If you have questions about whether there are negative implications of uniting psychology with the Bible, you will want to read this journal article by Dr. Robert L. Thomas. He is a very prolific Bible scholar in his own right.
In this article, Dr. Thomas will address general revelation and its implications on hermeneutics. Consequently in this context, one’s understanding of general revelation will affect one’s hermeneutic and one’s hermeneutic will affect one in pastoral counseling positively or negatively.
Just to wet your appetite, here is Dr. Robert L. Thomas’ summary on general revelation:
General revelation’s noticeable impact on biblical interpretation has resulted from applying a broader definition of general revelation than is justifiable. Reasons why general revelation should not include such matters as science, mathematics, literature, and music are the following. First, “general” cannot refer to the content of the revelation. Second, biblical references to general revelation limit it to information about God. Third, sin distorts human discoveries of the non-Christian world in secular fields. Fourth, general revelation is readily accessible to all, not just to specialists in certain fields. Hermeneutics deals with the principles of biblical interpretation. Unwarranted definitions of general revelation have led to widespread attempts to integrate general with special revelation. This step is unwarranted because truth exists in varying degrees of certitude, all truth does not possess the same authority, all truth does not fall on receptive ears, and general revelation does not include the fields of secular study. The emergence of integrative efforts has coincided with a growing tentativeness in biblical hermeneutics because of the influence of secular disciplines on biblical hermeneutics. Psychology’s promotion of self-love provides a good example of the adverse effects of general revelation and integration on biblical hermeneutics.[1]
To access the journal article, please click on this link: General Revelation. You could also access the journal article from the TMS website: General Revelation.
[1]Robert L. Thomas, Evangelical Hermeneutics: The New Versus the Old (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2002), 113.
I’m going to have to read it sometime
He has contributed many good resources to the Christian world.
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