Psychology and the Church: Critical Questions, Crucial Answers

For nearly two thousand years prior to the rise of modern psychiatry and psychotherapy, the church ministered to believers who were experiencing mental, emotional, and behavioral problems by using the teachings of the Scriptures and through the power of the Holy Spirit. Contemporary Christianity’s embrace of psychology raises an important question: Was there an insufficiency on the part of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit during those two millennia, making it necessary for the church to turn to modern psychotherapy in order to more effectively address a Christian’s problems of living? In the history of contemporary Christendom, no secular enterprise has had such a profound influence on Christianity as has psychological counseling. The critical question raised by these developments is: Have they been helpful or harmful to the body of Christ? Dave Hunt and T.A. McMahon, co-authors of The Seduction of Christianity, unearth the roots and expose the results of Christianity’s embrace of the beliefs of Freud, Jung, Rogers, Maslow, and others. Using content compiled from past feature articles in The Berean Call newsletter, the authors also contribute new material and tackle answers to tough questions in a special Q&A section.