Review of Psychology in the Spirit
Note: This is Part 1 of a three-part review of John Coe and Todd Hall’s Psychology in the Spirit. It was originally posted at the Gospel Coalition Review site.
Book Details
• Authors: John Coe and Todd Hall
• Publisher: IVP Academic (2010) (450 Pages)
• Category: Spiritual Formation, Christian Psychology
• ISBN: 978-0-8308-2813-5
• Retail Price: $29.99
Finding Truth for Life
Where do we find truth for life? What do we view as our authoritative, sufficient, profound, and relevant source for
Gospel-centered living? Psychology in the Spirit by John Coe and Todd Hall seeks to address these vital questions.
It is a significant book released at a significant time when a new generation of Christian psychologists and biblical counselors are thinking deeply about what makes counseling truly Christian and biblical. The co-authors seek to position their model of “transformational psychology” as a new approach that offers the best of biblical counseling’s commitment to a scriptural approach to people, problems, and solutions, and the best of Christian psychology’s commitment to psychological study grounded in a thoroughly Christian world-view (without what they perceive as the weaknesses of each).
The Transformational Psychology Model: The Spirit, the Scriptures, and the Sage
Coe and Hall encapsulate their model as a combination of the Spirit, the Scriptures, and sage observation/reflection. “With God in heart and Scripture in hand, the sage or spiritual psychologist enters into the created world of things, particularly humanity, to understand the thing itself, especially as it relates to the human good and growth” (p. 135).
“God in heart” emphasizes their focus on the character of the counselor/psychologist—being Spirit-filled and Spirit-dependent through personal soul work and the practice of the spiritual disciplines. “We are interested in seeing how a focus on the character and life of the psychologist has implications for a whole model of relating psychology and Christianity” (p. 70).
“Scripture in hand” summarizes their stress upon the priority of a biblical theology of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. “We think this transformational psychology will encompass many of the central theses and insights of the Biblical Counseling model, particularly its emphasis on redemption, the Fall, sin and sanctification by the Spirit in understanding the human condition” (p. 92).
They present the idea of sage observations by the Spirit-dependent person as their centrally unique contribution to the current discussion. In the most important chapter of the book—chapter seven—they use the book of Proverbs to develop the foundational thesis “…that there is a biblical model for gaining wisdom from observing and reflecting upon creation, particularly the human person and situation…” (p. 93).
For the authors, Proverbs illustrates what the Christian psychologist should be and do. The Spirit-filled sage takes God’s scriptural truth about humanity as the bedrock foundation and then in the fear of Yahweh humbly and carefully observes and reflects on life (the human person and situation) to glean wisdom for life. They have thus redefined psychology as the science of scriptural interpretation/application plus first-hand sage observation/reflection on creation (humanity) designed to discover prescriptive insight for living.
Among various passages from Proverbs, they highlight Proverbs 24:30-34. The sage passes by the sluggard, beholds his situation, and concludes, “When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and I received instruction.” The sage then uses this “descriptive data of life” to draw prescriptive wisdom principles for living. “A little sleep a little slumber…then your poverty will come as a robber…” The co-authors draw the conclusion that, “Our Old Testament Wisdom model informed us that the budding psychologist studies God’s revelation in the Bible as well as that in natural law in creation, in order to understand and discern with the Spirit the path toward self-understanding, growth and assisting others in this” (p. 201).
It is here that their model impinges upon the oft-debated issue of the “integration” or “non-integration” of theology and psychology. In the past, this issue has been framed as whether or not one should blend or merge the findings of psychology—in particular secular theory of people, problems, and solutions, and their prescriptive models of cure and care—with the teachings of Scripture about life, spiritual growth, and progressive sanctification. Traditionally, many “biblical counselors” have valued the role of “scientific research” and “descriptive data” while rejecting the prescriptions for living and psychological theories developed from secular sources.
In theory, Coe and Hall are suggesting something different. Rather than “integrating” secular findings with biblical principles, they believe God calls the believing sage/scientist/psychologist to a “single, though complex, act of doing a science or psychology of values” (p. 155). They believe that we find truth for life both in the Scriptures (which are foundational and have priority because of their inerrant, inspired, propositional nature) and in “science”—defined as commonsense reflection and observation on the human condition (pp. 154-157).
Join the Conversation
What are your thoughts on Coe/Hall’s view that we can discover wisdom for living from sage observations about life?
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