Obedience and Disobedience/Rebellion in Biblical Versus Greek Narratives: Toward a Biblical Psychology

Abstract

Contemporary psychology and psychiatry have been explicitly or implicitly based on an ancient Greek view of life. Even pastoral psychologists have been influenced by this view. The present article calls for a paradigm shift toward a biblical psychology. Illustrations of these contrasting worldviews are presented around the issue of obedience versus disobedience/rebellion. Three narratives are compared in this regard: 1) creation stories, 2) “flood” stories, and 3) father-son stories. Freud’s dependence on a Greek worldview is discussed, as is his disregard of biblical narratives. Pastoral psychologists, take heart! It is time to level the playing field.