"Christian" Psychology - Part II

This is the second of two brief discussions of so-called Christian psychology. What we are saying in few words could be thoroughly documented if we had the space, which we don't, so I am trying to be very basic. Psychology pretends to be the study of the soul; it has in fact been called the cure of souls. Yet the Bible claims to provide the diagnosis and cure of the soul. God is the only One who can take care of man's spiritual problems, and in fact He has done so. The Bible claims that God has given to the believer "all things that pertain unto life and godliness" (2 Pt 1:3). We don't need help from Freud, et al.

Christian psychology says that we do need such help, that the Bible doesn't have all the answers we need, that prayer, repentance, being filled with the Holy Spirit and other biblical remedies are not enough because there are psychological problems that require something more. Does it not seem a bit odd that God has apparently inspired the likes of Freud, Jung, et al. with "truths" unknown to the apostles and prophets and all of the leaders in the entire history of the church? No, we are told reassuringly, this is not to be considered strange at all. What we need to understand is that "all truth is God's truth." This specious phrase is invoked whenever questions are raised and is generally accepted without further thought.

The question of what is meant by truth is seldom asked. Are we talking about scientific facts involving the brain and body, or about God's truth involving the soul and spirit? Jesus said, "Thy Word is truth," not part of the truth. Psychology pretends to deal with the soul and spirit (it actually claims to be a science of mind), a subject upon which God has spoken with finality and about which He claims to have communicated in His Word the whole truth. There are no parts of this truth missing from the Bible and left in limbo to be discovered by godless theorists. To suggest that there are is to contradict the clear testimony of Scripture and the consistent teaching of the church since the beginning, a church that got along very well without psychology until its very recent introduction into secular society and from there into the Christian realm.

As soon as the door was opened for the "truths" of psychology to shed further light upon Scripture a subtle process began. If "all truth is God's truth," and psychology is part of that truth, then it has to be given equal authority with the Bible. Of course Christian psychologists deny this. In all sincerity they assure us that no psychological theory will be accepted that contradicts the Bible; but in actual practice "psychological truth" is imposed upon the Bible and becomes the new grid through which the Bible is to be interpreted.

Imperceptibly but inevitably, psychological theory by this process gains authority over the Bible and the church, and anyone not trained in the new truths of psychology is not qualified to question the new interpretations. Christian universities and seminaries develop large and growing psychology departments in order to keep up with "current trends." No church staff of any size is any longer complete without at least one psychologist. Pastors begin to believe that they are not competent to counsel from the Bible without going back to seminary for an advanced degree in psychology. They are competent to preach or to teach the Word of God if they have a degree in theology, but incompetent to counsel from the Word of God without a degree in psychology. This new state of affairs is accepted almost without question; and those of us who do question it as unbiblical are accused of causing division or of speaking from ignorance because we presumably don't know enough about psychology.

Christian psychology could almost be described as a cult inside the church. It has its own vocabulary to describe, an endless array of problems tagged with labels not found in the Bible and unknown to the church in its entire history. These strange new phrases now roll glibly off the tongues of pastors who are sincerely trying to be "relevant" and to "communicate" in modern terms. In short, this cult has its own gospel, its own religious rituals administered by its own class of priests, the Christian psychologists, who have gained authority over those who only know God's Word but have not yet been initiated into their inner academic circle and are thus unqualified to counsel from the Word of God. Nor can one appeal to the Scriptures as a means of correcting this new priest class, because they alone hold the keys to the new interpretation of the Bible and the new Christianity. It is a master stroke of genius from the great mastermind of deception himself. And it is being carried on in the name of the Lord and for the good of His church, so they sincerely believe, by men and women who earnestly desire to benefit the body of Christ.

We desperately need a return to biblical Christianity!   TBC