On disenthralling ourselves from the enchantment of psychology

Abstract

Pastors who assume that the insights of psychology have superseded those of the Scriptures, the great philosophers, or classic literary works are shortchanging themselves and their parishioners. These insights may be true and useful on many occasions, but they do not represent the full truth about the human condition. Examples from the novels of Jane Austen illustrate the larger truth of ill that human choices may be willed for the sake of human good or ill and that the human community provides the context for understanding and evaluating those choices.