In an attempt to better understand the various Christian approaches to psychology, I read, “Psychology and Christianity: Five Views.” In this blog series, I am attempting to summarize the various approaches in six blog posts. The primary purpose is not to gain a deep understanding of each approach, but to gain a framework for interacting with each view. I want to guard against building or accepting straw man arguments when reviewing, discussing or even thinking about each position. In this post, I will look at the third approach, the “Christian Psychology” view.
Representatives
Robert C. Roberts and Paul J. Watson present the “Christian Psychology” view. Roberts is a retired Distinguished Professor of Ethics at Baylor University while Watson, now deceased, was a professor of Psychology at the University of Chattanooga.
Presentation of View
Roberts and Watson define psychological… Read the whole post
In an attempt to better understand the various Christian approaches to psychology, I read, “Psychology and Christianity: Five Views.” In this blog series, I am attempting to summarize the various approaches in six blog posts. The primary purpose is not to gain a deep understanding of each approach, but to gain a framework for interacting with each view. I want to guard against building or accepting straw man arguments when reviewing, discussing or even thinking about each position. In this post, I will look at the second approach, the “Integration” view.
Representative of the view
Dr. Stanton L. Jones presents the Integration view. Jones is a psychologist and former provost of Wheaton College. Upon his retirement, Dr. Jones received the titles of Professor of Psychology and Core Studies Emeritus and Provost Emeritus.
Ultimate questions
Jones starts his presentation by… Read the whole post
In an attempt to better understand the various Christian approaches to psychology, I read, “Psychology and Christianity: Five Views.” In this blog series, I am attempting to summarize the various approaches in six blog posts. The primary purpose is not to gain a deep understanding of each approach, but to gain a framework for interacting with each view. I want to guard against building or accepting straw man arguments when reviewing, discussing or even thinking about each position. In this post, I will look at the first approach, the “Levels of Explanation” view.
Representative of the view
David G Myers presents the “Levels of Explanation” view. He is an author and a psychology professor at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He describes himself as “…an active Christian, one who begins each day by engaging the Word and the world,… Read the whole post
War and trauma
The consequences of the war in Ukraine are having a ripple effect through Eurasia and the world on many levels. When the current phase of the war started in 2022, many of us went to help refugees in Poland. One thing we did to prepare was take various crash courses on psychological first aid. We also read as much material as we could find on trauma and its effects. These were all useful.
But after arriving in Poland, the limits of what we learned soon became clear. As time passes, we continue to learn about the effects of trauma, accumulated trauma, big “T” trauma and little “t” trauma. Furthermore, we have learned how trauma can impact physical health, how it can be passed on to others, including children. The more I read, the more I… Read the whole post
Starting in a new place
“I’m new in this place. I don’t know anyone. Where do I begin?”
How do we get started when we enter a new town or city? In this blog post, we will provide a few tools you may be able to use to get started in connecting with the local people. A couple of the tools are discovery questions to get to know the people and a brainstorming tool to help you determine how you can enter their world.
It all starts with prayer
When entering a new area, there is no question that we need to begin with prayer. After all, it is the Spirit who opens peoples’ hearts to understand their need for Christ. I had a prayer partner during my Bible College days, and we would pray, even back then,… Read the whole post
