Syncretism and Psychoheresy
Syncretism is defined as "the combination of different forms of
belief or practice." Syncretism is one of Satan's most deceptive and
appealing techniques devised to destroy the true faith and undermine the
Christian's confidence in God's Word and dependence on Christ.
One of our concerns is with the syncretism of psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies with Christianity. As we demonstrate in our writings, psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are actually religious in nature and practice. The euphemism for this kind of syncretism is "integration," which occurs when two or more ideas or systems are combined. However, those who attempt to combine psychotherapeutic beliefs with Scripture cannot truly integrate them. They are as different as oil and water! One works with the old man of the flesh (carnal); the other works with the new man in Christ (spiritual). They are at enmity with each other, just as the flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other (Gal. 5:17) and just as the carnal man is at enmity with God (Rom. 8:7). They cannot mix because they are enemies, just as the idols of the nations around Israel were at enmity with God.
These Christians who mix psychology and the Bible are not practicing and promoting ordinary integration, but rather religious syncretism. They are overlaying their psychology with the Bible, which ultimately serves to disguise the psychological religious systems they are using. As we have shown through the years, this psycho-syncretism subverts and subtracts from the faith.The syncretism of psychology and Christianity appeals to those Christians who believe that what is being discovered about the mind, the will, and the emotions is science, that it is part of God's creation yet to be discovered in the same way as discoveries are made in physics, chemistry, and biology. Since psychology presents itself as a science and psychotherapeutic ideas are organized into theories, many pastors do not realize that these scientific-sounding theories are simply another competing belief system.
There are subtleties and similarities between certain ideas from psychology and Christianity that increase the vulnerability for one to begin thinking and ministering psychologically rather than biblically. The deceitful heart finds its friendliest friend in a psychologized gospel, where the sinful nature of man is given free reign and where sinful speaking can be expressed without restriction, questioning, or proof. That is why Christians must spend time in the Word and in prayer instead of looking for answers to life's dilemmas outside Scripture and the church. Psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are not science. They are human speculations about the soul with a pseudo-scientific façade.
One of our concerns is with the syncretism of psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies with Christianity. As we demonstrate in our writings, psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are actually religious in nature and practice. The euphemism for this kind of syncretism is "integration," which occurs when two or more ideas or systems are combined. However, those who attempt to combine psychotherapeutic beliefs with Scripture cannot truly integrate them. They are as different as oil and water! One works with the old man of the flesh (carnal); the other works with the new man in Christ (spiritual). They are at enmity with each other, just as the flesh and the Spirit are contrary to each other (Gal. 5:17) and just as the carnal man is at enmity with God (Rom. 8:7). They cannot mix because they are enemies, just as the idols of the nations around Israel were at enmity with God.
These Christians who mix psychology and the Bible are not practicing and promoting ordinary integration, but rather religious syncretism. They are overlaying their psychology with the Bible, which ultimately serves to disguise the psychological religious systems they are using. As we have shown through the years, this psycho-syncretism subverts and subtracts from the faith.The syncretism of psychology and Christianity appeals to those Christians who believe that what is being discovered about the mind, the will, and the emotions is science, that it is part of God's creation yet to be discovered in the same way as discoveries are made in physics, chemistry, and biology. Since psychology presents itself as a science and psychotherapeutic ideas are organized into theories, many pastors do not realize that these scientific-sounding theories are simply another competing belief system.
There are subtleties and similarities between certain ideas from psychology and Christianity that increase the vulnerability for one to begin thinking and ministering psychologically rather than biblically. The deceitful heart finds its friendliest friend in a psychologized gospel, where the sinful nature of man is given free reign and where sinful speaking can be expressed without restriction, questioning, or proof. That is why Christians must spend time in the Word and in prayer instead of looking for answers to life's dilemmas outside Scripture and the church. Psychotherapy and its underlying psychologies are not science. They are human speculations about the soul with a pseudo-scientific façade.
Excerpted from the Nov-Dec 2017 issue of Psychoheresy Awareness Letter (vol. 25, nº6)
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