Jesus, the Greatest Therapist Who Ever Lived: A Practical Guide to Healing Body, Soul, and Mind Through Biblical Principles and Modern Psychology

Jesus, the Greatest Therapist Who Ever Lived: A Practical Guide to Healing Body, Soul, and Mind Through Biblical Principles and Modern Psychology

Jesus: Healer of Body, Soul—and Mind Over one hundred years of modern psychology and we still haven't improved on the principles and lessons taught by the greatest doctor of the human soul—Jesus. In this accessible and eye-opening book, international bestselling author Dr. Mark Baker offers a refreshing and practical understanding of how the teachings of Jesus are not only compatible with the science of psychology, but still speak to our problems and struggles today. Filled with biblical quotations, real-life stories, and divided into two major sections, "Understanding People" and "Knowing Yourself," this easy-to-use guide reveals how the gospel continues to have the power to lighten the darkest corners of the human spirit. Jesus: Healer of Body, Soul—and Mind Over one hundred years of modern psychology and we still haven't improved on the principles and lessons taught by the greatest doctor of the human soul—Jesus. In this accessible and eye-opening book, international bestselling author Dr. Mark Baker offers a refreshing and practical understanding of how the teachings of Jesus are not only compatible with the science of psychology, but still speak to our problems and struggles today. Filled with biblical quotations, real-life stories, and divided into two major sections, "Understanding People" and "Knowing Yourself," this easy-to-use guide reveals how the gospel continues to have the power to lighten the darkest corners of the human spirit. Mark W. Baker Ph.D., is the executive director of the La Vie Counseling Center in Pasadena and has a private counseling practice in Santa Monica. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist with an M.A. in theology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is a regular speaker at churches in the Los Angeles area. Jesus, the Greatest Therapist Who Ever Lived By Mark Baker HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2007 Mark Baker All right reserved. ISBN: 9780061374777 Chapter One Understanding How People Think "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade." With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. —Mark 4:30-34 Life is about faith. Jesus knew that most of what we do in life is simply taken on faith. We like to think we are rational beings living logical lives based upon objective facts. But the truth is, we are rationalizing beings who base most of our decisions on what we feel or believe and come up with the logic to justify our decisions afterwards. We don't really know as much as we think we do. Jesus knew this, so he used parables to force us to deal with what we believe rather than what we think we know. Because we don't know as much as we think we do, the truly knowledgeable person is always humble. Jesus never wrote a book, always spoke in parables, and led people to the truth through his living example. He was confident without being arrogant, believed in absolutes without being rigid, and was clear about his own identity without being judgmental toward others. Jesus approached people with psychological skills that we are just beginning to understand. Instead of giving scholarly lectures based upon his theological knowledge, he humbly made his points through simple stories. He didn't use his knowledge to talk down to people; he used a humble means of communication to talk with them. He spoke in a manner that made people listen because he knew what made them want to listen. I believe Jesus was a powerful communicator because he understood what the science of psychology is teaching us today—that we base our lives more on what we believe than on what we actually know. His harshest criticisms were leveled at religious teachers, yet he was one himself. You see, he did not criticize them for their knowledge, but rather for their arrogance. To him, knowledge becomes toxic when people cease to be teachable. The more we learn, the more we should realize how much there is that we don't yet know. Arrogance is a sign of insecurity and only proves a lack of self-knowledge on the part of those who display it. Jesus understood that human ideas are crude approximations of the universe—his psychologically brilliant teaching style always took this into account. I believe we need to learn what Jesus knew about the relationship between knowledge and humility if we want to be more effective communicators.1 Truly great thinkers are humble about what they know. They realize life isn't as much about knowledge as it is about faith. Why Jesus Spoke in Parables He did not say anything to them without using a parable. —Mark 4:34 Jes