Post by Cindy on Apr 28, 2015 10:30:26 GMT -5
THE SPIRIT IN COUNSELING [Excerpts]
Many Christian counselors are guilty of ignoring the divine Counselor. It's time to rediscover His role.
I think it's no exaggeration to say that the Christian counseling scene today is in total shambles. I'm not talking about true Christian counseling -- that which trusts the Bible and the power of the Holy Spirit to conform a person to Christ -- that kind of counseling has been successfully changing sinners since the apostolic age. I'm talking about pseudo-counseling -- the attempt to fix people with a blend of secular psychological theory and the Bible.
But have integrationist counselors affected any real change among evangelical Christians?
Are people really fixed?
It has been sad to see so many Christians seek counsel from Christian psychotherapists who fumble around with theories developed by Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers and B. F. Skinner Psychology and talk therapy are so bankrupt that many are abandoning them to embrace biological psychiatry.Psychotropic medicine is the new savior.Problems that were once blamed on dysfunctional families and Id/Superego conflict are now charged to chemical imbalances and disorders.
Yesterday's psychology and today's psychiatry share the same fatal errors -- they reject the total depravity of man due to sin; they treat the symptoms instead of the heart; and they aim for change that is not true sanctification.
In spite of obvious failure, the notion prevails within the church that psychotherapy and psychiatry are more effective agents of change -- particularly in dealing with the most difficult cases -- than the Holy Spirit who sanctifies. But can psychotherapy or psychiatry possibly accomplish something the Holy Spirit cannot? Can an earthly therapist achieve more than a heavenly Comforter? Is behavior modification more helpful than sanctification? Of course not.
(Excerpted from "The Work of the Spirit and Biblical Counseling" in Introduction to Biblical Counseling, John MacArthur and Wayne Mack, editors).
The facts are that both psychology and psychiatry are totally counter to what the bible teaches. They teach the exact opposite and are a huge part of the reason this world is as messed up as it is.
"Christian counseling" which is simply someone who is a Christian or says they are, using worldly techniques and theories such as psychiatry and psychology instead of biblical ones to supposedly help people- is nothing more then a cover up and counterfeit of Satan's to try and put a so called Christian veneer over something that's totally ungodly so it will look more acceptable.
Biblical or Nouthetic counseling is the exact opposite. No worldly theories or psychology or psychiatry are used. All help comes from the Word of God and prayer. Like with anything else though, you have to be sure you're getting a true born again Christian as a biblical counselor because this world is filled to overflowing with counterfeits.
I was entering my books into my database and thought that I'd post the list of books that was given to me when the Lord called me to be a Nouthetic (Biblical) Counselor. My godfather has been a nouthetic counselor for decades (which I was unaware of at the time) so when I told him that was what God was calling me to do, he sent me this list of books to read and study. He told me that he always had all his students read and study these books as part of his course. They are really fantastic books. Even though they are non-fiction, they grab your interest right away and don't let go till the book is finished. They will really open your eyes to what's going on the world, in the body of Christ and even in yourself. Here they are:
Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology by Ed Rulkley, PhD
Competent To Counsel by Jay E. Adams
The Christian Counselor's Manuel By Jay E. Adams
Introduction To Biblical Counseling by John F. MacArthur Jr. and Wayne A. Mack
and The Master's College Faculty
The school used this last book too.
Check the doctrine of psychology against the doctrine that the Bible teaches. They don't match, they're not even close; they're exactly opposite in most cases even. As I've harped on before, the bible doesn't teach "self esteem" the way the world does. Once you start comparing these things it's pretty easy to determine what is right and what is wrong--at least for those who believe that the Bible is 100% true and that the Bible truly and really does give us all we need to live this life. See the forum here on Biblical Self Esteem for articles about that.
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
The world and Christian psychologists preaching of self esteem and self worth is paying off even now. We are all reaping what they've sown. Through their constant preaching of self esteem and self worth, and loving yourself and putting yourself first etc. another biblical prophecy is being fulfilled in our day:
2 Timothy 3:1-2 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves....
and boy oh boy, that is certainly true of people today. They've swallowed that poison, hook line and sinker and got further from God every day, and now look at the way this world is: very very sick with sin and in need of the only thing that can help them which is the Gospel and salvation and living a godly life instead of saying they're a Christian and living a life just like their next door neighbor who's a muslim or their other neighbor who's nothing at all--he just believes in himself. That's mainly what psychology and christian psychology is all about though; they call sin an "illness" instead of what it is, just plain ugly outright sin.
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Many Christian counselors are guilty of ignoring the divine Counselor. It's time to rediscover His role.
I think it's no exaggeration to say that the Christian counseling scene today is in total shambles. I'm not talking about true Christian counseling -- that which trusts the Bible and the power of the Holy Spirit to conform a person to Christ -- that kind of counseling has been successfully changing sinners since the apostolic age. I'm talking about pseudo-counseling -- the attempt to fix people with a blend of secular psychological theory and the Bible.
But have integrationist counselors affected any real change among evangelical Christians?
Are people really fixed?
It has been sad to see so many Christians seek counsel from Christian psychotherapists who fumble around with theories developed by Sigmund Freud, Carl Rogers and B. F. Skinner Psychology and talk therapy are so bankrupt that many are abandoning them to embrace biological psychiatry.Psychotropic medicine is the new savior.Problems that were once blamed on dysfunctional families and Id/Superego conflict are now charged to chemical imbalances and disorders.
Yesterday's psychology and today's psychiatry share the same fatal errors -- they reject the total depravity of man due to sin; they treat the symptoms instead of the heart; and they aim for change that is not true sanctification.
In spite of obvious failure, the notion prevails within the church that psychotherapy and psychiatry are more effective agents of change -- particularly in dealing with the most difficult cases -- than the Holy Spirit who sanctifies. But can psychotherapy or psychiatry possibly accomplish something the Holy Spirit cannot? Can an earthly therapist achieve more than a heavenly Comforter? Is behavior modification more helpful than sanctification? Of course not.
(Excerpted from "The Work of the Spirit and Biblical Counseling" in Introduction to Biblical Counseling, John MacArthur and Wayne Mack, editors).
The facts are that both psychology and psychiatry are totally counter to what the bible teaches. They teach the exact opposite and are a huge part of the reason this world is as messed up as it is.
"Christian counseling" which is simply someone who is a Christian or says they are, using worldly techniques and theories such as psychiatry and psychology instead of biblical ones to supposedly help people- is nothing more then a cover up and counterfeit of Satan's to try and put a so called Christian veneer over something that's totally ungodly so it will look more acceptable.
Biblical or Nouthetic counseling is the exact opposite. No worldly theories or psychology or psychiatry are used. All help comes from the Word of God and prayer. Like with anything else though, you have to be sure you're getting a true born again Christian as a biblical counselor because this world is filled to overflowing with counterfeits.
I was entering my books into my database and thought that I'd post the list of books that was given to me when the Lord called me to be a Nouthetic (Biblical) Counselor. My godfather has been a nouthetic counselor for decades (which I was unaware of at the time) so when I told him that was what God was calling me to do, he sent me this list of books to read and study. He told me that he always had all his students read and study these books as part of his course. They are really fantastic books. Even though they are non-fiction, they grab your interest right away and don't let go till the book is finished. They will really open your eyes to what's going on the world, in the body of Christ and even in yourself. Here they are:
Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology by Ed Rulkley, PhD
Competent To Counsel by Jay E. Adams
The Christian Counselor's Manuel By Jay E. Adams
Introduction To Biblical Counseling by John F. MacArthur Jr. and Wayne A. Mack
and The Master's College Faculty
The school used this last book too.
Check the doctrine of psychology against the doctrine that the Bible teaches. They don't match, they're not even close; they're exactly opposite in most cases even. As I've harped on before, the bible doesn't teach "self esteem" the way the world does. Once you start comparing these things it's pretty easy to determine what is right and what is wrong--at least for those who believe that the Bible is 100% true and that the Bible truly and really does give us all we need to live this life. See the forum here on Biblical Self Esteem for articles about that.
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
The world and Christian psychologists preaching of self esteem and self worth is paying off even now. We are all reaping what they've sown. Through their constant preaching of self esteem and self worth, and loving yourself and putting yourself first etc. another biblical prophecy is being fulfilled in our day:
2 Timothy 3:1-2 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves....
and boy oh boy, that is certainly true of people today. They've swallowed that poison, hook line and sinker and got further from God every day, and now look at the way this world is: very very sick with sin and in need of the only thing that can help them which is the Gospel and salvation and living a godly life instead of saying they're a Christian and living a life just like their next door neighbor who's a muslim or their other neighbor who's nothing at all--he just believes in himself. That's mainly what psychology and christian psychology is all about though; they call sin an "illness" instead of what it is, just plain ugly outright sin.
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
!!
