When I was a child I wanted to be a zoologist. She loved animals, especially sharks. In my teens, that passion continued with a medical career. I remember perfectly when I received the results of a vocational test in the youth group of my church. The first career on the list was the obvious: medicine. This was followed by other interesting careers, such as marine biology and veterinary medicine. Last on the list was one that had never crossed my mind: psychology.
I didn’t take it into account. That was exactly what my sister studied, and she constantly told me that I wanted to imitate her. I think she was right.
I finished college 9 years ago, and if there’s one thing I’ve heard all the time, it’s: “Did you know this person doesn’t support psychology?” Or: “That person doesn’t believe in psychologists.” To be honest, to some extent I understand the rejection. Maybe you think that way, and I really don’t blame you.
At first glance, psychology and Christianity seem as close as oil and water. Especially if you are familiar with the work of Sigmund Freud, BF Skinner, IP Pavlov, Carl Rogers, Abraham Maslow, Erich Fromm, and Jacques Lacan. These comprise basically all of modern psychology.
Now, we cannot stay only on the surface. If we want to know something, we have to be willing to travel to the depths.
Psychology and its approaches
The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language as science or study of mind and behavior in people or animals. Put another way, psychology is an academic discipline that involves the scientific study of mental processes and behavior, and the application of that knowledge to different spheres of human activity.
Within the world of psychology there are 5 main approaches:
- Biological approach: is in charge of studying cognitive aspects (mental processes such as memory, attention, concentration) and behavioral aspects from a biological perspective (the brain and how it affects behavior).
- Behavioral approach: studies the stimuli found in the environment (family, school, work, etc.) that can influence certain behaviors.
- Psychodynamic approach: Perhaps this is the best known. The subject of psychoanalysis always attracts attention. This school of psychology, founded by Sigmund Freud, supports the existence of the so-called states of consciousness (conscious, subconscious, and unconscious), and established what is known as the “stages of psychosexual development”, in which it is established that if the human being does not manage to overcome each of these stages, a fixation can occur that manifests itself in adulthood.
- Cognitive approach: studies psychology taking into account mental processes and their influence on human behavior.
- Humanistic approach: one of the main beliefs is that the human being is essentially good. He maintains that the main objective of every human being is to achieve good self-esteem and to be able to meet all the needs that this approach raises.
After reading this, I understand the rejection of psychology. If we focus only on this part, it seems impossible for this science to be compatible with Christianity, and we might be tempted to conclude that psychology is a discipline unworthy of attention. As psychologist William Kirk Kilpatrick put it: “If you’re talking about Christianity, it’s much more accurate to say that psychology and religion are opposites. If you seriously identify with one set of values, you will logically have to reject the other.”
If we take Kilpatrick’s idea, we will quickly come to the conclusion that psychology is definitely not a profession for believers. Or we might feel the urgency that we need Christians to transform this branch of learning. This science needs believers who are also psychologists.
Bring light to a deluded discipline
The fact that falsehoods abound in the world of psychology is no reason for Christians to abandon it. The same applies to politics. We know that the government is full of corruption, but still we see Christians who fulfill the call of the Lord and bring light to where there is darkness. As the Lord declared in Matthew 5:13-16:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled on by men. You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do you light a lamp and put it under a vessel, but on the candlestick, and it gives light to all who are in the house. So let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Yes, it’s true, most psychology professors are atheists. That means Christians must bring God’s truth to a deluded discipline. Psychology, as its name indicates (Psyche in Greek), is the study of the soul. No worldview apart from Christianity better understands the spiritual world. As Kilpatrick says: “Although Christianity is more than a psychology, it happens to be a better psychology than psychology itself.”
How can we glorify God in psychology?
Our sinful nature—our desire to rebel against God and our fellow man—is the source of all psychological problems. Francis Schaeffer said it well: “The basic psychological problem is trying to be what we are not, and trying to carry what we cannot carry. More than anything, the basic problem is not being willing to be the creatures that we are before the Creator. Instead, we want to be God. Being creatures is too limiting. However, it is the heart that says there is no God (Ps. 14:1). It is the heart that is deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9).
By understanding this, we can better use the knowledge that psychology gives us. On the one hand, we submit to God, who is the source of all truth. He gave us his Word as the most important revelation. Now, God also shows himself to us through his creation (Rom. 1: 19-20). We study creation through science, and psychology can do just that.
In addition, those who work in the area of school psychology they can use their knowledge to help people with special needs (autism, Down syndrome, etc.) to understand the gospel. When these needs arise, you can train and help both in the Sunday school and in your youth group, not only serving those who are handicapped, but also the teachers and families involved.
Along with this, we can use psychology to analyze thought processes by helping people understand these processes through the lens of God’s Word. Everyone needs to know the gospel, and part of that is knowing that our actions and ways of thinking are tainted with sin. Our rebellion against God caused a dramatic and momentous change in our relationship with the rest of existence, including ourselves. This change has serious ramifications for all aspects of reality, including psychology.
The vision of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration that the gospel provides is crucial for the Christian, because it allows us to understand our tremendous need for the saving power of Christ. It is also crucial for psychology. To understand human nature properly, the psychologist must understand that we have a natural tendency to rebel against God and his laws. The Christian psychologist can develop a true, significant, and feasible psychology, because only Christianity recognizes the problem of the heart, mind, and will, in relation to God. Furthermore, only Christianity provides a framework in which we are truly responsible for our thoughts and actions.
A Christian psychologist (keeping that order, because our primary identity is that we are of Christ, and in addition we have a career) perceives human nature in a way that is consistent with reality and capable of dealing with our most difficult problems. A Christian psychologist sees people not only as physical beings, but also as spiritual beings. As morally responsible beings before God. As creatures in the image of God, and as beings who have turned away from their Creator. Only Christianity is prepared to face the problem that necessarily arises as a consequence of our nature.
Psychology is important because it helps us understand mental processes, but psychology does not give the complete solution to problems. Only Christ has that solution. But in this area, as in so many others, we have the opportunity to present God’s truth and be a light in clinics, schools, and therapy centers, giving an immutable solution to eternal problems.
Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., The Question of God: CS Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life (New York, NY: The Free Press, 2002).
Got Questions Ministries. “How does psychology work with biblical counseling?”
Warrior, Martha. (2017). Psychology and its main approaches.
Nobel, David. (2006). Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews (Rev. 2nd edition) Summit Press.
Kilpatrick, William. (1983). Psychological Seduction (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1983).
Gross, Neil. (2009). Sociology of Religion, p 70. Quoted in the article: “Psychology or Bible?”, by the in 2016.
Nobel, David. (2006). Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews (Rev. 2nd edition) Summit Press.
Kilpatrick, William. (1983). Psychological Seduction (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1983).
Schaeffer, Francis. (1982). The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, 5 vols. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books.
Nobel, David. (2006). Understanding the Times: The Collision of Today’s Competing Worldviews (Rev. 2nd edition) Summit Press.
Ibid.
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