Integrating the Christian Worldview in Psychological Practice

Christian counselors, both in-training and professional, must be grounded in their faith and ready to deal with many complex issues stemming from Christian beliefs and other world-views. At times, it seems that widely accepted secular thinking permeates psychology, and conflict with God’s truth. To navigate these issues, six foundational elements of Christianity must be fully understood: theology, epistemology, anthropology, ontology, axiology, and logic. These explanations can provide a proper context for how the Christian psychologist is to approach divisive issues such as modern notions of self-esteem or, the problem of pain and suffering when one believes in a loving God. These issues demonstrate how in the course of studying the human soul, it is imperative to rely on God as both the starting point and framework for all study.

The theology of God, or the first approach, is what a Christian believes and knows about God. Knowing God is imperative in a confused world, where people are looking for an answer that is beyond human understanding. Man’s knowledge of God comes from none other than God Himself. Through various methods, God has revealed himself as an ultimate being, comprised of three parts while simultaneously united as one. God the father, God the son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit are all distinct, but at the same time united, never acting independently from one another (Deut 6.4, John 14.26).

In addition to revealing the knowledge of what he is, God demonstrated his character and nature as mighty, powerful, purely good, and perfect. God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (permeates all things at all times). God is the Alpha and the Omega all things come from him and end with him (Rev 22:13). There is no other God or source of creation. Anything that was created was created through God and ultimately for God (Col 1.16). God was not created; he has always been and will always exist. God is perfect and holy throughout. Anything that comes from God was and is made perfect; thus no evil or corrupt thing can come from him (Deut 32:20). Thus as the perfect creator of love, his love is perfect.

God’s love is the original, self-sustaining version of love. The human version of love is imperfect, often loving out of expectation for reciprocal gain such as mutual emotional sustenance. This imperfect love stems from man’s rebellion against God’s original design to be the one true source of love, pouring into His creation for His glory.

The origin and condition of mankind leads to a discussion of the second approach, anthropology. Man is made up of a body, soul and spirit (1 Thess 5.23). God created man out of the dust of the earth and breathed his spirit into man (Gen 1.27, 2.7). Man was originally created without sin. Adam and Eve walked in the presence of God with no knowledge of evil (Gen 2:16, 3.5). Out of God’s great love he gave man free will to obey or rebel. Adam and Eve chose to rebel; they disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. This action introduced sin, the corruption of God’s perfect creation and purpose, into the world. The consequences of this separation from God are deadly.

Disease, suffering, and other evils spread and infected the entire human race and all of creation (Gen 3.19 Rom 5.14). Instead of good resonating in human beings, only evil came from man’s heart (Gen 8.21). Yet because God is all-loving and merciful, he had a plan to redeem man (Gen 3.15). Through the sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus God provided a way for man to be redeemed and made righteous before God in Christ (Rom 5.19). It is only through Jesus that man can be made righteous. Mankind’s banishment from the Garden of Eden is why humans live in a corrupted world today. The evil originates from man’s sinful acts as well as God’s adversary in the unseen world (Psalm 51.4, Eph 6.12).

The discussion of the unseen world may best be explained by ontology. Man was not the first of God’s creation to commit an evil act. This ignominy goes to Lucifer, also called the evil one, who is an angel that sinned against God due to pride (Isa14.13-14, Eze 28.17). He is God’s adversary, and reigns temporarily in the material (seen) world and seeks to thwart God’s purposes by keeping man separated from God, and preventing Christians from carrying out God’s will to further His kingdom. Christians are aided directly by God’s Holy Spirit and angels. Many aspects of the spiritual world are not fully known to man, but God’s Word points them out as truth and they must be received by faith (1 Tim 3.9, 2 Thess 2.13).

The fourth foundational component is axiology, which distinguishes what is worthy and valuable. For the Christian, God alone is wonderful and worthy to be cherished and glorified. Christians are to value God and his commandments (Matt 6.33, Deut 6.13). They should seek to be reunited with Gods presence, and obey God’s commands as revealed through the Bible. Christians worship and cherish God when they discard the corrupt values of the world and flesh and instead seek God’s absolute truth and righteousness (1 Tim 6.11). They value creation, people, justice, righteousness, godliness, peace, and love (1 Cor 10.33). These values are absolute because they are grounded in the fact that God is absolute truth.

The question of truth, further leads to an epistemological view of Christianity. Mankind’s search for an answer to the question “What is truth?” is pointless outside of God. God is truth and has presented his truth for man to see and know (Isa 65.16, Ps 31.5, Ps 57.3). God’s Word, the Bible, is where Christians and all people can find truth (John 17.17, Mk 7.13). Since all truth is from God then truth must point to its origin to be valid. If “truth” contradicts who God is or his Word then it is a lie and evil (Job 9.2). Hence mankind’s independent search for truth has not revealed answers we seek. God is truth; he is also the ultimate authority residing over all things (Rom 13.1). Christians are to look to God for any final say in what is right or wrong and submit themselves to his authority (1 Kings 17:24). This implies, logically, that ideas of right/wrong with a non-God origin cannot be truth. Secular psychologists have supported the notion that right and wrong is determined on an individualistic level. The Christian counselor must vigilantly guard against this assumption.

As the previous paragraph alluded, logic is an additional component of the Christian worldview. Since mankind is created in God’s image, they are created with the ability to reason (Gen 5.1). Logic is bestowed to man so that man can know God, His truth, and right from wrong (Rom 2.14-15, Dan 4.34-37). Like all things, man’s logic has been corrupted and skewed since the fall. Logic that is not grounded in God’s truth will always draw a person away from God and into a maze of lies and corruption (Mark 2.6). There can be no assumptions when dealing with right from wrong or truth and deception. If point A always begins with God’s word then it will always lead to the correct point B and so on. Logic that is grounded in God’s objective truth will always enable a person to navigate through this deceitful, corrupt, and sin-filled world. Deceit, sin, and corruption bring to light the issues of self-esteem and man’s predisposition to horrendous pain and suffering caused by evil. Only when equipped with a proper understanding of God, as described by the above six approaches to Christianity, can the Christian psychologist begin to address these issues.

Because secular psychology arises from a scientifically logical approach to humans and their behavior, like any other logical line of reasoning the conclusion drawn will be corrupted if not grounded in God’s truth. The secular practice of psychology is aimed at the treatment of the mind and in doing so correcting the undesired or incorrect behaviors produced from it (Santrock, John 7). For example, psychological study, in the absence of a creator and absolute moral truth, will view the human body as nothing more than a sum of components of a complex machine (Powlison, David 198). The purely psychological approach to self-esteem is promoted to help and aimed at those who view themselves as worthless.

When people view themselves as worthless, it begins to hinder the way they function and their quality of life. This can ultimately lead to disease, addiction, and even death. There are different reasons as to why people may view themselves as having little to no worth. One reason is linked to abusive situations. A child who is beaten, raped, or verbally degraded on a daily basis will believe he/she must be worthless to receive such treatment. People with low self-esteem or feelings of worthlessness typically see and treat themselves as less than human. They may perceive themselves as “trash” or lower than an animal. Low self-esteem is not God’s truth but a consequence of living in a fallen state. Jesus said that people are at the very least worth more than birds (Matt 6.26). In such a case, their self-image, worth, and confidence must be rebuilt and that is the goal of the counselor. The goal of building a person’s self-esteem is to promote a different line of thought and feelings in the afflicted, so that he/she feels confident (satisfied in one-self) and able to function in society. However, in the absence of God, independence and self-competency becomes a sin of pride.

Humans, born with corrupted sin-natured bodies, are inherently evil and cannot do anything good. The world’s standard of worth and what it considers “good” falls short of God’s absolute standards (Psalm 53.3, Mark 10.18). Finding ones worth in God is the goal of the Christian counselor. The goal of the Christian counselor in building up self-esteem is to open the counselees’ eyes to God’s truth, and help them find worth in God. As a Christian, the believer is justified and made righteous through Christ alone. Even this is done for God’s glory (Phil 1.11). Only in Christ are people capable of doing and being good (John 15.5). Our value is rooted in Christ alone and he must be the foundation that a person builds their worth upon (Matt 6.33). When the counselee looks to Christ, truly understands how God loves and values him or her, and experiences a relationship with the one true God, then the world’s views of self-worth become trivial and far from fulfilling. For the counselor, it supports a view where psychological logic must be integrated with Christ as the cornerstone (Isaiah 28.16). The Christian world-view provides the full context for understanding what would otherwise be a corrupt line of logic missing the starting point of truth. It can then be argued that the foundational elements would also assist the Christian counselor in more than one area of complexity.

For example, the counselor may encounter challenges from patients that cannot accept that God is loving in light of the suffering they’ve endured. The issue of “suffering” may be exemplified by the abysmal pain caused by childhood sexual abuse. It is a well-studied area of psychology, giving us a good understanding of current approaches in therapy. A non-Christian psychologist cannot offer an objective answer to the evil behind sexual abuse, rather they focus on “answers and power to change” which, “reside either in the individual, in human relationships, or in medical chemistry” (Powlison 208). With this approach, the counselor attempts to “rewire” the brain while building skills patients need to survive and function in the world (Gartner, Richard 153). Since sin and redemption aren’t explained as the cause of evil and suffering, the therapy provides only partial patches and helps sustain the person through the trauma. Relying on personal experience as evidence, this approach offers no real freedom since “patients” are led to believe that they must limp through life and make the best of it. Rarely do adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse live even a partially normal life. Because of their abuse, most live in a way that seems destined for self-destruction which plays out in the forms of mental illness, addictions, practicing homosexuality, or abusing others (Lisak, David 525-48). The Christian counselor must take a different approach.

Alice James, the famous American diarist, writes, “Physical pain however great ends in itself and falls away like dry husks from the mind, whilst moral discords and nervous horrors sear the soul” (James). The counselor must bring to light the truths of God to the life of a man whose views have been forever changed by the childhood traumas of sexual abuse. Telling a survivor that has been repeatedly sodomized, beaten, tortured, and forced to perform oral sex on his protector that God “loves” him is like convincing a paraplegic that they’ll walk again. The lenses in which this enduring person sees the world, God, and God’s Word have been forever changed. This is the challenge facing the Christian counselor.

To do this, one must first address the problem of evil and suffering. The pain will subside with time if the counselee chooses to accept the truth of the matter. Evil and suffering does not come from God’s original creation of man and the world. By knowing God’s character the counselee will begin to see God for who he is; a loving and merciful God. It is because God is a God of love that he allows his creation the choice to obey or disobey him. Only a dictator forces his people to follow and love him. Evil, pain, and suffering were caused by man’s disobedience. God is faithful and just, he hates evil. The Bible’s theme of redemption must be introduced to show that God has had a plan and purpose throughout all of creation. The counselee must begin to work through the truth and God’s continued redemption in order to resolve questions such as: Does God care? Why do we suffer? Why doesn’t he stop it?

The truth is, God greatly cares and loves his people and all of creation (John 3.16). The evil and wickedness in the world, greatly pains God and he hates it (Heb 1.8-14, John 11.33-36). God also experienced suffering for an unjust cause. God’s son died under the most unjust and undeserved circumstances in human history. He died for humanity, to whom he owed nothing (1Peter 2.23). God finds favor in those who suffer unjustly and he will bring judgment upon those who cause suffering (1 Peter 2.19-20, Isaiah 13:11). As the counselee begins to see the truth of God’s word, he can begin to experience God’s pure love and the process of regeneration and healing can begin (Psalm 31.7). The forgiveness of the person’s offender is imperative during this process (Luke 6.35-37, James 2.13). Only Christ can take what the enemy meant for destruction and evil, and make it perfected, transcendent, and inspirational (Gen 50.20).

The Christian counselor must always be grounded in Christ, who is truth; truth is revealed in His Word. The counselor must also be a light to the truth so that the counselee can return to God’s path (Job 6:14). When counseling, the Christian counselor should always view God’s people (saved or unsaved) as God sees them. Psychology, like any logical or rational thinking must be understood and practiced from the full context of the Christian perspective; as described by the six foundational elements. God’s word is the foundation and any truth (God’s truth) found in psychology is a tool which can be used in the process. The mind is an organ and is susceptible to injury such as trauma caused by abuse (Gartner 15-6), or genetic malfunctions. While a person is undergoing spiritual healing, the mind must be addressed and treated. The mind and spirit affect one another and both must be brought into union with Christ (1 Corinthians 14:15). Counseling those that are suffering is following Christ’s commands to help others through encouragement, prayer, and love (1 Corinthians 12.24-25, Rom 15.5-6). Matthew Henry writes on an often overlooked truth found in the book of Job, “Compassion is a debt owing to those that are in affliction” (Henry). “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty”(Job 6.14).

Works Cited

The Bible. New American Standard Bible.
Gartner, Richard B. Beyond Betrayel: Taking Charge of Your Life after Boyhood Sexual Abuse. Hoboken, NJ. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
Henry, Matthew: Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996, c1991, S. Job 6:14
James, Alice. “Pain and Suffering.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations. Springfield, Mass. Merriam-Webster, 1992, S. 301
Lisak, David. “The psychological impact of sexual abuse: Content analysis of interviews
with male survivors.” Journal of Traumatic Stress. 7 (1994): 525-48.
Powlison, David. “A Biblical Counseling View.” Psychology and Christianity: Four Views. Eds. Eric L. Johnson, and Stanton L. Jones. Downers Grove, IL. Intervarsity Press, 2000.
Stantrock, John W. Psychology: The Study of Mind and Behavior. 3rd ed. Dubuque, IA. Wm, C. Brown Publishers, 1991.