Psychology attempts to explain the complex relationship between humans and their environments. The discipline incorporates different worldviews but does not link God to the human behavioral outcome. Conversely, Christian teachings assert that God created human beings in His image, and they have a responsibility to follow His rules. Although some churches integrate psychological principles into their teachings, psychology and Christianity differ in the explanation of human nature and truth about the universe
One can find the truth about human nature in the Christian teachings and psychological principles. Psychology perceives the moral nature of human beings as good, evil, or neutral. Psychoanalytic theorists view humans as evil and passive, while cognitive behaviorists consider humans as neutral and passive. According to cognitive theory, humans are good and interactive, and per social learning theory, people are neutral and active. Psychologists who view people as evil believe human beings are selfish and depraved. For this reason, they insist that adults must guide children. Christian teachings assert that humans are born with a generational curse from Adam and Eve—the first selfish human beings at the Garden of Eden. Consequently, the Bible insists that parents must punish their children to save their souls from hell (Proverbs 23:13-14). Some psychological principles insist that people are noble and attracted to compassionate and generous acts. They believe that if parents protect children from societal evils, they will focus on their inner resources of goodness. Christians also believe that children are pure and innocent. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ told his disciples to allow children to interact with him since heaven’s kingdom belongs to them (Matthew 19:14). Both Christian teachings and psychological principles provide useful ideas on human nature.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
However, psychology is more important than the Christian viewpoint when explaining the relationship between the mind and body. Psychology explains human behavior by analyzing the neurophysiological events and environmental factors. From a materialistic viewpoint, psychologists relate the human body to objective measures while the idealistic perception invokes subjective introspection methods. Parallestic viewpoint asserts that mental and bodily processes occur simultaneously but do not influence each other. Interactionists believe that body impacts the mind, and the mind influences the body. These psychological viewpoints can explain human behaviors. On the contrary, the Bible provides abstract reasoning for human behavior. Catholic Church insists that the mind, body, and soul are interconnected. Therefore, one has to deny themselves bodily pleasures to realize peace, tranquility, and personal freedom. Unlike Christianity, psychology allows people to study the brain to understand the human mind’s complexities and experiences.
Initially, the Catholic Church was against psychological teachings but has since appreciated the discipline in improving Christians’ lives. The work of Sigmund Freud concerning sexual morality violated the Catholic Church teachings. Catholics believe that sex before marriage is a sin, and priests and nuns should be sexually pure while serving God. Freud insisted that sexual desires are part of human nature that should be fulfilled. According to Catholics, humans have the responsibility to deny themselves bodily pleasures, including sexual activities. Catholic Church disproves the idea that sex is a fundamental human need but acknowledges the counseling and psychiatric care in spiritual health care.
Overall, I believe that psychology and Christianity should be mixed to enhance the understanding of the human’s belief system and its impacts on their behaviors. My parents were Christians, and I have always wanted to understand the reason for believing in God’s existence. While in Church, I was not allowed to question God’s origin, but I believe psychological principles can enhance my understanding of Christian teachings and reasoning. Cognitive and moral psychological principles can enlighten Christians about the cause of certain undesirable behaviors in their children. Instead of punishing children for every mistake, psychology seeks to understand the social and environmental factors contributing to certain behaviors. Christians who seek to understand their environment fulfill God’s command that asserts they should seek the truth.
