Alongside Inc.

Counselor's Commentary: Thoughts about God as the Author of Truth and Revelation (Part 1)

 There is some debate within the Church regarding the reliability of the findings of psychology and the applicability of psychological methods in counseling believers. This short article considers the relationship of theology and psychology as both being interpretations of the truth that is sourced in God and that is revealed by Him in different ways.

God reveals truth in at least two ways: through general revelation and through special revelation. God has revealed Himself in a special way through His written Word and through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word. He has also given very specific revelation through such media as dreams and prophets. But God has also revealed Himself in a general way through such things as nature (Ps. 19: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.”) and the human conscience. Science studies nature and thus seeks to understand God’s general revelation—whether or not scientists know that what they are seeking to understand is a revelation from God! Psychology is a branch of science that studies human behavior. As such, psychologists seek to unravel the mysteries of what God has woven into the human fabric, seeking to understand God’s general revelation in this area—whether or not psychologists are aware that it is God’s creation and revelation they are seeking to understand!

There can be no contradiction between what God teaches about human nature though natural revelation and what He teaches about it through special revelation, because God does not contradict Himself. There may, however, be contradiction between an individual’s (or even a whole discipline’s) interpretation of what God reveals through nature (i.e., psychology) and an individual’s (or a whole discipline’s) interpretation of what God reveals through Scripture (i.e., theology). In such a case, it is important to examine closely the interpretation of each. Truth does not contradict itself; nor does revelation contradict itself, whether from nature or from Scripture; for all truth and revelation comes from God. A particular interpretation of either, however, can conflict with another interpretation. This can happen between two theological systems, between two psychological “schools,” or between a theological system and a particular school of psychology.

In this regard, it seems to me that a counselor must be acutely aware of the assumptions underlying his or her theoretical orientation in psychology and the distortions in interpreting the data that are likely to occur because of that bias. By the same token, a believer must be acutely aware of the assumptions underlying his or her theological system and the hermeneutic distortions that are likely to occur because of theological bias. A Christian counselor seeks to understand the intersection of psychology’s interpretation of general revelation and theology’s interpretation of special revelation. He or she seeks to understand how these two kinds of revelation inform and complement each other, enlarging the counselor’s understanding of God’s truth in regard to such subjects as human nature, sin, and salvation (especially sanctification).

Jeanne L. Jensma, M.R.E., Ph.D., Director of Counseling