For centuries, the role of religion in psychology has been a main topic for discussion and an essential consideration in recognising and assessing clients’ brokenness and emotional pain. Although religion and psychology are diverse, they cannot be completely disconnected from each other and highlights the therapist’s commitment to respect the client’s spiritual and religious perspective. Jones (1994:197; 2007:155) states that in the quest for quality of care, ‘… we must not lose our understanding of how science and professional practice are infused with metaphysical, moral, and religious beliefs’. Religion and psychology distinguish their diverse stance towards each other, but also recognise the mutual ground upon which interaction and collaboration could take place in answering questions of vital human well-being.

This article is written from a distinctively Christian perspective and constitutes a call for an enriched relationship between the Christian religion and psychology based on a biblical reformational theology. Biblical reformational theology is based on the Bible as God’s divinely inspired Word, as interpreted in the Christian creeds and reformed confessions. The article is undeniably encouraged by Jones (1994:197; 2007:155), whose aim was ‘… to stimulate a greater awareness within the psychological community of the importance and the extensiveness of religion to the scientific and professional objectives of contemporary psychology’. The article supports and encourages a holistic sense of cross-disciplinary reflection that could enable psychologists with a Christian worldview to respond to therapeutic situations with faithful, theologically informed, practice-related research based on a biblical reformational theology. According to Jones (1994:197; 2007:155), psychology ‘… could be enriched by a more explicit exploration of the interface of religion with its scientific and applied activities’.

Building on the two themes of promise and fulfilment and God’s new covenant in Christ, Osmer (2008:28) developed a hermeneutical approach in which the ‘four tasks of practical theological interpretation’ are portrayed as facilitating participation in Christ’s priestly, royal and prophetic mediation of salvation. Compared to Osmer’s (2008:27) approach, this article will describe the role and influence of biblical reformational theology on Christian psychology by means of utilising the tradition of the threefold office of Christ. During the Reformation, the threefold office played an important role in the Christology of reformed theologians (cf. Heidelberg Catechism (HC), Q & A 31). The threefold office (munus triplex) of Jesus Christ is based upon the offices of prophet (munus propheticum) (Dt 18:14–22; Mt 13:57), priest (munus sacerdotale) (Ps 110:1–4; Heb 6:20; 9:11) and king (munus regium) (Ps 2:6; Mt 27:11). Osmer (2008:4, 28–29) presents the four tasks of practical-theological interpretation as a guide to obtain the variety of knowledge and skill in facilitating participation in the threefold office of Christ:

• The descriptive-empirical task is a form of priestly listening, grounded in a spirituality of presence (exploring the question: What is going on?).
• The interpretive task is a form of wise judgement, grounded in a spirituality of sagely wisdom (exploring the question: Why is it going on?).
• The normative task is a form of prophetic discernment, grounded in a spirituality of discernment (exploring the question: What ought to be going on?).
• The pragmatic task is a form of transforming leadership, grounded in a spirituality of servant leadership (exploring the question: How might we respond?).

Many psychologists, academic and applied, do not relate to religion as such; they maintain a stance of neutrality or silence toward it. For many, this is not a hostile stance at all, but rather is the most respectful position one can take toward that which one does not personally endorse or understand. (p. 137)

Regardless of the efforts to separate religion and psychology, Christian counsellors and psychologists with a Christian worldview have developed a growing interest in identifying the influences of religion and the interaction of faith and well-being to support and guide clients (cf. Tan 2011:11). Christian psychologists have made great progress in bringing together the disciplines of religion and psychology and engaged them as part of their determination to understand the interaction of faith and well-being. The progress and development of the relationship between Christian religion and psychology are evidence of health professionals’ continuous efforts to increase religious and spiritual sensitivity (Pargament 2011:8). According to Peteet, Lu and Narrow (2011:xix) and Lee and Newberg (2005:444), studies have confirmed the important interaction between religion and well-being when health professionals are incorporating faith with their health care to support and guide clients. This interaction between Christian religion and psychology exists because both approaches work with humans as physical, religious and psychological beings. Koenig (2009) describes religious beliefs that assist with psychological integration as follows:

Religious beliefs provide a sense of meaning and purpose in difficult life circumstances that assist with psychological integration; they usually promote a positive worldview that is optimistic and hopeful; they provide role models in sacred writings that facilitate acceptance of suffering; they give people a sense of indirect control over circumstances, reducing the need for personal control; and they offer a community of support, both human and divine, to help reduce isolation and loneliness. (p. 285)

Over time, Christian approaches to psychology have developed ‘… a substantive overlap in the subject matter of religion and the science of psychology’ (Jones 1994:189). According to Patterson et al. (2000:200), a parallel shift has occurred and the ‘… separation and distinction between religion and psychology has been blurred’. Many religious people still prefer pastoral counsellors when they need help in coping with emotional problems. This attitude results from a complex blend of interpersonal, psychological, spiritual and environmental factors, but gradually, more people are also looking towards psychology to answer questions on the basic matters of human beings and the complex queries of emotional pain and suffering (cf. Koenig, McCullough & Larson 2001:12; Narramore 2007:21; Roberts & Watson 2010:174). According to Patterson et al. (2000:200), this substantive overlap has led to ‘… mental health providers searching for ways to successfully incorporate religion into their therapeutic paradigm in such a way that is compatible and complimentary’. Koenig (2009) describes an important approach to the dialogue between Christian religion and psychology as follows:

Clinicians need to be aware of the religious and spiritual activities of their patients, appreciate their value as a resource for healthy mental and social functioning, and recognize when those beliefs are distorted, limiting, and contribute to pathology rather than alleviate it. (p. 289)

It is vital that mental-health practitioners understand the impact of religious and spiritual concerns of their clients to achieve healthy treatment goals (cf. Allmon 2013:538; Roberts & Watson 2010:166). According to significant developments in Christian approaches to therapy and the overall impact of religion on psychosocial functioning, research findings have provided support for the efficiency and effectiveness of religion for general mental-health advantages in actual clinical settings of Christian therapy (cf. Collins 2007:42; Roberts & Watson 2010:166; Tan 2011:11). The research of Lukoff, Lu and Yang (2011:189) found that, when mental-health services incorporated religion as an important factor of recovery, ‘… religion is overwhelmingly associated with positive outcomes such as ameliorating the distress and problems of severe illness, including mental disorders’. By exploring Christian religion in counselling settings that promote the clients’ growth and well-being, one could help recognising the importance of the ways in which clients understand and approach their interpersonal and psychological functioning, emotional difficulties and quality of life.

In recent years, positive psychologists have begun to recognise that psychology dates back to beyond the 19th century, at least around 25 centuries back, to Plato and Aristotle in Greece (Peterson & Seligman 2004:10; Roberts & Watson 2010:149). They have begun to appreciate the wealth and depth of psychological reflection that is available from ancient sources and the inseparability of psychological functioning from moral and religious functioning (cf. Peterson & Seligman 2004:10). Roberts and Watson (2010:150) give a few examples of the variety in the long history of psychology, conditioned by the metaphysical commitments of the Epicureans, Platonists, Stoics and Sceptics and Aristotelians. According to Roberts and Watson (2010:150), the therapeutic orientation of Greek and Hellenistic ethics and psychology has become more evident along with the striking similarities between some of the ancient and some of the modern therapies.

To understand the recent debates between religion and psychology within the evangelical world, Psychology and Christianity by Eric Johnson (2010) is a helpful resource for understanding five core paradigms of Christian engagement with psychology. The core paradigms are represented in five views: levels-of-explanation approach, integration approach, Christian psychology, transformational psychology and biblical counselling (cf. Clinton, Hawkins & Ohlschlager 2011:12; Entwistle 2010:15; Greggo & Sisemore 2012:60–183). Each of the five views proposes a basic structure for psychological models to develop, interpret and evaluate their approach to anthropology within a biblically informed Christian worldview:

1. The levels-of-explanation model holds the view that the Christian religion and psychology are two diverse disciplines that offer complementary approaches to anthropology without any mixing or joining together of their unique research approaches and methodology.

2. The integration model holds the view that Christian psychologists should combine psychology and theology by integrating psychological research approaches and methodology with fundamental Christian faith. The model critically and constructively engages a Christian worldview with psychology but rejects any psychological research and methodology in conflict with the Bible as unacceptable and undesirable for integration.

3. The Christian psychology model emphasises an approach to psychology that is firmly constructed on a Christian worldview. It defines a psychological approach to anthropology as understood according to a historical and philosophical approach to Christianity and engages in empirical research from within the Christian worldview.

4. The transformational psychology worldview model focuses on the spiritual-emotional transformation of the counsellor or psychologist as the fundamental basis to do psychology through the power of the Holy Spirit. The transformational approach is grounded in reality, including realities understood by faith (e.g. sin, indwelling of the Holy Spirit, human soul), to learn and discover a new view of the transformed person that is driven less by one accepted psychological theory and tradition but open to the experience of the Spirit, truths from Scripture, the process of doing psychology and observation and reflection on the self and others.

5. The biblical counselling model highlights a distinctive approach and focuses on detailed biblical analysis, claiming that the Bible alone is the infallible and authoritative source of all relevant insight and disclosure in counselling. Biblical counselling applies Scripture to clarify and addresses difficult circumstances of life, and any dependence on extra-biblical resources is seen as being able to distort the biblical counselling endeavour to care and cure what goes wrong in personal and interpersonal life.

The five core paradigms contribute to approaching psychology within the theological interpretation and underlying framework of a Christian worldview. Johnson (2010:292) argues that ‘… it would be a serious mistake to assume that there is only one correct position amongst the five such that the others are wholly in error’. The five paradigms attempt to enable Christians to incorporate the best of each paradigm or view into the construction of a new, more comprehensive approach to psychology that transcends the limits of simple linear reasoning.

Through the centuries the Christian worldview, with its foundational grounding in the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God, has offered a rich description about the nature of human beings (cf. Johnson 2007a:198). One of the key challenges in the dialogical relationship between the Christian religion and psychology involves a solid theological basis to incorporate a biblical theology into therapy and counselling (Pargament 2011:12). A normative perspective for Christian psychology would be consistent with the assertion and emphasis on going beyond integration to develop a distinctly Christian psychology that is more substantially grounded in a biblical reformational theology. According to Jones (1994:188; 2007:142), religion does more than emphasise things about God: ‘… it structures our understanding of the context of our existence and asserts many things about the nature of human beings’. However, psychology with a Christian worldview is similarly not an independent therapeutic activity that functions apart from God. According to Johnson (2007b:45), psychology with a Christian worldview is reliant upon God’s mercy ‘… to illuminate human understanding and reveal things about human nature through human reflection, research, and creative insight’.

Christian psychology developed an extensive hermeneutic approach to the study of human values, health and emotional welfare that deals with mental and physical health in relationship to religion and spirituality. It emphasises the crucial and central role of Christian theology, based on the Bible and Christian philosophical reflections on human beings (Johnson 2011:24). Christian psychology explores the Bible as canon or standard (Johnson 2007a:15, 188–190; Roberts & Watson 2010:155; Van de Beek 2012:299) against which psychology must be tested (Collins 2007:43; cf. Johnson 2007a:171, 190). For Christian psychology, the Christian tradition is the orienting guide (cf. Johnson 2007a:188–190) for research on the Christian and theocentric understanding of human nature.

The Bible has a normative primacy over Christian tradition. Vanhoozer (2005:234) states: ‘To practice sola scriptura is to treat Scripture alone as the “norming norm” and tradition as the “normed norm”.’ The Christian psychologist has the obligation to enter into the inspired viewpoints of the Bible and bring them into the reflective context of empirical research to obtain a comprehensive and extensive understanding of human nature. Johnson (1992:349) suggests that the scriptures possess a functional priority and offers a particularly relevant authority to a Christian worldview where psychological research will be primarily empirically based but imbedded in an extensive biblically informed vision of humanity. Johnson (1992:350–353; cf. McMinn 2011b:loc.1955) presents eight roles that the Bible might serve within Christian psychology: experiential, foundational, contextual, axiological, anthropological, canonical, dialogical and creative:

1. The Bible plays an experiential role and provides a fundamental source of wisdom to meet with God and grow in knowledge of him through experiencing the power of the Word of God in a personal relationship.

2. The foundational role of Scripture provides an adequate basis to ground human knowledge, basic assumptions and beliefs.

3. The contextual role understands the assumptions, meaning and purpose of creation and human nature within the context of God’s creative power and wisdom as found in the Bible. This Christian framework strives to see all psychological truth from within God’s world.

4. The axiological role discloses the values, principles and imperatives for humankind, derived from the Bible, to be incorporated into research, theory and practice.

5. The anthropological role of the Bible provides an awareness of the redemptive-historical narrative of human sin and divine redemption.

6. The canonical role of the Bible is important to Christian psychology because it is the Christian’s canon and provides a guideline, a rule, a criterion and a measure of the unchanging standard of truth.

7. The dialogical role of the Bible provides a deeper level of understanding through an exchange of values, principles and perspectives for dialogue as well as a comparison between psychological knowledge and biblical revelation. A dialogue between psychological and biblical discourse allows the Bible to exercise a normative and transformational role as it works upon the findings and theories of psychology, without simply measuring the discipline of psychology or undermining the unique authority of the Bible.

8. The creative role of the Bible could provide a context for exploring new concepts, findings and theories that derive from the biblical outline of the Christian psychological community rather than exclusively from a psychological worldview.

The Bible, as the divinely inspired Word of God, and the Christian creeds and reformed confessions present a theological interpretation and underlying framework for research, theory and practice in Christian psychology. Christian psychology cannot relegate biblical teachings to the periphery of its psychological knowledge. Within a biblically informed Christian worldview, anthropology focuses on humanity’s origin, nature and relational responsibility to God, others and the self. The Bible describes human beings as a unit of body, soul and mind with physical and emotional needs (cf. Dt 6:5; Lk 10:27). The main purpose of anthropology in the Bible is not a biblical psychology or physiology, but to describe humans as created in God’s image but living as fallen people in a broken world (Gn 1:26–28). They are created in this image to represent God’s reign in such a way that something of God’s image and way of doing things are revealed (cf. Clinton, Ohlschlager & Centore 2005:32; Johnson 2007a:544).

In light of this divine act, humans are focused on God (Coram Deo) and dependent on their Creator. Although God created humans in Genesis 1:26–28 to bear his image (בְּצַלְמֵנוּ) and likeness (כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ), their relationship with God has been broken due to sin (cf. Jones, Clinton & Ohlschlager 2005:55; McKim 2001:61). Their fallen sinful nature has marred the image of God (Gl 5:16–17; Col 2:13–14) and has led to disobedience and the destruction of the relationship with God as well as conflict with fellow humans, the self and the environment (Rm 8:7; Eph 2:3–8; Belgic Confession (BC), art. 14 & 15; HC, Q. 3-11).

Despite the sin component of human existence and their broken relationship, God established a special relationship with his covenant people (Gn 15–17). The response of God to the fallen sinful nature of mankind is revealed in reconciliation and salvation through Jesus Christ as a gift from God to concretise God’s grace and faithfulness to his covenant (cf. Jn 3:16; Eph 2:14–19; BC, art. 14-26; HC, Q. 29-52). This restored image of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit, calls upon the redeemed covenant people of God who have been created in God’s likeness to live an accountable restorative life (cf. Eph 4:17–5:20). Thus, as moral human beings, people live a life focused on God, addressed by the working of the Holy Spirit (Richardson 2005:153; Seamands 2004:21).

The appropriate goal of Christian psychology is to model or imitate the example of Christ. Tan (2011:371) and Johnson (2004:98) highlight that Christian spirituality focuses on the spiritual formation (Rm 8:29) of clients into deeper Christlikeness. This cannot be accomplished without spiritual development and constant daily knowledge and application of the virtues and truths of the Bible (cf. Clinton, Hindson & Ohlschlager 2001:x). According to Johnson (2004:107), the fundamental indicator of spiritual maturity is ‘conformity to Christ’ for Christ to enlighten the true self ‘through the free and spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit’.

Unique in many ways those of us ministering in the various areas of psychology have the opportunity of leading others into deeper spiritual truth. Unless we keep a vision of God’s plan of salvation for the human race we will reverse our priorities and our professional endeavours will become sterile intellectual exercises that actually serve to defend against inner spiritual and emotional needs instead of becoming part of the redemptive plan of God. (p. 31)

The essential basis for spiritual development is the guidance of the Holy Spirit (cf. Osmer 2008:29). The transformative work of the parakletos (παρακλητος) or representative of Christ (Jn 15:26), the Holy Spirit, strengthens and guides health-care professionals through the process of spiritual formation to comfort and encourage clients. Adams (1973:7) points out that at least three persons are involved in every counselling situation: the counsellor, the client and the Holy Spirit who is the Counsellor ‘par exelance’. Clinton and Ohlschlager (2005:15) described this counselling relationship from a distinctively Christian worldview with both vertical and horizontal dimensions. It is dyadic in its horizontal dimension between at least two persons, but becomes uniquely triadic due to God’s presence (the Holy Spirit) in the vertical, spiritual transcendent dimension.

Christian counsellors require competence and training in counselling skills, but will first and foremost prayerfully depend on the Holy Spirit as the Counsellor, Advocate and Helper (Tan 2011:35). Johnson (2004:97) describes spiritual formation as ‘the human capacity for a relationship with God as revealed in Jesus Christ through the Spirit’ and the faithful human response to divine providence. Calvin (Calvyn 1988:811; cf. Johnson 2007a:349) calls this religious tendency (psychic structure) in humans the ‘sensus divinitatis’ or ‘semen religionis’ to experience the presence of God (the biological: the brain; the psychosocial: the mind; and the ethical: the conscience).

When Jesus commands his disciples (Mt 5:48) to be perfect (teleios – τέλειος) as their Father in heaven is perfect, he is defining a maturity, perfection or ideal that is the Christian standard for evaluating human functioning (Johnson 2007a:319). Calvin (cf. Calvyn 1988:113–114) states that true wisdom is of two kinds: knowledge of God and knowledge of ourselves. This spiritual maturity can develop from the dialectic relationship with God and the self. Roberts and Watson (2010:164) refer to a practical Christian psychology that will be ‘teleological’ from the outset with ‘telos’ being the picture of human well-being that dominates the Christian psychological tradition. According to Clinton, Ohlschlager and Centore (2005:31), the ethical reflection of Christian psychology can be described by two essential perspectives: firstly, the foundation of truth and the standard by which everything else is evaluated is given in the Bible as the divinely inspired Word of God (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:3) and secondly, an eternal perspective of life and hope in Christ is vital in a mental-health approach (Ps 42:5; Pr 34:18).

Christian psychology requires a description of the psychological nature of human beings according to the Bible and Christian philosophical thinking. This approach will differ from the assumptions and sometimes in the methods that sometimes dominate psychology, because the often-implied goal of the psychological establishment is to be as ‘objective’ as possible (Roberts & Watson 2010:164). The distinctive features of Christian psychology include statements about humanity’s most important psychological characteristic that refers to God, the concept of the image of God, sin and salvation. The constructive relationship between Christian faith and psychology includes principled theory and research, professional practice and personal integration that utilises biblical theological teaching and Christian philosophical reflection on human beings but that are still relevant to mental health.

Christian psychologists have an important goal to explore human beings empirically in a manner similar to contemporary psychology and to practice such research in conformity with their broader commitments (cf. Pargament 2011:19; Roberts & Watson 2010:164). McMinn (2011a:270) emphasises that historical and systematic theology, biblical understanding and Christian tradition are all valued and considered to be essential components of counselling. A comprehensive biblical worldview, with its theological roots and spiritual practices, consists of a clear Christian understanding of human emotion, thoughts and relationships (cf. Clinton, Ohlschlager & Centore 2005:36).

Looking from this vantage point allows a constructive relationship between psychology and Christian theology. The isolation of the two subject fields can be replaced by a model that inspires a holistic sense of effective cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology. Based on mutuality and respect, the development of a distinctively psychological theory, research and practice for the Christian community will be of primary importance. This approach could use the psychological insights of the Christian tradition and engaged modern research to evaluate and apply its findings from a Christian vantage point (Entwistle 2010:14; Johnson 2011:24). However, Johnson (2011:25) warns that some might worry that Christian psychology will result in a ‘Christian intellectual ghetto’ that would marginalise Christians in the field.

A Christian psychology will need to standardise a methodology of validity to research through the norms specified in the Christian religious tradition. This cultivates and encourages a holistic sense of cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology that can enable counsellors and psychologists to respond to therapeutic situations with faithful, theologically informed practice. Christian empirical research operates within an explicit normative understanding or framework of a Christian worldview that faithfully reflects the Christian tradition in the research process. The validity of research in Christian psychology through specified norms involves, in the first place, the Bible, as interpreted in the Christian creeds and Reformed confessions as God’s divinely inspired Word; secondly, Christianity’s Bible-based intellectual and ecclesial traditions; and thirdly, contemporary psychology. Research in Christian psychology implicates a psychological paradigm that is intellectually open-minded but accountable to the biblical reformational theology.

• Intradisciplinary dialogue focuses on the dialogue between the different perspectives within a single subject area and draws conclusions internally to the field.
• Interdisciplinary dialogue brings the perspectives of one subject area into conversation with another subject area.
• Multidisciplinary dialogue brings a number of subject areas into conversation simultaneously. The theories of different subject areas address different levels of interpretation in the field.
• Meta-disciplinary dialogue is a dialogue about the nature of a subject area, often found in the philosophy of science, the sociology of knowledge and rhetoric or argument theory. Meta-disciplinary dialogue articulates the status of a subject area.

Cross-disciplinary dialogue can take a variety of forms (Osmer 2008:164). Through the use of interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary dialogue in the cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology, three models (with diversity in each model) have emerged in contemporary theology to define and describe the relationship between the subject fields (cf. Osmer 2008:164–173).

• Correlational models portray the cross-disciplinary dialogue as one of a number of mutual influences to demonstrate the relationship between Christian religion and psychology. In the correlational model, Christian religion and psychology enter into a mutually influential relationship. Christian counsellors and psychologists carefully listen to contemporary psychologists, learn from them and contribute to the dialogue. According to Osmer (2008:165), three variations of the correlational model have emerged: the method of correlation, the revised method of correlation and the revised praxis-method of correlation.

• Transformational models of cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology can be describes as a conversation between people who speak different languages (cf. Osmer 2008:168). Christian religion and psychology have their own distinctive subject matter but can transform what is learned from each other by replacing their own distinctive subject matter in a different disciplinary context. According to Osmer (2008:168), two versions of the transformational model have emerged: the Chalcedonian approach guides the dialogue by the theological grammar of the Christological formulations of the Council of Chalcedon, and the ad-hoc correlational approach uses literary and hermeneutical theories that are helpful to theology or discard it in an ad-hoc way.

• Transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue pictures the relationship of the disciplines as an interacting network of different fields and contends that the human quest for intelligibility is strengthened by rational communication across this network’ (Osmer 2008:171). The transversal model, formulated by researchers such as Schrag and Van Huyssteen (cf. Müller 2013:3), assumes a more fluid and dynamic understanding of the interdisciplinary relationship between Christian religion and psychology and explores different values and perspectives that may overlap at various levels of intersection (cf. Van Huyssteen 2006a:9). According to Osmer (2008:172), the transversal model is person and perspective specific and ‘… explores areas of overlap and divergence in a concrete dialogue between particular people and perspectives’. The transversal network explores ways in which Christian religion and psychology can share the common resources of rationality and give more attention to the pluralism found in each subject field (cf. Müller 2013:3; Osmer 2008:172; Van Huyssteen 1999:282–286).

Van Huyssteen (2006a) describes a departure point between the different disciplines and states:

In this multidisciplinary use of the concept of transversality there emerge distinct characteristics or features: the dynamics of consciousness, the interweaving of many voices, the interplay of social practices are all expressed in a metaphor that points to a sense of transition, lying across, extending over, intersecting, meeting, and conveying without becoming identical. (p. 19)

Transversality is the term used within the post-foundational notion of rationality ‘… that enables meaningful communication between the diverse disciplines’ (Müller 2013:3). The post-foundational approach distances itself from both the subjective fundamental (universal rationality) approach and the non-fundamental relativism (diverse rationality) approach (Müller 2013:3; 2011:2; Van Huyssteen 1997:2–4). According to Van Huyssteen (2006a; cf. Müller 2013:4), a post-foundationalist notion of rationality points toward plausible forms of interdisciplinary dialogue:

A postfoundationalist approach helps us realise … that we are not the intellectual prisoners of our contexts or traditions, but that we are epistemically empowered to cross contextual, cultural, and disciplinary borders to explore critically the theories, meanings, and beliefs through which we and others construct our worlds. (p. 25)

Christian religion and psychology cannot operate in isolation within the post-foundational approach (Van Huyssteen 1999:282–286). Van Huyssteen (1997:4; 2007:421) states that ‘transversal reasoning’ discovers an epistemic space where interdisciplinary evaluation is possible. This approach assumes that, in order to construct a concrete dialogue, definite areas of overlapping should be sought in the relationship between Christian religion and psychology. Müller (2011:3) points out that the post-foundational approach, ‘… although also hermeneutical in nature, moves beyond mere hermeneutics. It is more reflexive and situational embedded in epistemology and methodology.’

As a result of the mutually reflective post-foundational discourse, Christian religion and psychology can be enriched to obtain a comprehensive and extensive understanding of human nature (cf. Van Huyssteen 2007:419). A constructive, cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology ‘… flows out of a deep appreciation for theology and a profound personal transformation caused by a life in Christ’ (McMinn 2011a:31). Emphasis on Christian faithfulness should help to highlight differences between the Christian tradition and contemporary psychologies (Roberts & Watson 2010:167).

In order for Christian religion to be incorporated in cross-disciplinary dialogue with contemporary psychology, theologically informed counsellors and psychologists that hold a Christian worldview ‘… should view religion as one facet of human nature that requires special attention, sensitivity, and appropriate training’ (Jones 1994:196; 2007:151). This expands the transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue by proposing a post-foundational approach to the interdisciplinary dialogue (Müller 2009:199; 2011:3; 2013:3; Van Huyssteen 1997:4). A biblical worldview or perspective may nurture the development of a plausible Christian hypothesis and a psychological dynamic that contribute to the enrichment of mental health and psychological adjustments (cf. Roberts & Watson 2010:167). This involves the post-foundational approach to distinguish between religious and psychological health issues within the subject field of Christian psychology that are also theologically accountable (cf. Van Huyssteen 1997:4). A detailed exegesis of the Bible would enrich Christian psychology when the Bible is approached with real questions that impact on health professionals and their calling as servants in the field of Christian psychology.

The primary motivation behind the Christian-psychology model is that health professionals are enabled to incorporate a transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue in psychology, one based on the Bible and Christian traditions, by developing new hypotheses, research programs, psychological theories and clinical practices in areas where a Christian worldview makes a difference. In the cross-disciplinary dialogue with psychology, ‘… theology will act as an equal partner with an authentic voice in a postmodern situation’ (Müller 2013:4). The goal of Christian psychology is not only to alleviate symptoms or heal clients’ emotional problems but also to deepen spiritual maturity and restore their relationship with God (Clinton, Ohlschlager & Centore 2005:35; Tan 2011:357).

The relationship between Christian religion and psychology ‘… is less a matter of integration of the two into each other’s framework, scientifically or intuitively, and more a matter of … mutual illumination’ (Ellens 1997:193). It is rather a source of transversal knowledge in which human nature is revealed and ‘tested against the norm of revealed biblical truth’ (Collins 2007:43) in a post-foundationalist interdisciplinary dialogue. This phenomenological and theistic approach expands the body of knowledge about humans and results in a cross-disciplinary team approach to increase the effectiveness of care in all aspects of human existence.

Christian psychologists can incorporate the transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue to re-contextualise psychology and understand the complex reality of human nature from within the redemptive-historical narrative of human sin and divine redemption as it is revealed through God’s creative power, wisdom and grace in the Bible. It is a process of meeting clients in the depth of their experience and leading them to become people who are both spiritually and psychologically whole. According to Clinton, Hawkins and Ohlschlager (2011), it includes helping people:

… deal with severe loss, conflicts, and disorders, but it has one ultimate concern: helping clients become more like Christ and grow into a deeper intimacy with God and with one another. (p. 11)

The proposed normative perspective for Christian psychology involves a transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue that is intellectually open-minded but accountable to the biblical reformational approach to theology (biblically based, Christ-centred and Spirit-filled). Semper reformanda [reformed and always reforming] is an important reformational norm or principle and gives a broad challenge to Christian psychology to engage in constructing a transversal cross-disciplinary paradigm that takes into account the Bible, as divinely inspired Word of God, the Christian creeds, reformed confessions and Christian traditions to offer a rich description about the nature of human beings.

The development in the interdisciplinary transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue between Christian religion and psychology explores important reformation principles and faith statements, which are essential attributes of the normative perspective for Christian psychology. Van Huyssteen (2006b) describes the post-foundational notion of rationality within the transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue and states:

In this wide reflective equilibrium, we finally find the safe but fragile public space we have been searching for, a space for shuttling back and forth between deep personal convictions and the principles that finally result from interpersonal judgements. (p. 148)

This article proposes a normative perspective that constitutes an enriched relationship between Christian religion and psychology, and describes the post-foundational role and guidance of biblical values on Christian psychology. Christian counsellors and psychologists should also explore the Bible and the Christian intellectual and religious tradition as a normative perspective for their practice-related research across the field of Christian psychology and practical-theological interpretation. A transversal model of cross-disciplinary dialogue, based on mutuality and respect, can enrich the interdisciplinary theory-praxis interface through the embracement of a normative perspective that explores a biblical reformational theology, which emphasises the authority of Scripture, the sovereignty of God and redemption by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

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