The Inner Conflict - Thoughts on Psychology

From Lectures on Psychology

An important field of psychological research is the biology of behavior, also variously called physiological psychology, psychobiology, or biopsychology, whatever.

The theological problem is that the Bible doesn't accept that moral choices are physiologically determined. Determinism may form the basis of animal behavior, but not of man who is held morally responsible for his actions. Though, materialists may disagree, the argument connects to the factor of difference, namely the spirituality of man.

The inner conflict of Romans 7 is the conflict between the physiological determinant and the soul's incapability due to sin to obey God's law, an external factor not belonging to the cause-effect system of the flesh. Therefore, as long as we were in the flesh, the passions did what they would. However, the introduction of the Law posed the conflict because the soul finds itself in the bondage of the flesh, so knowledge conflicts with determinist animal passions. The battle is lost because of the bondage. However, the life of Christ frees us, because faith is the act by which, the causality sequence is broken and the transcedent Law is embraced through the Spirit of Christ...