Abstract
Christian educators often start with the end in mind. Concern for the student(s) moves past content recall and information regurgitation. “Beyond the curriculum, what kind of character will the student develop?” “More importantly than the grade he or she makes, how might this course foster growth in godliness?” For many, the clearest way of measuring and answering these questions are through the fruit of the Spirit. Yet, there are questions that must be answered when using Galatians 5:22–23 as the metric for accomplishing and assessing educational outcomes. Are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23) individual and segregated “fruits” that are cultivated in isolation from one another? Or, are they all a conglomerate of Christian characters? In what ways, if any, are these characteristics intrinsically Christian? Further, how can these virtues be developed within the life of a believer? These types of questions are common within the community of Christian educators since they understand the telos of Christian education as conformity to the image of Christ.
In The Psychology of the Fruit of the Spirit: The Biblical Portrayal of the Christlike Character and its Development, Zoltán Dörnyei answers these questions in a rigorous and well-researched way. Dörnyei sets forth two purposes for his book. First, he argues that Paul's list of virtues in Galatians 5:22–23 “outlines a composite character that can be seen as a representation of an ideal, Christlike personality for believers to aspire to and to approximate …” (p. 2). His second purpose is for the reader to have a clearer understanding of how the fruit of the Spirit is cultivated by approaching the content through both theological and psychological perspectives (p. 2). Dörnyei is uniquely qualified to write this book as he holds one PhD in psycholinguistics and another in theology.
The flow of this book supports these purposes with a clear intentionality. The initial chapter provides the reader with a robust introduction and rationale for the purpose of the book. Chapters 2 through 4 dive deeply into a biblical and theological engagement with the fruit of the Spirit. In these chapters, Dörnyei superbly makes his case for a “composite view” of the fruit of the Spirit and also provides a literature review of sorts as he engages academic and popular-level works on the topic.
Chapters 5 through 7 largely focus on integrating a psychological analysis of the fruit of the Spirit and its development. It is in these chapters that Dörnyei firmly engages in how the fruit of the Spirit can be cultivated. Also, within these chapters, he engages how this list of virtues is similar to non-biblical virtues and how they can be uniquely applied to the life of a believer. Dörnyei makes excellent use of social-science research as he winsomely supports his overall thesis.
The reader should be prepared for a thorough academic engagement on the subject matter. Dörnyei writes at a high level of scholarship that is reflected in the overall technical nature of the book. In fact, a readability test reveals that the book is written by a college graduate and above level. This indicates that this book is best suited for those who have or who are participating in extensive university-level research and writing. Readers who have less than an introductory knowledge of technical theological and psychological content will likely struggle to engage this book in a meaningful and pragmatic way.
The unique contribution of this book is its robust theological and psychological analysis of the fruit of the Spirit and its development. Dörnyei notes that the majority of works on the fruit of the Spirit are written for “general Christian readers” rather than academicians (p. 12). In fact, he goes even further to claim that there are “no academic monographs dedicated to the subject to date” (p. 12). Based on the reading and research of this reviewer, it is possible that The Psychology of the Fruit of the Spirit is truly the first of its kind in many regards.
Dörnyei's philosophy and worldview are well within the bounds of Christian orthodoxy. While there are no major red flags, there is a disposition of the author regarding biblical interpretation that the potential reader should be aware of. When introducing his approach, Dörnyei states, “In order to uncover the full meaning and significance of the fruit of the Spirit, the current book has adopted an interdisciplinary approach, whereby theological reflections are complemented with findings from the field of psychology” (p. 5). The perspective that Scripture, in any way, needs another discipline to uncover the “full meaning and significance” of the text will be off-putting to readers who hold an antithetical method of interpretation. Despite this red flag for some potential readers, Dörnyei's book proves to be both academically rigorous and biblically faithful in every regard.
While there are many, the book has two particular strengths that stand out. The first is Dörnyei's commitment to bolstering his thesis through diligent academic processes. This reviewer cannot recall a book that stays more focused on engaging necessary domains and concepts that work to support a thesis. Thus, readers will not be bogged down by “fluff” or irrelevant content.
The second major strength is Dörnyei's commitment to validity and reliability in both spheres of the book's content (theology and psychology). This makes the book both challenging and appealing to professionals in the fields of theology and social-science. Those who exist more in the biblical/theological fields will find the content to be well researched and presented. Professionals who live more in the social-science field will recognize and applaud Dörnyei's commitment to engaging reliable, historical, and current psychological research and data.
Overall, there is not one page on which Dörnyei does not thoroughly support his thesis. Readers may disagree with Dörnyei's composite view of the fruit of the Spirit. However, his process, research, and reasoning for coming to his conclusion cannot be impugned. This leads the reviewer to recommend this book with great eagerness. Readers will benefit from engaging in a rigorous biblical and academic exercise. Perhaps more importantly, readers of this book will be challenged to grow in sanctification as they consider the fruit of the Spirit in a fresh and exciting way.
The Psychology of the Fruit of the Spirit will be a phenomenal text for any Christian educator in higher education that is looking to integrate social-science into the spiritual formation of a class. Pastors and ministers will also benefit from this work in how they serve their congregations and strive to see them grow spiritually. This book will also be of great use to those in the K-12 education ministry who are charged with the spiritual formation oversight of faculty, staff, students, or families. Lastly, this book will benefit any reader who is willing to deeply engage in the fruit of the Spirit and the psychology behind how it might be developed.
As Christian educators in various fields seek to foster Christlikeness in the lives of their students, there are undoubtedly many challenges: schedules, unforeseen events, deadlines, curriculum, and much more. However, it is the opinion of this review that the Christian educator who devotes time to read and work through Dörnyei's book will be resourced to better invest in—and positively foster—the spiritual growth of their learners into the image of Christ.