Why
Christians
Can’t Trust
Psychology

Ed Bulkley, Ph.D.

Except where otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in this book are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society.

Verses marked nasb are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Verses marked kjv are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Minneapolis, Minnesota

WHY CHRISTIANS CAN’T TRUST PSYCHOLOGY

Copyright © 1993 Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bulkley, Ed, 1947-

Why Christians can’t trust psychology/Ed Bulkley.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1–56507-026–7

1.Pastoral counseling. 2.Christianity—Psychology.

3.Bible—Psychology. 4.Psychology and religion. I.Title.

BV4012.2.B85 1994

261.5’15–dc20 93–31617

CIP

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Acknowledgments

A book is rarely the work of one individual. In my case it involved family, friends, professional peers, my secretary, our elders, and our congregation.

Primary thanks goes to my family, who have patiently endured my long preoccupation with this volume. Their patience and understanding of the amount of time I had to spend away from them made the work much easier.

I thank my wife, Marlowe, for her steadfast encouragement and unselfish love. A great deal of additional responsibility fell on her, but she maintained her composure as a wife, mother, and gifted leader within our church. I share the opinion that a former member expressed to me one day: “Pastor Ed, we’ve found a lot of good preachers in other churches, but we’ve never met another pastor’s wife that even comes close to Marlowe.” I admire her for her sweet spirit under pressure as she divides her time between the ministries she leads. She is my best friend and I praise God for her.

I thank our “4-H Club”—Heidi, Holly, Heather, and Hans—for adding credibility to our ministry by their lives. All of our children have been a joy during every phase of their lives and I treasure their love and trust. As they move into their adult years I am enjoying their friendship as well. Through the practical application of biblical principles, we have seen God’s Word make our home a small preview of heaven, and we are so thankful for it.

I also want to express my deepest gratitude to the Lord for having blessed me with loving ...