The Person in Psychology and Christianity: A Faith-Based Critique of Five Theories of Social Development

by Marjorie Lindner Gunnoe

Integral to a Christian worldview and to psychology are foundational questions about What characteristics are essential? What is our purpose? Do we naturally incline toward good or bad? Are we accountable for self and responsible for others? In The Person in Psychology and Christianity , developmental psychologist Marjorie Gunnoe demonstrates how the integration of theological and psychological perspectives offers a more comprehensive understanding of personhood than either approach alone. Gunnoe opens with a brief summary of biblical and theological perspectives on four organizing themes (human essence, purpose, moral tendency, and accountability). She then examines the intersection of this faith-based depiction with five theories of social development proposed by For each, Gunnoe includes a biography, a summary of the theorist's broad perspective on personhood, and an analysis of the theorist's stance on the four specific themes. This book is written for a general audience and suitable for undergraduate and graduate instruction. Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.

Genres: Psychology, Counselling

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 26, 2022

Reviews

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would get 5 stars if I were rating it purely on helpfulness/usefulness, as it's a remarkably clear and erudite summary of 5 major streams of psychological theory, as well as a compelling presentation of Christian thought on what constitutes a "person." The writing style is a bit workman-like and occasionally-dry, basically reading like a textbook, which is why I land on 4 stars.

In terms of the theological angle, I loved Gunnoe's gentle pushback on some of the popular notions of "original sin" in Reformed circles, and how that impacts our working understanding of personhood. In general, her responses to various tenets in psychological theories are always thoughtful, and I found myself nodding in agreement pretty frequently.

This is the perfect book for someone who is interested in psychology and theology, but doesn't have the capacity to dive into a ton of primary writings. I will definitely be using it a reference in the future.

[Morgan Ensor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for school. Interesting read, a little dry and reads sometimes like a textbook.