Presuppositions In Biblical Psychology

It is amazing that in this book, the topics addressed which for many; perhaps they will not have much sense. Nevertheless, instead for those who for some reason their field of work is what being refers to the integration of psychology with theology, this book becomes an immeasurable help. Although some are not in agreement with the principle of integration of these two sciences, it is interesting what Entwistle mention in his book when he says that: “…if we are to study this mystery as Christian scholars, then we must unapologetically admit that a Christian worldview informs our understanding of persons and our approach to the discipline of psychology.” (Entwistle, 2010, pp. 220-221)

What does psychology have to do with the Christian faith? In Psychology and Christianity: Five Views, by Myers, Jones, Roberts, Watson, Coe, Hall, and Powlison (2010) is an introductory textbook for Christian psychology that provides sound arguments for an array of positions on psychology and faith. Each author contributed an essay and in return the other essayist respond by either agreeing or disagreeing by pointing out faults and explaining why.

Atheism and Christianity has different viewpoints in regards to the origin of the universe, but both share alikeness as well. Christians believe in God, but Atheist does not. Christians believed and that the universe and earth was created by God in six days and on the seventh day he rested. The atheist on the other hand believe that the universe was made of an atom, expanded to what we know now, energy and matter. According to Jack Wellman, Christians and atheists can agree upon is that the universe had a finite, singular, beginning point called “Big Bang Theory.” That the expanded universe came from nothing if we reverse it.

David Brooks argues, in his essay “What Suffering Does”, that pain often gives people a new outlook and possibly even a new path in life. He explains that suffering can help people see their lives from an outsider’s perspective, discover new depths of their character, and often find new paths: “The grief of having lost a loved one smashes through what they thought was the bottom floor of their personality, revealing an area below,” (Brooks 286). Brooks in this passage describes how suffering can enhance a person’s character. As cliché as it sounds, hardships can, in fact,

The theme of suffering will be talked about throughout this essay. Even though it isn’t the most pleasant topic to talk about, it is part of our lives. The dictionary defines suffering as “The state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship.” This essay will examine suffering and how it shows up in different printed sources, as well as in my personal life.

A biblical worldview should influence the way I think about, treat, and speak to others on a daily basis because I do not want to go around and degrade everyone that comes into sight. I should always treat others with the upmost respect even if I do not get treated with respect by that individual. I should not always judge others on how they look, speak, or act because I would not like it if someone came up to me and started pointing out every flaw that I had. Matthew 7:12 states “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Therefore, individuals need to be more mindful of their words and actions because an individual can really hurt someone mentally, physically, and emotionally.

The integration of psychology and theology is so intertwined that it has caused ill-well between the two disciplines. The over-arching concern for a counselor is to understand the why of a person disorder. In trying to understand the why, there are issues concerning the mind of the person, the thought process, their body, their soul, their temporal and the supernatural systems that can be manipulated if they are not living with a healthy lifestyle. So what a counselor is trying to discover is the physical function of individuals as well as trying to uncover the spiritual components of their lives, which can be worked through within the intake process, however it does not need to be left out during the counseling process. This is best said in the words of McMinn (1996) who declares “the best interdisciplinary integration work usually comes from those who have formal or informal preparation in both psychology and theology” (p. 9). Scripture states in, II Chronicles 1:10, says “give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours” (New International Version)? This research article will endeavor to search through varies theories to aid counselors in the integration process of psychology and theology. Because the ultimate goal for any counselor especially the Christian counselor is to be used as an instrument for God to bring about healthy living, corrective thoughts, and eradicate persistent sins.

1. Describe a time when you experienced a significant period of suffering. How did you deal with that experience? How did you find comfort in the midst of suffering?

I find the description of the suffering to be infinite and unexplainable to be the most persuasive because it seems the worst part of the passage. It is hard enough to wrap our minds around the concept of infinity and to try to imagine infinite suffering is mortifying.

Those who are suffering tend to be avoidant to their suffering and devalued in society. In the film Dead Man Walking, Matthew Poncelet is a convicted murderer who has been in jail for 6 years and is awaiting conviction. At the start of the movie Matthew is ready for his execution to be over with so he no longer has to suffer with the consequences of his actions. Matthew was accused of raping and killing two people and was sentenced to life in jail and the execution. He had given up there was no real reason for him to live anymore, his life was meaningless now.

Jeremy Smith’s presentation about how we live and die was very inspiring to me. He argues that well-being does not just mean being alive, but it means to live without suffering. And as of right now we are focusing more on keeping people alive than alleviating their suffering. For example, we place a large amount of effort into breast cancer research while we place a relatively small amount of research on neck pain—a leading cause of suffering for many. Smith even went as far to say that neck pain effects more people for a longer amount of time than breast cancer. This just goes to prove that we spend gross amounts of money on certain issues that do not have the largest and most impactful effect on people’s lives and well-being. Another example

The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity, regarding such matters as moral conduct, spiritual advancement and ultimate destiny. Indeed an emphasis on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where, it can be argued, we are shown how to "journey through suffering" (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the "Suffering Son of Man" (Mark 8:32), Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to strengthen the resolve of the early Christian community (Halpern 2002, Mayerfeld 2005), the underlying moral is not lost on a modern reader grappling with multifarious challenges regarding faith in the face of suffering. In his article "A Christian Response to Suffering", William Marravee (1987) describes suffering

There are two main beliefs about how the universe was made are creation and evolution. Creation being where God created everything and where it was all made exactly how it is in the present day. Evolution where the world was created by the big bang and that we evolved from apes into human beings and that other species did the same thing evolve in different things. This is one of the biggest question of the modern day between christians and atheists.

“Suffering” is a word which carries negative connotations, used to incite pity, empathy or fear. Why would it not? Is suffering not simply agony, defined justly by the Oxford Dictionary as “the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship” (“Suffering)? Yet, we accept suffering as part of life, a fundamental aspect that defines living. Nietzsche tells us that the very act of living is suffering itself, but to survive is to find value in that suffering. Yet, what sort of value can be attached to an idea so negative? Pico Iyer’s editorial in the New York Times explores the value of suffering, likening suffering to passion and “[p]assion with the plight of other’s makes for ‘compassion’” (________________).I began to think upon the cohesive

Life’s sufferings offer us a lesson to build character and faith to ultimately gain judgement.