the One who was not the least irrespon sible about the physical world and the world of life? Many minds finally came to admit that the same authority could hardly have been responsible for both Christian revelation, as interpreted by liberal thinking, and the universe as pic tured by the evolutionist. From the days of William James or even before, the discipline of psychology came to be more and more of a third stumbling block. Many psychologists were, and are, men who, while perhaps not orthodox in viewpoint, at least are reverent and responsible. Others have been reckless in dealing with spiritual and moral values. One well-known psy chologist described himself and his un believing colleagues as “hardy souls able to think psychologically without the hin drance of any theistic or metaphysical complications.” Freud was bitterly anti- Christian in his dealing with certain aspects of mind and his eifect upon our times has not been for the best. Beyond all doubt, psychology has been a trap for the unwary, especially those who have not gone beyond the absolute certainties of the sophomore course to a more ma ture realization of the great incomplete ness of the subject. But psychology itself is not to blame for this. There should not be a mass condemnation of psychologists. Basically, psychology is an attempt to understand human nature, not human mature as it ought to he, or could be, but as it is. That philosophy, biology and psychology have been misused by unscrupulous men to pervert minds should not rule out their true values. In our world it is impossible to remain ignorant of these things if we read contemporary news and literature or even converse with educated people. Then the problem is not that young people should not be sub jected to such disciplines, but that they should be given the right viewpoint on them. For the purpose of this editorial when we speak of psychology we mean human nature. Immediately we are on ground in which all believers, and particularly the Christian worker, are interested. The day laborer is taken up with things; the intellectual with ideas; the Christian with people. The extent to which he shows his interest in others under the guidance of the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit will be the measure of his success as a Christian and a soul-winner. So then anything that contributes to his understanding of men will make him a more effective Christian, providing the knowledge he secures is accurate, and is used properly. Now that the best of modern psychol ogy has come through the mazes of the various mechanistic theories (of which behaviourism was the most popular), of psychoanalysis, and other aberrant or incomplete viewpoints, and again admits that man has a soul, as was assumed by the oldest psychology, it should have a place in the Christian’s education.
IS PSYCHOLOGY FOR THE CHRISTIAN?
By Wallace Emerson, Ph.D. Chairman of the Departments of Christian Education, Education, and Psychology of BIOLA Bible College
T HREE lines of learning have been charged with exerting a sinister in fluence upon youth—philosophy, biology and psychology. In this brief article we shall see that this need not be the case. In the dim past it was supposed that since philosophy was frequently the re ligion of the irreligious, the doubter and the agnostic, one could hardly study the subject without being led thereby from the paths of sound Christian doctrine and experience. Undoubtedly some young men whose Christianity was of the tra ditional order did find in philosophy more acceptable views of life and bases for value. This was so because philosophy was, is, and perhaps always will be, an attempt to deal with everything under the sun. It is a discipline which attempts to generalize and reduce to system man, the universe, and even the First Cause. Too often philosophy assumed that the mind of the creature was sufficiently comprehensive and discerning to rethink the thoughts and work of the Creator. Sometimes the possibility of human lim itations did not enter into its teaching. Then an attempt was made to account for the origin and mechanics of the uni verse, of life and of man, by the philos ophy of evolution. Evolution is thought of as a science. In reality, it is philos ophy employing science for its building blocks and support. It seemed to promise a scientific method, a scientific goal, and an understanding of causation by which the science could become interrelated to a greater degree than previously had been thought possible. Never did such men as Darwin, Hux ley and Spencer propose evolution, as
means of bowing God out of His universe. They merely believed they were dis covering the mechanics by which life, and probably man, had been created. The subsequent use of the theory of evolution—to make the universe respon sible for its own creation—would have been repugnant to at least two of these men. But coupled with German rational ism and the psychological need for escap ing from a God whose omniscience could not be comprehended, whose justice would not be evaded, and whose love was not understood, some men willingly uti lized this theory to create for themselves a universe in which, first of all, spiritual responsibility had no focus. There was a consequent later moral declaration of independence from the spiritual obliga tions man had accepted previously. Many a young man was told that he could not believe evolution and the Scriptures. Even worse, he was assured that there was no incompatibility between the two. It was suggested that compromise be made between the two viewpoints. Many people in those days thought of them selves as theistic evolutionists. Some would so designate themselves today. The remarkable thing about this blend of Christianity and materialism, however, is that the theism has always to make the concessions, and science has the last word and is the final authority! Ulti mately, a clear thinker was put in the position of having to confess that God had spoken inaccurately in His written Word but had revealed Himself as pre cise and orderly in His universe. Was the same Creator who was so careless about moral and spiritual revelations
Page Four
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Made with FlippingBook Online document