(This article also includes a podcast discussion. Listen on your Apple or Android podcast app.)
Last time, we discussed the overall goal of psychology, as well as my connection to the field (link). It is a science rooted in the natural world, seeking to find answers for why we feel, act, and react the way we do. From there, a psychologist’s primary goal is to help their patients overcome these issues through a variety of therapy techniques. Psychology seeks to be helpful, but is it the help we really need?
All natural?
Modern science comes from a singular belief: the natural world is the only world. Everything that exists is based on the basic elements of the world, with intangible things like thoughts and emotions being little more than a mix of chemical and electrical reactions taking place in our brains. If what we think and feel are natural (meaning based on the physical world), then the answer to our problems is likewise found in the natural world.
However, this is where Christians need to be very mindful of how worldviews affect our conclusions. We must remember that this world naturally hates God, outright refusing to acknowledge Him as the rightful source of our joy and provision. It rejects its sinfulness, and thus its need for a savior. Over time, we’ve seen this trajectory move into outright rejecting any form of the spiritual realm, find all its solutions in what can be observed.
And here we find our problem. If modern science is rooted in a worldview that hates God, then it must find ways to answer things without Him. Likewise, if psychology is found in a similar worldview, then what choice do they have but to only address the natural world? It’s not a grand conspiracy or a way of trying to remove God from the world – it’s simply the natural reaction of people who refuse to believe in Him.
More than bodies
Yet if we believe God’s word, it’s quite evident that our world extends beyond merely what we can touch and observe. God shows us time and again that there is a spiritual realm we can’t feel or observe. Indeed, John 4:24 flat out tells us that God Himself exists in spirit.
As humans, we are made of both body and spirit. That’s why God reveals that He will make a new Heaven and a new Earth. We were designed perfectly, and God’s perfect design for us was to be both body and spirit. Thus, we aren’t made to spend eternity in the wonder of Heaven, but instead we will enjoy our perfect bodies and sinless souls on an Earth free of the destruction of sin.
It’s crucial that we realize how inseparable our bodies and spirits truly are. When our bodies are lacking food or sleep, our spiritual health starts to suffer and we are more tempted toward anger or selfishness. Feelings of anxiety or depression have drastic effects on things like our energy and general health (if you see them as spiritual), or our desires and motivations (if you see them as physical). Likewise, an encouraging visit from a brother or sister in Christ can have a wonderful effect on someone recovering from surgery or who’s been bedbound with the flu.
We simply can’t escape the reality that our physical bodies aren’t more or less important than our spiritual selves. The two were designed by God to be linked, and thus it’s dangerous to ignore how much effect our spiritual self can have on our bodies.
Flawed interpretations
Christians aren’t unique in being made of body and spirit. All people, no matter how much they reject God, are equally influenced by both aspects of themselves. And this is where psychology reveals its greatest weakness.
Psychology comes from a flawed worldview. It assumes that our thoughts and emotions are tied to the natural world. We yell at our kids because our parents taught us anger, or perhaps we never learned how to respond otherwise. We feel anxiety because we allow ourselves to have negative thoughts or because our symptoms suggest some form of chemical imbalance.
And all of those things are certainly contributing factors. My kids get to struggle with anger because my wife and I struggle with it. Some may get anxious because they feel like they’re inferior to others, leading them to believe that they’re destined to fail. We can all trace our struggles and sinful behavior to certain triggers, allowing us to see the domino effect of how one thing often leads to another.
But that’s not the whole story.
In my article about the compatibility of science and the Bible (link), we made a very important distinction. We clarified that science itself isn’t against God, because science is merely an observation of what happens. It’s scientists who interpret that information and try to come to a conclusion. That conclusion often attempts to be objective but requires a set of assumptions that come from a certain worldview, whether atheist or otherwise. It’s that worldview that fills in certain gaps and attempts to form a consistent understanding of what’s being observed.
Psychology is no different. A psychologist looks at the evidence being presented to them – fear of the future, domestic abuse, self-harm, overuse of alcohol, feelings of despair, etc. That’s the science of psychology, but then that information gets interpreted based on a worldview, and from that interpretation, a treatment plan is created.
A psychologist is in a field where the basic worldview doesn’t believe in God, nor anything spiritual. Regardless, an individual psychologist’s beliefs have little bearing on this as the DSM-5 manual is their guide in diagnosis, and from there a common treatment plan is established. The entirety of an hour with a psychologist is based on one fact – what’s wrong with you has nothing to do with God, and everything to do with your thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Coming up next
Understanding the goals and worldview of psychology is important as we start looking at what it offers, and what it doesn’t. If every interpretation has no room for God, then what can psychology offer? Moreover, does it offer us what we truly need? Next time we’ll look at what psychology promises to save us from, and whether that is what we really need.
