PTypes - Similarities in REBT and Judeo-Christian Philosophies of Acceptance

As Albert Ellis (pg. 111) tells it in The Road to Tolerance, up until the year 2000, when he was eighty-seven years old, he was somewhat famous for his view that effective psychotherapy, such as REBT, was incompatible with firm religious conviction. But he had noted in 1997 that several practitioners of REBT had integrated it with their clients' religious outlook. "They held that several REBT values and philosophies were remarkably similar to some Judeo-Christian attitudes and therefore enhanced the mental health of the religious believers who subscribe to them" (pp. 113-14).

In 2000, Ellis (pp. 120-24) listed some of the main agreements of REBT and Judeo-Christian "views that frequently aid mental health" (pg. 119). Below are the similarities Ellis found in REBT and Judeo-Christian views on "self-acceptance," "other-acceptance," and "life-acceptance."

"REBT Philosophy of Unconditional Self-Acceptance: I can rate my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors as "good" or "effective" when I and other people see that they lead to beneficial or unbeneficial results. But I cannot accurately give a global or general rating to my self or personhood because I do thousands of tasks and projects during my lifetime, many "good" and many "bad." I can always give myself unconditional self-acceptance and see myself as a "worthy" individual who deserves a happy and productive life. I can unconditionally accept myself just because I choose to do so—because I am alive and human. I will try to act well and win people's cooperation and approval, but I don't have to do so to prove my worth as a person. When I achieve my goals and purposes, I shall think that that is good but not that I am a good person. I shall try to desist from this kind of inaccurate overgeneralizing.

"Religious Philosophy of Unconditional Self-Acceptance: I am a fallible, imperfect child of God, who will keep making some serious mistakes. My God is merciful and will always accept me as a sinner while urging me to be less sinful. Because my God accepts me unconditionally in spite of my failings, I can and will fully accept myself as a good person in his eyes and in my own life" (pg. 120).

"REBT Philosophy of Unconditional Other-Acceptance: Like me, all humans are quite fallible and will rarely become less fallible when I angrily criticize them. If I blame them for their misdeeds, they will often damn me back and refuse to change their ways. If anything, they may act worse. I had better realistically accept people with their errors and their wrongdoings and encourage them to correct their behavior. Hating harmful, angry people will frequently induce them to defensively deny the wrongness of their acts and will help them revengefully increase it. Therefore, I had better unconditionally accept them as fallible humans, deplore their sinning, and not damn them as hopeless sinners.

"Religious Philosophy of Unconditional Other-Acceptance: My God and my religion encourage me to love my neighbors and other wrongdoers, to pray for them, and to try to help them reform. Blessed am I if I am merciful and forgive the sinners but not their sins. Judge not, that ye be not judged.

"REBT Philosophy of Unconditional Life-Acceptance and High Frustration Tolerance: Life inevitably includes many misfortunes and distresses for practically everyone. Some conditions are moderately bad, some very bad, and a few exceptionally bad. When I experience unfortunate conditions, I shall do my best to improve them. But if I assess them as awful, terrible, or horrible, I imply that they are totally bad, as bad as they could possibly be, and that I can't stand them and manage to be happy at all. My exaggerated, overgeneralized evaluation of unfortunate happenings will tend to paralyze me and keep me from trying to correct them. It will often make bad things seem hopeless and unchangeable. It frequently will stop me from coping with them and finding some enjoyment in my life in spite of them. Therefore, I'd better accept misfortunes that I cannot change and find some enjoyable pursuits in spite of them. Bad events don't make everything bad—unless I see them that way.

"Religious Philosophy of Unconditional Life-Acceptance and High Frustration Tolerance: God cares for me and will help me to weather and cope with real misfortunes. If I trust in God and uncomplainingly accept life's tribulations, I will deal much better with them. God's will be done. In time, God will help me resolve my worst problems, for I have learned to find resources in myself whatever my circumstances" (pp. 121-22).

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