Are we body, spirit and psyche? Trichotomy

Effective Division

Three fold Division

Prominent is the theory that we are made up of three parts: body, psyche [mind] and spirit. The psyche is held to be responsible for the mind and the emotions. The spirit is the part of us which is immortal. When your body is sick you see the doctor. When you are guilty of a major sin or you are dying then you call the Church Minister. If you are having an emotional problem you see a psychologist. This view effectively weights the three areas unevenly. When you think about most of your practical every day struggles they fall within the area of the psyche. Examples of this are: depression, anger management problems, schizophrenia, attention deficit disorder, bulimia, anorexia, anxiety and alcoholism. This effectively makes God and the person’s spirit irrelevant because so little of the spirit has any bearing on everyday life. This is one reason why the Church has become irrelevant; it no longer contributes and helps people cope with what they are struggling with. 

Replacing God with Science

God seems to have lost his place in people’s lives. More than ever there is a dependence on different fields of science to cope with the challenges people face with life. Suddenly there seems to be circumstances that seem to complex or too difficult for God. For example clinical depression, anorexia, bulimia and alcoholism seem to have become the exclusive domain of psychology. This shift is more the result of a change in personal belief (or disbelief in God) than an example of scientific progress. Science has attempted to walk into God’s domain, deny his existence and proclaim that only scientists can help people cope with their suffering.

Psyche is still in God’s world

The problem with this three-fold division of human nature is that it makes the mistake of compartmentalisation. Emotional problems or body problems all affect a person’s relationship with God. Therefore, there is nothing that is outside of God’s domain. We cannot say to a person that they have a problem that somehow is not related or connected to God because it falls outside of the spiritual area.  

God and the Bible

The Bible is full of help for those who suffer, for those who are held captive with addiction, for those who feel unworthy, ashamed, guilty, angry, fearful, depressed. These emotional problems affect people differently, some turn to alcohol, some to drugs, some to sex, and some to food (Anorexia or obesity). There is no doubt that some people have physical weaknesses but that is never the only problem. Let me suggest that we are both physical and spiritual beings and this means that we suffer from two types of problems: physical and spiritual. Psychology seeks only to deal with a person’s emotional and behavioural problems on a horizontal level—how they relate to other people. What psychology does not do is seek to deal with a person’s behavioural problems towards God (vertical).

Nothing outside of God

God made the world, and God made everyone in the world. This means that there is nothing in the world or no circumstance in the world that is beyond God. What I am seeking to establish is that there is no problem that is somehow beyond God or the Bible. I believe that God wrote the Bible to reveal himself and explain the world. It may seem that I am against psychology and medicine but this is not the case. I am not against the use of medical treatment. I am not against a person being helped by psychology. What I am against is the idea that medicine and psychology is all that a person needs to cope with suffering. People who are suffering need help from a number of sources, primarily from God and their pastor, but also from their doctor and if necessary their psychologist.