Psychological Biblical Criticism - The Bible and Psychology in Transition

The Bible and Psychology in Transition

"Psychology and Biblical studies are thus inevitably interlinked, regardless of what the immediate focus or concern of either is. Hence, whether we are exploring the biblical text or the living human document, the mutual illumination of psychology and biblical studies is imperative because a properly enlightened anthropology is required for both ... Because both disciplines deal with the psycho-spiritual domains, neither of these can ignore the other or it is not adequately serious about itself."

—J. Harold Ellens, 2004:284

A psychological study of the hermeneutical levels of religious texts has the capability of granting a better understanding not only of the text itself, but also of the mind that produced it, the mind that it describes, and the mind that interacts with it. This knowledge has promise for interdisciplinary application as well, by informing the field of religious studies, the psychotherapeutic encounter, and the psychology of religion. Hence, proponents of psychological biblical criticism argue that it has the potential of crossing the gap between psychology and religion, providing a platform for dialogue without reducing religion to mere drives and internal objects, but by discussing the aspects of this very human mode of meaning (Ellens, 2004).

There is a website sponsored by the Psychology and Biblical Studies Section of the Society of Biblical Literature which is devoted to psychological biblical criticism at www.psybibs.org.