· Author: Eric L. Johnson, Ph.D.
· Publisher: IVP Academic (September, 2007)
· Category: Biblical Counseling, Christian Psychology

Discerning Reader Editorial Review

Reviewed 04/23/09 by Bob Kellemen, Ph.D.

Recommended: A core text that expands the conversation regarding what makes Christian psychology truly Christian and biblical counseling truly biblical.

Review: What Makes Christian Psychology Truly Christian?

Writing before the advent of modern secular psychology, Old Testament scholar and church historian, Franz Delitzsch, noted that “biblical psychology is no science of yesterday. It is one of the oldest sciences of the church” (A System of Biblical Psychology, 1861, p. 3).

His assertion is vital to remember before any knee-jerk reaction to the subtitle of Eric Johnson’s book, Foundations for Soul Care: A Christian Psychology Proposal. It is not oxymoronic to link “Christian” and “psychology,” or “biblical” and “psychology.”

Dr. Eric Johnson is Professor of Pastoral Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Founding Director of the Society of Christian Psychologists. Dr. Johnson has committed his life and ministry to the epic task of answering one foundational question. “What would psychology look like if it were built solely upon a Christian understanding of human nature?

Foundations for Soul Care provides his answer, his opus. For Johnson, “psychology” is the study of the soul in order to care for the soul based upon the inspired wisdom of the Creator of the soul.

Wisdom, as Solomon uses it in Proverbs, is what Johnson offers in Foundations. Johnson combines scriptural interpretation, the history of Christian soul care, and astute life observation to develop a deep, thinking, intellectual, complex (in the best senses of those words) approach to Christian psychology.

Yet, like Proverbs, Johnson’s work is eminently practical in its purpose. He shows how biblical insights about human nature lead to Christlikeness—maturity in reflecting the Creator of human nature. Thus, Foundations refuses to offer a humanistic perspective. Rather, Christian psychology, in the hands of Johnson, is all for the higher (highest) purpose of glorifying God by helping others to reflect God’s glory.

Johnson writes courageously. He places himself outside any one “camp,” which, of course, means that those from all the various camps may take issue with him (and take aim at him) for assorted reasons. Positively, Johnson’s deep thinking should motivate members of every “camp” toward profound reflection.

Johnson presents a detailed overview of the reigning paradigms in the field of Christian counseling. Building on their respective strengths, he seeks to move beyond the current impasse in the field to develop a more unified and robustly Christian understanding. He proceeds to offer a new framework for the care of souls that is comprehensive in scope, and flows from a Christian understanding of human beings. The intended end result is a distinctly Christian version of psychology: understanding people, diagnosing problems, and prescribing God’s solutions—biblically.

As a professor, speaker, and writer on soul care and spiritual direction, I highly recommend Foundations as a core text that expands the conversation regarding what makes Christian psychology truly Christian and biblical counseling truly biblical. Readers won’t agree with every point, but with eminent scholarship Johnson thoroughly addresses every point worth discussing. All serious Christian teachers, students, and practitioners in the fields of psychology, counseling, soul care, and spiritual direction need to engage this text thoughtfully.