A 4-MAT Review System: Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Summary

The book that will be reviewed in this paper is Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, which was written by David N. Entwistle. This book was meant for secular, spiritual, and Christian counselors. Entwistle wrote this book to teach these counselors how they can successfully integrate psychology and Christianity together. It is important to do this because there is a history of conflict that exists between science and religion as well as supernaturalism and naturalism. Science, being naturalistic, believes in things that can be observed and measured which conflicts with religion, which is super-naturalistic, since most things relating to it cannot be observed or measured. Thus began the conflict of science and religion. Entwistle (2010b) spoke of the conflict Galileo had because he believed in the science experiments he had conducted. These experiments taught that the universe does not revolve around Earth, the heliocentric model, however this conflicted with the church and its religious beliefs since they believed in the Aristotelian model (Entwistle, 2010b). After pushing for his beliefs in his books, he received punishment after the second book was released. Entwistle (2010a p. 8) also brought to our attention the question asked by Tertullian, “What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” This is asking us if there is harmony that exists between the church and teaching institutions or in other words, religion and science. He believed that with the power of religion, we could fix all the problems people may have and they could become better. However, he realized religion did have its limitations so although he was weary of it, he believed integration of the two disciplines could be necessary.

By integrating Psychology and Theology, we are able to use different viewpoints so we can gain the truths about a human beings functioning and their nature. Entwistle’s book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, helps us understand that both disciplines bring great methods of understanding human beings, so to integrate them would be even better. Psychology has many sub-disciplines and uses the scientific method to observe facts about humans and the world while Theology uses faith and beliefs from God’s Word, the bible (Brewer and Peters, n.d.a). Theology uses hermeneutics to translate the bible to state the important aspects properly and make sure it is read correctly and not how we want it to be read (Entwistle, 2010c). Psychology also follows a code of ethics to protect everyone involved in the counseling process. We must integrate the two of these disciplines and use their methods so that we can gain the full truth of a human beings nature and function. We need to always keep in mind, that to seek the full truth, we need to use God’s two books. As stated in a lecture, “As we discover in God’s Word and God’s world, we seek to unify, or pull truth together,” which explains how important it is to use God’s beliefs when counseling others (Brewer and Peters, n.d.a). Another thing that is clear, we must show humility because we are counseling people who have problems and may be hiding information from us so it is important to rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us to treat them effectively so they become healed. This shows how important integration is between the two disciplines. Some people may have trouble integrating them though because of their worldview.

Worldviews are something that every person has as Entwistle teaches in his book, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity. Entwistle (2010d p. 55) teaches us that worldviews are “A window through which he or she views the world” and our views are persuaded by our past experiences and based on those we cast suppositions of the world. We believe our worldviews to be correct because it is what we know. This is important when it comes to integration of psychology and Christianity because if someone was raised with an atheist worldview then integrating the two disciplines would not be easy for them to do. Our worldviews will reflect the type of counselors we will be which means understanding worldviews is extremely important. There is many questions we can answer based on our worldviews as well such as: who am I, where am I, what’s wrong with the world, and what are the solutions to our problem (Brewer and Peters, n.d.b). Whether you use Theology, Psychology, or spirituality worldview, you will have a different answer to each of these questions. Our worldviews will allow us to interpret behavior differently in our clients as well as how we will treat them and the expectations we will have for them (Brewer and Peters, n.d.b). It is important to understand the strengths and limitations of our worldviews so we can provide better care to our clients. To be able to do this though, we need to use our knowledge.

In Entwistles book, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, we learn the importance of epistemology. Epistemology is a part of philosophy that teaches us different ways of knowing (Entwistle, 2010c). There are four different ways of knowing: logic, rational discourse, empirical methods, and revelation (Entwistle, 2010c). Not everyone uses all of these ways of knowing though, most of the time the option we choose is based on our worldview. Our worldview, as mentioned earlier, will also decide how we will interpret client’s thoughts. This can also be done in four different ways; we can be a Naïve realist, an anti-realist, a critical realist, or a faithful realist (Entwistle, 2010c). It is important to be aware of the methods of epistemology so we can be sure we are gaining and using knowledge in a proper way. We also need to understand that knowledge can unfortunately have its limitations. Such limitations are flawed thinking and reasoning, emotional overload, cultural biases and presuppositions, personal and corporate sin, self-deception, and drugs or diseases (Brewer and Peters, n.d.c). These limitations can affect how we treat our clients and perform as counselors so it is important to recognize them so we can try to avoid them if possible. We also need to be aware of and practice the seven key intellectual virtues which are: honesty, self-knowledge, diligence, teachability, respectfulness, responsibility, and humility (Brewer and Peters, n.d.c). These will lead us to be the best counselors we can be and will teach us to become more successfully integrated counselors.

Another important chapter, in the book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity by Entwistle, was Metaphysics. Metaphysics is the understanding of “the ultimate nature of reality” (Entwistle, 2010d p. 94). Modernism, the educations we are receiving within it, and postmodernism, are teaching us that this may not be an important part of life to understand however it is key to understanding the world we live within because it helps shapes how we understand our experiences. It can also influence how we interpret our clients’ views of what they are telling us. There are four different types of people that will view things from different perspectives: a naturalist, materialist, supernaturalist, and someone who is integrative (Brewer and Peters, n.d.c). It is important to understand what type of person you are so you can try to either recognize your limitations or try to become integrative.

One last important concept of the book Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity written by Entwistle is the models for interdisciplinary integration. There are five models that relate psychology and theology: enemies, spies, colonialists, neutral parties, and allies (Entwistle, 2010e). The enemies’ model is when you have picked a stance and you follow it strictly (Brewer and Peters, n.d.d). For instance, you either believe in God or you do not believe in God. The spies model are people who have a psychological worldview and experience is their starting point however they pick and choose information from the bible to put into their teachings if they think it would help their psychological purposes, without thinking about the larger picture (Brewer and Peters, n.d.d). The colonialist model is pretty much the reverse of the spy’s model. The colonialist is a Christian who uses biblical counseling however they take some psychological viewpoints to assist in their counseling practices (Brewer and Peters, n.d.d). The neutral party is one that feels there does not need to be a conflict between theology and psychology, it remains neutral as long as respect is given to both (Entwistle, 2010e). They follow the methods and practices by both disciplines and keep them separated so they do not influence each other, however they also compare their similarities (Entwistle, 2010e). Last but not least there is the allies model. This model seeks to find an alliance between psychology and theology and they feel it is important to address opposing ideas openly and respectfully (Brewer and Peters, n.d.d). They also believe that integration of both is truly the best way to help our clients.

Concrete Response

One thing that was very hard for me while reading this book was the thought of integrating religion into psychology because I am not a religious person and I have never thought of including this into my profession. I can understand the conflict of science and religion that exists and I would have definitely been like Galileo and pushed the boundaries with science because I like the observable and measurable world. I have learned that it is important to understand both to get the best perspective of human nature and how humans function best. I remember thinking to myself “this makes sense” while reading this section of the book. I can also understand how worldviews can affect how you view things based on our past experiences. Within my worldview, I do not like to discuss religion and it is a very private matter to me and makes me uncomfortable however I do respect those who are religious and do not have any ill thoughts about them and their beliefs. I definitely have a psychological worldview of counseling. When reading how they believe they are born blank slates and grow and learn from the experiences they have, I remember thinking, “this is so me,” because it is something I have said in the past. I also fully believe in heredity and our environment creating who we become. This can create mental illnesses for people or poor coping skills that cause them to have problems and need counseling. I also believe in self-actualization and thinking to myself “well how else would we go about helping people, anything else would be silly.” Since my worldview is strongly psychological and secular, it will be hard for me to integrate with religion however I want to be a better counselor so I know from reading this book that I need to work on this since it made me realize some of my limitations. When figuring out how I know things, I felt the way I use the most is empiricism. I like to have a very organized method similar to the scientific method to answer new questions. I like to have observable data to make up my mind on a topic. When I read the section on revelation I remember it made me slightly uncomfortable because there is nothing to prove it or say for sure it was a message from God. I remember reading the section on metaphysics and I was really getting into it when he had stated that most people would not be as enthralled with this area of thought and it caught me off guard, I remember thinking, “why wouldn’t they, this really has my attention.” I was glad he went on further to explain why he chose to add it still. When it comes to the models, I believe I would follow the spies model. I feel that I will follow my psychological worldview however if I know my client is Christian and would like to add a bit of a biblical model in her sessions, I would be okay with taking bits and pieces to help that client. I remember reading that section and thinking to myself “this makes total sense, I would definitely do this.” Although this book was very hard for me to grasp since I do not know much about religion, I feel it still had me reflect on my life quite a bit.

Reflection

Overall I felt this book was a very good read however it did require a lot of deep thought to understand the concepts thoroughly. I loved that this book started out with the history of science and religion and explained were the conflicts began to arise. I felt this was a great way to start out the book so that you could understand from the start why these two disciplines are not integrated yet and focus the rest of the book on why they need to become integrated. I feel that the book did a wonderful job on explaining worldview integration however it should had spent some more time on the other four types of integration as well: foundational, disciplinary, public and personal, and applied. I really enjoyed that Entwistle thoroughly explained what a Christian and secular counselor were and how they compared and differed. He answered all the questions I had. One thing I was very happy with was that Entwistle explained how ideas have shifted throughout the centuries. I feel this was very important to explain since human beings change throughout the centuries as well so it is important to reflect counseling around those ways to help clients best. Another area that I felt was strong in this book was how Entwistle explained limitations. As humans, we do not like to admit we are wrong so I liked when he pointed these out so you could be aware of making these mistakes or even realizing you may already be doing them and that you are wrong. One weakness that I did not like in this book was when we went over the models. Instead of mentioning that different people have come up with different models, I wish he would had just mentioned the five which he laid out. It made it much more confusing I felt because then you had to figure out which of his five fit in with other peoples models. Another weakness I felt this book had was that if you are not a religious person, this book was an extremely hard read. There were several things that were mentioned and seemed you should already know however to an unreligious person, it was hard to understand. I feel it should had been an easier read on the religious information so that those who are not religious could follow along easier and see how important integration is to both subjects. In all honesty, I would had given up on this book if it was not for a class because of the religious views which were hard to understand.

Action

This book has made me realize how important the integration of Christianity and psychology are. It has made me understand the limitations I would face if I were to just be a secular or psychological counselor. It makes complete sense that combining the two disciplines will allow me to have a more open worldview and better help my client so I could interpret their problems best. I am now considering taking a religion class through school so it could help me do this better. I feel that the class would broaden my horizons and help me within my profession better. I have also learned that to be the best I can be, I should not follow a spies model because “cherry-picking” out religious ideas will not allow me to grasp the full picture (Brewer and Peters, n.d.d). I feel it would be best to shift my thinking process and follow the allies model so that I can find an alliance between religion and psychology and openly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of both respectfully to help my client best. I need to work on integration, however I first need to learn about religion to be able to do so. I am hoping that the class I take will teach enough so I can begin to follow this path of integration within my career.

Reference

Brewer, G., & Peters, C. (n.d.a). COUN 506 Week One, Lecture Two: Defining Integration: Key Concepts. [PowerPoint]. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University Online.
Brewer, G., & Peters, C. (n.d.b). COUN 506 Week Two, Lecture One: Worldview Questions and Answers. [PowerPoint]. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University Online.
Brewer, G., & Peters, C. (n.d.c). COUN 506 Week Two, Lecture Two: Philosophical Underpinnings of Integrative Counseling. [PowerPoint]. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University Online.
Brewer, G., & Peters, C. (n.d.d). COUN 506 Week Two, Lecture Three: Models for Interdisciplinary Integration. [PowerPoint]. Lynchburg, VA: Liberty University Online.
Entwistle, D. (2010a). The Question of Necessity: Athens and Jerusalem. In Integrative
Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
Entwistle, D. (2010b).Allies or Enemies? Historical Views on Faith and Science. In Integrative
Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
Entwistle, D. (2010c). The Pursuit of Truth: Epistemology-Ways of Knowing. In Integrative
Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
Entwistle, D. (2010d). The Nature of the World: Metaphysics. In Integrative Approaches to
Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.
Entwistle, D. (2010e). Understanding and Making Models. In Integrative Approaches to
Psychology and Christianity: An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of Integration (2nd ed.). Eugene, OR: Cascade Books.