Entwistle

Summary

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity

The sole purpose of Entwistle’s book is to demonstrate that psychology and Christianity can be integrated together without damaging the Christian faith. At first Entwistle allows the reader to decide whether or not Christianity and psychology can merge together to make successful counseling. Entwistle shows many sides of opposition on both topics. The question that is continually thrown around is: How can both co-exist if one is based off God and faith and the other is based off man’s knowledge? Entwistle tackles this question with a statement. He sets the tone for the entire book and that proposes that psychology and Christianity need to be integrated to create successful counseling. “The interaction of psychology and theology is virtually inevitable due to their mutual interest in understanding the ambiguities and mysteries of human behavior, and healing human brokenness” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 51).

Entwistle supports his claim with the idea that psychology and Christianity should be integrated by showing how they have worked together over the ages. However, Christians have negated psychology over the years because some Christians feel that if one has mental health issues then it is a sin issue. One example given by Entwistle was of one of his lectures where he gave an example of a man that was delusional due to excessive drug use. This man had a dramatic story of how he learned to play the guitar. When Entwistle asked his class if they believed the man’s story one girl stood up and said “I do, you can do all kinds of things when you’re possessed by a demon” (Entwistle, 2010, p. 69). This story shows a difference in worldviews. Entwistle’s view stems from study and experience while the girl’s worldview probably comes from the way she was raised. In her mind a man would only act this way if he was possessed my demon, which is plausible, but not true in this case. By sharing this story Entwistle...