Article Review 2

Introduction

Christian theology is the study of the divine nature of Christian beliefs and practices. The study mainly concentrates on the scripture of old and new testaments as well on the cultural traditions of Christian faith. Theologies of the Christian faith rely on detail arguments and rational analysis. A Christian theologist may rely on or study theologies for different reasons, which may include better understandings of Christian beliefs, comparison between Christianity and other religions, help them in defending Christianity against false criticism, and enable them in ways to treat others with more care. Studying Christian theology can also assist them in carrying out necessary modifications in Churches and draw their attention towards issues that need to be resolved.

Summary

The scope of the article that is under review presents an argument against the position that “instead of opposing each other, positive psychology and Christian Theology should be friends with each other”. The two fields offer gifts and benefits to each other that benefit and complete the other. The article presents a picture of those understandings against which some questions can be raised. The selected article defines what is friendship in this regard, an objection from both sides, how common ground can be achieved, what are the possible gifts that they can offer to each other, how the differences can be embraced, and how these things can be used as a guideline to increase friendship.

The relation of psychological science and Christian theology seems to be a mismatch but there are more reasons for collaborations and less for isolation. The friendship between psychological science and Cristian theology prevails some valid concerns and misunderstandings however, there is a lot to learn from positive psychology for Christian Theology and vice versa. However, the lack of prosperity between their friendship will be restricted unless psychology accepts a worldview of diversity. Under this diverse vision, every psychologist should be given proper time and opportunity to learn about the influences of historical-theological influences on their work.

In this article, the author has used primary sources of books on the subjects of Behavior Therapy, Willpower, human strength, psychology coaching, spatiality and happiness, and article from different journals on science vs religion, religious affections, and different ethical writings.

To understand the concept of friendship between psychology and Christian theology we need to understand the concept of friendship in general. In ancient times friendship was valued very highly. From Aristotle to Cicero all of them praised and acclaimed it. Cicero argued that we cannot be friends if there is no basis of trust and belief there ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"s7BWsVDm","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Charry & Kosits, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Charry & Kosits, 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":"ymz9KdKH/3peAMCPi","uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/cYhHNKoU/items/9DDZBE2Z"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/cYhHNKoU/items/9DDZBE2Z"],"itemData":{"id":104,"type":"article-journal","title":"Christian theology and positive psychology: An exchange of gifts","container-title":"The Journal of Positive Psychology","page":"468-479","volume":"12","issue":"5","author":[{"family":"Charry","given":"Ellen T."},{"family":"Kosits","given":"Russell D."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Charry & Kosits, 2017). He further explained that seeking friendship is natural to human beings and there are no personal gains or insufficiencies involved in it.

The guidance on friendship is there in all history. Friendship is something that involves working side by side and fighting for the common goal. This explanation of friendship aligns with the goal of the article under study which is the relation between psychology and Christian theology. Generally, friends are united by common grounds and interests, but they are not precisely the same. Christian theology and Psychology have a similar relationship they share the same goal but are two entirely different entities ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"EvV9PaN3","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Seminary & Hill, 2019)","plainCitation":"(Seminary & Hill, 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":156,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/KfR9yuY2/items/RZC64E5M"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/KfR9yuY2/items/RZC64E5M"],"itemData":{"id":156,"type":"article-journal","title":"A Psychology of the Ordinary: Humility, Grace, and Gratitude as Religious Inflections of the World","author":[{"family":"Seminary","given":"Fuller Theological"},{"family":"Hill","given":"Peter"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Seminary & Hill, 2019).

The objections from psychology are that with the removal of all the talk of God’s existence from the mainstream, the results are now based on observations and proper evidence rather than shallow beliefs. Furthermore, there is also a question that theology is an old subject which is trying to impose itself again on the mother of all science’s “psychology”. However, in the defense of theology, it claims that universal psychopathology wants a well-balanced examination to become aware of a problem and then treat it as well ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"SsPMtwDR","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sandage & Brown, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Sandage & Brown, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":157,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/KfR9yuY2/items/5NSQF6D3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/KfR9yuY2/items/5NSQF6D3"],"itemData":{"id":157,"type":"article-journal","title":"Relational integration, Part I: Differentiated relationality between psychology and theology","container-title":"Journal of Psychology and Theology","page":"165-178","volume":"43","issue":"3","author":[{"family":"Sandage","given":"Steven J."},{"family":"Brown","given":"Jeannine K."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sandage & Brown, 2015). Christian theology emphasizes the pursuit of happiness through divine knowledge which is something that positive psychology neglects as a whole. One other thing is that theology drives two main criticism of the broader fields which is connecting personal happiness to a common virtue. One other difference is that while positive psychology is largely individualistic, Christian theology is primarily very social.

There is a common ground that positive psychology shouldn’t be a branch of Christian theology and if these concerns are continued to believe it cannot be said with surety that this friendship will not result in any fruitful discourse. Classical Christian theology and modern psychology share a common goal of making a person succeed in their life. Positive psychology thinks of human behavior in terms of their wellbeing and good emotions while Christian theology defines it in terms of moral values and spiritual habits. The appliance of these subjects on one another or their merger bless each other. Christian theology further approves and improves the worldview of the positive psychology that eventually helps a person in amplifying their social and moral awareness.

Positive Psychology on the other hand also provides some benefits to Christian theology. In Christian theology sometimes to prove and express the devotion for God and persuade other people to also do this, one has to make themselves humble, self-giving and submissive. This practice may prove harmful to the self-respect and personality of that person, however, if we include the concepts of positive psychology in this matter with the removal of helplessness and self-destructive inability, we can greatly enhance the persons' moral conditions. The way friends can provide calm support, positive psychology can also provide strength and humility to the frame-work to Theological framework. Positive psychology can bring out positive feelings, in Christian theology it is believed that Christ spent his entire life to give others happiness and Joy. Following the way of God requires hardships and carrying out different hard stories. Such theological stories may draw negative attention or wrong promotion of already existed positive emotions. In many western theological texts and scriptures, the common one belief is that God has created all humanity to flourish. This is where positive psychology helps theologists to learn and apply their historical teachings into modern cultural values.

Considering the gifts that theology can give to psychology is to realize the fact that psychology already accepts and incorporates many Christian beliefs. Positive psychology is advancing from the prominent tradition and ancient western theology, which is leading it to more interdisciplinary discussions.

Conclusion

This article covers the relation of Christian theology with philosophy and how they affect each other. Both of these vast subjects can cover some common ground to achieve goals for the wellbeing of humanity. Despite all the objections and points raised against each other, they benefit each other that brings people closer to each other. The article has hoped to connect theologists and philosophers to bring closer to one another to achieve common ground for the benefit of human moral life. This article has helped to improve the already existed knowledge between theology and philosophy. One further thing that can help in achieving this goal is the fact that most modern-day positive philosophers are already Christians which makes it easier for them in their pursuit of correlated knowledge. The Christian point of view that is presented in this article expressed a common level for many positive psychologists.

Selected Article: Christian theology and positive psychology: An exchange of gifts.

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Charry, E. T., & Kosits, R. D. (2017). Christian theology and positive psychology: An exchange of gifts. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12(5), 468–479.

Sandage, S. J., & Brown, J. K. (2015). Relational integration, Part I: Differentiated relationality between psychology and theology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 43(3), 165–178.

Seminary, F. T., & Hill, P. (2019). A Psychology of the Ordinary: Humility, Grace, and Gratitude as Religious Inflections of the World.