History of Christian Pyschology:
The Pre-1900 Era.
Long before psychology developed as a separate discipline from philosophy, Christianity was actively involved in the study, development, and understanding of psychology. Such work is to be found in the theological study of the soul, an important topic in theology since earliest times. Tertullian's third century De anima is one good example of this. The works of Gregory of Nyssa in the fourth century continued this early emphasis. Since the word "soul" stems from the Greek psyche, from which we also get the word "psychology," this tradition of the study of the soul must be understood as evidence of Christianity's concern with the topics of psychology long before the emergence of psychology as a unique discipline.
This concern continued within Christian theology. The abundant Puritan writings on the soul added much of value to an understanding of psychological topics. The works of John Flavel in the seventeenth century and of Jonathan Edwards in the eighteenth made particularly strong contributions, worthy of the careful study of any modern Christian interested in psychology.
Franz Delitzsch's A System of Biblical Psychology might represent the capstone of this tradition. Written in 1855, this work presented a summary and systemization of all the theological works on psychology written to that point. In many ways, however, it represented the last major theological work on psychology. This is reflected even in the treatment given to pschological topics in Bible dictionaries are encyclopedias. Prior to 1920 such works characteristically contained large and sometimes extensive entries on psychology and related topics. James Orr's International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) and The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge (1911) are good examples of this. In contrast to this, many modern works such as The New Bible Dictionary (1962) and the Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia (1975) do not contain such articles.
1900 to the Present. The end of the first era was not as abrupt as the somewhat artificial designation of these eras suggests. It was, however, clearly tied to the emergence of psychology as a separate discipline and, in particular, its scientific emphasis. Empiricism, determinism, relativism, and reductionism became the major characteristics of modern psychology, and Christians felt immediately alienated from the discipline. Freud's reductionistic views of religion were particularly offensive and threatening. Added to this was the rise of radical behaviorism as led by John B. Watson and later B. F. Skinner. Psychology seemed less and less relevant to theology, and the fruitful interaction of Christians with psychological topics that characterized previous centuries came to a rather abrupt halt.
The reasons that the Christian community gave up its pursuit of a biblically informed psychology are complex. One component was certainly an overreaction to psychology, particularly to Freud. Such a reaction failed to discriminate between Freud's personal religious views (agnostic but not amoral) and his significant clinical discoveries. However, this overreaction was influenced by the reaction of conservative Christians to theological liberalism. Liberal theology tended to accept the findings of modern science, including psychology. In reaction to this, conservative Christians turned away from their previous openness to psychological matters to a defensive posture.
Modern psychology's critique of religion did not end with Freud. In fact it quickly became rather commonplace for psychologists to view religion with at best suspicion and at worst overt hostility. Albert Ellis is a contemporary psychologist who gives prominent voice to such a position. Ellis states clearly and forcefully that orthodox or devout religion is usually a cause and always a symptom of psychological disturbance. His proposed solution to psychological problems is to aid people and society in abandoning such irrational and harmful beliefs.
It has been hard for Christians not to respond to such challenges defensively. To many, psychology has seemed the enemy of the faith. Similarly, religion has looked to many psychologist as enemies of personal well-being. Psychology and Christianity are thus related, to these people, as enemies. One Christian who has prominently identified himself with such a view is Jay Adams.
But other forms of relationship between psychology and Christianity have also emerged in this century. One has been associated with the subfield of psychology of religion. Rather than viewing psychology as the enemy, with irreconcilable differences between the two realms, proponents of this position maintain that there is much common ground between the two. Working from humanistic and often mystical assumptions, they see humans as spiritual-moral beings who cannot be reduced to a collection of naturalistic forces. Psychological insights can aid in spiritual development, and similarly spiritual insights can aid in developing psychological understandings and in promoting psychological growth. Christians whose writings have often reflected this position include Seward Hiltner and John Sanford. Proponents of such a view have been influential in breaking down much of the mistrust of Christians toward psychology. However, because they have tended to come from theologically liberal religious traditions, many conservative Christians have remained unconvinced.
The impact of Christians within this group has been impressive. Hiltner coined the concept of pastoral counseling in 1948, and he and other clergy (including Wayne Oates, Paul Johnson, and Granger Westberg) have continued to give this movement leadership. With the founding of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors and the American Association of Clinical Pastoral Education, clinical training of pastors and chaplains moved ahead aggressively. More and more clergy found themselves serving in hospitals and mental health facilities. One final evidence of this fertile rapprochement of Christians and psychology was the development of a number of scholarly journals devoted to the relationship between the two, including The Journal of Religion and Health and The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.
Closely associated with these developments has been a movement within conservative Protestant Christianity identified by the catch phrase "the integration of psychology and theology." The integrationists have begun with an assumption of the unity of truth. They expect that all knowledge can be interrelated into a single body of truth that will represent a harmonizing of biblical relevation and psychology. In searching for this integrated truth these Christians have held strongly to the ultimate authority of the Scriptures but have not been afraid to face directly the points of tension and apparent conflict. Paul Tournier and Gary Collins are two well-known writers in this tradition. The Journal of Psychology and Theology and The Journal of Psychology and Christianity contain the writings of many more. Also associated with this position are several organizations.
The Christian Association for Psychological Studies is an international group of over a thousand Christian mental health professionals committed to the integration of psychology and theology. Similarly a number of graduate training programs have developed since 1960 with the explicit goal of providing training within the context of the integration of psychology and Christian theology.
Current Status. The last two decades have seen an enormous thawing in the climate of mistrust between Christianity and psychology. Christian pastors, often having received some training in pastoral counseling during seminary, are now much more open to use the services of psychologists (particularly Christian psychologists) and to see that psychological insights can be beneficial to their ministry. Young Christian psychologists now have the option of training in a Christian context that explicitly addresses the integration of psychology and theology and usually includes some formal study of theology. All of this has resulted in an upsurge of publications on the relationship between Christianity and psychology.
This new form of relationship has not been without tension. It is still often easy to forget the differences in meaning attributed to the same words by theologians and psychologists (e.g., guilt) and to see the two positions as contradictory and perhaps mutually incompatible. Nor should all tension be eliminated. Christians should be prepared to speak forcibly against some of the things non-Christian psychologists are advocating. Similarly, psychologists have some critical things that need to be said about aspects of our Christian traditions. Trust will allow this to happen even in tension in the relationship is not eliminated.
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