There are differences and similarities between theology and psychology through philosophical anthropology has the potential to be hugely beneficial to someone trying to develop a healthy integration between the two subject matters. People have different perceptions depending on their beliefs about nature. People make conclusions depending on what they believe in, and they need to measure the integrity of their thoughts. Philosophical anthropology can be defined as a “study of the character, disposition, qualities, and inclinations of human beings” (Enwistle, p. 143, 2015).

While some pre-med majors tend to disagree, psychology is considered a science and as such, it relies on the scientific method, logic, reasoning, and is concerned with the biopsychosocial makeup of a person. In essence, human beings are the central concern within psychology (Enwistle, 2015). As with any religion, Scripture plays a significant role in the development of doctrine, and according to the text, since Scripture and God are concerned with humans, philosophical anthropology is also contained within the study of theology.

Within Christian theology, we have a couple of foundational distinctions as well. Christian theology takes hold of both a supernatural and natural view of the world and sees Scripture as God’s message to the world (Enwistle, 2015). Some of the distinctive Christian theology would be its focus on the spirituality contained within the human experience. Specifically, concepts like sin, grace, redemption, justification, salvation, creation, sanctification – all of these aspects of Christian life, theology is concerned with.

I don’t believe that psychology and theology are irrevocably opposed to one another, I think they’re two different angles of approach we can take in understanding and that having familiarity with both yields for an integrated approach of both understanding and compassion (Enwistle, 2015 & the Bible). For instance, theology might be able to tell us about the Fall from Genesis 3, but psychology can give us insight into what that might look like on a ground level as it fleshes out as unhealthy relationships or outbursts of anger.

References

Entwistle, D. (2015). Integrative approaches to psychology and Christianity: An introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations, and models of integration (3rd ed.). Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Brown, B. (2017). Braving the wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone (1^sted). New York, New York: Penguin Random House, LLC.

Essay 3

I chose the secular combatant’s version of the enemy’s model. Even though I may disagree with their conclusion although I disagree with some things. I believe that the ultimate truth resides in Christianity. I also think, however, that it is important to test what we think and to seek out what is right. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 commands “but test everything that is heard. Hold on to what is good.” (NLV) Christianity isn’t true because we believe it, we should believe it because it’s true. Unfortunately, because of our deep emotional connection to our faith, a lot of Christians have a difficult time testing what we believe. Even though this may also hold for secular combatants as well, this is once an area that I often see them doing better in. They can acknowledge the falsifiability of their claim and have a willingness to be wrong.

This leads me to my second point and the second thing I can admire about the secular combatant: they leave room to grow. In being able to admit you are wrong, you are placing yourself one step closer to discovering what is right. Secular science is centered on growth and progress, and it revolves around falsifiability. Job’s friends are an excellent example of this (Job 4-23). Sometimes, we have to look outside of what the idea’s we are comfortable with to find the truth. This is the third thing that I have come to respect about the secular combatant’s position: their tendency to be widely empathetic. Sometimes Christian combatants tend to boil things down to the person suffering and what they must have done to cause it. Sometimes our pain and suffering are brought on by our fault and actions, but often it is something outside of actions that are causing the pain. People need to be comforted and given space to heal.

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