TALKING IT OVER with Dr. Clyde M. Narramore
Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is a psychologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in the United States
evidenced through any other experi ence.) (2) A significant capacity after conversion, to grow in the likeness of Christ. (3) Possession of spiritual keys to unlock the Scriptures. (4) Desire to talk to God in prayer. (5) Desire to witness to others. (6) Desire to fellowship with other believers. (7) Abhorrence of $in. (This sensi tivity comes with salvation and Chris tian growth.) As a psychologist, I have seen many people try devious means to obtain the results mentioned above. However, God only gives them to those who are bom into His family through the new birth. A NURSE SPEAKS I wish I had known about Christian psychology much sooner. I’m a nurse and I’ve had a lot of psychology and psychiatry. Yet, I could see they didn’t have the answers to everything. As a matter-of-fact, I spent a lot of time and money on both psychiatrists and psychologists after my .marriage ended on the rocks. The only diag nosis they gave me was that I needed “more backbone,” and a “ thicker skin.” I spent years wandering around looking for the answers. Finally, I became “bom again” and now I can see that more “backbone” means more faith in God. When you have the Holy Spirit and are daily reading God’s Word, things don’t bother you so much any more. It means, convert ing from a negative to a positive out look on life. What a difference it has made in my life and I’m amazed that it took me so long to see it! Dr. Narramore is heard daily over many radio stations in the program “ Psychology for Living In the Los Angeles area readers may hear him on KBBI-FM, 107 .5 megacycles. Readers are also invited to submit questions to Dr. Narramore in care of T he K ing ’ s B usiness .
psychologist or psychiatrist could bring remarkable relief by setting up a number of counseling sessions and carefully tracing the origins. Natural ly this is not easy, inasmuch as most cases of this type are complex—inter mingled with other thoughts and feelings. IS IT REAL? Question: I trust you will be able to give me an answer or direct me to some books which would be helpful. This is not a spur-of-the-moment ques tion but one with which I have wrestled for about five or six years since I first studied psychology in col lege. I discussed it with my professor in Philosophical Apologetics. I gradu ated from a college in a philosophy major but was not at all satisfied with his answer. How can we be sure, how can we objectively know that salvation, re generation, communion with God, etc. — the sum total of all that we refer to as “ the Christian experience” is an objective fact—a real and valid ex perience and not merely a subjective psychological series of phenomena brought about by our own sense of guilt and the provision of a way of escape? That would sum up the core of the problem. I don’t believe that it is necessary for me to outline for you its many' and far-reaching ramifications. This question has not shaken my faith. However, I am studying to be a teacher of theology and hope to do a good deal of writing. I do not feel that as a matter of intellectual honesty I can overlook this question and procedc as if it did not exist and without giv ing it a satisfactory answer. Answer: I would like to give the follow ing as the proofs of the reality of spir itual conversion: (These all come as a result of conversion.) (1) A changed life. (This is never
WHAT'S WRONG WITH MOTHER?
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Question. As a regular reader of your page in THE KING’S BUSINESS, I decided to ask you about a problem I have had for many years. My mother saves and collects EVERYTHING. When she comes to my house I have to make sure there is nothing in my trash or waste bas kets to tempt her. She saves broken dishes, glasses, cardboard boxes, old milk cartons, and paper bags by the hundreds. She throws nothing away. She even goes so far as to put patches on old rags and when they wear out, she patches them again. This she has done to my children’s worn out, rotten sleepers and under slips. To eliminate this, I have to tear up their worn out clothes. Her linen closet is full of new towels and washcloths t h a t s h e coudn’ t possibly wear out in 20 years. Yet she uses old rags in the bathroom that are full of patches. Answer. Your mother’s trait of saving and collecting everything is not un usual. In fact, we all have it to some degree. But, of course, in your moth er’s case it has gone far beyond nor mal or acceptable proportions. This compulsion, as you have noted, has developed over the years and has become worse. She is undoubtedly helpless to change herself- Further more she probably has no understand ing of what causes her to do it. This strange behavior usually stems back to early childhood. In most cases the victim has had a number of ex periences in early life which have combined in such a way to form a strong compulsion. Like little threads, these experiences have braided them selves into a tight rope of feeling so that the person is hopelessly bound by them. Such compulsions are broken by professional counseling. A skilled
THE KING'S BUSINESS
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