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Eric L. Johnson, ed. Psychology and Christianity: Pive Views. Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 2010. 319 pp. $22.00, ISBN 9780830828487.
This book is an expanded version of the 2000 Psychology and Christianity: Pour Views, edited by Stanton Jones and Eric Johnson. In this new version Stanton Jones has moved from coeditor to author of the integration position chapter, with Eric Johnson assuming the post as sole editor. From the new book title it is obvious that another model of integrating psychology and Christianity (the transformational psychology model) has been added. The five views or models of integration of psychology and Christianity and their chapter authors are: a Levels-of-Explanation View, by David Myers from Hope College; an Integration View, by Stanton Jones from Wheaton College; A Christian Psychology View, by Robert Roberts and P J. Watson from Baylor University and University of Tennessee-Chattanooga respectively; a Transformational Psychology View, by John Coe and Todd Hall, both from Rosemeade Graduate School of Psychology; and a Biblical Counseling View, by David Powlison from Westminister Theological Seminary.
This integration of psychology and Christianity book, like its predecessor with four views, is excellent for Christian college classroom use and represents an able descendent of a family of similar books with integration of psychology and Christianity models starting with John D. Carter and S. Bruce Narramore's The integration of Psychology and Theology (1979), and C. Stephen Evans' Preserving the Person (1977). These early books helped shape our language and understanding of the basic issues and viewpoints involved in integrating psychology and Christianity.
The issues involved in choosing and practicing an integration model that seeks to relate psychology and Christianity - especially when the two are at odds - are not simple, and these authors present their own viewpoints with humility and an understanding of why Christians in psychology may hold various positions on integration. The first two models in the book (the Levels-of-Explanation and the Integration Views) present clear descriptions with winning arguments. The last three models (the Christian Psychology, a Transformational Psychology, and the Biblical Counseling Views), illustrate their viewpoints with necessarily more practical illustrations and examples. These last three models are thinking of the real world of counseling, and not just scientific or philosophical issues. But such real-world viewpoints...