Shortreads
The Spiritual Value of Psychology
James Beck
When it comes to theology and spiritual formation, several important questions come to mind about the field of psychology and what it contributes to our understanding of human nature.
- Is psychology a proper guest at the theological discussion table?
- Does psychology have a track record of uncovering distinct data that we might not otherwise know?
- Are not the limits of psychology so pervasive and persistent that they pollute its findings and make it an unreliable source of information for the Christian about humans?
- How can the findings of psychology supplement biblical data without contaminating revealed truth?
Christian Priority to Biblical Knowledge
Christians are known for giving priority to knowledge about humans that is derived from Scripture as opposed to learning about humans from other sources. After all, the Bible is inspired and authoritative. Surely its information is superior to anything we can glean from other sources. The Bible claims for itself to be the Word of God, an assertion that is validated by its remarkable record of prophesying future events that have been fulfilled precisely. God is the author of the Word of God; what could be more reliable, useful, and determinative in its teaching about humans than the Bible?
The subject of the priority of scriptural teaching is a subjective one. People will assign varying degrees of priority to what the Bible says about humans relative to what we can learn from other sources. But regardless of our position on that question, several matters command our attention.
- First, the Bible is not to be worshiped. Only God is a valid object of our worship. We must always guard against bibliolatry.
- Second, the truths of Scripture are apprehended by faith. Our commitment to scriptural teaching is fideistic.
- Third, our interpretation of Scripture is not inspired, inerrant, or authoritative. Only the Bible itself merits those affirmations. While we can work hard to apply our interpretive methods consistently and faithfully, and while we strive to utilize the very best hermeneutical approaches possible, our interpretive results are still subject to error.
The Bible is a prime example of special revelation, knowledge communicated directly by God to humans. Studying the Bible, however, is only one of the options God has given us for acquiring knowledge about creation and the nature of humans. God also encourages us to learn about creation through observation. The psalmist exults, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, TNIV)
“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
The Authority of Scientific Discovery and Psychology
In a broad sense, scientific investigations are endeavors that result in the uncovering of the secrets of creation. General or natural revelation occurs when humans discover, understand, and collate the wisdom of God embedded in the created world. We do not require that these investigators be persons of faith; we accept their understanding, for example, of the exact shape of a planet’s orbital path, without demanding to know whether the discoverers affirm the Nicene Creed.
Psychology, a separate field of enquiry of rather recent origins, attempts to understand human behavior, cognition, intelligence, sociality, among other facets of human existence. Its range of investigation does not extend beyond the death of a human; it does not begin its work on the basis of divine revelation; it is evolving in its understanding; its investigators are imperfect human beings; and it has its own presuppositional biases that can color its work and production.
“[T]he affirmation of the unity of the person documented by contemporary psychology gives us an enriched theological understanding of death.”
Can Christians Learn from Psychology?
Yet in spite of these and other limitations, has the field of psychology developed an understanding of human functioning that is distinct from that revealed to us in Scripture? The answer is a resounding Yes. In fact, some of the findings of psychology help enhance our understanding of Scripture. A few examples will suffice to establish this point.
Unity of Human Persons
The unity of the human person is far greater than ever before imagined. If we interpret Scripture to teach that humans have both material and immaterial facets composing their identity, the unity of those elements is comprehensive. All evidence points to the fact that it is impossible to isolate any aspect of human functioning into material vs. immaterial components using the investigative methods now available to psychological researchers. In fact, the unity of the person is strong enough to convince most secular psychologists that all aspects of human experience are purely physical (material) and that soulish (immaterial) phenomena do not exist. Some psychologically-informed Christian theologians also argue that the historic Christian view that all humans have a soul is misguided.
[Watch: Joel Green “On Doing Without a Soul” and John Cooper on “Have Christians Lost Their Souls?”]
Death
Assuming that the traditional Christian understanding that the human is a unity of material and immaterial substance, the affirmation of the unity of the person documented by contemporary psychology gives us an enriched theological understanding of death. Physical death achieves what is otherwise impossible to accomplish: the separation of material from immaterial. Our theological understanding of the New Testament is that this separation represents an interim state that will be ended when the resurrection at the end of time occurs. Death is a powerful event that has tremendous power even though it ultimately has been defeated by the Resurrection of Jesus.
[Read: The Table Journal Issue 2: Surviving Death featuring J.P. Moreland, Gary Habermas, William Hasker, and John Cooper]
The Brain
Another collection of unique data to emerge from contemporary psychological science has to do with the human brain and its determinative role in human functioning. From a careful study of the Bible, the exegete can affirm with bold confidence that the human brain is a product of the creative work of God. But we would strain to find evidence that the authors of biblical books or their audiences understood the major role played by the brain in human functioning. In fact, we now understand the brain to control basic aspects of life, aspects that biblical authors attributed to other anatomical sources. We should not conclude that the Bible was or is wrong; it simply reflects the best understanding of the day. Those ancient authors could not anticipate all the wonders of the human brain that modern science has discovered.
“The Bible records stories of what we now would label mental illness…”
Brain cells communicate with one another via a mysterious—almost magical—combination of chemical media and electronic impulses. The brain converts ocular images into vision and environmental sounds into hearing. The brain stem regulates our breathing and basic consciousness. The frontal lobes govern the higher brain outputs. Electronic disturbances in brain tissue (seizures) and strokes have characteristic and observable behavioral symptoms. The brain exists in duplicate form, and it can compensate for damage in one hemisphere by developing new neural pathways in the other hemisphere. People can survive the removal of one brain hemisphere. On and on go the wonders of modern brain science. Most experts are quick to affirm that we are simply on the cusp of comprehensively knowing how the brain works. None of these well-documented brain features could ever have been discovered by exegetes working with the text of Scripture.
[Listen: Jeffrey Long on “The Science of Near-Death Experiences“]
Mental Illness
One more example of distinctive data emerging from modern psychological science comes from its clinical branches: the study of psychopathology. The Bible records stories of what we now would label mental illness (the psychosis of Nebuchadnezzar, the depressive states of Jeremiah and David as just two examples). Our knowledge about the many mysteries of abnormal behavior has increased greatly. We know a modest amount about the relationship between mental illness and brain chemistry, how some aberrant conditions are influenced by genetic information inherited from parents, and how environmental stressors and trauma can produce immediate and/or delayed states of malfunction.
One of the baffling aspects of psychopathology revolves around the phenomenon of symptom clustering. Some clusters are somewhat intuitive, such as the lethargy and disturbances of appetite and sleep patterns that accompany depressive conditions. But how do we intuit the swings between manic and depressive phases that occur in bipolar states? How do we connect anorexic eating behaviors with cutting activities that often occur together among adolescents? Clinical evidence has linked the symptoms into syndromes, but we still have only a modest understanding of why they cluster as they do.
[Watch: Curt Thompson on “Mental Disorders and Personal Healing”]
Concluding Questions on the Benefits of Psychology for Human Spirituality
Can we conclude that psychological science has brought to our awareness distinctive data about human nature?
Yes.
Does this new psychological information represent important information about humans?
Yes.
Is this new psychological knowledge duplicative of what is already found in the Bible?
No.
Can psychology add to the biblical theme of salvation?
No, the Bible is thoroughly and completely comprehensive in its teaching about God’s salvific interventions in human history.
Does the information generated by psychological science contradict the Bible?
Generally, no. The data do not conflict with biblical teaching, but the interpretation of that data can sometimes contradict scriptural information.
Does this new psychological information enrich our understanding of Scripture?
In many cases, the clear answer is yes. We can more fully appreciate the brilliance and beauty of creation, we can understand better the necessity of God’s provision of grace and mercy to humans, and we can more fully understand our ongoing need of God’s love in our lives.
