With the growing awareness of the role guilt played in psychological maladjustments I had a desire to begin an intensive study of the whole concept of guilt and conscience—both biblicaly and psychologically. That study led me to question two assumptions held by many Christians. The first is the belief that guilt feelings are a helpful form of motivation. I have now come to believe that not only are guilt feels destructive, they are diametrically opposed to a scriptural view of motivation and actually reflect our own independent efforts to solve the problem of sin in our lives. They actually pose a barrier to spiritual growth and maturity rather than being an incentive for it,
With the growing awareness of the role guilt played in psychological maladjustments I had a desire to begin an intensive study of the whole concept of guilt and conscience—both biblicaly and psychologically. That study led me to question two assumptions held by many Christians. The first is the belief that guilt feelings are a helpful form of motivation. I have now come to believe that not only are guilt feels destructive, they are diametrically opposed to a scriptural view of motivation and actually reflect our own independent efforts to solve the problem of sin in our lives. They actually pose a barrier to spiritual growth and maturity rather than being an incentive for it.
With the growing awareness of the role guilt played in psychological maladjustments I had a desire to begin an intensive study of the whole concept of guilt and conscience—both biblically and psychologically. That study led me to question two assumptions held by many Christians. The first is the belief that guilt feelings are a helpful form of motivation. I have now come to believe that not only are guilt feels destructive, they are diametrically opposed to a scriptural view of motivation and actually reflect our own independent efforts to solve the problem of sin in our lives. They actually pose a barrier to spiritual growth and maturity rather than being an incentive for it.
Here we have a penetrating insight. Our twentieth century society with its new morality, psychological explanations, and relativistic standards is actually no more free from guilt than earlier generations. We have simply adopted a kind of cultural defense against guilt, renamed it, and proclaimed our freedom. We now talk about inferiority, self-esteem, and depression. But all these things are indications of hidden guilt. The only difference is that large numbers of people are now experiencing the subjective elements of guilt without realizing it. Having disguised and renamed the problem, however, we may now be even further from the real solution.
