This paper will be reviewing the book “Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: an introduction to worldview issues, philosophical foundations and models of integration, by David N. Entwistle. As the title states, this book discusses how to integrate psychology and theology. It also dives into to why it is so important to be able to integrate the two. Entwistle explains that just because the two are different does not mean they should be separated and that we have to use both our worldviews. “Weaving together perspectives from psychology and Christian theology can help us understand and appreciate humanity more fully than we could either perspective alone.” (p.3)
Entwistle explains that our worldview greatly impacts how our Christian and psychology worldviews. God created us all differently; some of us grew up in small towns, large families, different countries, large cities. We all come from different homes lives, have different family units and the list goes on. Because we are all created differently our opinions and reactions are all different, making our worldviews all unique. Entwistle believes that our worldview is not something chosen for us or something we choose. He believes that it is created by our life experiences. He begins by introducing 5 models that involve integration. These models are enemies, spies, colonialist, neutral parties and allies. He states that the models “represent different ways of conceptualizing the relationship between psychology and religion in general or psychology and Christianity, in particular.” (p. 136) Those that follow the enemy model take an “either/or” (p.137) position. They agree that both topics should be separated at all times. There is no in between on the two. With the Spies model is it all about which theory benefits the most. Whatever the participants lifestyle maybe they will lean more on the side that best fits that mold. The colonialist model includes “selectively including, rejecting and relabeling psychological findings to reflect the theological perspective of the model builder.” (p. 144) Neutral parties take both theology and psychology and allow them to coexist but not necessarily acting. The last mode, the Allies, has both theology and psychology in a unified light. They realize that both can be used for good and they find a balance that allows them to both succeed. Entwistle makes a great point by stating “God gave birth to the subject to psychology (human behavior) when he created human beings. God granted us the foundations of theology when He gave us His world” (p.175) As the book continues it is evident that Entwistle is trying to show the importance of finding a balance between psychology and Christian theology.
Concrete Response:
Before this course I never really thought of science and my faith integrating. To me it was very clear that my faith was a part of me and my job. After reading this book it became clear how difficult it can be to integrate the two. I grew up...