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In the psychiatrist’s chair
The tools of analysis can be applied to Jesus and his teaching, David Atkinson finds
Jesus and Psychology
Darton, Longman & Todd £16.95 (978-0-232-52709-4) Church Times Bookshop £15.25 NOT very long ago, the psychology of religion was dominated either by psychometric tests about religiosity or by applying the theories of Freud or Jung to religious experience. More recently there have been numerous creative approaches to the application of insights from psychology to the understanding of religious experience and behaviour. This collection of essays, mostly by people associated with the Psychology and Religion Research Group in Cambridge, and edited by its director, now applies such insights to the figure of Jesus. Fraser Watts justifies approaching the Gospels psychologically, looking at Jesus himself, the psychology implicit in his teaching, and the psychology of his interaction with people. The way in which people read the Bible will be influenced by their personal psychological outlook. Justin Meggitt wants to persuade New Testament scholars that they are examining data of real psychological significance. There are chapters on the cinematic portrayal of Christ, and psychological perspectives on Jesus’s healing. The personal transformations that the gospel brings about are explored. Beaumont Stevenson uses social psychology to discuss the ways in which the message of Jesus turns various taboos (not least in relation to sexuality) on their head; and Jesse Abell notes the significance of cognitive dissonance and selective attention in biblical interpretation. All this has fascination and value, though the level is variable, the target audience is unclear, and the approaches to the use of psychology are mixed. For my money, the final three chapters are by far the best. James Day explores personal and religious development from the work of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Fowler, from Bowlby’s attachment theory, and from various narrative models of religious development. He then begins to apply these insights to Jesus, and also to the Gospels. Leslie Francis gives a valuable discussion of psychological types, and uses this for the interpretation of the Matthaean birth narratives. Everett Worthington closes the book with a creative chapter on people’s orientations towards virtue —“conscientiousness-based” virtues such as self-control, responsibility, and justice, or the “warmth-based” virtues such as love, empathy, forgiveness, and grace. Most people have a preference for one or the other, and their view of the central message of scripture, their orientation to a moral balance between justice and mercy, and their interpretation of certain passages will be affected by this. Our views of God, of the virtues that Jesus embodied, and our styles of ministry will be affected by our basic orientation, which may be derived in part from genetic inheritance and early learning experiences. More attention to such factors might shed light on some of the disputes we Christians find ourselves in with one another. Dr David Atkinson is the Bishop of Thetford. To order this book, email the details to Church Times Bookshop (please mention "Church Times Bookshop price") |
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