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Psychology
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud, of course, stood at the head of this movement. It is significant, I think, that he saw religion (by which he meant principally Judeo-Christian religion) as the major “enemy” of his movement. He saw the reason for this very clearly. For the Christian religion proposed that life without God and without his transcendent goal of life is not, and cannot be, made whole. So his objection is predictable:
Religion is an attempt to get control over the sensory world, in which we are place, by means of the wish-world, which we have developed inside us as a result of biological and psychological necessities. But it cannot achieve its end….Its consolations deserve no trust.
One can easily see that Freud, a true product of an age now losing its sense of transcendence, sees as fraudulent any attempt to resolve the various problems of life by appeal to the idea that life is incomplete because it cannot be complete in this world. Though he does not promise a resolution of all problems, he clearly implies that such a resolution in this world is the only legitimate human goal.
In these same lectures in which he sees religion as “the chief enemy,” it is intriguing that he saw (from a perspective early in the twentieth century) that communism was actually sharing, in a sense, his own view of the world. While he operated to resolve life from within, they moved to convert the economic environment, bringing about a resolution from without. Both of these points of view, however, necessarily imply the need to resolve life’s deficiencies. And in this limited sense, they share a common front against religion. So Freud voices his limited support of the communist experiment (which is quite interesting since we know some of the results of that experiment):
There are also men of action, unshakable in their convictions, impervious to doubt, and insensitive to the sufferings of anyone who stands between them and their goal. It is owing to such men that the tremendous attempt to institute a new order of society of this kind is actually being carried out in Russia now. At a time when great nations are declaring that they expect to find their salvation solely from a steadfast adherence to Christian piety, the upheaval in Russia…seems to promise a better future.
A. J. Conyers, The Eclipse of Heaven, (InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois), pp. 101-102
Resource
- Is a lot of psychological counseling a waste of time? Tony Campolo, 20 Hot Potatoes Christians Are Afraid To Touch, (Word Publ., Dallas; 1988), Chapter 18, pp. 203ff
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Biblical Concepts with Counseling
Is the Bible inadequate to bring about sanctification by itself? Must we have psychological counseling to become whole? Is all counseling good? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the counseling process? Can we ever become truly whole? If not, how can God use “sick” pastors and counselors? This issue of Focal Point, while not intended to answer all questions related to counseling and sanctification, seeks to address several issues and give examples of the use of biblical concepts with counseling.
As president of an evangelical, Christian seminary, let me emphasize key presuppositions for this issue on counseling:
The Bible is sufficient in its inspiration and its scope of truth to teach us what we need for sanctification (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-4). But the Bible doesn’t tell us all we know about people. Any humanly discovered truth about people that is not contradictory to Scripture is helpful as “common sense” or counseling wisdom for therapeutic value.
- The appropriate application of biblical truth is essential for holistic growth and greater sanctification. This happens in part through the ministry of Spirit-gifted pastors, teachers and counselors in the ministry of the Body of Christ as they apply biblical truth and sanctified wisdom to believers (2 Peter 3:1-2; James 5:19-20; Hebrews 13:17, 22; Philippians 4:8-9).
- Some counsel and counseling is at best misguided and at worst a Satanic lie. All teaching and counsel is based on presuppositions and principles. If those foundations are humanistic their superstructures are condemned to topple (2 Peter 2:17-22; Matthew 7:15-27). Scripture is our ultimate authority for truth and counsel (Hebrews 12:4).
- The Holy Spirit in Christian counseling is an essential element in bringing about holistic healing and true freedom at the spiritual level of a person’s life (John 14:26, 16:7-11; Ephesians 4:30; Titus 3:5).
- In this life, we cannot be sinless and completely whole, but we are always in the process of becoming more Christlike through God’s sanctifying work (1 John 1:8; Philippians 1:6, 9-11).
- While still less than perfect, God chooses to use and does use his servants for his sanctifying purposes in others (Galatians 2:11-21; 1 Timothy 1:15-16; 2 Corinthians 4:7-12).
Dr. Clyde McDowell, Focal Point, Fall, 1997, p. 3
Helping Mental and Emotional Problems
People have wondered if it is possible to minister to mental-emotional-behavioral problems without resorting to psychological models and methods or to psychological gimmicks and devices. The evidence suggests that it is. Three researchers found in a national survey conducted for the Joint Commission on Mental Illness and Health that “of those persons who actively sought help for personal problems, the vast majority contacted persons other than mental health professionals, and that generally they were more satisfied with the help received than were those who chose psychiatrists and psychologists.”
Martin & Diedre Bobgan, How To Counsel From Scripture, Moody Press, 1985, p. 42
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