CONVERSION: "Doesn't psychology show that 'conversion' is just a mental fantasy?"
People don't change. Not really. Do they?
Christians talk about getting converted, finding God, knowing Jesus, being saved... but we know how easily people can believe "fake news" and fantastic conspiracy theories. So is there anything real in this business, or has the development of psychology shown it all up as wishful thinking?
We believe in conversion. We really do. Here's why...
| When people are converted, something real (and healthy) happens We know so much these days about
brainwashing, mind manipulation, conditioning and grooming that we tend to
assume that if somebody changes their thinking and behaviour suddenly, they've
been got at. But psychological profiling shows that people who become
Christians typically show increased levels of mental health, personal stability
and integration. Even Freud (pictured left), who was no friend to Christians, allowed grudgingly that Christianity could be a "crooked cure" for his patients' problems. |
Conversion involves lifelong changes; it isn't just a passing phase. Certainly, there can be shallow, ephemeral experiences where somebody takes up a new belief with great enthusiasm, then suddenly loses interest. And certainly, some people are "religious" or "devout" only because their parents were, or because they feel the need to keep up appearances. But when you see stories of change such as we've highlighted on this page, or look at the altered life of disgraced politician Chuck Colson (pictured right), you can't explain it all away as a psychological freak occurrence. It's not caused by adolescent guilt, or father-fixation, or sexual frustration, or religious mania, or sudden mystical experiences. It's simply coming home to the person you wanted and needed to be, all along. | |
| Psychology and God aren't competing explanations; both can be true. Sometimes people turn to God because they're at a certain stage in their lives - many, for instance, become Christians during adolescence. Or when they've just had children. Or when their life is upset by a major shock (redundancy, maybe, or a close brush with death). In those cases, you might well suspect their internal psychological workings have something to do with it. And you might be right! But that doesn't rule out the supernatural explanation too; God works through the natural processes of life, not despite them. He uses our experiences to bring us to himself. And when we reach out to him, what happens isn't a fantasy; it's a genuine coming together with our Creator. |
Journey Online is a website that tries to help people find good answers to the toughest questions in life. There's a lot of valuable material to see on their site, and it includes a page called Is The Christian Experience Valid? which talks about the evidence that shows Christian conversion really happens. It's actually one section of an online course, so if you're intrigued by this page, you can take the whole of the course (free) as well!
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