In this fifth lesson, Pastor Dave Capoccia examines psychology and its theories of the person from a biblical perspective. Pastor Dave first gives some introductory information regarding psychology and then compares the theories of six influential psychologists with the teaching of God in the Bible.
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Summary
This lesson surveys the field of psychology from a biblical perspective, comparing six major psychological theories with what Scripture teaches about human nature, problems, and solutions. We are reminded that psychology, despite its claims, is a fractured field with no consensus after 150 years, and that its theories are ultimately atheistic, amoral, and treat people as victims rather than morally responsible beings. We are called to recognize that while psychology may offer surface-level help, it cannot address the root of human problems—the inner man corrupted by sin.
Key Lessons:
- Psychological theories (Freud, Adler, Skinner, Ellis, Rogers, Ackerman) all share common flaws: they are atheistic, remove moral responsibility, justify sinful desires, and fail to direct people to Christ.
- Not all psychology is problematic—observable studies on memory, language development, etc. are not necessarily contradictory to Scripture—but theoretical psychology about man’s nature and motivations frequently contradicts God’s Word.
- Regarding psychotropic drugs, Christians should agree on three key points: they are not necessary for holiness, they don’t remove moral responsibility, and they cannot treat the root of inner man problems.
- Psychology can not only fail to help but can actively harm by taking people captive through false philosophies and preventing them from receiving the gospel.
Application: We are called to minister the gospel to one another rather than relying on psychological theories, recognizing that repentance and faith in Christ—not therapy or self-help—is the true solution for the struggles of the inner man. We should also show grace to fellow believers who may differ on secondary issues like psychotropic drugs.
Discussion Questions:
- Which of the six psychological theories surveyed do you see most influencing the church today, and how can we guard against it?
- How does understanding the difference between observable psychology and theoretical psychology help us evaluate what secular counseling offers?
- In what ways might we unknowingly adopt psychological language or thinking in how we counsel one another or even think about our own struggles?
Scripture Focus: Colossians 2:6-8 warns against being taken captive through philosophy and empty deception according to human traditions rather than according to Christ. Hosea and Jeremiah 23:16 illustrate that correlation is not causation and that false prophets speak from their own imagination. Hebrews 11:6 teaches that faith requires seeking God before receiving the reward.
Outline
- Introduction
- Follow-Up: Demons and Mental Illness
- Follow-Up: Room for Disagreement on Psychotropic Drugs
- Homework Discussion
- Correlation Is Not Causation
- Seeking the Lord Restores Reasoning
- Self-Inflicted Insanity
- Feelings, Faith, and the Cycle of Change
- Counseling Someone Already on Medication
- New Homework Assignments
- What Is Psychology?
- Sigmund Freud: Depth Psychology
- Alfred Adler: Individual Psychology
- B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism
- Albert Ellis: Rational and Emotive Therapy
- Carl Rogers: Client-Centered Approach
- Nathan Ackerman: Family Therapy
- The Biblical View of Man
- Conclusions: Commonalities and Dangers of Psychology
- Closing Prayer
Introduction
Well, good morning everyone. Welcome to Sunday school. As we are in lesson five of the biblical counseling 101 class, we’re asking: why do I do what I do and how can I change?
Let’s pray as we begin. Heavenly Father, thank you for this time. I pray that it would be profitable, Lord, that we would come away encouraged in the sufficiency of your word and the supremacy of your life, Jesus. We love you. Help me to explain well in this time. In Jesus’ name, amen.
It’s good to see so many of you here right at the start of class. I feel like more and more people are here at the beginning than previously, and that’s encouraging to me.
I do seem to have a hard time getting to the questions at the end of a lesson, but I’m trying to make up for it with the questions I give at the very beginning of class. These are kind of like follow-ups from the previous week.
I’m going to do that a little bit again this week. These questions come up either from my own thinking or from conversations that I have after our lessons.
Follow-Up: Demons and Mental Illness
But last week we were talking about biblical counseling and psychotropic drugs. Two questions came up that I want to bring to your attention: first, how are demons involved in what’s called mental illness and/or psychotropic drugs? That’s kind of a big question.
The short answer is we won’t be able to say for sure in any particular situation. But our mission is the same regardless. It is to minister God’s word according to God’s spirit and let God do his supernatural work. He is even able to set people free who may be influenced in some way by demons.
“Our mission is to minister God’s word according to God’s spirit and let God do his supernatural work.”
That’s the short answer. We’re not going to be able to say for sure in any particular situation how demons are involved.
The longer answer is this: the Bible is clear that our world and the lives of people in the world are affected by spiritual forces, both good and evil. Angels and demons are reality, and they are at work in the world.
We see from the Bible that when it comes to demons, they can have a physical effect on people. Satan afflicted Job physically. There was a woman in the New Testament who was bent double because of a demon.
We also see from the scriptures that demons can have some sort of influence or effect on a person’s inner man, not just the outer man. We see in the New Testament a number of people who are possessed by demons, and they act in very strange ways, even dangerous ways.
You remember the demoniac, the man with the legion? He acted insane. He could not be restrained with chains. He cut himself. He lived in tombs. He was very much affected by the demons.
In the Old Testament, remember God sent, or allowed a troubling spirit to be sent to Saul? And what was the result? Saul had a degree of mental agony. He was pained and troubled in his spirit. That’s why he asked David to play for him.
Also, demons and evil spirits are connected to false teachers sometimes in the scriptures. When Ahab is considering whether to go to war in a certain place, a prophet is speaking with him and tells him, “Look, an evil spirit, or a series of evil spirits, are now in your prophets, your false prophets. That’s why they are telling you a lie, that you can go up to this battle and succeed.”
So demons certainly in those scriptures are shown to be able to affect the outer man and the inner man.
“Demons are shown to be able to affect the outer man and the inner man.”
They were particularly active in Jesus’ day. There’s an explosion of demonic activity. It’s not necessarily that the demons weren’t active before, but it’s like they couldn’t hide themselves in the Lord’s presence, the Son of God’s presence on the earth. That really stirred them up.
So there was a unique ministry in the New Testament of exorcism, that is the casting out of demons. It was one of the sign gifts, one of the supernatural gifts that validated the apostles and some in the early church as true representatives of God. But that gift passed away along with the other miraculous gifts that accomplished their purpose.
So the question is: are demons still doing today what they did in the past? The answer is probably, but less obviously.
Might demons be behind anger, anxiety, depression, even delusions that are classified as mental illness? Maybe. Maybe partly. Maybe in whole. But not necessarily.
Biblical Examples Without Demonic Involvement
Because even though we’ve made those observations about what demons do in the Bible, let’s remember that there are plenty of other instances where you see the same things—physical and inner man affliction—without demons being involved.
In Jeremiah 23:16, we have a situation with false prophets. God reveals what’s really going on. He doesn’t say, “Oh, they have an evil spirit in them.” He says, “They are prophesying from their own imagination.” They didn’t need a spirit to influence them. It just came from their own minds.
Jeremiah 23:16: “They are prophesying from their own imagination.”
Or think about some of the great sins of the Bible, even of God’s people. David’s sin with Bathsheba. There’s no indication that that was caused by a demon.
Or the man who was born blind. This terrible physical affliction. Where did it come from? A demon? That’s not what God said. He said he was born this way for the glory of God, so Jesus could heal him.
Our Approach Remains the Same
Therefore, we should not assume that someone’s actions, either without being on psychotropic drugs or even while being on psychotropic drugs, are demonic. But we should not be ignorant either of possible demonic influence.
Even though we are aware of those things, we should be aware of those things. That doesn’t really change our approach, because we must do the same thing regardless of what influence a demon might have or might not have on a person. It is to pray, preach, and trust God.
You and I don’t have the power to cast out demons. You and I don’t have the ability to change someone’s heart. But God has appointed us as his means for doing that work. God is pleased to rescue many from the influence, even the possession, of the evil one through those simple means.
“We must do the same thing regardless: it is to pray, preach, and trust God.”
Follow-Up: Room for Disagreement on Psychotropic Drugs
So that’s one question. Another question I want to bring up is: how much room is there for disagreement among Christians when it comes to the nature and benefits of psychotropic drugs? How much room is there for disagreement?
Last week I argued for a pretty conservative approach to psychotropic drugs. That’s based on the very shaky scientific foundation of psychotropic drugs as well as the Bible’s assertions about the true essence and/or the true cause and cure for soul problems.
I stand by what I said last week. But at the same time, I do want to emphasize to you that psychotropic drugs is an issue that we need to be prepared to show some grace to each other.
“Psychotropic drugs is an issue that we need to be prepared to show some grace to each other.”
Psychotropic drugs are a thorny issue. Some Christians just aren’t there yet in their understanding. Other Christians do understand the issues involved, but they just assess the science surrounding the drugs a little differently.
Moreover, when you encounter individual cases of someone who’s really ensnared in their inner man—so-called cases of mental illness—it can raise difficult questions. There’s certainly a degree of mystery.
Three Essential Acknowledgements
What I’m most hoping for in you and in the brethren in general is not so much a complete rejection of all psychotropic drugs ever, but more importantly, three acknowledgements.
Number one: psychotropic drugs are not truly necessary for happiness or holiness as a Christian. Otherwise, the Bible is insufficient, right? We’ve seen that the Bible claims and demonstrates sufficiency. So psychotropic drugs are not truly necessary for happiness and holiness.
“Psychotropic drugs are not truly necessary for happiness or holiness as a Christian.”
Number two: so-called mental illness and psychotropic drugs do not remove someone’s moral responsibility or spiritual capacity.
Number three: psychotropic drugs cannot ultimately treat the root of inner man problems, even if they might make someone feel better or alleviate certain symptoms.
If you or someone agrees with me on those three points, I feel pretty good about affirming that person in his stance towards counseling others, even if there is still some difference.
Grace Among Faithful Counselors
And it’s important I tell you this because otherwise you might get confused if you learn more about some of the authors of the articles that I give to you in homework. A number of them, as I’ve mentioned to you, come from CCEF biblical counselors. That’s the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation.
Some of these counselors—while all of them would affirm the three points I just mentioned: psychotropic drugs are not necessary, they don’t remove responsibility, they cannot ultimately treat the root of inner man problems—some within CCEF are cautiously open to the use of psychotropic drugs, either by taking an agnostic stance where they will not recommend against it or for it. They know it’s not sufficient to deal with issues, but they’re more focused on just speaking the word. Or some might even suggest the limited use of certain drugs as helpful in certain situations.
And even though I might not agree that those are the best stances to take, I still would affirm these men, these counselors, men and women, as being part of those who are faithful when it comes to biblical counseling. They’re within the faithful camp. And I believe that enough that I don’t feel bad recommending their articles to you.
CCEF is not the only place where you might find some of that diversity. Even when we were in California as part of Grace Community Church, I encountered some men from the seminary, even some who had been on the pastoral staff at Grace Community Church, where there’s a little bit of variety in their particular stances—not to the point of being majorly different. And I’m sure even in this church there is some variety.
So let’s be prepared to welcome one another in Christ despite some differences of opinion over this issue, always remembering that the most important part of biblical counseling is not getting someone on or off of psychotropic drugs, but showing people how Christ and the gospel reveal heart problems and then show the way to deal with them biblically.
“The most important part of biblical counseling is showing people how Christ and the gospel reveal heart problems.”
Homework Discussion
Those are two follow-ups to last week. Now with that being said, let’s talk about the homework for last week.
I asked you to do a number of things: Bible reading and prayer, but also I asked you to read two chapters—two if you did the extra credit, one if you just did the regular—from the Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference, all about psychotropic drugs.
Let’s hear some of your observations and questions that you had based on the reading. What’s something that stuck out to you or that you noticed?
Yeah, Steve, can you say the last part again?
Correlation Is Not Causation
That’s right. This is a very important truth about life. He’s pointing it out from the article: just because two things happen at the same time does not necessarily explain why one happens or why both happen. As one way to say it is: correlation is not necessarily causation.
That’s extremely important, not just for counseling, but even for things like assessing the economy or politics or just all sorts of things in life. And you actually see this in the Bible too.
There’s a really interesting spot in Hosea, and I think also in other places, where Israel is thinking to themselves, “Hey, when we served other gods, things went really well for us.” They’re like, “You look for this correlation. We were serving false gods. Things were good.”
But then God steps in and says, “That was just me being merciful to you. That’s not the reason why things were good. Come to me. Don’t go to the false gods.”
So correlation is not causation. That’s a very important point for counseling.
“Correlation is not necessarily causation. That’s a very important point for counseling.”
What else?
Seeking the Lord Restores Reasoning
Yeah, Mark?
Yeah, it’s interesting, Mark. The author talks about the example of Nebuchadnezzar. Mark’s pointing out this kind of principle: when someone seeks the Lord, his reasoning returns. That certainly was true in Nebuchadnezzar’s case.
And that even fits with what we were talking about recently in “Iron Man”—with the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, right? And that’s part of what the author’s point is.
I think generally a true principle: it’s not that we can’t speak to somebody who is mentally ill. They have to get out of that before we can speak to them. No. And in many cases, if not all cases, the Lord is still able to reach that person with his truth.
“It’s not that we can’t speak to somebody who is mentally ill. The Lord is still able to reach that person.”
Now, I know some physical afflictions can get in there—like if they’re totally sleepless or if they’re having some physical issues going on that might impede that—but the Lord clarifies. The Lord clears away issues in the mind when He’s working by His spirit.
What else?
Self-Inflicted Insanity
Yeah, Glenda?
Interesting. So Glenda is pointing out insanity could be self-inflicted. And we looked at even David’s actions with the king of Gath. Now that whole instance is kind of interesting because we even talked about that in Sunday school one time.
David is clearly putting on an act. This is part of a disguise. And you may say, “Well, he’s not trusting the Lord. This is sinful.” Well, the weird thing is there is a psalm in which he kind of celebrates God’s deliverance in that instance, which is weird if he was acting sinfully.
I actually argued in a Sunday school class that David wasn’t acting sinfully. He was actually being very clever. But it is an example of what apparently looks like insanity might not truly be.
But certainly from our mind-body connection class, we do know it is certainly true that what you think in your heart can really start to affect your thinking and behavior. And when not restrained and confronted, you will act more and more insane. And that’s a lot of what we see in those who are called mentally ill today.
You say, “How on earth do they get like this?” Well, many times it’s just those little things in the heart that were not dealt with. And it’s like a self-inflicted insanity.
“What you think in your heart can really start to affect your thinking and behavior.”
Yeah, other thoughts or questions?
Yeah, Duane?
Counseling Someone Already on Medication
Yeah, the question is—because it’s all somewhat obliquely referenced in the reading that you had—you don’t get chapter four. I don’t have chapter four to give you anymore. If somebody’s already on medication and they come to you for counseling, how should you respond?
Well, I have tried to emphasize to you: it’s not the most important thing that you get someone on or off medication. It is useful, especially if you notice that medication is really affecting a person. It is useful to inform them about medication so that they can think more in an aware sense of what they’re doing with it.
But your main task is still the same, which is: I want to speak to you God’s truth. I want to show you how, whether on or off of medication, you can walk in holiness with the Lord to his glory and to your own joy.
“Whether on or off medication, you can walk in holiness with the Lord to his glory and your own joy.”
And many times, as you do that, and as a counselor is informed about what medication really is and what its justification is, as they see the Lord’s sufficiency, they’ll say, “Why? Why do I need this drug? Why am I still taking it? I’m interested in not taking it.”
They won’t necessarily say that all the time. But again, the point is: it’s not the most critical mission to get someone off the drugs. It’s more important that you minister the truth.
Maybe one more question or observation?
Feelings, Faith, and the Cycle of Change
Yeah, Magda?
Yeah, Magnus brought out a point in this article I thought was really interesting, and something I didn’t really have time to talk about in class: what we think about feelings, especially bad feelings, and our ability to function is often not accurate.
Magda brought out the point the author talks about: how there can be this cycle where we have bad feelings, which leads to our inability to function, which leads to more bad feelings, which leads to inability to function. It’s just kind of like a downward spiral in a person’s life.
And we think, or we can think, that until the feelings change, I’m not going to be able to change. But actually, your feelings change as your thinking and behavior changes.
This actually goes back to something that we’ll get to when we talk about the biblical process of change. Your entire view of sanctification can get a little bit distorted if you think the wrong way about your feelings.
If you think, “I have to feel good, and I have to feel God’s love, and I have to feel all these various spiritual things before I can change,” well, a lot of times you’re never going to change.
But if you say, “I’m going to take on faith that as I walk with the Lord, He is going to give me what He promises, which is the contentment that comes with Him”—it’s in the seeking that you receive the reward, not the reward beforehand and then you seek.
Wasn’t that what the book of Hebrews says? That when it comes to faith, if anyone is going to be approved by God, he must believe that God is and that He’s a rewarder of those who seek Him. But if we demand, “I must have the happiness or the good feelings before the reward,” well, a lot of times that’s just not going to happen.
Hebrews 11:6: “He must believe that God is and that He’s a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
It’s like, “Well, that’s not what God promised.”
It is something that you say, “Well, I’m going to go to the Lord in faith.”
It’s the beginning of a change in your thinking, which leads to a change in action, which often times leads to a change in your feelings. And then you get a positive feedback loop.
Whereas you seek the Lord and you begin to experience the joy of that, that causes you to want to seek the Lord more. And then you experience more joy. And that causes you to seek the Lord more.
The thing is, you have to break that negative cycle by faith. Say, “I can’t wait for my feelings to change, as if it’s just going to feel a certain way about God. I have to take hold of what He says in His word.”
That is the reason why a lot of people turn to medication, because they say, “How am I feeling going to change without some sort of mood booster? And if my feelings don’t change, I can’t see God.”
It’s actually not true. It’s in the seeking of God, oftentimes, that your feelings change.
“It’s in the seeking of God, oftentimes, that your feelings change.”
These are great questions and great observations.
New Homework Assignments
All right, that was it for the old homework. Let’s talk about the new homework.
We’re moving on from the Christian Counselor’s Medical Desk Reference. These have to do with our topic today: psychology.
I want you to read this article by Aaron Cerrone. He’s a CCEF counselor. “Becoming a Biblical Counselor: A Skeptic’s Journey.” It talks about his experience as a licensed family therapist, basically a secular counselor, and his encounter with and move to becoming a biblical counselor. This is your regular assignment, besides reading the Bible and praying every day.
I think you’ll find that very interesting because he has a look into both fields. He also argues why he made the switch.
So I want you to read that article and make your five observations and questions.
I don’t have a physical copy of the extra credit article, but for extra credit, I’d like you to read “The Pastor as Counselor” by David Powlinson. David Powlinson is a name you might recognize. He’s published a lot of counseling books, and we have a number of them, I think even in our book nook.
You say, “But this is for pastors. Why would I read that?”
Well, actually, if you just look at the first paragraph of this article, which I’ll send to you in your email, one of the very first things he says is, “This is for pastors, but if you’re not a pastor, I want you to listen in because you’ll still find that many of the things—many of the principles discussed in the article—they apply to all Christians.”
As you go through the article, a lot of it is a comparison of how biblical counseling is superior to psychological counseling. In many ways, it’s what psychological counseling wishes it could be.
“Biblical counseling is what psychological counseling wishes it could be.”
I think you’ll find that very interesting. Please do that if you’re able as an extra credit assignment.
All right, it took a little bit extra time for introductory material today, but let’s get to our main topic.
What Is Psychology?
We’re talking about biblical counseling and psychology. What I want to do today is introduce psychology to you and then survey a number of very influential psychologists in our country—six influential psychologists—and we’ll compare what they say to what the Bible says.
This is just a survey. There are a lot of nuances here that I can’t really get to, but we’ll survey it. Then we’ll take questions at the end.
I really hope that we’ll do that because I actually don’t have a ton of notes today. There should be time for questions at the end. But the problem is, when I know that, I usually doodle more in the lesson, take more comments, take more questions, and then I’m like, “Where’d the time go?”
But I think there should be time for questions today. Anyways, that’s the agenda. Let’s get into it.
What is psychology? Psychology has certainly had a strong influence on society. I think many times we are not aware of how much our society has been psychologized. Even we ourselves—psychology has really affected the church and even Christians around us. Certainly, it is affecting and at times determining the path of those who do not know God.
Psychologists, as Ed Welsh said in one of the articles you read earlier, are like the clergy of our modern atheistic society. They are guiding the people of the world along in a kind of other religion.
We can’t say everything that could be said in one lesson about psychology. But just trying to introduce, from a biblical perspective, what psychology is—kind of think of it like an introduction to psychology. But perhaps a more accurate way to say it is: an introduction to psychologies, plural.
Because the truth is, there is widespread disagreement in the field of psychology on some of the most basic questions.
Dr. Street, in his lesson talking about psychology, mentions that there are between 200 and 300 different brands of psychology operating in the world right now, all under the umbrella term of psychology, but with different assumptions and different goals and methods of treatment.
This is important for us to realize because we think of science as being something really well established. We test things, and everybody can figure out whether that’s true or not. But you don’t have anything close to consensus in psychology. You’ll see more of that as we survey some of the influential psychologists today.
“There are between 200 and 300 different brands of psychology, all with different assumptions and methods.”
Now, even though there are a lot of differences between psychological brands, they do have certain fundamental agreements. Ultimately, they’re all seeking to do the same thing.
The word psychology comes from the word for soul, “psyche,” Greek, and then “logos,” which is word or study. So psychology is the study of the soul, or as the APA, the American Psychological Association, defines it: psychology is the study of the mind and behavior.
What you think about it is a very broad field of examination. We’re just going to study the mind and behavior. That involves a lot here.
The Breadth of Psychology’s Subfields
Here’s another, a little bit more illustrative definition that comes from Simply Psychology.org: “Psychology is a multi-faceted discipline and includes many subfields of study such as human development, sports, health, clinical, social, behavior, and cognitive processes.”
That’s a lot of subfields within psychology. It’s an important thing for us to realize because psychology is such a broad field with many sub-disciplines and sub-fields of study. This means that not all of psychology should be problematic for Christians.
You might hear me or other teachers say that psychology has really hurt the church. But that always needs to come with an asterisk: not all of psychology.
For example, when certain psychologists study how memory works, how our memories work, or when children become able to process and speak language, or how people characteristically indicate that they are lying—psychologists do studies on these things. These are not necessarily contradictory to the Bible. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with this.
“Not all of psychology should be problematic for Christians.”
These studies often deal directly with areas of life that can be observed either biologically or behaviorally. So we shouldn’t necessarily reject everything that a psychologist has to say.
Theoretical Psychology and the Bible
But there is a large part of psychology which is based on the theoretical—not what can be observed, what has to be inferred. And that’s where we run into a lot of problems.
A large section of psychology is concerned about the nature of man and why man does what he does. A person can see the brain, but he cannot see, ultimately, one’s inner man. You cannot see someone’s mind or what they would call the psyche or the inner self.
This part of psychology is based, therefore, on unconfirmed theories and unconfirmable theories.
If you’ve been with us this far, the Bible has a lot to say about the nature of man and why man does what he does. We should not be surprised that psychologists and the Bible are frequently going to come into opposition. There’s going to be contradiction between Christ, His scriptures, and the assertions of psychologists.
“We should not be surprised that psychologists and the Bible are frequently going to come into opposition.”
Though we’re talking about abstract theories when it comes to psychology, these theories do have a very practical impact. These theories inform how psychologists and counselors will try to help modern man if he’s depressed, he’s anxious, he’s angry, or manifesting some other unpleasant or destructive behavior.
Psychological theory is going to have a major impact.
What’s the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist? A psychiatrist is interested in prescribing medication. The psychologist is interested in talking. It’s usually a conversation when you’re meeting with a psychologist.
I gave you a handout today: a chart. We’re going to now move to that chart. I’m going to survey six major psychologists and their theories.
As you look at this chart, my intent is that you will see—as I already began to assert—there is a lack of unity in this so-called science. But also, I want you to see that these ideas have really affected our society. They’ve even become the language we use without thinking about it.
Yet these theories, to some degree or another, all contradict God’s word.
As we go along in this chart, I want you to think with me, and I’ll ask you to interact with me: how is it that we see these theories at work today? What kind of terms or ideas or policies or examples do we see of these psychologists’ ideas in our present world?
Let’s go to the chart. Six psychologists. All the information, or most of the information, is already filled in on your chart except for the last one.
Sigmund Freud: Depth Psychology
We’ll start with Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud—and what’s in parentheses there on your chart is the field of psychology that they’re famous for, that they operated in. Sigmund Freud and depth psychology.
In this chart, we’re all looking at major categories to understand their theory: what do they think about man? What do they think man’s problem is? What’s the solution to man’s problem? And then what’s not on your chart—something I added—just what role is the counselor supposed to take? This helps you remember what this theory is all about.
So what did Freud think? He’s considered the father of psychology, the founder of it. He lived in the 19th century into the 20th century.
His view of man is that man is basically an animal. He is an instinctual animal. He has a psyche that is made up of what Freud called the id, the ego, and the superego.
The problem for man—this is what results in all the unpleasant and destructive behavior—is that in a person, the id, that is the unconscious desires and drives, they are improperly suppressed by the ego, which is the rational control center of yourself, kind of like what you think of as your mind. The ego is improperly suppressing the id due to the influence of the superego, which is actually something outside of a person, taken into a person. This is moral, societal, and religious pressure, even from Christianity.
This is the problem: these improperly suppressed id, these desires, they’re resulting in neurotic or destructive behavior.
So what’s the solution? Free the id. Discover what those suppressed desires are and fulfill them—without hurting others—but discover and free the id.
The counselor plays the role of the psychoanalyst. He listens to the way you talk. He listens to your dreams. He scans, as a trained expert, what he can observe in you, and he says, “This is what you really want. These are your truly suppressed desires. Let’s get them out and let’s fulfill them.”
Now, do you see any modern manifestations of this idea—either the terms or things we see around us?
Certainly, id, ego, and superego—those might be terms that you’ve heard before. They come from Freud.
What else?
Yeah, Mark?
“If it feels good, do it. Don’t let yourself be repressed.”
In fact, Freud saw a lot of the repression as sexual repression. We need to be sexually liberated. That’s a Freudian idea because if you’re sexually repressed, it’s going to manifest in all this problematic behavior.
“Freud saw repression as sexual repression. ‘We need to be sexually liberated.’”
Anywhere else do you see these kind of ideas?
Yeah, Glenda?
Just more generally: nothing is sinful.
Yeah, and we’re seeing that increasingly in our society. This fits with a biological view of man. So he says, “Why are you upset with me for committing adultery or for fornication? We’re just animals. These are just our instincts.”
We have terms like “Freudian slip.” It’s like when you accidentally said something, and the psychoanalyst says, “That’s what you really desire. That’s why it came out. That’s why you mistakenly said that.”
Or the Oedipus complex. That comes from Freud. He believed that was a kind of suppressed desire.
Dream analysis comes from Freud.
Maybe this is a little too hard, but have any of you ever seen the movie Frozen? There’s a very famous song in it, which I feel like would be Freud’s theme song: “Let It Go.”
“Can’t hold it back anymore. Let it go.”
Now, I’m not saying that Frozen is an evil movie or that’s an evil song, but that is actually tied to Freudian thinking. You can’t suppress the desires that you really have. You’ve got to let them go, or else you’re not going to be healthy. That’s Freud.
Alfred Adler: Individual Psychology
Let’s move over to our second influential psychologist: Alfred Adler, individual psychology.
How does Adler see man? As a socially governed animal. He’s an animal, but his interactions with other human animals has a very important effect on him.
Man’s problem is an inferiority complex from childhood. When he realized that he was weak and everyone else was bigger around him, or just from the circumstances of his life, man develops an inferiority complex, which leads to unhealthy efforts to compensate—start to bully others or intimidate others or oppress others—because they’re just trying to compensate for that inferiority complex they feel.
What’s the solution? We need to instill self-confidence and self-satisfaction in each person. They can feel good about themselves and don’t have to act in a destructive way.
The counselor is therefore the encourager. “I’m here to make you feel good about yourself.”
Where do we see this today?
This is where the self-esteem movement comes from. It comes from Adler’s ideas. Participation trophies and other things that make you feel good about your self-esteem come from this line of thinking because we don’t want that inferiority complex.
“The self-esteem movement comes from Adler’s ideas—participation trophies and making you feel good.”
“Why is that kid bullying in school? It’s not because he’s really bad. He just has this inferiority complex. He has low self-esteem.”
This can even find its way into the gospel—a version of the Christian gospel being what some people call the therapeutic gospel. “God is here to make you feel good about yourself. He really loves you. He thinks you’re so important. He has such an amazing plan for your life and purpose for your life. It’s really all about you.”
It fits right in with Adler’s ideas.
B.F. Skinner: Behaviorism
Let’s keep moving on. Another influential psychologist: B.F. Skinner.
Skinner sees man as a conditioned animal. He’s not good, he’s not bad. He just comes into the world a blank slate.
The problem is that man is so often placed in unhealthy environments in his past or in his present, and they’ve conditioned him to act in unhealthy ways.
So what’s the solution? Let’s put him in a better environment. We need to recondition him with a new and better environment.
So what’s the counselor’s role? He’s basically the lab technician. You’re like the lab rat. You’ve been improperly conditioned. He needs to figure out new conditions for you to condition you the right way.
Where do we see some of Skinner’s ideas today?
Yeah, Mark?
Yeah, this is certainly part of the removal of responsibility that we see in different ways. “If it’s just your environment, it’s not really your fault.”
There was a somewhat famous case some years ago: the “affluenza teen.” Remember this? Rich kid who got in trouble for doing something wrong, and his core defense was, “I couldn’t help it. I was raised in affluence. I just had to act this way.”
And that was a serious defense. And if I remember correctly, I think he—or what?
Go ahead.
He what?
Oh, okay. You said he got in a car accident?
Oh, okay. That’s what he had done.
Well, if I’m trying to remember quickly, I think he got off with that court defense. I don’t think he was convicted. But that just comes from Skinner. This behaviorist idea: it’s just about conditioning.
We often adopt some of Skinner’s terms. One of his terms that he uses a lot is reinforcement—positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement. It’s all about conditioning.
This can inform the way we even approach parenting. A lot of parents are really afraid of corporal punishment because they think, “I’m going to traumatize my kids, and they’re going to be stuck that way for life.”
Now, there certainly is a way. When it comes to disciplining your children, you should not be abusive. But this idea of fearing trauma, conditioning your kids with something like that—that’s the Skinnerian idea.
Or on the flip side, some parents might approach parenting as just changing the behavior. “Now I’ll use rewards. I’ll use these punishments so that the kid acts a certain way. We’ll train him. We’ll condition him. That’s the right way to act.”
Certainly, you do want to train your kids in good behavior, and positive reinforcement and negative reinforcements are part of that. But if you don’t actually get to the heart, you haven’t really done your job as a parent before the Lord. You’ve settled for a Skinnerian version of parenting, and that’s not good enough.
“If you don’t actually get to the heart, you’ve settled for a Skinnerian version of parenting.”
A lot of social programs operate on the Skinnerian idea: “Oh, they just came from this environment. We’ve got to get them in a new environment if we ever expect them to change.”
Not that a new environment can’t help, but it’s not going to do enough.
So Skinnerianism, B.F. Skinner’s idea, is very influential even today.
I’ve got to keep moving. Sorry.
Albert Ellis: Rational and Emotive Therapy
Albert Ellis is our fourth psychologist: rational emotive therapy.
He’s moving away from the more animalistic idea. He sees man as a being with rational potential, not necessarily an animal. He’s a being that can think.
But the problem is man is thinking wrongly. He’s adopted certain beliefs and patterns of thinking that are just wrong and unhealthy.
So what’s the solution? You’ve got to help them think properly. Identify wrong thinking and teach new patterns.
What’s the proper counselor according to Albert Ellis? He’s an educator. “Just got to educate you properly, and you’ll act right. You’ll be happy.”
Where do we see this today?
Yeah, public school systems are certainly one place. “If we’re going to have healthy and productive citizens, they need to be educated the proper way, and we provide that in our public schools.”
Evidential evangelism is an interesting application. “They just haven’t seen the data. They haven’t heard enough of the arguments. But if they just saw the evidence, heard the arguments, surely they would change.”
There is some value in education and evidence, even in evangelism. But that ignores certain realities of the heart, doesn’t it?
“There is some value in education, but that ignores certain realities of the heart.”
A lot of self-help is based on Albert Ellis’s thinking. Talk therapy, psychotherapy. It’s all about, “I’ve got to fix your thinking.”
Carl Rogers: Client-Centered Approach
Now let’s go to our fifth psychologist: Carl Rogers, the client-centered approach.
He sees man as a being with self-fulfilling potential. But the problem is that man has often gradually developed a sense and expression of himself which is hindered by an unhealthy environment and its rules, even from religion.
The solution is this: if we want to see somebody act and be healthy in their minds, they need to accept and become fully comfortable with who they are, with who they really are.
The counselor, therefore, is not really looking to change you, but just to show you who you are. He’s the mirror. “This is who you really are. We want to fulfill that and make you comfortable with that.”
Do we see this today?
Yeah, Dwayne?
Yeah, this fits right into postmodernism. “Everyone has their own truth.”
Actually, I was just reading an article from someone the other day who was pursuing a sex change. And it was described as he “discovered his truth”—what truth? Who he really is. And this comes from Rogerian psychological theory.
The whole LGBTQ movement comes from this, or at least is supported by this. “This is who you really are. You were born a boy, but what you really are is a girl. Or you were born as a homosexual. You’ve got to embrace who you are. People are trying to suppress who you are. That’s unkind. You need to be true to yourself.”
“The whole LGBTQ movement is supported by Rogerian theory: ‘This is who you really are.’”
One of the terms that comes from Rogers is self-actualization. “If you’re going to be happy, you’re going to be fulfilled, not have problematic behavior, you need to self-actualize. What does that mean? Embrace who you really are.”
Not to pick on Frozen again, but Frozen 2 has a song where its main course is, “Show Yourself. Show who you really are. Don’t be afraid. Show yourself.”
Now, again, I’m not saying that’s an evil song or an evil movie, but that does fit right in with Rogerian thinking and the ideas of our society.
Worse than I think John MacArthur or someone else said this: worse than doing something wrong is to not be true to yourself, to pretend to be something that you’re not.
Carl Rogers’ thinking has pervaded our society very, very much.
Nathan Ackerman: Family Therapy
Let’s go to one more: Nathan Ackerman. Maybe not quite as influential as some of these other psychologists, but still important.
He sees man as a family-dependent being. Ackerman is famous for developing family therapy. That is, if you want to change someone, you’re going to have to change his family. You’ve got to change the whole system because he is dependent. Man is a dependent being on those around him.
Problem is, according to Ackerman, so many families are dysfunctional. There are established roles, patterns of behavior and thinking within families which force other family members to adapt patterns of thinking and behavior that are unhealthy.
The solution is we need to change these dysfunctional family relationships by role differentiation. That’s kind of confusing what it means by that, but basically, families need to be able to adapt. You can’t always do and think and act the same ways that you did. Different needs come up in the family. Everybody needs to be willing to adjust. You acted a certain way with them before. Now you need to switch, or else the whole family will be dysfunctional.
Actually, that term “dysfunctional family” we still have today. It comes from Ackerman.
“The term ‘dysfunctional family’ comes from Ackerman.”
I think this is connected to some of the movements to diversify roles in family, egalitarianism, gender roles. “We need to be able to adapt. To enforce a certain system, that’s just going to lead to a dysfunctional thing.”
In this sense, the counselor and Ackerman’s system is a cultural healer. “Can’t change a person until you change the family or even larger systems.”
The Biblical View of Man
Let’s now actually compare these psychological theories with what the word of God says.
God, according to His word, how does the Lord present man in His scriptures?
Man is a physical and spiritual being who is made in God’s image. If you really want to understand man and why he does what he does, you have to understand who he is. The Bible reveals that he’s no mere animal, but he does have a physical aspect. He’s made in the image of God.
But the problem is, though God made man for fellowship, for service, for rule, and obedience, man has become corrupted in his inner man by the fall and by his continual rebellion against God in a cursed world.
What is the solution? This won’t surprise you because this is what the scripture says again and again: it is repentance and faith, change in the inner man that leads to change in the outer man. Repentance and faith in Jesus Christ according to the good news of salvation.
“The solution is repentance and faith—change in the inner man that leads to change in the outer man.”
I told you at the very beginning that ultimately what biblical counselors do, what you and I as Christians ought to be doing, is just ministering the gospel to one another. That’s the solution. It’s just different applications and explanations of the gospel.
Thus, what the counselor needs to do—we need to really affect a person. The change they need is a biblical change. It’s a biblical counselor or even an evangelist who can bring that about.
If you’re furiously writing these notes, that’s good, but I will send the PDF copy of the slide so you will have those in your email afterwards.
Conclusions: Commonalities and Dangers of Psychology
Well, I have managed to dial the time somehow, so we might not get to our questions. But let’s now look at some conclusions based on this chart.
Notice, indeed, what I said at the beginning: there are some big differences between these major psychologists. Different views of men. Different views of the problem. Different views of the solution.
So it is, as I said to you before, psychological explanations for man and his behavior are actually scientifically unreliable. After 150 years of psychological advancement, there’s still no agreement. Radical disagreements.
By the way, if you were to visit a psychologist today, it is likely not going to be just one of those operating according to just one of those theories. What is the majority stance of a psychologist today in terms of the theory that they operate on? Does anyone know?
Ed Welsh mentioned it in one of his articles. The main stance today is eclectic. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. A little bit of Skinnerianism, a little bit of Rogers, a little bit of Ellis. That’s usually what you see with a psychologist.
But it all kind of depends on the individual, what he thinks would be good. It’s not scientifically based.
So there’s pretty radical differences. But notice some of the commonalities: all of these theories are ultimately atheistic and amoral. They don’t take God into account. They try and explain everything without God.
And actually, many of them, if not all of them, see religion or Christianity and the Bible as part of the problem. It’s part of the repression. It’s part of preventing you from being who you really are. It’s conditioned you in a poor way.
They also all treat men—you may have noticed—as a victim, one way or another. He’s a victim, which means he’s not responsible. He’s not really doing wrong. It’s his environment. It’s his upbringing.
They all, rather than confronting man’s desires and pride, justify them. “No, it’s not that you need to get rid of your desires. You need to fulfill them.”
They all require the special knowledge of a psychologist. “You need an expert to help you.” So it’s kind of like a gnosticism there.
They all fail to direct people to the true solution, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. I stopped short of that, which means they cannot ultimately help people in the way that they need to be helped.
“All of these theories are ultimately atheistic and amoral. They all fail to direct people to Jesus Christ.”
Most psychologists can offer some degree of surface help. Actually, you’ll notice these theories—there is a seed of truth to them. Your desires, as Freud says, they do explain your behavior to a certain degree, but not the way you think they do.
Your environment has an effect. Your upbringing has an effect. What you think about yourself has an effect. But they don’t fully explain it. They don’t get to the root of the issue.
The root of the issue is in your inner man. And only the gospel and the Lord’s spirit can really address that.
But one danger, though: even though psychology cannot meet the greatest need, it can actually prevent you from receiving the ministry to your greatest need. Because believers and the people of the world can get wrapped up in psychology and thinking the solution is there, and therefore never come to Christ. Or they bring their psychological ideas to the gospel.
I have mentioned to you before Colossians 2:6-8, that passage where Paul warns against being taken captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the traditions of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
We need to take seriously that directive. It’s not merely that, “Oh, that’s not so beneficial.” It can take you captive, and it has taken Christians captive. Sad to say.
I remember Dr. Street telling us a story about a Christian counselor who was operating according to worldly psychological ideas, trying to help a young lady who felt guilty about immorality in her life. But the Christian counselor’s answer, according to some of these psychological theories, is that, “Well, the guilt is the problem, and we need to get rid of the guilt by you engaging in this activity until you don’t feel guilty anymore.”
That is not going to set somebody free from what is ensnaring their hearts. That is a way to make it almost impossible for anyone to reach them because they will just sear their consciences again and again.
And many can come to Christ expecting Him to be the ultimate therapist, ultimate psychologist, and they never actually repent and believe.
So not only can psychology not help in the most important way, but it can actually harm in a really deep way. We have to be aware of that.
Psychology Cannot Set People Free
But hopefully you see: even though they sound very wise and knowledgeable, these theories may be impressive, they’re actually of little use. They are of little use to those in Christ.
If psychologists, because they don’t understand what man is or what his problem really is, if they cannot truly help man, if they cannot even help themselves, why do we expect them to help us?
They fundamentally misdiagnose man. How can they help us with issues like anxiety, fear, anger, and hopelessness?
They disguise their inability, their shortcomings, by labeling various issues as mental disorders or neuroses or diseases of the mind that need an expert to diagnose and cure. But the fact of the matter is, as Colossians says, we already have all the wisdom and power we need in the Lord Jesus Christ to deal with sinful temptations and pride and painful trials.
This is why we’re doing this class. This is why I love biblical counseling. This is the privilege and responsibility we have to minister to one another. We have the truth that can set people free.
Psychology can’t do that. It can only treat surface issues. It can’t set people free.
Colossians 2:6-8: “We already have all the wisdom and power we need in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
But how do we actually do it? That’s what we’ll get into next time: the biblical process of change.
Remember, no class next week. No class October 17th. We’ll resume the following week.
I’m sure you have questions or comments. Come see me afterwards.
Closing Prayer
Let’s close in prayer.
Lord God, we thank you that you are supreme and sufficient. You have indeed given us all wisdom so we can answer every person and present every man and woman complete in Christ.
The people of the world don’t understand this. And Lord, we even can get entrapped into the thinking of the world and say, “Oh, this is wisdom. We need to add this to the Bible.”
Please protect us from that, Lord. I pray that in this church you would make us skilled in ministering your word to one another, not relying on ourselves. We don’t have the power to change another’s heart, but you do. And you use us as weak vessels.
Lord, be glorifying the rest of this service today.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thank you, everyone.