IS CHRIST THE ANSWER?
by Nichols Kurtaneck,
Associate Professor of Bible,
Biola College
T he W ord of G od teaches clearly that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son o f God, and the Son o f man, came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10), and also to give the redeemed an abundant life (John 10: 10). It declares that Christ is more than adequate to meet and satisfy every spiritual ^nd natural need of redeemed man (Col. 2:9, 10; Phil. 4:6-7, 13, 19). In the light o f these irrefutable scriptural facts it is perplexing and disturbing, to say the least, to observe an apparent trend in Christendom, which is trying to restrict the value and power o f Christ’s redemptive ministry merely to the spiritual realm. Although this principle o f dichotomy is evident in many disciplines o f life it seems to be most obvious in the fields o f psychology and psychiatry — sciences devoted to the study o f human behavior fo r the purpose o f alleviating mental and emotional problems. The varied psychoanalytic technique of these schools, in the main, has no part for Jesus Christ, prayer, and Scrip ture in their prescribed therapy, because they operate on the assumption that mild and severe emotional diffi culties evolve from a natural origin, and thus require natural treatment. Such an assumption, o f course, dis regards the fact that man is both a physical and spirit ual being (Heb. 4 :12 ; I Thess. 5 :2 3 ); therefore, ab
normal emotional disorders without an organic basis, we believe, must be o f a spiritual character, because the peace o f God is available fo r the children o f God through the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 4 :6 -7 ). Failure to experience this provision o f peace, if enlightened, must denote a lack o f faith, and such is called sin in the Word o f God (Rom. 14:23). The principle o f dichotomy is not new but ancient, for this cleavage between the natural and the spiritual traces its roots to the dualistic concept interwoven into the philosophy o f Plato (427-347 B.C.), and has since reappeared in different forms in the fields o f theology and metaphysics. It seems to be quite popular in this age o f outstanding scientific achievement coupled with the stress upon the role o f education in our world — both o f which are making man more independent and self-sufficient, and are consistently denying God the Father the glory which belongs to Him. To avoid misunderstanding, it must be emphasized that I am in no way minimizing the value and need of education to our society, neither am I depreciating the relevance o f the professional man in serving humanity. That God has ordained the various valid scientific dis ciplines to help alleviate the sufferings o f man should be apparent to all (Gen. 1:28, Heb. 2 :5 -8 ). Neither
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