A Psychologist looks at Scripture
In this 8-10 minute podcast, I as a psychologist and a priest use my training and skills to examine the Gospels. I will present alternative interpretations and insights into the meaning of Scripture for men and women in the 21st century.
I can be reached at peter.dohertyomi@gmail.com.
A Psychologist looks at Scripture
Luke 21.5-19 Nov 16-25 From Judas to Us: Understanding Betrayal Through Scripture and Science
Jesus warns us that we will be betrayed not just by anyone but by people who are close to us, family members. Experiencing betrayal is unfortunately more common than we would like. Being betrayed by those who are close to us is especially hurtful. Betrayal undermines our ability to trust. Have you ever experienced betrayal?
Betrayal is a prevalent theme in the Gospels. From the moment Jesus was born there was betrayal. I direct you to Matthew 2: 1-12 where the wisemen who have tracked the star to Bethlehem ask King Herod where the infant king of the Jews is. After consulting with his advisors, he tells the wisemen to go find the child and report back to him so can go and give homage. The scheme almost worked but the wisemen are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. King Herod lied to the wisemen to get information from them so he could kill the child. He betrayed the wisemen who had made it clear to Herod that their intention was to pay homage to the child not set him up to be killed.
From Judas to Us: Understanding Betrayal Through Scripture and Science"
Hello, and thank you for joining me on “A Psychologist Looks at Scripture.” I am Peter Doherty—a Catholic priest and psychologist—and I am pleased you can join me.
In this podcast, I draw from my background in psychology and scripture studies to provide fresh insights into the Gospels. I also try to apply the Gospel teaching to contemporary realites we are living. The Gospels consistently invite us to deepen our faith, find new wisdom, and grow spiritually. There is always something more to discover together.
Each episode runs about 7 to 10 minutes. I know you are busy, so I keep my podcasts short. If you have time and are interested, please check out the earlier episodes listed on the podcast website and on YouTube. I would like to thank all my listeners. Thank you so much for being part of this journey! Your support energizes me to keep podcasting. Please let me know if you have questions and comments, they truly matter—they help this podcast grow and flourish.
The Gospel today from Luke 21:5-19. This Gospel will be read in Churches November 16, 2025.
The Gospel seems to be a lumping together of several Gospel themes. The Gospel starts with the disciples commenting on the beauty of the temple. Jesus surprises them by pointing out that the temple will be destroyed. This actually happened in 70 AD when the temple in Jerusalem, known as the Second Temple, was destroyed by the Roman army during the Siege of Jerusalem. The western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, now known as the Western Wall, is the only remnant left. Understandably the disciples are concerned and asked Jesus about when this would happen. Jesus does not answer the question but launches into several teachings. I am not sure if Jesus chose not to answer them but for the rest of the Gospel, we are reading it as a collection of teachings added on. Jesus warns the disciples of calamities ahead and that they themselves will be persecuted. Very likely this passage was read often by the early Christians in the midst of the persecutions of the early Church.
While there are challenges ahead, we do get a promise from Jesus that we will not be alone, and we are encouraged to depend on our God for support.
The last paragraph is quite scary. Jesus warns us that we will be betrayed not just by anyone but by people who are close to us, family members. Experiencing betrayal is unfortunately more common than we would like. Being betrayed by those who are close to us is especially hurtful. Betrayal undermines our ability to trust. Have you ever experienced betrayal?
Erik Erikson, a German-born American psychoanalyst and developmental psychologist known for his theory of psychosocial development, outlined eight stages of development across the human lifespan. In his classical theory on human development, he listed the development of trust as the first task of infant development. According to his theory the development of trust is essential for personal development. A lack of trust will lead to the individual having difficulty trusting people and thus be afraid to explore new situations that would lead to growth. I propose that many people’s struggle with trusting God stems from a wound or wounds they experienced when the trust in a caregiver was undermined. Fortunately, children are resilient and can withstand the occasional breach in trust, but an ongoing series of broken promises may leave the child not trusting what their parent says. This first became clear when studying couples and families where one individual was addicted to something. Addicts are notorious for not keeping their promises. Its no wonder that a child has difficulty trusting God because they have learned they cannot trust a parent.
Jennifer J. Freyd developed betrayal trauma theory, which highlights the profound negative impact of betrayal within interpersonal trauma, such as abuse. Her research demonstrated strong associations between high levels of betrayal trauma and symptoms including depression, anxiety, dissociation, and physical illness. Her research also introduced the concept of "betrayal blindness," a survival mechanism that suppresses conscious awareness of betrayal to preserve critical relationships or social systems. In 2022, researchers Adams-Clark and colleagues expanded on this work by investigating the impact of interpersonal, family, cultural, and institutional betrayal on adult survivors of abuse. Their study emphasized the neurobiological and psychological consequences of betrayal trauma, which include challenges including trust issues, PTSD, depression, emotional detachment, and difficulties in forming new relationships.
People can be betrayed by anyone. I suspect some of my listeners may have experienced being betrayed by family, employers, employees, colleagues, even their own Church. As pointed out by Erikson, lack of trust can hamper one’s psychological growth. It seems to me that lack of trust can hamper the development of our social skills because we see the world as unsafe. I would go as far to say that lack of trust also hampers our spiritual growth.
For our purposes today I will define betrayal as the experience of being harmed by the intentional actions or omissions of a trusted person or party, involving a violation of trust and expectations within an interpersonal relationship. It generally entails one party prioritizing their own interests at the expense of the other's, signaling a disregard for the relationship and the betrayed individual's well-being. Betrayal can manifest itself in several forms, and may include disloyalty, harmful disclosures, dishonesty, or infidelity, and often leads to psychological consequences including feelings of rejection, loss, anger, and damaged self-esteem. Betrayal is considered a profound form of interpersonal rejection with significant emotional impact and potential long-term effects on mental health.
Betrayal is a prevalent theme in the Gospels. From the moment Jesus was born there was betrayal. I direct you to Matthew 2: 1-12 where the wisemen who have tracked the star to Bethlehem ask King Herod where the infant king of the Jews is. After consulting with his advisors, he tells the wisemen to go find the child and report back to him so can go and give homage. The scheme almost worked but the wisemen are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod. King Herod lied to the wisemen to get information from them so he could kill the child. He betrayed the wisemen who had made it clear to Herod that their intention was to pay homage to the child not set him up to be killed. Jesus criticized the Pharisees who sold out their heritage and vocation. Instead of helping the people they laid heavy burdens on the people Matthew 23:4. The most well-known example of betrayal is of course Judas. I will get back to him in a minute.
Because betrayal is so common how are we as Christians suppose to respond to betrayal in our lives? I am immediately drawn to the words of Jesus dying on the cross. Forgive them Father, for they do not know what they are doing”, Luke 23:34. I wonder who exactly “they” is. Likely all the people responsible for the execution, the guards who carried out the orders, Pilate who gave the final orders, the Sanhedrin for sending Jesus to Pilate and including Judas who initially betrayed Jesus. Yes, Jesus forgave his betrayer. I want to point out the forgiveness did not happen in some post resurrection appearance but rather while Jesus was in full pain dying on the cross.
Forgiving someone who has betrayed you is difficult, but you do it for yourself. As many of you know I wrote a book with my co-author Patti-Anne Kay on forgiveness; “Forgiveness Breaking Free and moving on”. There are two points I want to draw your attention to. First of all remember that forgiveness is something you do for yourself. You want to reduce the negative impact of the betrayal that you experienced and reinstate your future ability to trust.
Secondly, Forgiveness does not mean reconciliation. We are not called to reconcile with someone who is toxic and cannot be trusted. See the betrayal as a learning opportunity. Review the situation, do not get angry but reflect upon the situation to see if there were warning signs along the way. Do not criticize yourself for missing the signs. You acted in good faith, You trusted. As much as possible strive to learn from the experience and don’t let it lead to you mistrusting others or poisoning your view of humanity. I feel sorry for those who have betrayed me. They have disgraced themselves and they have lost the opportunity for a loyal friendship. That is the real damage of betryal.
Thank you for joining me today.
Next Sunday, I’ll be sharing a new podcast episode on Luke 23:35-43, where we will hear about Jesus on the cross welcoming one of the robbers who was crucified with him into paradise.
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New episodes come out every Sunday, focusing on the week’s Gospel. Your feedback is always valued and helps our community grow.
A big thank you to Heather Patel Doherty and Richard Coulombe for their wonderful help in preparing each episode.
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at peter.dohertyomi@gmail.com.
May God richly bless you!