God's Psychology

By Richard E. Weathers

In writing this book it is not my intent to upset the beliefs and practices of my colleagues. They do a wonderful work in providing a needed service to thousands of people who need counseling and direction in their life others truly do have chemical imbalances that can only be handled by professionals in the mental health field. Whether they deal with cognitive issues or behavior patterns of disruption in their lives these problems have to be dealt with by all of us Christian, psychologists, or secular; we must all do our best to minister to the mentally ill.
The purpose of this book was to take a look at how God view our mental conditions and how sin affects that condition. If the wages of sin is death then we must look into Gods Psychology and learn from Him. How to break the curse that is upon us (that includes all of us) I hope this book has helped you to further understand the purpose of Gods thinking toward us and his solution to the problem if Sins Curse and how he sent his son, Jesus, to destroy the death sentence that we all face (Heb 2:14) (Act 4:12)


Dr. Richard Weathers commands a gif along with much scriptural knowledge of Gods Word. End-time events are presented and explained in a manner that you will understand.
Exciting and amazing insight into Gods plan for us. Dr. Weathers devotion to study and sharing with others is well above average. You will feel the strength and wisdom in each section of this book. You will be excited to share with others what you have just discovered through this person, Gods servant! Blessing as you read the following pages.
-Dr. Linda L. Jones

In my thirty-nine years as a minister of the gospel, I have never experienced such a profound book! God has provided Dr. Richard with outstanding insight of the end times through his studies of the book of Revelation. As the return of our Lord and Savior draws near, the wisdom within the pages of this book is needful for this generation.
-Reverend Gerry Bryant

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499009682

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Copyright © 2014 by Dr. Richard E. Weathers, PsyD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted

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Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rev. date: 05/22/2014

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

INTRODUCTION

GOD’S PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

IN CONCLUSION

DEDICATION

Thanks to all my Christian friends and family, especially my brother and sister in the Lord, Dr. Sam and Linda Jones, who have been a strong support for my wife Kay and me; Pastors Gerry and Rosie Bryant, who have been such a blessing; Otis and Nellie Villines, who have also encouraged these writings.

And I want to also give a special thanks to Dr. Mildred Nation, who helped make this book a reality, and her husband Larry, who has been a good friend throughout the years; Ray and Jackie Cole—prayer warriors—who have prayed for our success; and Liz Choate, who has financially supported our ministry.

Ron and Jan Hoover, friends, and many others that have been part of our service to the Lord. May all of them know how much we love and appreciate them, especially Mother Rose Dunn, who loved us over the years and also prayed for our ministry.

Dr. Richard E. Weathers

INTRODUCTION

Psychologists throughout the world have been studying about the mind and the behaviors of mankind for many years. There have been all kinds of different perspectives and theories on the psychological makeup of man. (As you read and study the writings within these pages, you will find that I have included several points of view from some of the founding fathers of psychology.) The purpose of this book is to introduce God’s perspective and declaration of psychology about his creation—(mankind). Whether we look into the scientific processes or empirical evidence presented by secular psychologists or God’s point of view, I believe this study will bless you and help you grow in your understanding of both sides of the issue. It is not my intent to develop a new theory or hypothesis on the study of psychology (whether it be cognitive or behavioral) but to challenge your intellect to take a closer look into God’s scriptures and the truth of his presentation of a created man. I want to also make it clear to all who read this book that any revelations or blessings you may receive from these writings belong to our Lord and to him only. I take no credit in revealing his word and what he has given to me to write down for all his children; all our blessings come from the Father of lights above. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures" (James 1:17-18).

May this book bless you richly and increase your knowledge of Christ.

Dr. Richard E. Weathers

Doctor of Psychology

Credits

Benjamin B. Lahey

Psychology, 2nd edition

Pages 11-13

Ivan Pavlov

John Watson

Margaret Floy Washburn

Carl Rogers

Abraham Maslow

___________________________

Bill Kaiser, Who in the World in Christ Are You?, 1-25-to 227

___________________________

All scriptures:

New King James Version of the Bible

___________________________

Salvatore R. Maddi, Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis, 6th edition, 9-14, 524-527

___________________________

Credits due

Index

Raptured

1. Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God, 107-112.

French Viola—(The Jewish Wedding)

2. All Scriptures taken from the New King James Version for this book.

God’s Psychology

Credits due

1. Benjamin B. Lahey, Sigmund Freud, Psychology: An Introduction, 7th edition, 12-13, 397-399, 468-470.

2. All Scriptures taken from the New King James Version for this book.

GOD’S PSYCHOLOGY

The word psychology simply means the study (logy) of the mind (psycho). Since the Fall of man, he has sought to understand himself more completely in terms of self-thought (thinking) and actions (behavior). We see—in the book of Genesis—Adam, partaking of the forbidden fruit of the tree of good and evil, began having thoughts of fear and ran to hide from God. He even clothed Eve and himself with fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Their thoughts or thinking had changed from where it used to be to a different state of being. We see that by disobedience to God sin entered into the life of man and affected his mind and actions of living.

In this study of how God created man in his image and put him together—body, soul, and spirit—in order that he became a thinking being, let us also examine several different schools of thought on secular theories pertaining to humanistic psychology. To understand the different theories presented by these psychologists, we must keep in mind that most of them do not believe in a God of Creation but believe that man evolved from a germ that somehow got into the water and grew arms and legs and lungs and finally reached a point in its evolution of millions of years to come out of water and walk on land (like the tadpole growing legs and becoming a frog). Humans were (in their humanistic thinking) apes or monkeys before they were men. They also believe that birds and every other animal you see on Earth today were connected to a continuous break off of that same germ, which means that somewhere in their chain of evolution there should be a half-man and half-bird called the missing link—according to Darwin’s theory of evolution. As of today, no scientist has found any such link. This certainly doesn’t discourage them because they know if evolution is false, then maybe the Bible is right. There is a God, and he did create man. This is a thought that is repulsive to a humanist mind, especially if you are an atheist and/or a humanistic scientist.

Because most psychologists study man through their own limited functional mentalities and only through what they know and learn about man’s environment (past or present, thinking or behavioral constructs), can they even attempt to offer a theory on the psychological thinking or actions of man? They are trying to study the mind of man from the outside looking in. As we look to the scriptures of God’s word, we will find the real truth—how God created man’s psyche from the inside out.

But before we do, let us look at some of the most prominent theories of psychology of our times and the authors who promote these theories. This will help open our minds to understand why secular psychologists of our day treat patients the way they do and the results they expect from these treatments.

Let us begin with the most recognized name in psychology today. His name is Sigmund Freud (born in Moravia in 1856; died in London in 1939). Freud was deeply committed to his work, family, friends, colleagues, and principals. A physician who strayed far from the orthodox medical emphasis on physical causes of disease, Freud was considered a fanatic to some and was obsessed with sex and was denied recognition by the medical community. From the beginning, Freud and his inner circle emphasized the mental causation of certain maladies and set about developing a therapy for the mind rather than the body. Both on his own and through his group, Freud has exerted an immense influence on psychology. Freud’s theoretical legacy is complex. He wrote a great deal, changed his mind often, and left many loose ends when he could not decide among theoretical alternatives. In developing his theory on man’s personality and its explanation, the closest example would be the psychosocial version of the conflict model described by Salvatore Maddi in his book on personality theories. In the conflict model, it is assumed that people are continuously and inevitably caught in the clash between two great forces defined as continually acting, necessarily opposed, and unchangeable. According to this model, life must be a compromise, which at best involves a dynamic balance of the two forces and at worst, a foredoomed attempt to deny the existence of one of them. In the psychosocial version, one of the great forces is regarded as inherent in the individual and the other, in groups or societies.

Freud views the core tendency of living as the tendency to maximize instinctual gratification that minimizes punishment and guilt. For example, think of the last time you wanted to do something selfish and were worried about being hurt if you did or felt immoral for having the wish in the first place.

Freud’s basic tendency of living includes a position on (1) instincts, (2) the sources of punishment and guilt, and (3) the mechanism of defense whereby instincts are satisfied while punishment and guilt are avoided.

Freud postulates a number of instincts common to all human beings as an inherent, unchangeable aspect of human nature. We will call these instincts the core of his personology theory. There are three kinds of instincts present in each person according to Freud, subsumed under the concept of the id, ego, and the superego. Under the concept of the id, instincts are experienced as foreign rather than as part of ourselves. He argued for the existence of a group of instincts that function to preserve biological life. These self-preservations, or life instincts, include those for food, water, and air. The energy of these instincts comes from the discomfort and tension associated with irritated mucous membranes in the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. The instinctual aim is to reduce tension and discomfort by obtaining objects such as food or water that can ease the membrane irritation. Although the life instincts are obviously basic, Freud gives them less attention than he does the sexual instincts. This is also an integral part of his theorizing from the very beginning. This includes not only the genitalia per se but also the secondary sexual areas—such as breast, mouth, and anus—that can participate in sexual arousal. He believed that in the first year of birth, the child went through the first of five stages of development, beginning with the first stage of oral development where the child is constantly using his mouth, where the anatomical location of the sexual instinct is located. According to Freud, this development of the nervous system proceeds from the brain downward and outward, ensuring that the mouth region will be the first body orifice to experience pleasure and pain. Of course, the survival instincts for food and water also ensure that the mouth will be an important region. The child is presumed to crave and enjoy stimulation of the mouth region through touch, taste, and use of muscles. The craving and enjoyment are early forms of what