In its purest form the integration of Christianity and modern psychology is a “calling from God” (Johnson, 2011). It is accepted and believed within the integration perspective that all truth and knowledge comes from God; whether this knowledge is obtained through the Bible or discoveries made in natural science, mathematics, philosophy, and etc. A calling from God within Christianity usually means something that God requires us to do or generally a work (duty, responsibility) that he wants us to complete and fulfill. So simply put, integration is God calling us to use science (and all that it encompasses) …show more content…
345). They studied psychology students at a Mormon university and found that there was a noteworthy change in the students’ worldview from theism to naturalism over the course of their four years in college (Johnson, 2011, p. 345). This change was caused by how the information was being taught and how the information was being processed in the brains of the students. The secular psychology was being taught in a way that direct references to theology and God were not made; so when the information was being stored in the brain, they were being stored in neural networks separate from religious neural networks, leading to dissociation between psychology and theology (Johnson, 2011). This finding is important because now that we know how teaching affects the integration of theology and psychology; we know to teach future students. From this study, we learn that in order to educate future Christian psychology equipped to integrate their faith and psychology, we must teach the secular material in a way in which there are direct references and associations to God within the secular material. Through this way, the material will be stored in both neural networks interrelating and intertwining faith and secular psychology in the brain and in …show more content…
Important and vital to the Christian faith is not denying God, involving him and every aspect of our lives, and incorporating our faith in every way possible. I believe that maximal integration best upholds these values. Within the maximal integration perspective; everything from research, counseling, teaching, and practices must be done through scriptural context and theological theory. This view is also concerned and addresses issues of the soul. Even so, this view does incorporate secular principles (research, techniques, and experiences) that support and uphold its theologies and principles. Integrationists are to formulate and conduct their own research, practices, and counseling that produces theories that stem and embody Christian and biblical beliefs of humanity. Through their work, they support, advance, and uphold Christian based psychology; through the development of Christian theories, development of Christian counseling practices, and development of research that supports and contributes to Christian principles, traditions, and methods. Lastly, through maximal integration Christians are able to work within the psychological field without denouncing and altering their beliefs to fit into the secular theory and modern psychological theory. Instead of aiming to fit and be accepted into modern psychology; this