CHRISTIANITY VERSUS PSYCHOLOGY

By Debbie O'Hara
January 14, 2004
NewsWithViews.com

In the last days "people will be lovers of themselves" so the Bible warns us in 2 Timothy 3:2. I wonder how many Christian churches realize that they might be helping to fulfill this prophecy. One of the biggest threats to Christ's church today is the religion of psychology. I'm probably going to step on more than a few toes here, but yes, you heard me right. Psychology is indeed a religion and it is very destructive to the Word of God. While psychology has infiltrated our American Culture, the worst tragedy is its infiltration of the Christian church where it has been synthesized with the teachings of the Bible. To synthesize psychology with the Bible is like putting together devil-worship and Christianity. It is an oxymoron of the highest sort and yet many Christian churches have done just that.

Psychology is a religion based on man's self-centered wisdom whereas true Christianity believes in the sufficiency of God's Word. As our nation is becoming increasingly secularized, even many Christians are buying into thinking that religion is something separate from their everyday lives. Forgetting that Christianity is a complete way of life, Christians no longer believe that all the wisdom they need for a fruitful life has been given to them in the Bible by God Almighty Himself. Instead they turn to the human experts and psychology.

Looking at the fathers of psychology and its anti-Christian roots should be enough to prove that Christians should take no part in its practice. Probably the two biggest names in psychotherapy are Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Freud called religion inherently evil and said it was a form of neurosis. Jung called religion a mental illness and said it was just an imaginary coping mechanism. Both of these men dabbled in mysticism and the occult. Adler, Maslow, Fromm, Rogers, Janov - not a one believed in Jesus Christ. Their theories were based solely on their own opinions of how they thought they could change people without God.

With the decline of true religion came the rise in psychology. Since its birth in the 1850's, Americans can't seem to get enough therapy. Even though we are the most prosperous nation on earth people wonder why they are unhappy and how they can improve their lives. Instead of opening their Bibles, they are turning to psychology which offers the latest theories and treatments that try to explain to us why we think, feel and act the way we do according to man's theories not biblical truths about the nature of man.

While people who focus on others tend to have more joy and peace of mind, man's true nature is one of sinfulness and selfishness and it is that very nature that causes his unhappiness. Those who focus on themselves are never happy or content because they are always striving for something better - a better car, house, mate, better body, more money etc. - but it is never enough. Most problems tend to be a direct result of self-focus, and yet that is what psychology tells us to focus on - ourselves. It teaches that our unhappiness comes from OUR unmet needs. It's about how WE feel, about OUR plans and OUR desires.

Most psychological thinking believes people are basically good and if we just look inside ourselves we can through our own self-effort improve our lives without God. But God's word says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9. Psychology also teaches that we are victims of our past and our problems stem from people and environments that negatively influenced us in the past. In other words psychology believes our past controls our present, but there was no one in Adam and Eve's past and they had a perfect environment. Their problem was that they trusted their deceitful hearts instead of God. Sin was the cause of their misery.

Look at the misery in our government schools since they kicked out God and began heavily promoting psychology. Schools are being flooded with psychologists and counselors and the like. Knowing how extremely biased these schools are against Christianity, I don't think there is any bigger proof that psychology is anti-Christian than that. If it was anywhere close to being Christian, these schools would dump it. (In fact just recently a counselor at a North Carolina high school was suspended because a student struggling with homosexuality asked for biblical advice and the counselor gave it.) Statistics show that even with all the psychology that kids are getting at schools, cheating, theft, violent crime, vandalism, venereal disease, teenage suicide, etc. continue to increase at an alarming rate. Not only is psychology not Christian, but it doesn't work. Besides do you really believe government should be involved in your child's "mental health"? But then that is a story for a future article.

Why aren't we being told the truth about psychology? Because even though psychology doesn't work, there are big bucks in this industry. According to "Psychology Debunked" by Lisa and Ryan Bazler, America has gone from 14 percent of our population having received psychological services in the 1960's to 80 percent at the start of the 21st century. We pay more than $17 billion a year for psychological therapies, which contributes to a $69 billion mental health industry. That industry continues to grow at an annual rate of 7 percent. I am not saying that there are not therapists out there who mean well. I would bet that most took on a career in therapy because they wanted to help people, but that doesn't change the truth. The root cause of all of our problems is SIN. The only real answer is in the Bible and it is not the gushy gospel that is being preached in many Christian churches.

The many thousands of churches that are following the feel good self-esteem building techniques of the church growth movement of which Dr. Robert Schuller, Pastor Rick Warren and Pastor Bill Hybels are promoting throughout the country, are following the anti-Christian practice of psychology. While it may make people feel good for a while and get their butts in the seats on Sunday morning, it is not bringing them the true message of salvation. It is also not equipping them to handle real life. They will never truly know or understand the peace and joy that comes with being a follower of Christ unless they understand the truthfulness of their sinful nature.

There may come a time when you or your family will need intervention by a third party, but if and when that time comes, the best thing to do is to save yourself that therapist's fee and see a trusted friend or pastor who has a personal interest in your well being. Real biblical counseling should be free. The best remedy here on earth is for the church to go back to preaching the whole counsel of God and when someone from your congregation needs help in their personal life, they need biblical advice, not psychology. The root cause of all of our problems is SIN and it seems to be the one thing that most churches are afraid to preach on today.

� 2004 Debbie O'Hara - All Rights Reserved