Nuggets from An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith by Dave Hunt - The Making of a Popular Myth

Nuggets from An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith by Dave Hunt – The Making of a Popular Myth

Let’s take a simple example. Jesus commanded His disciples, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things [food, clothing, shelter] shall be added unto you” (Matthew:6:33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
See All...). From humanistic psychology, however (now a legitimate source of revelation according to the “all truth is God’s truth” thesis), so-called Christian psychologists have borrowed another myth: Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs.” It states that man’s physical needs for such things as food, clothing, and shelter must first be met, then so-called psychological needs, and last of all spiritual needs. Maslow’s theory and its derivatives now permeate the books and sermons of many church leaders and influence evangelism. Biblical exegesis has been abandoned for a new source of “truth.”

Let’s take one more example. As we cited at the beginning of this chapter, Paul solemnly warns, “…in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…” (2 Timothy:3:1-2 [1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. [2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
See All...). Then follows a list of sins that peculiarly characterize our world today and all of which have their root in self-love. Once again from humanistic psychology, however, Christian psychologists have borrowed the seductive myth that self-love (along with its concomitants self-esteem/worth/acceptance, and so on) is a vital ingredient for “mental health.” Thus, instead of the prevalence of self-love, as the Bible declares, a lack of it is now stated to be the root of the sins listed in verses 2-4, which have been redefined as “behavior problems” requiring newly discovered “psychological solutions.”

This pop psychology myth, having been introduced into Christianity by leaders of impeccable reputation, has become so popular that today it is the prevailing belief throughout the church. It is as though Paul actually wrote, “…in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be haters of their own selves, and as a consequence will need to undergo therapy and attend seminars in order to learn to love themselves properly….” Such mutilations would be required before one could derive the current self-love/self-worth fad from Scripture.