THE PSYCHOLOGIZING OF THE FAITH
The Word of God tells
us the real truth about man, not the lies that he likes to tell about himself through
psychology, in order to ease his guilty conscience, brought on by his sinful
lifestyle. Once upon a time, these two perspectives concerning the human
condition were decidedly prejudicial and distinct from each other, but those
days have long since passed. The “psychologizing”
of our Christian Faith is an undeniably stark reality in the church today, and
sadly, most pastors are encouraging this apostasy by embracing the humanistic
principles that it represents, rather than exposing and expelling them from
their congregations. The distinctive wavy red line appearing under the word “psychologizing” as I'm writing this, is a good indication of the
contrived nature of this word, and I wish I could keep this spellcheck feature
included in the text as a glaring warning, because there is no question that we need
some sound biblical principles to help navigate us through the dangerous waters
of this “new cultural religion for the multitudes (Hoekstra)”.
At the heart of
psychology, is the need to convince everyone that it is a strictly scientific
discipline, that is based on irrefutable research and clinical evidence, but
that could not be further from the truth. As is the case with most of man’s
theories that attempt to explain away God’s creation, without the existence of
a creator, only a minor portion of psychological theory is capable of being
subjected to the scientific method and thereby verified as irrefutable fact. Most
of psychology is based on the man-centered philosophy that man is the god of
himself and is therefore capable of saving himself thru education, therapy,
scientific research and development (drugs), and the support of other human
beings who are just as lost as he is.
However, the problem lies in the fact
that the church is now falling for this same deception and has allowed God’s
Word to be twisted and redefined into a man-centered theology that is more
in-line with modern psychology than with the historic Christian faith. Even the most basic of
Christian teachings and doctrines found in God’s word are being infiltrated and
subverted by the influences of psychology. Christian counseling for instance;
once clearly defined and understood by the church, as being accomplished
through the consistent teaching, reading, and studying of the Word of God,
accompanied by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the believers life,
and the counsel of godly men in the church, speaking biblical truth and wisdom
into the receptive heart.
This, in large part, has been replaced by pseudo-Christian
philosophies, psycho-babel, and even psycho-heresies that are professed by prominent radio and television personalities, and self-help
books written by secular trained psychologists, who just so happen to be
Christians. Both use the same methods the world does to combat the issues that
trouble us all in life, but these methods are often in direct conflict with the
Bible, and at their core, presuppose that God doesn’t even exist. While many
may come away having been helped to some varying degrees by these approaches, and there are certainly cases that could benefit from them, the ends often do not justify the means, because the long-term damage that is caused
to the body of Christ.
The need for
counseling in the first place, points us to the heart of this issue and that is
the, “Problem of Sin”. The Bible is clear about the fact that man is fallen and
has come horribly short in regards to his relationship with his creator. This
fallen-ness manifests itself in many diverse ways and has many symptoms, but it
must be acknowledged that man does not measure up to what he was created to do;
and that is to walk through the garden of paradise, in the cool of the day with
his creator, free from guilt and shame, because he is free of sin. Therefore, because
he has fallen, and is manifestly unable to do this, he has many overwhelming
problems in coping with life’s challenges, which in many cases bring him to the
brink of depression and even desperation. His sin nature drives him to attempt
to fulfill the lusts of his flesh, but it can never be satisfied and it
produces in him what psychologists would call, a psychotic break.
Failing to see that
the only way to return from this point of no return, is to acknowledge that he
is a sinner, to repent of his sins, and to accept Christ’s offer of salvation and
the blood sacrifice that was shed for his sins; he continues on this path until
the pressures of life cause him to lose his mind, take his own life, or go to a
priest of the religion known as secular humanism, i.e. a psychologist, who
quickly convinces him there is no need to feel guilty because he is not a
sinner at all, he just has some chemical imbalances that are causing
psychological disorders or dysfunctions to manifest themselves.
He says to
them, “You’re not a sinner, you’re just, co-dependent. You are a victim of your
environment, and you have a disease, and that is what is causing you to act out in
such a selfish way and to exhibit these terrible behaviors, (i.e. “works of the
flesh”). But it’s nothing that
can’t be cleared up with psychotropic drugs and group therapy! (Hoekstra)” And so, you see that man has cured himself of
his problem of sin, and no longer needs God to save him from his sins; he just
needs a 12 step program and Prozac to bring some balance back into his life. Tragic
but true, and the church is swallowing this, psychologizing of the faith,
hook, line, and sinker; allowing it to replace the saving grace of God which liberates man from the bondage of sin, with the cheap imitation that Satan
offers.
As Christians we are
to follow after Christ, become His disciples, take up His cross, deny
ourselves, humble ourselves and seek after His will for our lives. Not holding
our lives dear to ourselves but submitting to Him as a servant, a slave. But
this is far from the cries from “Self-esteem and Self promotion, that we find
taught in churches today. Improve
yourself, be good to yourself, have your best life now! (Hoekstra)” That is the cry of the psychologized church today, and humility and servant hood have
passed from the vocabulary of the modern Christian dictionary. Ask not what I
can do for God but what can God do for me? That is the anthem we hear sung by our
secularized church goers today.
We all desire to live
lives filled with love, peace, joy, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, meekness,
and self-control; oddly enough, that is exactly what we are promised if we
allow the life of Jesus to live through us by the power of His Holy Spirit. These
fruits of His Spirit in our lives are signs of His all sufficiency at work in
our lives. We are complete in Him if we allow Him to have His way with us;
sanctifying, cleansing, and knitting us together with other Christians into His
body that we may bear fruit for His kingdom. But again, this old fashioned
notion surely must not be scientific enough because it has been replaced by
personal development seminars and self-improvement books that teach us how to
be self-actualize, be more assertive, and realize our true potential
within.
Truly, Christ is all
sufficient for us, and He not only can, but He wants to communicate this to us
thru the work of His Holy Spirit and His Word. We can either choose to believe
that it is inspired by God our creator, and is therefore trustworthy and
authoritative in our lives, and that it has the final word in any and all
matters that concern our life; or it isn’t. This is a critical factor in
resolving problems that arise in your life. Are you going to acknowledge what
the Word of God says about this, believe it, accept it, and diligently apply it
to your life, trusting that God will honor His Word, and bring a change to the
situation; or will you disregard it and pretend that it doesn’t apply
specifically to your situation because you are a special case?
Sadly, this is
the case of the psychologized church,
because they have relegated the Bible into a subservient position below that of
man’s knowledge and wisdom; and the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit in
a believer’s life to mere myth and legend. The supreme goal of knowing and loving
God above all else and seeking to be found in him, abounding in His grace and
peace has been replaced by the selfish dream of knowing oneself and loving
oneself no matter how wicked you might be. After all, “You have to be able to
love yourself before you can love others right? I’m ok… you’re ok…etc…”
How foolish of us to
have rejected the fountains of living water that our Heavenly Father makes
available for us to drink from, and to drink rather from broken cisterns. How foolish
of us to fall once again for the deceptive craftiness of the same serpent who
once asked, “Hath God truly said?” Like the seven churches of Revelation we
must repent, return to our first love, our first works, and allow Jesus to once
again walk in and among us as the all sufficient Lord of our lives, who desires
to heal us and wash us with the water of His Word.
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
Hoekstra, Bob. The Psychologizing of the Faith. Calvary
Publishing. Print. 1982.
