Spirit-Controlled Temperament

So I tried to read this, and I am by no means more spiritually mature than such a popular author as Tim LaHaye. I've enjoyed several of his books without questioning their content. But going through the introduction to this book, I could not reconcile myself to accepting what he was sharing. He said:

The theory of the four temperaments is not perfect; no theory of human behavior is. However, it is the oldest on record, going back more than three thousand years: In Proverbs 30:11-14 the wise man saw four kinds of people. About five hundred years later, the four were given names by Hippocrates, said to be the father of modern medicine. Galen, a Greek doctor, came up with a detailed list of the strengths and weaknesses of the four around A.D. 200. This has remained pretty much intact throughout history and is still the prevailing position in Europe.

Wow! God already lined this out? So I excitedly looked up the verses:

10 "Do not slander a servant to his master,
or he will curse you, and you will pay for it.

11 "There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;

12 those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;

13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;

14 those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth,
the needy from among mankind.

15 "The leech has two daughters.
'Give! Give!' they cry.
"There are three things that are never satisfied,
four that never say, 'Enough!':

16 the grave, ^[c] the barren womb,
land, which is never satisfied with water,
and fire, which never says, 'Enough!'

Hmmmm. I didn't see a breakthrough there. I didn't see four temperaments describing why we are the way we are either. I saw verses that described a wickedness able to be found in all of us. Nothing hinting at why Sparky Sanguine is the warm, buoyant, lively, and fun-loving temperament. I couldn't find anywhere in the book where these verses were mentioned again. If this is where it all started, I'd sure like to know how the author was able to develop these temperaments out of these verses. And the part about it remaining intact through history and still the prevailing position in Europe? It just doesn't ring true. Who's position in Europe? Most Europeans? Most European psychologists? Most European doctors? It just kind of sounds like one of those things you say to Americans to get them to think highly of a new idea..."Well all the europeans are doing it..."

So there goes another book I haven't finished. I've started and discarded several that I never listed. I haven't had good luck finding clean books. I have officially decided to avoid the New Release section of the library website. The books might be hailed as modern classics, but that doesn't make them edifying. or classic.

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