Biblical Psych

Absolute Truth

There is absolute truth, but we can't prove that it is absolutely true. We have faith.

Presuppositions

A thing assumed at the beginning of a line of argument or course of action

• Determine the ending
  • the end of every argument
  • Powerful
  • They make integration difficult, but not impossible
  • God v. No God

Views of Integration

Word not Worldly Wisdom

• Bible only
  • Secular Psychology is wrong

Facts not Faith View

• Throw out religion and only follow facts
  • We cannot get all the data or prove the scientific method (you can't prove the prover)

"Accept Both, Integrate Neither"

There is so much overlap in the spirit at the doul. Both pastors and psycologists are needed.

The Two-Book View

General Revelation and special revelation work together to result in a happy marriage.

The problem that results from this is if there are differences in theologies among these topics. Which one do you agree with.

Scriptural Foundation, Secular Nuggets

Prov. 29:13

• Secular people have stumbled into greatness
  • Paul quotes poets like Menenander and epimenides
  • Paul quotes poets of the time.

Discernment - allows us to throw out the secular information that doensn't make sense or align with our doctrine

Sufficiency - 2 Peter 1:3

Three Views of Image and Likeness

Substantive View

• Spiritual Substance, Something in Man's nature, Image - capabilities, characteristics, and capacities

Relational View

The experience of a relationship

Image: The ability to have meaningful relationships

Functional View

This is not something in man's nature mor the experiencing of a relationship

image = representation

Seven Capacities of Personhood

Social/Relational
Existential
Rational
Teleological
Volitional
Behavioral
Emotional

Composition of Human Beings

Monism - One body/soul/spirit.

Is there some sort of intermediate state beyond the grave and before eternity?

Matthew 26:41 Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation, for the spirit is willing and the body is weak.

James 2:26 - The body without the Spirit is dead.

What is based on faith?

EVERYTHING

How can secular people find truth?

The grace of God

Menander

1 Cor. 15:33

Epimenides

Titus 1:12-27

Justification v. reconciliation

Justification is the taking care of the sin problem. Reconciliation is the bottom line of salvation.

Social

God is perfectly relational. The trinity is perfect example of others-centeredness

• God is social as evidenced by Trinity, Creation, Salvation, and Heaven
• Humans are social because we are dependent and we require loving relationships
• Some of the counseling implications are tat depression results in isolation and anxiety results in avoidance

Existential

God is a being of meaning and purpose. He is here to be glorified. Humans are made to glorify God in our lives.

Rational

God is a thinking being

Teleological

God and humans are goal oriented

Difference between goal and desire

A goal is something that I want and have control over. A desire is something that I want and have no control over.

Volitional

God and Humans are choice makers. We don't always act like it, but we are in control.

Behavioral Capacity

This is understanding that God and humans have behavior.

Longing -> Beliefs -> Goals -> Choices -> behaviors

Emotional

God and Humans are emotional. Emotions are the door to look at behaviors.

Essence of Image + likeness

Capacities

Function of image and likeness

Representation and functions

Soul Vs. Spirit

• Either term can refer to the whole immaterial part
  • Either term can refer to a disembodies immaterial person
  • Scripture implies 2 Parts in creation

5 Definitions of the Soul

• Person (most common)
  • Life or breath
  • Heart or mind
  • Dead Bodies, Material part alone
  • Immaterial part alone

Pre-existence theory

A. God is having sex with his wife or wives in heaven birthing spirits.
B. Reincarnation and Recycling

Hebrews 9:27

Creation theory

Bodies are made through procreation. God creates the souls.

Support: Father of Spirits, breath of life that I made, The Lord who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him.

Is God still creating? How does sin enter? What about the virgin birth?

Traducian Theory

Mom and dad each give 23 chromosomes. God created us through the systems of mediate creation and providential law. He allows the Spirit to be created during conception.

Theoretical support

• Virgin Birth,
• Sin
  Creation

Problems - 30-75% of unimplanted embryos. TWINS?

Personality

Character Traits that make you who you are

Personality (term breakdown)

person-"al" Like or suitable
Personal"ity" - state, character, or condition

Persona

Outward appearance

Inner Personality

The heart

To be a complete human being, is a body necessary

Yes.

Are bodies important to God

Matthew 10:28 states: "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Yes.

Is sin a bodily thing?

It is committed outside of the body. The body is a vehicle for sin. the "flesh" is the carnal part of our selves. our person

Do Angels have a means of salvation

Angels do not have a means of salvation

What is qualia

The raw sensation of experience.

What are the 5 Reasons that the Bible says that we dream

Revelation
Warnings
Worries/Cares
Wishfulfillment
Comfort/Peace

What are the 5 most common reoccuring dreams

1. Falling 53.5%
2. Being Chased 50.9%
3. Being Back in School 37.9%
4. Encountering a person who has died in real life 30.7%
5. Flying 32.6%

Who was the Dream Scientist

Sigmund Freud

What do Hobson and McCarley theorize

Dreams are more physiological than psycological. It is the result of higher brain structures making sense of meaningless neural impulses, It has some pattern, but no purpose.

T/F: We only dream in REM sleep

F

What are the 5 Stages of sleep

Stages 1-4, which are NREM (non-rem)
Stage 5, which is REM sleep

Note: Stage 5 isn't a lower-wave sleep than stage 3 or 4. Stage 5, or REM sleep, is actually a state between being awake and stage 1, so it has fairly rapid waves on a EEG

How long each sleep cycle lasts

90 minutes

How long is each sleep cycle

About 90 minutes

What emotions are present in NREM sleep

Positive

What emotions are present in REM sleep

negative

Which part of the brain is involved with REM sleep?

Amygdala

Too much time in REM sleep could be a factor in what mental disorder

Amygdala

What did Robert Stickgold find that non-REM sleep processes, refines and improves _

Memory. It helps us learn.

REM dreams help us experience what?

The future. They help us to simulate challenges and test possibilities.

Deirdre Barrett believes that dreams can help us…

Think outside of the box

Sara Mednick, at the university of CA, believes that REM sleep can boost what?

Creativity.

What is damaged that results in a loss of dreaming

Damage to the parietal lobe results in a loss of dreaming

What percentage of dreams involve unhappy events

33%

What do dreams do?

• process emotional memories
• integrate new experiences with established memories
• learn new strategies/ways of doing things
• simulate threatening events so we can better cope with them in everyday life
• reorganize and consolidate memories

Meditation

Reflecting on or focusing deeply on something about God.

Types of Meditation

Concentrative - Getting senses to adapt to stimulation by extreme focus on another stimulation (pregnant birthing)

Transcendental

OUt of body experience. They focus on a word or sound to block out stimulation

Zen

The mind transcends all mental activity while dissolving stress and enlivening creativity. The goal of this is for attaining enlightenment.

What are the two C's of the Christian View of Meditation

Content - words are not the problem
Conversational - We are conversational beings that are called to be closer to God

Franz Mesmer

He was an Austrian physician who was the father of hypnosis, he believed that good health comes from the alignment of magnets.

Emile Coup

He did what Freud coined as free associaton

Jason Esdaile

Mesmeric sleep as anesthetic dropping the mortality rate from 25-50% to 5%

Milton Ericson

He influenced hypnotherapy and used strategies to merge techniques with research.

Jean-Martin Charcot and Joseph Breur

Used hypnosis to treat patients suffering from hysteria.