Psychology:
Because therapy seemed to helped
my son with his addiction issues, I developed somewhat of a dependence on them.
They gave me hope, albeit it was false hope. As it turned out, my son was
cleverer than the therapists were wise. He gave them the outward appearance of sobriety
because, according to him, that was their barometer of change. With a sigh of
relief, as a middle-age parent, I enrolled in a psychology class at Western
Kentucky University. Before long, I was a regular student majoring in family
counseling. My idea of psychology was that they had secret knowledge above the
normative. I put my trust in psychology.
Fortunately, for me, as I worked on my graduate degree in counseling, I
read my Bible cover to cover. Sublimely, my mind was constantly comparing. One
day in class I blurted out, “Psychology seems to be just another religion!” Dr.
Fong smiled, and replied, “Are you just now figuring that out?” Later on, she
mentioned, “it’s not only our job to teach but to remold.” Dr. Fong is an
honest lady.
Psychology means “study of the
soul”. 629 The psyche is the Greek term for soul or spirit. 630
It seems that I was studying the unknown god without even realizing it! Hence,
psychology, posing as a science, lacks transparency. It belongs in the
Religious Studies Department. That is not to say that psychologists never do
“good” things because they do just as humanists also do “good”. It’s just from
a spiritual stand point “goodness” without hope is an effort in futility!
Why psychology? To provide hope
to messed up people. Why Christ? To provide hope to messed up people. At best
for psychology, hope is a fiction. Since
all people face death, and psychology has no solution for death, their hope can
never be fulfilled. On the other hand, guilty people who have been spiritually
enlightened have the hope of salvation, 631 and if the faith is firm
enough, the assurance of it! 632
Psychology, like Christianity,
seeks to change cognition and behavior. Unlike Christianity, psychology has no
solution to genetic predispositions. Thus, with reluctance, they submit: they are born this way, and have no
solution. The Doctrine of Christ is that mankind only has a genetic propensity
to do wrong, and that the desire can be controlled. 633 Christianity
is behavior therapy. Like the cripple who can learn to walk with the aid of the
nurse, the spiritual cripple is aided by the Holy Spirit.
Cognitive therapy is the tool
for both neurotic or psychotic patients. Those terms are psychological jargon for
those unhappy with distress and severe mental disorders, respectively. In
spiritual terms, they are the ordinary people dissatisfied with their lives,
and those who are reprobate. The former can experience guilt and desire change.
The latter is satisfied and often unconcerned with their malicious behaviors and
thoughts.
From a psychological standpoint, guilt as a disorder, is a bad thing from which to seek relief. Counseling is
usually to not feel guilty for “bad” behaviors. For instance, if one is
promiscuous, just act on the impulse rather than restrain oneself and feel relief from stress. From that standpoint, the only law against behavior is one
imposed on oneself. Scripture, on the other hand, teaches that sin leads to
death. 634 That refers to spiritual death but can be physical as
well. Those who remain in guilt, ironically, walk deathlike throughout life.
Such people need to change. Behavior therapy may help with life but it is
worthless for the afterlife. Most people can never truly be joyful knowing that
this life will end someday. The religion of psychology offers no eternal hope,
hence it’s a band-aid when healing is available! If one desires merely a less
stressful life, and contentment with bad behaviors, perhaps psychology can
satisfy that. If they want a cure, it cannot, and does not even claim to be the
cure!
My own text book on abnormal
psychology said that there is no evidence that those with counseling had any
improvement over those without counseling. That is an honest assessment. With
the cornucopia of tools in their psychological bags, accountability is
difficult. If a patient gets worse, was it because of the malady or from the
therapy. Christianity has one “tool” and He is reliable and trustworthy. He is
the Doctor and the Cure!
Psychologists can change
non-productive or abnormal thinking or behaviors by merely changing the
diagnosis. The Law of God is immutable. Before one is saved, the sickness must
be cured. Changing the rules is not effective. Unless there is change, the
sickness remains! In regard to the abnormal behavior of homosexuality, the
American Psychological Association (APA) merely changed the diagnosis. In DSM-I
and II (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual), it was an abnormality. In
DSM-III (1973) it changed to normality, and homophobia became he abnormality! 635
God’s Word doesn’t do that! God has expectations: he desires that the old
person become new. 636 The DSM rationalizes one’s sickness as
incurable. In fact, some laws exist making it illegal to treat homosexuality as
a disorder.
The attack is on psychology, not
the persons. Psychology is not what it
appears to be. There is no mystical knowledge at all. Any ethical psychologist
will warn that they can’t “fix”anyone. The person is responsible for their own
mental well-being. On the other hand, efforts to change oneself is fruitless
according to the Doctrine of Christ. He will do the changing for you! With God,
all things are possible. With psychology, you
must make it possible and change yourself. As scripture warns, curing
yourself assigns you as the healer. God is the Healer; mankind is the sick! 637
Psychology is an offshoot of
philosophy. The latter is based on observation and the former on scientific
analysis. Both are studies of human thought and behavior. Psychology’s start is
generally recognized as 1879. William James, a philosopher, is recognized as
the father of psychology. Within a short time, Sigmund Freud entered the picture
with the new field of psychoanalysis. 638
It is wise to examine the
religious origins of those in new fields and ideologies. For James, his
background was Swedenborgian, 639 which is that the old Church with
its three persons be replaced with a new church which worshiped God in a single
person. 640 For those not into theology, from a Christian
perspective, that is heretical. Not only that, but Swedenborg’s clairvoyance
had an influence on Carl Jung’s analytical psychology which is based on Christianity,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Gnosticism, Taoism, and others. Analytical psychology is
the venture of meeting the divine in the self. 641
Allow me to take a moment for
explanation. Much of what is written herein relative to psychology is from
memory. Although my training was from recognized textbooks, they are long gone.
Wikipedia entries are merely summaries, essentially commentary, of these
specialists and their field. Each is much more comprehensive than what
Wikipedia or I present. I never practiced family counseling as a profession,
but many times conducted family counseling as a friend. Because I am a
nouthetic counselor, when I do, I would use very little of psychology; only the
commonsensical ideas available without training in the field. I can no longer
rattle off all the eclectic and opposing ideas of the theorists because I am
apathetic to their ideas. All my counseling is scriptural based. Who better to
consul than the Counselor Himself, 642 who “shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I (Jesus) have said unto
you.”
Several years back I went to a
revival meeting at an evangelical church. The guest speaker was identified as a
psychologist. Afterward, the minister was to present a message. Before the
service started, those in attendance were given instructions: those needing
spiritual help were to gather at the right altar for help, and those seeking
psychological help were to gather at the left side for counseling. I was
astounded! This meeting was syncretism at its worst. I left but not before
leaving about three handwritten pages of scripture in my pew. I never went
back!
We are to go to God in all things! 642 That includes
problems within the psyche – the soul! When a relative of mine was faced with a
broken marriage, I suggested nouthetic or even Christian counseling. He
responded, “this one is too hard for God.” Of course, God is Almighty. His
marriage was broken, and men could not fix it. God could have!
A huge problem with psychology
is that therapy is not based on Christianity or even morality. The troubled
people establish their own values. The therapist only suggests that they not
feel guilty for violating their own code of conduct; perhaps establishing a new
code without guilt. In a class, which we referred to as “Porno 101” (Sex Therapy),
those who were inhibited in their sexual encounters with their mate were to
have a sex therapist free them from their inhibitions with actual coitus! I
never ceased to be astounded. When I was asked to join group therapy, obviously
because of my perceived Puritanism, my response was, “if it aint broke don’t
fix it!” God is my Fixer and I counsel with Him continually.
If each field of psychology was
examined in light of Scripture, one would not find a good fit. Personally, I consider
“Christian Psychology” as oxymoronic. All fields of psychology require the
patients to "fix" themselves, oftentimes guided by psychologists who have neuroses
themselves! What’s more, metrics for fixed don’t exist because there is no way
of knowing if the problem is fixed. The patient self-determines whether the fix
was effective or not. Time may show that it was not!
Satan’s way is chaos. He throws
in enough “good” and partial truth to confuse the person. Like most secular
doctrines, many can help. Of course, “help” is abstract. They may begin to
function better but real help is happiness and hope. Those are difficult to
measure. Psychology is by definition not even secular as it’s the study of the soul. Theology is not
required to be a psychotherapist. How can they know the soul unless they have
studied God?
Eastern religions have had a
strong influence on psychology, particularly Carl Jung who seemed to have
successfully made Vishnu scientific. The west has accepted many of the precepts
of the oriental philosophies as healthy.
Of course, Christian living is healthy but few would dare to equate righteousness
with good health! Honoring parents is a command with a promise – to live a long
life. 643 Practicing reverence is serene, and serenity is
spiritually refreshing. Stress can and does kill. Mankind bargains for stress
with the amount of rebellion in their hearts. When my own parents died, with
each there was a kind of peace which came on me because I honored my parents.
There was no need to rush home to make amends because there had never been
discord.
Because harmony is an attribute
of eastern religions – balancing the forces in oneself and to be in balance with
others, is an attractive thing. Harmony, however, is not just a Buddhist
goal; it is a Christian responsibility. In the former, it’s the person who is
the source of harmony, but in Christianity it is God! There are some parallels
between the religions. “Cosmic consciousness” is something beyond simple self-consciousness and is attributed to God. It does sound very much like the
Mind of God but is much different. God is so much more than Mind! People can attempt to be at one with the
universe but they miss the mark! One must be at peace with Jesus and comforted by
the Holy Spirit.
Even many Christians blend in
eastern religious practices, not really abandoning God, but taking another in
His face which is contrary to the first commandment. It is done subtly. That is
the way the serpent works. The thought is,
as long as I am a Christian, this (activity) is just for fun, interest, health,
or whatever. Revering God is serious business! It leads to an eternal life
just as having reverence for one’s parents increases longevity on this earth.
There is peace in revering God and parents, and should not be interrupted by
practicing pagan rituals.
Scripture commands that God’s
people not do what the pagans do: “you shall not learn to follow the abominable
practices of those nations” with which you associate. 644 What first
comes to mind is yoga. When one is mellowing out balancing their non-existent
forces, that pagan religious ritual stresses God! I’ve heard many say, “I don’t
do it because of that; its just for fun!” Fun things which distress God is
sinful. It’s taking God’s godhood in vain.
Of course, there are many more
sublime things which have been incorporated into psychology from the
philosophies of the east which originated with Vishnu – the Supreme Being of
eastern religions. The doctrines of Vishnu have been written down and are
extremely meticulous. If one does all
these things the doing leads to inner
peace. Ironically, Brahmanism is complex but Christianity simple. Psychologists
are too wise in their own eyes to accept the simple way to peace! Mediating on
the navel or even nothingness has no efficacy for eternal life. Opening one’s
mind to whatever comes in is a recipe for someone or some thing to control. Much
of psychology, specifically through Jungian doctrine, has operationalized Brahmanism.
No longer is Vishnu a god but a philosophy for healthy living. Christians don’t
need Vishnu and don’t need much of analytical psychology!
The New Age Movement:
Carl Jung is revered by New
Agers. As Jesus is the face of God, Jung is one of the several faces of the New
Age. When a “religion” is thought of, usually there is a god associated with that
faith. The New Age has the “unknown god” which Paul rebuked in Acts 17. Their
God is any God but Yahweh. Thus, the New Age religion is unitarian-universalism
in practice. Although the latter doctrine claims to be the most tolerant,
intolerance of Christian peculiarism
is their hallmark. The New Age has condemned the Doctrine of Christ as
intolerant.
Christians indeed are “peculiar
people” because of the Doctrine of Christ. 645 Jesus is the one who gave himself to redeem us from all iniquity
and to purify us, to paraphrase what peculiar people are. No other religion
has a god who sacrificed himself. Christianity does! He is called Jesus, and he and he alone is the Way to salvation. 646
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
This one passage is why
Christianity is hated so intensely! Of course, those in the New Age movement
profess love. Christians are God’s “elect”, 647 and God will use His
angels to gather us from “the four winds” to take us to Heaven. That is called
rapture, and is the promise to God’s
special people: 648
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall
send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Because Christians are special people
others are jealous. All the other “tribes of the earth mourn”. Those are all
the other religions. Christianity is anathema to the New Age movement. They see
Christ as intolerant. Truly, Jesus – God – is the most tolerant of all! Because
he admonishes others to forgive seventy-times seven times, 649 he
sets the example by being willing to forgive until the end!
I was told by one in the New Age
movement that Christianity must die. I
asked him why. He said, “Christ was too intolerant”. Using “was” in his
response, was a clue that for him, Christ is dead and was only a bigoted man!
In a similar incident my
psychology professor was asked by another student, “To what church do you
belong?” He said, “I am a Unitarian-Universalist but was a member of the Church
of Christ.” When queried why he switched, Dr. McFarland responded, “because the
Church of Christ is too dogmatic”.
True, Christianity is dogmatic.
It is only the Doctrine of Christ which leads to salvation. Dogmatism is orthodoxy
– right doctrine! Why would anyone waste their time with wrong doctrine?
Self-esteem is the essential doctrine
of psychology. That’s not surprising since Christ-esteem is the Doctrine of
Christ. I was tempted the write, the
doctrine of the Church, but that would be wrong because the liberal Church
has added to that: the doctrine of the self. For some reason, theologians accept
the premise that people despise themselves even though most of their worship is
of and for themselves!
A friend of mine was narcissistic.
Even a greeting such as how ya doin’
would summon fifteen minutes about her personal accomplishments. She would bore
people and drive them away with her self-absorption. Much to my amazement, one
after the other would say, “she must have low self-esteem.” On the contrary,
she esteemed herself highly!
Abraham Maslow developed the “need
pyramid” the hierarchy of needs from the most basic to the more abstract: physiological,
safety, loved/belongingness, esteemed, self-actualization, with an apex of a
peak experience. 650 Most of what’s there is obviously true up to a point.
That level is the need to be esteemed. God’s have that “need”. People are not
gods! What’s worse than the need to be esteemed by others is the need for the
person to esteem themselves. Of course, we all want respect from others, so
there can be levity there, but to focus on oneself at a conscious and
conspicuous level is prideful! In fact, the theme of God’s Doctrine is
self-sacrifice to lift up Christ! 651
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in
lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every
man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
As with loving ourselves, God
knows how much mankind esteems themselves! He calls man’s attention to others and
are to give them the esteem. That attribute is called “meekness”. The meek are
to be lowly in heart (desires) and find peace. 652 Life is not all about us. However, if we live life to God’s
standards, we receive the benefits. The next is one of the most pertinent passages
in the New Testament: 653
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse
your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted,
and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to
heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you
up.
This
Scripture should make it clear: esteem of ourselves is mankind’s problem, not
the lack thereof! If mankind lifts up the Lord as Moses did in the wilderness,
the Lord will lift man up from the snakes! When the poisonous snakes were
killing the Israelites, when they quit elevating themselves to protector level,
the Lord lifted them up as they looked up to the Lord. The born-again experience
is when one humbles themselves and lifts up the Lord! Self-esteem dies right
there in the dust along with the self-aggrandizing!
Self-esteem is a psychological fruit
put on the forbidden tree which naïve people consume. The Church has hung that
fruit on the Tree of Life, and doubters, it is not to be there! Charity, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness,
modesty, self-control, and chastity are all fruits of the Spirit. Where is
self-esteem? Obviously, it’s not there but modesty and self-control are! 654
Immediately preceding those fruits in Scripture are the “works of the flesh”. 655
The former attributes – virtues - are mostly others-centered while the latter disconnects are self-centered.
Unfortunately, the what’s in it for me attitude is a
detriment to the Church! Self-esteem is for you. The ritual is for you. Now
even the music and the doctrine are for
you. All you kill the Church. We all kill God because nearly everyone
stands under the other tree! I keep thinking of the rock concert of antiquity
which was featured earlier in this book; the big party back in the days of
Noah. Even the Church on God’s Holy Mountain looked down on sin, and desired to
have what the world had! That desire killed the world but it didn’t kill God!
God will destroy the world before he lies down as if dead.
Psychology,
in general, is all about us: how to make us happy, how to placate us, how to
esteem ourselves, how to have pleasure, how to cope, and what to think. Putting
the focus on ourselves is our problem! Mankind’s priorities are all wrong!
Listen to the Word: 656
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
That means do God’s will and all “these things” will come about. What things?
All your needs! Scripture flips the need pyramid upside down. Rather than
having some psychological peak experience after you self-actualize, be spiritually
enlightened, and those needs in the hierarchy will be met! God will lift you up!
Who else do we need to esteem us other than God? Esteeming oneself is as futile
as trying to kill the poisonous vipers when we are unable to do that!
The New Age is an outcome of ancient
pagan religions and modern philosophy/psychology. The New Age Movement is the
reincarnated old time false religions. It is the Age of Aquarius, thus of the
same astrological background as those who babbled in Babel! The New Age is
focused on the mind, body, and spirit but not from God’s image. The mind is the
cosmic consciousness, the body is mankind not Jesus, and the spirit is fallen
angels. Many people describe themselves when asked as, spiritual but not religious. That is New Age thinking! The New Age
Thinking is summed up very clearly in Wikipedia: 657
As a form of Western esotericism, the New Age drew heavily
upon a number of older esoteric traditions, in particular those that emerged
from the occultist current that developed in the eighteenth century. Such
prominent occult influences include the work of Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz
Mesmer, as well as the ideas of Spiritualism, New Thought, and Theosophy. A
number of mid-twentieth century influences, such as the UFO religions of the
1950s, the Counterculture of the 1960s, and the Human Potential Movement, also
exerted a strong influence on the early development of the New Age.
Clearly, it is obvious that cultic thought, mysticism, Theosophy and the
positive thinking crowd resuscitated the old pagan religion. Some of these had
a hefty influence on the Third Reich’s German version of Christianity, and the
mysticism and paganism of the Third Reich.
630
Wikipedia; “psyche”.
631
Holy Bible; Jer 29:11.
632
ibid; James 1:12.
633
ibid; Gal 5:1.
634
ibid; Rom 6:23.
636
Holy Bible; 2 Cor 5:17.
637
ibid; Isa 3:7.
639
Wikipedia; “William James”.
640
ibid; “Swedenborgian”.
641
ibid; “Carl Jung”.
642
Holy Bible; John 14:26 (parenthesis
the author’s).
643
ibid; Exod 20:12.
644
ibid; Deut 18:9.
645
ibid; Titus 2:14.
646
ibid; Acts 2:12.
647
ibid; Mat 24:31.
648
ibid; Mat 24:30-31.
649
ibid; Mat 18:22.
650 Wikipedia;
“Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”.
651
Holy Bible; Phil 2:3-4.
652
ibid; Mat 11:29.
653
ibid; James 4:7-10.
654
ibid (Latin Vulgate); Gal 5:22-23.
655
ibid; Gal 5:19-21.
656
ibid; Mat 6:33.
657
Wikipedia; “New Age”.
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