PROTESTANTISM. The term Protestantism is applied both to the sum of the ecclesiastical fellowships and bodies which emerged from the 16th-century Reformation movement, and to the principles which are held in common by such groups.
The term originated in 1529 when the German Reichstag met at Speier. The princes and cities loyal to Roman Catholicism were in the majority and voted for a virtual abolition of Lutheran territorial churches and the perpetuation of the ecclesiastical status quo. Those forces which had already joined in the movement to reform the church responded with a strong Protestatio. The document was not solely negative, but rather positive. For both in the derivation of the title and the intention of its authors, the word was not limited to the raising of an objection; but rather, it indicated the witness or confession of that which was believed. From the title of the document, its supporters were called Protestants; and eventually the movement by which they were the vanguard was called Protestantism.
In its proper sense, Protestantism depends upon certain characteristic views. Perhaps the most important one of these is the belief that the Bible is the only totally reliable Source of authority in religion; tradition is only an aid in understanding the Bible. Closely tied with this is the concept of the right of private judgment, that in the absolute sense the individual is responsible to God alone and not to the visible church. Justification is by faith alone, and good works are the result of salvation rather than contributors toward it. The church is found where there are believers united in Christ as their Head—it is an organism more than an organization. The ministry is not spiritually different from the laity but only functionally distinct; each person has direct access to God through Christ but can also fill a priestly role toward his brother. The sacraments are limited to those established by Christ in the Bible; they are two in number (baptism and the Lord's Supper) and are visible proclamations of the Word.
In its broader sense, Protestantism is sometimes applied to all Christians who are neither Roman Catholics nor members of one of the Eastern churches. The term can be applied in a limited sense to groups which antedate the Reformation but which came wholly or partially to accept Protestant views. But it cannot properly be applied to groups with marked differences from the views summarized above, including the modern cults. Furthermore, there are those who reject their inclusion within Protestantism, such as some Anglicans (especially the Anglo-Catholic or high church party), the spiritual heirs of the Anabaptists, some Baptists, and some modern Pentecostals.
See LUTHERANISM, CALVINISM, ARMINIANISM, ANGLO-CATHOLICISM.
For Further Reading: Cobb, Varieties of Protestantism; Marty, Protestantism; Van de Pol, World Protestantism; Ritter, "Protestantism," in Twentieth Century Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 2:914-20; Steinmetz, "Protestantism," N1DCC, 808-9; Tillich, The Protestant Era; Whale, The Protestant Tradition. LEE M. HAINES
PROVIDENCE. The doctrine of divine providence is eminently scriptural, even though the word providence does not appear in Scripture. Christian faith is opposed to pantheistic confusion of God with the world, to deistic separation of God apart from the world, to fatalistic resignation of an impersonal God over the world, and to naturalistic exclusion of God from the world.
Divine providence may be defined as that activity of God by which He conserves and preserves His creation and cares for and directs all things to their final destiny. This definition indicates that there are three elements in divine providence, namely conservation, preservation, and government.
Conservation. Conservation is God's sustaining providence in the realm of the physical universe, i.e., in inanimate, or lifeless, nature. While rejecting pantheism, deism, fatalism, and naturalism, Christian faith affirms the immediate presence and agency of God in the physical world. The Scriptures are explicit in claiming the immanent power of God in upholding all things
with His word (Acts 17:25, 28; Col. 1:17; Rom. 11:36). A strong statement from John Wesley illustrates the general evangelical position regarding conservation: "God acts in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, throughout the whole compass of His creation; by sustaining all things, without which everything would in an instant sink into its primitive nothing; by governing all, every moment superintending everything that He has made" (Works, 7:240). Even the so-called laws of nature may be regarded as principles of the divine activity.
Preservation. Preservation relates to God's work of providence in the animate realm, i.e., in the area of living things. Admittedly there is a mystery of life from the lowest cell structure to the most complex of all living creatures, man. There is the additional problem of past and potential extinction of specific forms of life. Yet the overarching activity of God in living organisms remains a biblical and Christian belief. The Bible is emphatic at the point of God's involvement in the totality of life (Prov. 30:25; Jer. 8:7; Ps. 145:15-16; Matt. 5:45; Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). Without the preserving will of God, the world would fall into nothingness in a flash (Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, 152).
Government. In passing from the existence and development of lower forms of life to man, a change in the activity of divine providence is noted. Here God's relationship is not causative, as in conservation and preservation. Rather, God's providential care and government is moral. Providence is exerted in the form of motive rather than compulsion.
Because God has given the power of freedom to man and permitted freedom's exercise, neither a sinful act nor its consequences may be said to be God's act. In exercising His providential care, God may permit certain acts (2 Chron. 32:31; Ps. 81:12-13; Hos. 4:17; Acts 14:16; Rom. 1:24, 28); He may restrain or prevent particular deeds (Hos. 2:6; Gen. 20:6; Ps. 19:13); He may overrule the acts of men (Gen. 50:20; Isa. 10:5; John 13:27; Acts 4:27-28); He may establish the extent or boundaries of sin (Job 1:12; Ps. 124:2; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 Cor. 10:13).
On the positive side the root idea of divine providence is that God rules over all in love (Rom. 8:28). The notion that within the Christian dispensation the idea of God's sovereignty is replaced by His Fatherhood is not valid. God is truly Father. God is also Sovereign, the Eternal Ruler of the universe.
See divine sovereignty, guidance, evil, chance, deism, pantheism, fatalism, contingency
For Further Reading: Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, 148-85; Bruce, The Providential Order, 231-310; Berkouwer, The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth, 163-65; Wiley, CT, 1:477-87.
Donald S. Metz
PRUDENCE. Prudence is caution, care, and wise foresight in the face of only partially seen contingencies. This quality of mature character needs to be exercised in delicate social tensions, in the care of one's health and that of those for whom one is responsible, and also in matters of finance and business. Paul practiced prudence several times in quietly going elsewhere when Violence against him was threatened. It was prudent for Jesus to send Peter fishing to get the tax money, rather than stand their ground in refusing to pay. While Jesus was not intending to encourage dishonesty, He nevertheless commended the unjust steward for his prudence in looking ahead. Jesus himself fulfilled the prediction: "My servant shall deal prudently" (Isa. 52:13.). And certainly prudence was highly praised in the Wisdom literature, especially in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes; as, for instance, Prov. 14:15—"A prudent man gives thought to his steps" (niv).
But the question of prudence can create personal tension, even become a theological problem. Jesus seemed to unchristianize prudence in the Sermon on the Mount (esp. Matt. 6:25-34). After warning against anxiety, He concluded: '"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own'" (v. 34, Niv). Is it not very imprudent to give tomorrow no thought at all?
While the basic principle enunciated in v. 33 applies to all, the passage as a whole has special relevance to those called to full-time Christian work, who will often be compelled to make choice between a prudent and secure life-style, and daring, even risky, adventuring for God. There is an abandonment to the work of God in total consecration which places security on the altar and literally lives by faith. Yet faith does not require foolhardiness or presumptuous carelessness—only the sober, calculated risks inherent in utter obedience. Harmon Schmelzenbach subordinated prudence to the need of souls, when he responded to the vision and went into the malaria-infested lowlands of Swaziland. That obedience cost his life. But is it not greater and higher prudence to gather sheaves at any cost than to
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protect self at any cost? Some are prudent only for time; God's people must learn to be prudent for eternity. This is really Jesus' point concerning the unjust steward: "T tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings'" (Luke 16:9, Niv). See wisdom, service, faith, consecration.
Richard S. Taylor
PSEUDEPIGRAPHA. This term refers to a group of books not included in the biblical canon or the Apocrypha and written under assumed names, e.g., Abraham, Enoch, Moses, Isaiah, Job. They are of the Jewish origin and are generally dated between 200 b.c. and a.d. 100. A few oriental Christian groups have included them either in the Bible or among special writings thought to have importance for an understanding of the roots of the faith. The pseudepigrapha, however, have not achieved an acceptance anything like the Apocrypha. Not all of these writings are pseudonymous, but since most of them can be so classified, it is appropriate to employ the term pseudepigrapha.
The books included in the pseudepigrapha are: Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Psalms of Solomon, Lives of the Prophets, Jubilees, Testament of Job, Enoch, Martyrdom of Isaiah, Paralipomena of Jeremiah, The Life of Adam and Eve, The Assumption of Moses, Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch, Apocalypse of Abraham, Letter of Aristeas, Sibylline Oracles 3-5, 3 and 4 Maccabees, Slavonic Enoch (2 Enoch), Greek Apocalypse of Baruch (3 Baruch). At Qumran, the following books were found and should be included in the pseudepigrapha: Apoc-ryphon of Genesis, Pseudo-Jeremianic work, War Scroll, Description of the New Jerusalem, Liturgy of Three Tongues of Fire, Book of Mysteries, Hodayoth, Psalms of Joshua. Besides these writings there are numerous manuscripts or fragments with commentaries on biblical books, works on liturgical and legal matters, and wisdom pieces.
Categorization of these books, most of which exist in fragmentary form, is extremely difficult. They can be grouped, somewhat superficially, into Hebrew-Aramaic Palestinian and Greek Alexandrian writings, with language being the basic determinant. However, literary genre provides a more helpful classification, such as apocalypses, legendary histories, testaments, liturgies, and wisdom works.
The value of these writings lies in the insight they provide into the thought life of the Jews during the intertestamental period, and in the light they shed on the Jewish background of the
NT. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are dated in the first and second centuries B.c., information concerning the period immediately preceding the Christian era has been radically increased.
See apocrypha, hagiographa, canon.
For Further Reading: Charles, The Apocrypha and
Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament; Fritsch, "Pseud-
epigrapha," IDB, vol. 3; Pfeiffer, History of New Testa-
ment Times. WILLARD H. TAYLOR
PSEUDO-ISADORIAN DECRETALS. See false
decretals.
PSYCHOANALYSIS. Strictly speaking, psychoanalysis involves an investigation of the nature, structure, and dynamics of the psychic dimension of personality. The best-known architect and proponent of psychoanalysis was Sigmund Freud, an early 20th-century Viennese neurologist.
Some of the basic assumptions for psychoanalysis are: (1) all behavior is determined; (2) all behavior is meaningful behavior; (3) there is an interpenetration of biological and psychological dimensions of personality at the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious levels; (4) psychic energies are either locked or cathected by need objects of the person through drives, desires, or defenses; (5) there is psychodynamic growth from infancy to maturity, but this growth may be hampered or halted at any stage. Therefore, analysis attempts to take into account all personal history including origins, antecedent-subsequent behaviors and relationships, and repetitions; (6) the role of the analyst includes: listening, associating, and interpreting as a participant-observer; and (7) the purpose of psychoanalysis is to discover, define, and interpret psychodynamic processes of growth (descriptively, organizationally, and analytically) in all their uniqueness in order to facilitate more personally and/or socially acceptable behavior.
As in other fields, the term psychoanalysis has been broadened to include variant basic assumptions and consequent systems and procedures. Freudian psychoanalysis was antithetical to evangelical Christian theology. Any psychoanalysis should be investigated to determine its theological presuppositions before Christians seek to engage in it either as patients or analysts.
See reality therapy rogerian counseling, pastoral counseling, development (theories of).
For Further Reading: Bromberg, The Mind of Man: A History of Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis; Schneck, History of Psychiatry, vol. 6; Wolman, ed., International
430
PSYCHOLOGY—PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION
Encyclopedia of Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychoanalysis,
and Neurology. CHESTER O. GALLOWAY
PSYCHOLOGY. Psychology is a disciplined attempt to explain, evaluate, and control behavior.
To explain behavior is to relate it to motive; the "why" of personal conduct. It is important to understand motive, since problem behavior will not be changed until causative factors are identified. Those factors generally include a combination of heredity, environment, and experience. However, one should not expect a given set of factors to produce the same behavior in all instances. That would be the kind of determinism which holds that certain parents are likely to produce children with criminal tendencies, that some environments foster problem conduct, that many people act wrongly because they do not know better. The problem here is an abject surrender to extrinsic and uncontrollable factors, a surrender which makes redemption unlikely if not, in fact, unnecessary.
To evaluate behavior is to relate it to values; judgments must be made about the acceptability of conduct in a prescribed context. Obviously, a moral order depends upon a discernible system of absolutes. Similarly, an ordered society survives by the definition and communication of behavioral standards whereby membership and acceptance are achieved in that society. And each individual must achieve that level of conduct where he gains self-esteem. "Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth" (Rom. 14:22). This "triad of morality," so described by David Belgum (Guilt, Where Psychology and Religion Meet, 17-34) is jeopardized by psychology's eagerness to replace God's immutable values with society's transient ones. Karl Menninger perceived this tendency in asking, "Whatever became of sin?"
Rejecting the biblical concept of sin, sinners have denied the wrongness of their deeds. Emboldened by false security of numbers, they have next pronounced their behavior normative and have accepted new justificatory terms for their conduct. So sin has evolved into situationism and hierarchalism. The former refuses to pronounce any evaluative judgment upon behavior apart from the situation in which the act occurred. It is left to the individual to defend as "right" his response to the demands of the situation. Hierarchalism goes one step further by supposing situations in which a traditionally "right" act could actually be the wrong thing to do.
In either case, the absolutes of God have been replaced by the judgments of man. And so there is no way to know God's approval, society's approbation, or a positive self-acceptance. To control behavior is to change it, caused by the introduction of prophylactic or therapeutic procedures intended to produce acceptable behavior. Most of us have faced the need to change our behavior in order to function in society. Functionality is always relational; the way we live unavoidably involves people. And the need to function in all three of the worlds Belgum describes—cosmic, social, and personal—requires a right relationship with God as well as our fellowman.
This concept of mental health is, however, one of bilateral relationships. Any technique which proposes to control behavior unilaterally is dangerous and immoral. Manipulation of this sort is common in totalitarian states, e.g., exercises in brainwashing and even some attempts to propagandize.
The biblical teaching on behavioral control is well stated in Rom. 12:2 where the Christian's surrender of his will to that of God produces a reciprocal and inestimable benefit—a total transformation (change) in life-style.
Psychology can be constructive in helping us identify the many causes which contribute to our behavior. It is helpful in requiring qualitative measures of conduct. It is useful in demanding functionality. But to change all that psychology may reveal as needing to be changed is the special province of the grace of God (2 Cor. 5:17; Phil. 1:6).
See MAN, HUMAN NATURE, GRACE, COUNSELING, PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION, PSYCHOANALYSIS, PSYCHOTHERAPY.
For Further Reading: Belgum, Guilt, Where Psychology
and Religion Meet; Lutzer, The Morality Gap; Menninger,
Whatever Became of Sin? MERNE A. HARRIS
PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION. Any study of religion is larger than just the Christian religion. To understand religious behavior, special research into the religious experiences of men has been made. This research results in the psychology of religion.
Often these studies have resulted in humanizing religious ideas, and making the supernatural to be only secular statements of distinctly personal interpretations of religion. Harold Kuhn sees most of the writers on psychology of religion at the end of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century to be philosophers rather than true psychologists; "their systems elaborate deeply embedded assumptions." In them the ob-
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jective quality of miracles, faith, and incarnation evaporated. Some struck at the supernatural origin of conversion and the reality of the divine origin of Scripture. Regeneration became merely a human, natural change (Contemporary Evangelical Thought, 224-26).
Psychology in religion is the study of the behavior and experiences of religious people. It is used in the two major subdivisions of psychology, namely, experimental and applied. "Applied" becomes pastoral psychology, while "experimental" is psychology of religion. The values of psychology in recent years are more readily seen. Some of the hostility felt earlier is disappearing (Baker's DT, 427-30).
Wayne Oates sees psychology of religion as "a concerted effort to bring these sacred and secular definitions of human life into dialogue with each other and to speak of God in both a sacred and secular manner." He further writes, "As such, the Psychology of Religion is a combined effort to appreciate the idea of the holy in human life and to keep the experiences of religious consciousness down to earth" (The Psychology of Religion, 15).
Great strides have been made in understanding the human mind, the emotions, and the reactions of persons under stress and when in real religious experiences. If the psychologists can keep an open mind, be faithful to the empirical method without assuming preconceived positions, and give critical evaluation of evidences discovered, then helpful conditions do result in such studies.
It is well to remember that observations of outward behavior of a person may be studied, catalogued, and analyzed. But it may be impossible to determine whether that outward action is prompted by the supernatural or arises only from human nature. A true biblical view will hold that the Holy Spirit does have a special place in touching the human heart in a distinct way.
See PSYCHOLOGY, SIN, REDEMPTION, GOSPEL, PASTORAL COUNSELING.
For Further Reading: Kuhn, Contemporary Evangelical Thought; Oates, The Psychology of Religion.
Leo G. Cox
PSYCHOTHERAPY. Semantically speaking, psychotherapy is any healing of the psychic dimension of personality. Psychotherapy as a specific art or science seems to have begun most significantly with Sigmund Freud early in the 20th century. Because of the contributions made by Freud and his disciples to the psychoanalytic field of study and practice, many still tend to equate psychotherapy with "healing" of the unconscious part of the person's personality.
The field of psychotherapy has expanded to include such approaches as rational or cognitive, existential, perceptual, social-learning, and behavior modification in addition to the earlier psychoanalytic approach. Despite the approach employed or the basic assumptions held by the practitioner, there seem to be certain common elements involved which help to identify psychotherapy. Some of these elements are: (1) therapist has had some medical and/or clinical training; (2) the patient or client seeks relief from real or perceived disorder through the assistance of a therapist via interpersonal communication; (3) the disorder involved is perceived to be psychic rather than physical in both source and presentation; (4) there is a series of specified and circumscribed contacts between the sufferer and therapist; (5) there is at least one goal which results in enduring modification of assumption or behavior agreed upon and sought by both therapist and patient or client; (6) all behavior is meaningful behavior; (7) there is an undeniable respect for persons.
There appears to be general agreement that psychotherapy is one dimension of, or one approach to, the broader field of counseling. Psychotherapy is not necessarily antithetical to the Christian faith. However, for the Christian therapist there must be harmony between the basic assumptions underlying his/her theory and practice of psychotherapy and his/her theology of Christian ministry.
See COUNSELING, PASTORAL COUNSELING, MAN, REALITY THERAPY, PSYCHOLOGY.
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