Page 96 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 5

Church Traditions for a Christian Psychology

Transdisciplinary Approach in Scholarship Conclusion
Following the 2010 Society for Christian Psy- Foundational to evangelical doctrine is the
chology conference, the term transdisciplinary belief that a personal relationship with Christ
was introduced as a replacement for the better through his sacrifice on the cross should per-
known term, interdisciplinary (Johnson, 2010). meate all areas of life, including professional
Transdisciplinary connotes the totality of know- pursuits. The task then becomes one of how
ledge concerning humans which encompasses to manage matters of faith while providing the
a variety of disciplines and professions. While best clinical care possible. For the evangelical
most members of the Society for Christian Psy- clinician, it requires scholarly effort on many
chology are typically therapists, as director of fronts, including theology and psychology. It
the society, Eric Johnson embarked on a colla- also requires the therapist to conceptualize all
borative effort with theologians, philosophers, information in a manner that is consistent with
and other specialists in their disciplines in order scripture and ultimately brings glory to God.
to gain more knowledge about people and how
to best provide soul care. By creating a commu-
nity of those interested in the human conditi-
on, a deeper understanding of God’s work can
be achieved. In fact, the Society for Christian
Psychology’s firm commitment to promoting a
multiple discipline approach to conceptualizing
the human condition is attested to by the rena-
ming of their journal, Edification: The Trans-
disciplinary Journal of Christian Psychology.
Authors from various disciplines, such as theo-
logians and philosophers, frequently contribute
to this journal.
Johnson’s call for expanded dialogue echoes that
of others (Jones, 2009; McMinn & Moon, 2009).
A prime example is McMinn and Moon’s work
with the disciplines of theology and philosophy
as seen in their call for the exploration of the
spiritual classics, which they termed soul-o-logy
(McMinn & Moon, 2009). By emphasizing the
writings of the early church fathers and philo-
sophical thinkers, soul-o-logy encourages “the
art of thinking deeply about Scriptural truths
and the complexities of the heart” (p. 44). Thus,
to best understand the intricacies of the heart,
a transdisciplinary approach is needed. The
necessity of exploring knowledge and wisdom
outside of the psychology field is vital. Indeed, a
uniqueness of Christian Psychology is found in
the appreciation of contributions made by va-
rious disciplines as they work in conjunction to
glorify God (Johnson, 2010).

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