In this episode, Matthew LaPine and I discuss the theological psychology of Thomas Aquinas as well as deal with the question of how our body and soul correlate in the process of sanctification. In particular, we talk about anxiety and how to deal with it. To read his new book, see here.
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Excellent discussion, Wyatt — Thanks
As a teenage freshman, I took to psychology like a duck to water. It is obvious in many ways, for example, action-reaction, conditioning…
If I had to take one discipline given the choices between biblical theology and psychology, of course, it would be Holy Writ; but to organize human behavior intellectually is a valuable asset. Yet even without psychological training, the Bible does teach us the same by relating the traumas and joys of life which are continuously reinforced in day-to-day experience. The atheist psychologist is in trouble trying to explain demonic influence such as laid out in Ephesians 6:10…especially for example verse 16.
If in a soccer game one of two friends did very well and scored the only three goals to win the game, and his friend felt unjustifiably rejected that would be a reason to apply the obvious psychological layout.
The Spirit of God can do the same in a better way by indwelling them and giving them the discernment to realize what’s happening. With more education, they will be more able to articulate emotional reactions.
Nevertheless, comprehending both Scripture and psychology is a pristine way of efficiently expressing motivation, if the psychologist is a discerning believer in the Son of God.
I may buy this book which I have been very hesitant to do for a while due to the size of my library but this book is relatively unusul so I may pick it up. I discerned your enthusiasm as well, Wyatt.
Thank Matthew for the hard work.
An afterthought — walking in the Spirt gives us a bird’s eye view of our behavior, objectively. Jesus had a very interesting path to anxiety — He told us not to be anxious, and if we are willing to believe in Him by our obedience…He could back up everything He said. He enlightened us and gave us eyes to see along with the Helper. This a reality I would opt not to complicate too much. Psychological awareness doesn’t necessarily guarantee results. I’ve seen brawls among Christians. Clearly, our behavioral inconsistency is due to the innate weaknesses in our flesh in this cursed state — this obviously is a constant to be considered. After that, yes, Matthew’s insights are very worthwhile.