intended if lived by biblical principles but now there is a proliferation of tricks and gimmicks and sex techniques and just a plethora of things that are added to the Scripture to try to deal with family problems. And in an underlying and subtle way, they are making the comment that the Bible is to one degree or another insufficient or inadequate...

But perhaps as dominant or more dominant than any of these themes is this area of psychology. Psychology today is making inroads into the church that really are frightening. In fact, there is in the evangelical church what is fast becoming a wholesale exodus from the traditional land of biblical theology into the new promised land of psychology and psychotherapy. Churches that once and for always would hire pastors and evangelists and teachers are now hiring psychologists. Pastors that once would go to seminary and learn the Word of God or Bible college and master the Scripture are now going to schools of psychology to study human wisdom in dealing with the problems of mankind. This again is a subtle way of saying the Bible is insufficient. When coming to grips with these deep seeded emotional anxieties of man, we cannot expect the Bible to speak in any sophisticated way to those problems. Seminaries are changing their curriculum dramatically. For the first time in the history of the church, seminaries are hiring psychologists on their staff to teach, psychiatrists to teach, they're teaching psychology, they're adding more psychology courses in many places, diminishing the biblical content of their curriculum...

The world has been saying the Bible cannot help and now sad to say, the church is chiming in and agreeing that the Bible is inadequate to deal with psychological problems. In fact, I would go so far as to say there are many advocating today a psychological salvation in place of the new birth. There is nothing in this more than a pseudo-evangelical humanism. This preoccupation with self-esteem and self-love and self-fulfillment and self-actualization that psychology has brought into the church knows no biblical counterpart. 

What MacArthur is saying here can really be summed up with this statement of his: "But can we go to the Bible and find in it that which is sufficient for all of life and conduct? And the answer, I believe, is a resounding yes."

MacArthur goes on to draw support from Scripture, as is outlined and commentated on (his own words) below:

2 Corinthians 3:5: "Our sufficiency is from God."

• "Our sufficiency is not from men. Our sufficiency is not from human wisdom. Our sufficiency is not from human resources. Our sufficiency is from God...what does that mean? That means our capability of living life in God's plan to the maximum is from Him... Now I want you to understand [...] that I am not saying that there's nothing outside the Bible that has any value. There are many things that have value. God's common grace, that is the grace of God on all men, will create certain things in our human environment that are very helpful. But when it comes to the matters of spiritual life, all we need to know is revealed in the Word of the living God and ministered to us by the Spirit through that Word. And outside the Word of God we do not have to look for a sufficiency that is not provided in the Scripture." 

2 Corinthians 9:8: "And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work..."

John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is truth."

• "We conclude then, very obviously, that the full holiness of the believer is the work of the Word of God, it is the work of the Word of God. It is not the Word of God plus something else, that's cultic." 

1 Corinthians 2:13-16: "This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 'For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ."

• "The wisdom of God comes to us not through human sources. Our sufficiency is of God. God dispenses His wisdom to us by the Spirit of God, revealing His teaching in the Word of God and it is the wisdom not in the words which man teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches. In fact, it is so comprehensive, it is so effective, it is so complete, he says in verse 15 that by that Word of God through the Holy Spirit, we can judge or appraise and evaluate all things.... marvelous statement... Now is there any insufficiency in the mind of Christ? Is Christ limited? He knows a few things but He's also learning from some people? Not hardly. The mind of Christ is the consummate mind of God. The mind of Christ is omniscient. The mind of Christ is supreme. The mind of Christ knows no insufficiency. All we need to understand is the mind of God about any problem, about any need, about any issue. All we need to understand is how does God see it, how does God think about it, what does God say about it and that suffices us." 

Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

• "Listen, the Word of God is living, it's active, it's powerful, it's sharper than any other weapon and it will go deeper and cut cleaner and truer than anything that exists to reveal the deepest thoughts and intentions of the human heart...so that verse 13 says, 'All things are open and laid bare.' It will do what psychoanalysis will never do. The Word of God opens the soul. It penetrates. It breaks up the heart. It reveals. It is sufficient to penetrate the deepest part of a person's soul." 

Colossians 2:3-10: "...in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority."

• "That's unqualified. Everything you need to know about wisdom and knowledge, you find in Christ. So no believer should be looking elsewhere.... All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in the Christ who is revealed in the Word. So stay away from human philosophy, it cannot speak to spiritual matters. It can speak to some things and it can be helpful in the practical aspects of living. But when it comes to the spiritual dimension and the needs of the heart and the soul and in the mind of man at their deepest level, for those of us who know God, only God provides our sufficiency through His Word."

The point MacArthur makes here is difficult to refute. Some points of Scripture are stronger (these are the ones I mentioned here; he had many more) at defending his argument than others, but they generally compliment what he is saying.

First though, we must make a clarification. How do we complete the statement, "the Bible is sufficient in..."? In the beginning of MacArthur's sermon, he completes that statement with, "all life and conduct." At the end, he answers it with "the spiritual dimension and the needs of the heart." Are those two answers even the same? Well, no, they aren't. (I don't think MacArthur is being inconsistent, I'm just being picky. It helps to illustrate that point I want to make.)

Is the Bible sufficient in telling us how to swim? How to cook pasta? What chromosomes look like? These seem like silly questions. But these things are parts of life. They are realities.

I think that MacArthur would agree that they are misguided questions. When he says "all life and conduct," he means the things that really matter for eternity. The more frivolous things I listed before are not spiritual issues. The Bible can't literally be used for all of life (like how to make pasta). So when he says that the Bible is sufficient in the spiritual dimension and the needs of the heart, I believe that MacArthur is dead on. His first answer was more vague and we should not make the mistake of misreading what he means.

The Bible is the only thing that really matters. It is the only thing that can bring any lasting joy or peace or wisdom. Scripture is the only thing that holds any eternal value. But other things do hold value too. MacArthur says as much earlier in the sermon: "Now I want you to understand [...] that I am not saying that there's nothing outside the Bible that has any value... But when it comes to the matters of spiritual life, all we need to know is revealed in the Word of the living God and ministered to us by the Spirit through that Word." It's important that we don't take the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture to mean that nothing outside the Bible is good. This is obviously foolish (an apparent example would be that of modern surgery, which saves lives daily). It simply means that nothing outside of the Bible can save a man's soul.

Psychology though, taken in its most "pure" form, does not intrinsically deny the sufficiency of Scripture. It does not contradict the fact that only the Bible meets "the spiritual dimension and the needs of the heart" and it does not claim to "save" people". Remember our definition from my first post: "a diverse field, with a myriad of concentrations and theories, that seeks to describe, predict, explain, and control the mental processes and behaviors of the individual in all aspects of life." Psychology is (or at least strives to be) a scientific discipline. Science helps us discover scientific truth (facts learned by experimentation). But if God is a God of truth, we have nothing to fear from knowledge--scientific or otherwise.

In addition to being the pastor at GCC, MacArthur is also the president of The Master's College, a Christian liberal arts institution. Martin Richards, a well-loved professor at Master's College says, "It's not 'Christianity versus science.' That's like saying, 'Christianity versus... pianos.' They don't contradict" (paraphrase). So if psychology is what it claims to be, (i.e., a scientific field) the next step for the Christian who is interested in psychology is to explore how psychology might be applied in a godly way, as we must with any study.

So then, what's the problem? Why does MacArthur even argue against psychology when it's just a useful science?

But it's not just a useful science that has been misused.Therein lies the problem. In MacArthur's mind, psychology's place among the scientific disciplines is shaky at best. Instead, MacArthur asserts that psychology is a philosophy under the guise of science, a philosophy that promotes a "psychological salvation". He asserts that psychology claims to solve spiritual issues.

If, in fact, psychology is not a science, we have a whole different issue on our hands. That is what I'll be dealing with in my next post: "Is psychology a science?" We'll get into more good stuff then. :)


-Jamie


Links:

• MacArthur's sermon is here

Craigslist Removes Adult Section

Craigslist's reputation for prostitution ads in it's "adult" section has resulted in pressure to remove it from the site. (This is dated but I wanted to file it away on here.)
Story link is here.

Psychology vs. Christianity: What is Psychology?

If you haven't read my first post in this series, I suggest you do so. It will make things a lot more clear! You can read it here.

In this post I will attempt to answer the question "What is psychology?" Here, I'm dealing with definitions. (Before we begin, please note that I am not dealing with animals. I am dealing solely with human beings.)

So I went where any self-respecting academic (ha!) starts in order to discover an answer. Google. 

Psychology: the science of mental life (Princeton); lit. "study of the soul" or "study of the mind", an academic and applied discipline which involves the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviors (Wikipedia: another source for the true intellectual). 

The APA (American Psychological Association), a "scientific and professional organization that represents psychology in the United States" (Wikiversity), is considered by many an authority on psychology. The APA admits that psychology is a broad field but most psychologists would agree with the definitions that I gave above. 

According to the APA, there are two distinct "branches" of psychology: basic and applied. These two branches are probably what you'd expect. Basic psychology seeks to describe, predict, and explain behaviour and mental processes. Applied psychology more conscientiously seeks to help individuals control their behaviour and mental processes, or at least explain them so that the individual can better function. 

It is important and interesting to note that there are a myriad of different subfields of psychology that come from those two branches, including the following: 

• Clinical psychologists treat people who exhibit mental or emotional disorders which range from uncomfortable reactions to the stress of daily life to extreme psychological disorders.
• Community psychology is mostly preventative in nature. These psychologists specialize in human behavior at home, at school, and in neighborhoods.
• Counseling psychologists are therapists who help clients adjust to life, make important decisions, and help people cope. This field of human behavior is similar to clinical psychology.
• Developmental psychology focuses on human development from birth to death. This type of psychology describes, measures, and explains age-related changes in behavior.
• Environmental psychologists attempt to improve the interactions between humans and the environment. The management of natural resources, effects of extreme environments, and architectural design are part of this branch of human behavior. 
• Educational psychology is research-oriented, and focuses on how people learn. Teachers, school administrators, and guidance counselors may apply the findings of educational psychologists in schools, colleges, or universities.
• Experimental psychology focuses on basic processes of human interaction and biology. This type of psychology often involves studies on animals and people.
• Family psychologists are therapists who concentrate on the family and how it affects our development and lives. Sexual dysfunction and family counseling may be subsections of family psychology.
• Forensic psychologists study criminal behavior, and often assist law enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
• Geriatric psychology focuses on the health and well-being of older people. This field of human behavior includes both practical and research applications.
• Health psychology is a branch of human behavior that is concerned with the psychological implications of actions on health. For instance, smoking, weight gain, stress management and fitness can affect our mental health – and that’s what health therapists focus on.
• Organizational psychology focuses on our relationships to work. This study of human behavior includes career counseling, cross-training, retirement planning, and job productivity.
• Physiological psychology is about the genetic and physical roots of psychological disorders, such as how our brains change due to drug use or how cells develop and function.
• Positive psychology is a relatively new area in the study of human behavior. It encompasses a holistic approach to mental wellness, with a shift away from disease to personal wellness and health.
• Psychometrics focuses on psychological testing and assessment. Psychometrists are employed at private companies and government organizations.
• Rehabilitation psychologists help people with handicaps, such as birth trauma or stroke, improve their functioning in the world. This field of human behavior ranges from birth to old age.
• School psychology focuses on the intellectual and emotional development of young people.
• Social psychology explores how we live in the world. Pop cultural, group behavior, the media, and our attitudes and opinions are all part of social psychology.
• Sport psychologists are therapists who concentrate on the mental and emotional factors that affect professional or amateur athletes. Sport therapists attempt to maximize motivation and performance (Types of Psychology). 

There are other fields of psychology in addition to this: evolutionary psychology, legal psychology, quantitative psychology, etc. There seems to be no comprehensive list and some of the sub-disciplines above include other sub-disciplines that sometimes receive special distinction.

In the journal of clinical psychology, Gregg R. Henriques writes,

What is psychology? Is it a single, coherent scientific discipline awaiting transformation from the current preparadigmatic state into a more mature unified one? Or, is it a heterogeneous federation of subdisciplines that will ultimately fragment into a multitude of smaller, more specialized fields? This is, in essence, the “to be or not to be” question of the field. Currently, psychology exists as an uneasy compromise between unification and fragmentation. On the one hand, the existence of numerous societal institutions suggests that psychology is a singular entity at some level. Academic courses, degrees, and departments, as well as organizations like the American Psychological Association (APA) suggest that the concept of psychology is a specifiable, coherent entity (Matarazzo, 1987). On the other hand, a more detailed inquiry reveals a remarkable degree of confusion, fragmentation, and chaos at the theoretical level. So formidable is the problem of conceptual incoherence that several prominent authors have flatly stated that it is insurmountable (e.g., Koch, 1993).

Later in Henriques' article, he quotes Reber's Dictionary of Psychology (1995):

"Psychology simply cannot be defined; indeed, it cannot even be easily characterized . . . Psychology is what scientists and philosophers of various persuasions have created to . . . understand the minds and behaviors of various organisms from the most primitive to the most complex . . . It is an attempt to understand what has so far pretty much escaped understanding, and any effort to circumscribe it or box it in is to imply that something is known about the edges of our knowledge, and that must be wrong" (p. 617). [Note the rather puzzling conclusion.]

Henriques later goes on to say, “The deep philosophical concerns that fractionated the discipline at its inception have not been resolved, and Koch’s prophesy that psychology can only exist as a collection of studies, rather than as a coherent science, seems to have been vindicated.”

Along with an admittance of fragmentation, there is a confession here that psychology, though primarily self-described as scientific, is a bedfellow with philosophy. We shall explore this more at another time. 

For now though, I wish to expand the basic definition of psychology: it is a diverse field, with a myriad of concentrations and theories, that seeks to describe, predict, explain, and control the mental processes and behaviours of the individual (as opposed to groups or societies, as in sociology), in all aspects of life. 

Boring post, huh? Ah well, definitions are the boring part. It must be done. The more interesting stuff is to come, promise.

-Jamie

Links:

1. About the APA
2. Psychology According to Wikipedia
3. Types of Psychology
4. Wikiversity: Basic psychology
   
   

Psychology vs. Christianity: Intro

I've been debating as to write for my next post. And I have several good ideas, which I will most likely write about at another time. But my intellect has been stirred as of late on this topic: is psychology unbiblical?

This, I must admit, is a sensitive area for me. My father is an MFT (marriage/family therapist) and as of now, I am going to pursue a major in psychology (and English). I have long been fascinated with psychology, with studying the intricacy of the mind. And even more importantly, I love God. I love the Bible. The idea that these two things contradict each other is disturbing to me and something that I think demands scrutiny.

I hadn't even been aware that there was any sort of clash between psychology and Christianity until, perhaps, a year or so ago. I have seen it even more lately, as word gets around that I am planning to study psychology. The response to this information (among some Christians) is "Oh." And you know what I mean. The loaded "Oh."

But beyond the initial disgruntlement I have to this disapproval, I strongly desire to get to the bottom of this. I want, with all of my heart, to live in accordance with the Bible. I want to please God in whatever profession I pursue. When my life has been laid aside, I want to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!" (Oh... to hear those words...) My purpose is not to prove that psychology is perfectly in line with the Bible. Or even to condemn psychology. My goal is to find the truth, to examine it in the most godly way possible, utilizing the highest standard of intellect and honesty. I pray that God will guide me through this. All truth, after all, is God's truth.

So, I plan to do a series on psychology and Christianity. It really is a huge topic, one that can't be covered in simply one post. I plan to break it down bit by bit, hopefully addressing one objection at a time. For the time being, I will be working through the objections of John MacArthur, pastor at Grace Community Church. (For those out there who are familiar with MacArthur may be laughing at my audacity, but I will press on.) It is a convenient place to start, since I have his objections in writing, in a couple of books. The book I will be starting with is "The Master's Perspective on Contemporary Issues" (general editor, Robert L. Thomas). The book is the second in a series and--as one might guess from the title-- it sets out to explain the viewpoint and general beliefs upon which the seminary holds to. (Side note: For those of you who are unfamiliar with Grace Community Church, Master's is the associated seminary on the church campus.) But before I even dive into the book, I will attempt to explain, basically what psychology is. Then we will move on into the "Master's Perspective."

For the few lonely people who might read this blog, if there is any constructive criticism, I would greatly appreciate it.

Until next time then! (See links below for further research into the people and books I've mentioned here.)

-Jamie

Links:

• An online version of "The Master's Perspective on Contemporary Issues" (Make sure I'm not quoting out of context, ha)
• Grace Community Church
• "Grace to You" blog (MacArthur)

Physicist Stephen Hawking Says God Did Not Create the Universe

Story here.