Psychology and Christianity: Five Views - Paperback

by Eric L. Johnson (Editor), David G. Myers (Contribution by), Stanton L. Jones (Contribution by)

How should Christians understand and undertake the discipline of psychology?

This question has been of keen interest--and sometimes concern--to Christians because of the importance we place on a correct understanding of humannature. Psychology can sometimes seem disconnected from, if not antithetical to, Christian perspectives on life. How are we to understand our Christian beliefs about personhood in relation to secular psychological beliefs?

This revised edition of Psychology and Christianity presents five models for understanding the relationship between psychology and Christianity. All the essays and responses have been reworked and updated with some new contributors including the addition of a new perspective.

The five views presented in this book are:

• A Levels-of-Explanation View from David G. Myers
• An Integration View from Stanton L. Jones
• A Christian Psychology Viewfrom Robert C. Roberts and Paul J. Watson
• A Transformational Psychology View from John H. Coe and Todd W. Hall
• A Biblical Counseling View from David Powlison

Each of the contributors responds to the other essayists, noting points of agreement as well as problems they see. Eric L. Johnson provides a revised introduction that describes the history of Christians and psychology, as well as a conclusion that considers what might unite the five views and how a reader might evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of each view.

This book is a standard introductory textbook for students and professors of Christian psychology. With Psychology and Christianity, gain a fuller understanding ofhow to participate in and understand psychology as a Christian.

About the Series

Spectrum Multiview Books offer a range of viewpoints on contested topics within Christianity, giving contributors the opportunity to present their position and respond to others in this dynamic publishing format.

Author Biography

Myers is professor of psychology at Hope College. He is best known for his widely adopted texts on introductory psychology and social psychology. He had published widely in professional journals and is the recipient of the Gordon Allport Prize forresearch studies of group influence. His latest book is The Pursuit of Happiness: Who Is Happy and Why (William Morrow).

Stanton L. Jones is provost and professor of psychology at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. During his tenure as chair of the psychology department (1984-1996), he led the development of Wheaton's Doctor of Psychology program in clinical psychology. He received his B.S. in psychology from Texas A M University in 1976, and his M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1981) degrees in clinical psychology from Arizona State University. He is a member of the American Psychological Association and served onthe Council of Representatives, the central governing body of the APA, representing the Psychology of Religion division from 1999 to 2001. In 1994 he was named a Research Fellow of the Evangelical Scholars Program of the Pew Foundation. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Divinity School of the University of Cambridge and a Visiting Fellow at Clare Hall, University of Cambridge, for the 1995-1996 academic year. Jones authored the lead article, "Religion and Psychology," for the Encyclopedia ofPsychology, jointly published in 2000 by the American Psychological Association and Oxford University Press. His article in the March 1994 American Psychologist, titled "A Constructive Relationship for Religion with the Science and Profession of Psychology: Perhaps the Best Model Yet," was a call for greater respect for and cooperation with religion by secular psychologists. Jones has also written, with his wife, Brenna, a five-book series on sex education in the Christian family called God's Design for Sex. He is also the coauthor of Modern Psychotherapies (with Richard E. Butman) and Homosexuality: The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's Moral Debate (with Mark A. Yarhouse) and editor of Psychology and Christianity: Four Views. He has published many other professional and popular articles and chapters.

John H. Coe (PhD, University of California, Irvine) is director of the Institute for Spiritual Formation at Biola University. He is also professor of spiritual theology and philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology and Rosemead School of Psychology. He is the coauthor of Wildlife in the Kingdom Come and Psychology in the Spirit, and contributor to Reading the Christian Spiritual Classics and Psychology and Christianity. He was the founding editor of the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care and has contributed articles to the Journal of Psychology and Theology and the Journal of Psychology and Christianity.

Todd W. Hall (PhD, Rosemead School of Psychology) is professor of psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University, where he teaches courses on the integration of psychology and theology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and positive psychology. He is a faculty affiliate at the Harvard Human Flourishing Program at Harvard University and a founding partner at Flourishing Metrics. He is an award-winning researcher, focusing on relational approaches to spirituality, virtue, and leadership. He is a coauthor of Psychology in the Spirit, developer of several widely used spiritual assessments, and co-developer of the Flourish Assessment.

Eric L. Johnson trained as an academic psychologist and is Lawrence and Charlotte Hoover Professor of Pastoral Care at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of Foundations for Soul Care and the director of the Society for Christian Psychology.