Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Note: The prices quoted for some of the tests below have probably changed in the time since this handout was originally printed

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1. Introduction:

a. In order for a test to be considered a validated test it should include:

i. a norm group, and appropriate norm group data for the populations on which the test will be used,

ii. standardized administration and scoring procedures,

iii. appropriate kinds of reliability data (and reliability levels should generally in the .80s to .90s), and

iv. appropriate kinds of (and levels of) validity data for the kinds of inferences one wishes to make from the test.

b. Until a test has these kinds of data available it should still be considered in the experimental stage.

c. New tests will constantly be coming out. It is important for you to ask whether it has these kinds of data available. If it does not, I recommend that you politely tell the promoter that you are not interested in purchasing their product until they have invested the time and money necessary to assure that their instrument accurately measures what it claims to measure.

d. The following is a listing of some inventories developed either by or for Christians. Inclusion on this list does not mean that I recommend the test. This list includes some tests which I believe are very strong psychometrically, and others which are promoted within Christian circles but for which psychometric data is unavailable or nonexistent.

2. PREPARE, PREPARE-MC, PREPARE-CC, ENRICH, and MATE: These five inventories have been developed by David Olson and his associates and are used in premarital or marital counseling. They have excellent psychometric data, including large norm groups, good split-half and test-retest reliabilities, and excellent predictive or concurrent validities. Information available by calling 1-800-331-1661.

3. The Interpersonal Behavior Survey: Developed by Dr. Paul Mauger, a Christian psychologist in Atlanta, this is probably the best-validated assertiveness inventory available in either the secular or Christian market. The content is not explicitly Christian, so it can be used with either Christian or non-Christian clients. Available from Western Psychological Services by calling 1-800-648-8857.

4. The Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis: An older test, and one that pastors can receive training on and use. It gives feedback on ten personality areas. A unique component of this test is that husbands and wives can answer it twice, once for how they see themselves, and once as they experience their spouse, ending up with profiles that compare each other, and their perceptions of each other. Has fairly strong psychometric data supporting it. Available from Sigma Assessment Systems at 1-800-265-1285 or from Psychological Publications (213) 465-4163.

5. Christian Personality Profile: This inventory, developed by Darryl Franken, measures the nine personality characteristics normally associated with the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, etc. There is a secular version of the test as well (the Michigan 9). Franken has done reliability and validity studies on the instruments. Information available at www.lifeskillstraining.org

6. Various Spiritual Gifts Inventories

a. A number of Spiritual Gifts inventories are available. In most cases I have not been able to discover whether they have any psychometric documentation. Some Christian denominations believe the charismatic gifts are still available to Christians today. Other denominations believe that the charismatic gifts ended with the closing of the biblical canon, although they believe that the non-charismatic gifts are still available to believers today. For that reason the inventories below indicate whether or not they include assessment of the charismatic gifts. Following are some publishers or distributors that have these inventories available:

b. The Wagner-Modified Houts Spiritual Gifts Inventory is available through Gospel Light (1-800-446-7735) for $3.99 per individual inventory or for $16.99 for a Group Leader’s guide which includes reproducible masters. Peter Wagner lists 26 gifts, including charismatic as well as non-charismatic gifts, so this inventory would not be appropriate to use in settings or with people who believed the charismatic gifts are no longer available today.

c. The International Center for Leadership Development and Evangelism in Canada (1-800-804-0777) has several inventories available. These include:

i. Houts Spiritual Gifts Inventory (non charismatic) $3.69 per inventory.

ii. Trenton-Lutheran Gifts Inventory (non charismatic) $3.69 per inventory.

iii. Wagner-Modified Houts (charismatic and noncharismatic gifts) $3.90 per individual, $16.99 for Group Leaders guide with reproducible masters.

iv. Larry Gilbert (non charismatic) $4.30 per inventory.

d. GiftQuest (Discovering Your Motivational Gift): 1-800-429-7512

7. Maret Software: 3813 W. 214th Street, Matteson, IL 60443, or (708) 748-1188 distributes individual assessment and counseling modules on premarriage, spiritual gifts, marriage, youth enrichment, moral attitudes, career development, alcohol dependency, and genograms. Each module is $79.00, may be used free for 30 days, and gives you unlimited uses for the purchase price. No psychometric data is included in their promotional literature.

8. Christian Version of the Adjective Checklist: Available from Measurement and Planned Development, 508 East Tazewell Way, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Telephone (804) 253-1633. I have a number of reservations about the psychometric strength of this test.

9. DISC System: The DISC system came from a personality theory developed by Dr. William Marston in the 1920s and 1930s, and has produced some 35 to 40 versions of the DISC test, two of the best-known being the Personal Discernment Inventory (DISC) and the Performax Test (Personal Profile System). The DISC instruments allege that they measure four dimensions of personality–dominance, influence, compliance and steadiness. These tests are being promoted by both secular as well as a few Christian groups. I have written the promoters to ask for psychometric data, and have only received data on reliability, never any data on validity. I would encourage you not to use any test, including these, no matter how face valid they may seem, unless the publisher is willing to give you full psychometric data on validity as well as reliability, since without validity data you have no way of knowing what the scores mean.

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is Important for Christian Counselors

Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Hvirkler@aol.com

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Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who

does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Learning Objectives: This introduction to hermeneutics has six learning objectives. They are that you, by the end of this workshop, will be able to:

1. Define the term “hermeneutics”

2. Explain ten reasons why an understanding of hermeneutics is useful or important for Christians in general and for Christian counselors

3. [Most Christians believe “The meaning of a text is what it means to me.” Be able to] Explain why “The meaning of a text is what it means to me” is not a valid interpretive strategy

4. Understand the process involved in developing an accurate interpretation of a passage, and be able to start to use that process when doing your own Bible study and counseling

5. Identify the most common hermeneutical mistake Christian counselors make in interpreting a Bible verse or passage (and how to correct that mistake), and

6. Look at six passages that Christian counselors or clients frequently misinterpret, be able to explain why those are not valid interpretations or applications of those passages, and be able to identify other passages that convey the same (or a similar) idea that would be hermeneutically valid for believers to use today

I. Definition and Primary Principle of Hermeneutics

A. Definition: Hermeneutics is the science and art of biblical interpretation. It’s goal is to help us be able to properly interpret God’s Word.

B. The Primary Principle Underlying Biblical Hermeneutics

1. The primary principle underlying hermeneutics is this: The meaning of a text is the author’s intended meaning.

2. There are at least six important reasons for defining hermeneutics this way:

a. First: This is the way we recognize a valid interpretation of anyone’s message (God’s or anyone else’s).

b. Second: When someone interprets something we said to mean a certain thing when we intended it to mean something different, we object and say they are misunderstanding what we meant.

c. Three: If the idea that “The meaning of a text is what it means to me” was accepted, then it means that every communication could potentially have as many meanings as it had interpreters.

d. Four: It would mean that no contract would be legally binding (because every party to a contract could say it meant what they wanted it to mean)

e. Five: It would mean that teachers could not grade students on their acquisition of knowledge in a course (since students could claim that the text said what they said it meant, rather than what the teacher said it meant).

f. Six: It also would mean that there would be no way of differentiating orthodox from heretical interpretations of Scripture (since every interpreter could claim that their interpretation was equally valid).

3. When people hear the above statement they sometimes object: Sometimes speakers or writers don’t state their intended meaning clearly. However, even if we are unclear the first time we say something, if someone misinterprets what we said, we respond by saying: “I don’t think I expressed what I meant clearly. What I meant to say was this . . ..”)

4. Thus the primary canon of hermeneutics is this: In order for communication, dialogue, learning, or legal contracts to have meaning, we must accept the principle that the meaning of a text is the author’s intended meaning.

5. And this is why “The meaning of a biblical text is what it means to me” is not a valid interpretive strategy.

6. For those of you who have been following the Supreme Court nominations in the recent past the controversy over how judges and Supreme Court Justices are to interpret the Constitution is essentially a hermeneutical issue. Some people argue that the Constitution is a living document, and that we need to give it new meaning as new historical issues arise. A second group (including Amy Comey Barrett) says that judges should interpret the Constitution based on what the words meant to the original authors. They argue that we should not make it say something it could never have meant to the original authors. If situations have changed, then Congress needs to make new laws or pass amendments to the Constitution to reflect those new situations. If judges say the Constitution means something different than the original framers could have intended the Constitution to mean, they are failing to recognize the different responsibilities of the legislature versus the judiciary. The role of the legislature is to make laws that reflect the issues facing our nation today. The role of judges is to ascertain whether someone has violated the Constitution or the law.

II. 10 Reasons Why An Understanding of Hermeneutics Is Useful or Important for Christians in General and for Christian Counselors

A. First: To know what a text means: more specifically, to prevent us from reading our personal opinions or our preformed theological theories into Scripture.

1. Preunderstandings: (While we’re often not aware of it, we all have a history that has taught us to believe certain things. We often impose those preunderstandings onto the words of a text. One of the points modern theologians who believe in classical hermeneutics have made is that it’s important to become aware of those preunderstandings and make an effort to set them aside so we can understand what the author originally meant when he wrote.)

2. Eisegesis: refers to reading our meaning into (eise) the text.

3. Exegesis: refers to reading the author’s meaning out of (ex) the text.

4. This was the reason I originally wrote a textbook on hermeneutics. One of the students in our first Christian counseling class in Atlanta (49 years ago) asked the question: “Most of us are getting graduate-level training in counseling, but we only have Sunday School-level training in theology. What is to keep us from reading Freud into the Bible rather than reading the Bible for what it is actually saying?” We (the faculty) thought that was an excellent question. Since I was the only faculty member who had taken a course in hermeneutics, I was elected to teach that course.

B. A second reason a knowledge of hermeneutics can be important for Christian counselors: To be able to correct psychological or spiritual problems that result from incorrect interpretations of God's Word.

1. Most of you are probably aware of the ABC theory of emotions, which explains why we feel the emotions we feel:

A + B ➞ C

Activating Belief or Emotional

Event Interpretation Consequence

2. When any event happens (A), since no event is self-interpreting, we interpret the meaning of that event at (B), and this leads us to feel some emotion (C). Examples:

a. If a person experiences poverty (A) but believes that God has promised all Christians should be prosperous (B), this can lead to anger at God (C).

b. Illustration from a close friend’s life. This friend went to a charismatic evangelist’s rally where the speaker taught that if a person were truly filled with the Spirit, he should have all the gifts of the Spirit, including the gift of healing. Based on that belief my friend went into a hospital and tried to lay hands on and heal everyone there. When it didn’t happen, he became frustrated with God and almost abandoned his faith.

3. When a person has unrealistic spiritual or theological beliefs this can lead to unhealthy emotional and spiritual consequences.

4. By learning hermeneutics we can provide the biblical evidence to dispute with an incorrect biblical interpretation that is causing a person to have spiritual problems

A + D ➔ E

Activating Disputing New emotional

Event Consequence

C. Third: To be able to distinguish better from poorer interpretations of a text. An example of why this is important for Christian counselors: There are 8 different theories of what the unpardonable sin is. How do we know which one is right? (If you have a client who thinks they’ve committed the unpardonable sin and all you can do is tell them there are 8 different theories about what the unpardonable sin is and proceed to tell them all eight theories, they’ll probably be certain they’ve committed at least one of those. However, if, using hermeneutics, you’ve been able to narrow it to one of those theories, then you can ask him or her what they have done that they think is unpardonable, and then, since its very unlikely that they’ve actually committed the unpardonable sin, you can reassure them that what they have committed is not unpardonable. [Incidentally, if you’re interested in that topic, I’ve written an article about counseling people who think they’ve committed the unpardonable sin. It’s available to download free on my substack website. If you work with seriously depressed people or clients with bipolar disorder you will eventually have a client who believes they’ve committed that sin, so it’s worth it to have this article for a reference.]

D. Four: To be able to show why an incorrect interpretation is incorrect. One of my former teachers, if a student shared an opinion with which he disagreed, would say “That’s a bonehead idea if I ever heard one.” Obviously we probably wouldn’t say that to a client if we wanted to have them keep coming back. Hermeneutics can give us the tools to be able to explain clearly (and more diplomatically) why an incorrect interpretation is incorrect.

E. Five: To be able to understand the meaning of texts which, on the surface, seem to contradict one another.

1. Example: Exodus 4 says “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart” versus James 1 which says “God doesn’t tempt any human being with evil.”

2. Another example: Genesis 6 where God, reflecting on how evil human beings had become, says “God became grieved that he had made man” versus James 1 which says that God never changes.

3. In II Samuel 24 it says “the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’ However, in 1 Chronicles 21 the Bible says ‘Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.’

4. For our own psychological and spiritual health we need to know how to correctly interpret these verses, so that we’re not left with the impression that God contradicts himself, or that there are contradictions in his Word. And if we have that confidence in God’s Word, we can convey that to our clients if they struggle with the same fear.

F. Six: To be able to remove roadblocks to someone coming to faith in Christ caused by misinterpretations of biblical texts. For example, one of my friends from undergraduate school believed the Bible couldn’t possibly be true because the geological evidence says that the earth is several billion years old, while the Bible says the earth and Adam and Eve were created in 4004 B.C. (i.e., just 6,000 years ago).

1. However, we now know that the word “yom” used in Genesis 1 and 2 (translated “day”) can refer to the daylight period of a day (12 hours), or a 24-hour day, or a period of unspecified duration (like when we say “the day of the horse and buggy”). Just as the English word “day” can have several possible meaning, so to can the Hebrew word “yom.” So the story of creation can mean the world was created in six literal days or it can mean it was created in six periods of unspecified duration.

2. You might further ask: Don’t the dates in our Bible say the world was created in 4004 B.C.? Answer: No, that date was added by a human priest, Bishop Ussher, many centuries ago and is not part of the inspired text. Bishop Ussher calculated that date by adding up the years in the Old Testament genealogies. But we now know that ancient geneologies weren’t complete, like our modern genealogies are. They often left out several generations of people, and only named the more important characters. So therefore the Bible doesn’t tell us the exact date that Adam and Eve were created (since a human being added that incorrect date to the biblical text).

3. By knowing details like this we can sometime remove assumptions that cause people to believe the Bible can’t possibly be true.

4. For information about ancient genealogies see the article written by William Henry Green, a Bible scholar who in 1890 published an article entitled “Primeval Chronology.” You can easily find this article on the Internet, which was published in a very respected theological journal, by putting the name of the article into Google or Bing or Microsoft Edge.

G. Seven: To add authority, credibility, and edification to our counseling, writing, or teaching. (How many of you have been reading something and an author says that the Bible teaches something that you know is not true?) When writers or speakers do this, what happens to their credibility? It goes down. So by knowing good hermeneutics we can sometimes prevent ourselves from saying or writing something that would damage our credibility with Christian clients.

H. Eight: We need to know hermeneutics so that we can serve as models of good biblical interpretation to those who look up to us. (I remember one Christian psychologist who talked about how he used the different translations of the Bible. He said he would make up his lesson, and then he’d find the translation that said what he wanted it to say. I trust that you would never do something like that. We should make our decisions about which translation to use based on which Bible version interprets the Hebrew or Greek text most accurately.)

I. Nine: To help us not make incorrect theological statements which, if our clients repeat them to their pastors or priests, would cause us to lose credibility with people who can be important referral sources. (Whenever a pastor refers someone to us, they are in a sense putting their credibility on the line. If clients come back to them and say that we said “thus and so” which the pastor knows is not a correct interpretation of the Bible, the pastor might overlook it the first time it happens, but if they have two or three parishioners who come back reporting on things we said that are not biblically sound, those pastors may quit referring to us.)

J. Ten: Because God commands Christian leaders (and counselors are leaders by virtue of the work we do) to “correctly handle the word of truth” In 2 Timothy 2:15 God commands us “Do your best to correctly handle the word of truth.”

K. So how do we go about correctly handling the word of truth?

III. The Basic Steps in Correctly Interpreting and Applying a Biblical Text

A. You may be interested to know that you have been doing hermeneutics already. Whenever you listen to someone or read an article or book, by trying to understand what they are saying, you’re unconsciously applying the principles of hermeneutics, even though you may not call the process by that name.

B. However, when there is distance between ourselves and the original author, either historical gaps, cultural gaps, or linguistic gaps, there are more potential roadblocks to understanding accurately what he or she meant. When something blocks our spontaneous understanding of a communication, then we consciously must make more effort to understand what the author meant.

C. Hermeneutics is essentially a verbal, conscious codification of those processes we use every day at an unconscious level to understand other people’s communications to us. Hermeneutics doesn’t just apply to the study of Scripture—we use those principles to help us understand every written or verbal communication we receive. We are also using hermeneutics whenever we try to understand what a client is saying to us.

1. Hermeneutics is also at the foundation of the controversy between modernism and post-modernism: modern science attempts to understand meaning by understanding the author’s intended meaning, although it doesn’t recognize its using traditional hermeneutics to do so.

2. Post-modernism asserts that each reader can de-construct what the author wrote, and then re-construct it based on what the text means to the reader.

3. Reader-response theory: this is a post-modern theory that asserts that meaning isn’t based on what the author intended to mean, but meaning is developed in the interaction between the text and the reader. In Section 1 we talked about six reasons why we shouldn’t take the position that the meaning of a text is what it means to me.

4. So instead of a postmodern theory of hermeneutics what we’ll be doing in this seminar will be a brief study of six steps usually used in classical hermeneutics

D. First step: Historical-cultural and contextual analysis:

1. This asks the question–What information about the history and culture of the time can help me understand the meaning of the actions and statements in this passage? Similarly, what information from the context (what was said just before and after this passage) will help me understand what God was intending to mean here? How many of you have had the experience where someone took a single sentence (or half of a sentence) from something you had said or written, without the full context, and used that sentence to support an idea that you didn’t support?

2. How do you feel when someone does that? (We usually feel frustrated.)

3. This is the biggest way that Christian counselors and Christians in general misinterpret Scripture. (We take a verse that says something we’d like it to say and quote it as if it applies to every aspect of the Christian life.)

4. Example: In 1966 a Communist speaker came to my undergraduate campus and did this. He said, “Even Jesus said: ‘Go and sin.’” (Obviously most of you remember that Jesus’ full statement was “Go and sin no more” the exact opposite of what this speaker was saying.) When we look at some verses later in this seminar you’ll see how we as Christian counselors sometimes do the same thing–we take a verse in isolation and quote it as if it’s a general principle that can be applied to every situation in a Christian’s life.)

E. Second step: Lexical-syntactical analysis: This asks the question–What information about the meaning of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words that God used (the technical term for that is lexicology) and the grammatical forms of the words He used (syntax) can help me better understand His intended meaning?

F. Third step: Theological analysis: This asks the question–What is my view of salvation history (e.g., the relationship between the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the present age) and how can this help me to understand God’s intended meaning for me? (Some theories, such as covenantalism focus on continuity; some, such as dispensationalism, focus more on discontinuity.)

G. Fourth step: Literary (or genre) analysis: Scripture uses many different genres–there is history, there is poetry, psalms (songs), proverbs, parables, allegories, letters, etc.–and each of these genres has different rules for interpretation. So to accurately interpret a passage we must ask (1) what genre is this? and (2) what are the rules for interpreting that genre?

H. Fifth step: Compare your work with others: This step recognizes that the Holy Spirit has been giving insights into God’s Word to students of the Bible for the last twenty centuries, and some of those people may have knowledge of one of the four steps above that we do not know, so it is important to compare our interpretations with those of others.

I. Sixth step: Application: This is not actually part of the interpretive process. Discerning what God meant is done in these first five steps. This last step is asking: “How does God’s meaning or command apply to me in a different time and culture?”

J. Sometimes a question posed in group Bible studies is— “What does this Bible passage mean to you?” From the standpoint of classical hermeneutics, that is the wrong question to ask. It should instead be broken into two separate questions:

1. What did God mean when He inspired this particular passage? (There is a single intended meaning for each passage.) And

2. How does that meaning apply to each of us today?

3. Thus there is only one valid meaning to a text (God’s). However, there may be multiple applications of that meaning, depending on each person’s personal situation.

K. Let’s look at the substeps to each of these six steps.

IV. A Summary of the Primary and Secondary Steps Involved in Interpretation and Application of a Biblical Text

A. First step: Historical-Cultural and Contextual Analysis

1. Determine the general historical and cultural milieu of the writer and his audience.

a. Historical circumstances.

b. Cultural circumstances and norms that add meaning to given actions.

(1) Proverbs 22:28 commands: “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.” Which of the following sentences best conveys the true intent and meaning of this verse in its context?

(a) If you were more psychologically inclined you might say: Don’t make changes from the way we have always done things.

(b) Another possible interpretation: Do not steal.

(c) A third possible interpretation: Do not remove the guideposts that direct travelers from one town to another.

(d) Or you might say it’s none of the above

(e) Or you might say its all of the above (Pause for a moment to let each person choose which one they think is correct)

(f) [The correct answer is b (do not steal). In ancient Israel they didn’t have modern survey equipment; Each person’s property was identified by boundary stones. It was rather easy to steal some property from your neighbor by going out during the night and moving the boundary markers separating your property from theirs.]

(2) In Mark 7, Jesus soundly upbraids the Pharisees for their practice of Corban. What does that mean? [Pause for a moment to try to answer this. In the practice of Corban a man could declare that all his money would go to the temple treasury when he died. Therefore, since all his money belonged to God, he was therefore no longer responsible to support his aging parents financially. Jesus argues that men were using this Pharisaic tradition to render God’s command (the fifth commandment–Honor your father and mother) of no account.]

(3) Or a modern day example: Suppose someone with a mask over his face comes up to a home, rings the doorbell, sticks a gun in the homeowner’s face, demands something, and the homeowner complies and gives in to the demand, how are we to interpret what is happening?

(4) The point is this: to properly understand the meaning of this OT passage about not moving ancient boundary stones, or the NT concept of Corban, or the modern practice of “trick or treating” we must understand the historical and cultural context in which those commands or behavior occurs.

c. Another thing that’s part of historical-cultural and contextual analysis: Discern the level of spiritual commitment of the audience: Sometimes God is comforting his followers who are going through difficult times. Sometimes he is confronting those who are engaging in outright sin and rebellion. Sometimes he is castigating spiritual leaders who are abusing their positions of power. The important thing is to understand who he is talking to and what their spiritual condition was.

2. Another part of historical-cultural and contextual analysis is to determine the purpose(s) the author had in writing a book. We do that through one of four principal ways:

a. Noting explicit statements or repeated phrases: Examples of this are the books of Luke, Acts, the book of John, or Ecclesiastes

(1) Luke tells us at the beginning of the book of Luke that his purpose is to present an orderly account of Jesus’ life. At the beginning of the book of Acts he says his purpose is to present an account of the history of the early church.

(2) John tells us in John 20 that his purpose was to present an account of the miraculous signs Jesus showed, so that readers might believe that he was the promised Messiah.

(3) We can discern the purpose of the book of Ecclesiastes by studying a repeated phrase in that book: “All is vanity”, or “All is meaningless.” Probably the author’s purpose in writing the book of Ecclesiastes was to teach us that humans can’t discover the purpose of life using their own reason. Neither riches nor pleasure nor anything else can ultimately give us purpose. It is only by placing God at the center of our lives and serving Him that we can find meaningful purpose.

b. A second way we can discern the purpose of a book is by observing parenetical (or exhortation) sections: A good example of this is the book of Hebrews. While we don’t know the author for certain, the writing style is very different from Paul’s, so it probably was not him (It might possibly have been Barnabus or Apollos). It seems to have been written to Jewish converts to Christianity who were undergoing persecution, encouraging them not to revert to Judaism because what Christ offers is so superior. So by looking at the repeated exhortations throughout the book of Hebrews we discern its purpose.

c. A third way to discern the purpose of a book is by observing issues that are omitted or focused on: Example: If you look at the books of I and II Samuel and I and II Kings and compare them with I and II Chronicles, even though they all cover the same time periods, they focus on different things. The first half of I Samuel emphasizes King David’s triumphs. However, in the middle of the book he commits adultery with Bathsheba and has her husband killed. The second part of the book focuses on one disaster after another that befell David. I and II Kings focus on the kings who followed David and Solomon. They show that when the people obeyed God’s covenant they prospered: when they disobeyed, disaster followed. I and II Chronicles, even though they focus on the same period of time, emphasize something quite different. These two books were written to Israel after their return from exile. They no longer had a king and were still ruled by Persia, so the Israelites probably felt discouraged. It recounts how God had blessed David and Solomon and encourages them that God is still with them. It doesn’t emphasize the mistakes these kings made, because it’s purpose is to encourage a discouraged nation.

d. A fourth way: Understand how the passage fits into its immediate context: A text without a context is a prooftext. As mentioned earlier, this is the most common way that Christian counselors misinterpret Scripture. (We think of a verse that is a verbal parallel, i.e., it uses some of the same words that came up in a counseling session, and we apply them to the present situation without checking the biblical context to see if that verse is talking about the same issue as the one brought up by the client.)

3. A third step in historical-cultural and contextual analysis: Identify the major blocks of material in the book and show how they fit into a coherent whole For example, look at First Corinthians: Apparently the Corinthians had written a letter to Paul asking him several questions. Paul writes a reply, with each section starting “Now concerning.....”

4. Show how the passage under consideration fits into the flow of the author’s argument

5. Determine the perspective which the author intends to communicate— noumenological (the way God sees things–the way things really are) or phenomenological (the ways things appear from a human perspective).

a. Let’s give a biblical example of why this question is important: Is the Flood universal (noumenological–it actually covered the whole earth–or was it confined to the Middle East (universal in terms of drowning all of mankind who were alive at that time, but only covered part of the earth)? When it says “All the high mountains were covered with water”(Gen. 7:19) is this description phenomenological, i.e., all the mountains that I could see were covered (a local flood covering the Middle East) or noumenological, i.e., “All the mountains of the entire world were covered” (a universal flood). The Bible doesn’t tell us which kind of description it is, but many of the geological descriptions given in the Bible are phenomenological, so we should probably be open to either and let geology answer that question.

6. Distinguish between descriptive and prescriptive truth (is this a description of what happened, or a prescription of how God wants us all to live?)

a. For example, does the book of Acts teach us that Christian socialism as the kind of government God wants us to have? Probably not. This passage tells us that Christians voluntarily shared what they had, not that the government mandated a redistribution of wealth.]

b. Even though something is in the Bible, it does not mean it is true.

(1) When God speaks, it is always true.

(2) When man speaks, it is sometimes true and sometimes not.

(3) When Satan speaks and it is recorded in the Bible, it is almost always a combination of some truth mixed with some error.

(4) Thus just because something is in the Bible does not mean that it is true.

(5) When humans or Satan speaks, the Bible is accurately describing what they said, not telling us this is God’s truth.

c. Even all prescriptive truth is not prescriptive for us. Example: In 1 Corinthian 11 Paul bans the Corinthian congregation from having a covered dish supper before communion. He did this because the Corinthians were mistreating their fellow Christians, some of whom were Christians from the working class or slaves who could not come to the meal until they’d finished all their work. Wealthy Christians were bringing better food and eating most of it before the working class and slaves arrived. Because this particular church was abusing the practice, Paul told them that they shouldn’t have a covered dish supper before communion. However, this isn’t necessarily a command for our churches today. If your church occasionally has a covered dish supper followed by Communion, your pastor is not doing anything wrong.

7. Distinguish between incidental details and the teaching focus of a passage:

a. Let’s look at an example from the parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Mt. 18:21-35). In this parable a king forgave his servant for a very large debt. Then that servant went and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a small debt. The man begged for more time to pay it, but instead the servant had him thrown in prison until he could pay the debt.

b. In a counseling class where I was a student a Christian psychiatrist said this: This story teaches that a person can be forgiven without being forgiving, based on a detail in the story. So this psychiatrist concluded that it’s possible to be forgiven by God, but not be forgiving toward our fellow human beings.

c. Is that conclusion valid?

d. Jesus’ conclusion: (vs. 32-25) “‘You wicked servant. I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. Then Jesus drives home the point he was making: ‘This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.’”

e. So what this Christian psychiatrist said was just the opposite of what Jesus taught–if we want God to forgive us, we need to be willing to forgive others.

8. Identify the person or category of persons for whom the particular passage is intended. Some of you who are a little older may remember a little box your parents owned that was filled with cards that included verses from the Old and New Testament. The box often was embossed with this statement: “Every promise in the Book is mine.” But is it true that every promise in the Bible applies to us? No. If you make a promise to a brother or sister does that mean you’re making that promise to everyone in the world? Obviously not. The same is true of promises God made to specific people. Those promises may or may not apply to us.

B. Second step: Lexical-Syntactical Analysis

1. Identify the general literary form: There are many genre in the Bible, but for the moment let’s just talk about three of those–prose, poetry and prophecy/ apocalyptic.

a. Poetry is interpreted less literally than prose. Why is that point important? The OT is 1/3 poetry.

b. Prophecy and Apocalyptic [two similar genre]. Found in most of the book of Revelation, in parts of the book of Daniel and in one section in the book of Matthew. Prophecy and apocalyptic uses large amounts of symbolism to express what will happen in the future.

2. Trace the development of the author’s theme and show how the passage under consideration fits into the context

3. Identify the natural divisions (paragraphs and sentences) of the text.

4. Identify the connecting words within the paragraphs and sentences and how they aid in understanding the author’s progression of thought. Examples of connecting words: Therefore and Because.

5. Determine what the individual words mean.

a. Identify the multiple meanings a word possessed in its time and culture

(1) Example: our English word “green” (can refer to a color, an emotional state, or someone inexperienced)

(2) Lexicons are the equivalent of our English dictionaries. They list the variety of meanings (technically called denotations) a Hebrew or Greek word had at the time the Bible was written.

(3) Besides a variety of denotations words also have a variety of connotations (these are the emotional connections a word had) e.g., Green. When it is used as an emotion, it refers to a state of envy.

b. Determine the single meaning intended by the author in a given sentence: Usually done through one of five ways:

(1) Examine the context

(2) Explanatory phrases the author gives

(3) Examine the verb or noun it modifies

(4) Examine parallel passages

(5) Determine whether the word is being used as a figure of speech. Let me give you some examples of figures of speech in English:

i) His eyes were bigger than his stomach.

ii) It’s raining cats and dogs.

iii) She made the cake from scratch.

iv) The furnace has gone out.

v) The White House said . . . . .

c. Figures of speech are very frequently used in English as well as in Hebrew and Greek (Bullinger’s Figures of Speech Used in the Bible is more than 1,100 pages long).

6. Analyze the syntax to show how it contributes to the understanding of a passage.

a. English is an analytic language–word order helps us understand the meaning, e.g., “the cat ate the rat” means something different than “the rat ate the cat.”

b. Hebrew is also an analytic language, but less so than English

c. Greek (like Latin) is a synthetic language: meaning is significantly dependent on word endings and case endings.

7. Put the results of your analysis into nontechnical, easily understood words that clearly convey the author’s intended meaning to the English reader. (Impress people with the fact that your interpretation “rings true.” As they hear your interpretation they recognize that you’ve explained what God really meant when He spoke those words.

C. Third step: Theological Analysis

1. Determine your own view of the nature of God’s relationship to man. Some theories emphasize the continuity between the OT and the NT (e.g., covenantalism): some theories emphasize more the discontinuity (dispensationalism) between God’s commands to OT believers and NT believers

2. Identify the implications of this view for the passage you are studying

3. Assess the extent of theological knowledge available to the people of that time What did this passage add to what believers already knew?

4. Determine the meaning the passage possessed for its original recipients in the light of their knowledge.

5. Identify the additional knowledge about this topic which is available to us now because of later revelation (Systematic theologies or Bible dictionaries provide this)

D. Fourth step: Literary Analysis (or Genre Analysis)

1. Genre refer to the different ways we speak or write

2. One example of a genre–parables.

3. E.D. Hirsh has said: “Genre are like games. To interpret them correctly you must know (1) what game is being played, and (2) what are the rules for playing that game.

4. So how do we do literary analysis or genre analysis? Several possible steps:

a. Look for explicit references which indicate the author’s intent regarding the literary method he was using.

b. If the text does not explicitly identify the literary form of the passage, study the characteristics of the passage deductively to ascertain its form.

c. Apply the principles of literary devices carefully but not rigidly. [Reason: the biblical writers were not bound by our modern rules regarding the genres they used.]

d. Simile

(1) Characteristic: an expressed comparison. “The kingdom of God is like....” Uses the words “like” or “as” to indicate the author is making a comparison between two things, frequently something we know well and something else that we’re not so clear about.

(2) Interpretation: usually a single point of similarity or contrast.

e. Metaphor

(1) Characteristic: an unexpressed comparison. Doesn’t use the words “like” or “as.” You’re expected to recognize that the two things are not identical, but are like one another in some way. Examples: “I am the bread of life.” “You are the light of the world.”

(2) Interpretation: as with a simile there is usually a single point of similarity. When Jesus said “I am the bread of life” he is indicating that he is the source of our spiritual sustenance. When he said that believers are to be “the light of the world” he meant that by the kind of life we lead, it should lead others to also develop faith in God.

f. Proverb

(1) Characteristic: comparison expressed or unexpressed. Proverbs are short, practical pieces of wisdom.

(2) Interpretation: usually a single point of similarity or contrast. Also, realize that proverbs are general truths about life, not absolute promises from God. (For example: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” While it’s generally true that if we give our children good instruction they are more likely to become upstanding citizens than if we let them grow up without any parental correction. However, once children become adolescents or adults they start to make their own decisions about their lives.)

g. Parables

(1) Characteristics: an extended simile—comparisons are expressed and kept separate; the story and its meaning are consciously separated.

(2) Historical interpretation: determine the focal meaning of the story and show how the details fit naturally into that focal teaching.

(3) Discussion of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Is Jesus main point in this parable:

(a) A story about how sin can lead to very painful consequences?

(b) A story about how much God loves us?

(c) A rebuke to the people he was speaking to?

(4) How might we go about finding out what Jesus meant when he told this story?

(a) Historical context

(b) Conclusion of the story

(5) Look at Luke 15:1-32

(a) Historical context: vs. 1-2 (Sinners were coming to Jesus in repentance: Pharisees were grumbling that Jesus was accepting them.)

(b) First parable: vs. 3-7 (Parable of the lost sheep). Read those verses.

(c) Second parable: vs. 8-10 (Parable of the lost coin). Read those verses

(d) Third parable: vs. 11-32. Parable of the lost son, or Parable of the Prodigal Son.

(e) Skim vs. 11-24. Then read vs. 25-32.

(f) Debate among modern theologians about whether parables have only one teaching point, or whether each major character might teach us something.

(g) That hypothesis–that each of the major characters in a parable might teach us something–is possible.

(h) The primary question we should always ask when interpreting a parable (or any other part of Scripture) is: What was the author’s primary intended meaning? And the way we generally determine that is by looking (1) at the historical context, and (2) the concluding statements in the discussion.

(i) So I think Jesus’ primary intended meaning was Option c above–it was a rebuke to the people (the Pharisees) to whom Jesus was talking. Jesus was contrasting the Pharisees’ unloving, non-acceptance of repentant sinners with God’s loving acceptance of them, and the fact that all of heaven was rejoicing when a sinner comes back to God. That is the primary teaching of the parable.

(j) It is possible that it has other applications (e.g., an illustration of the dreadful consequences of sin, or an illustration of how deep is God’s love for us), but I think the primary meaning of the story of the Prodigal Son was to contrast God’s loving acceptance of repentant sinners with the unloving non-acceptance of the Pharisees.

h. Allegories

(1) Characteristics: an extended metaphor—comparisons are unexpressed and intermingled; story and its meaning are carried along together.

(2) Interpretation: determine the multiple points of comparison intended by the author.

(3) Example: the allegory of Christ the Good Shepherd in John 10:1-18

(a) In verses. 1-5 Jesus tells a very compressed story. However, his audience did not understand his point–vs. 6, so he expands it and explains it further. Since there are several teaching points, this is considered an allegory.

(b) First point: vs. 7-8: There had been many false shepherds in Israel up to that time–religious leaders who claimed to be shepherds, but who did their jobs motivated by self-interest

(c) Second point: vs. 9-10: Jesus is the true shepherd, and he came to give the sheep an abundant life.

(d) Third point: vs. 11-13: Unlike the hireling, who runs away when danger threatens, Christ is willing to give his life for the sheep.

(e) Fourth point: vs. 14-15: The sheep have a personal relationship with Jesus and they recognize him as their shepherd

(f) Fifth point: vs. 16: A prophecy that Jesus will become the Shepherd not only to the Jewish people, but also to Gentiles.

(g) Sixth point: vs. 17-18: Jesus will not be killed because of events beyond his control: rather, he would voluntarily choose to give his life for his sheep.

(h) The structure of the story shows us that Jesus intends to teach several points with this story, not a single focal idea as is often the case with a parable.

(i) Types, prophecy and apocalyptic are probably less relevant to your work as counselors, but if you have the time, here is a short discussion of how to interpret them.

i. Types (the best-known example of a type is John 3:14-15). “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (The Old Testament story is found in Numbers 21: 4-9).

(1) Characteristics:

(a) There must be some notable resemblance or analogy between the type and its antitype.

(b) There must be some evidence that the type was appointed by God to represent the thing typified. [The concept of type was probably overused by some older Bible teachers, who “found” types everywhere in the Bible. A modern understanding of types is that there must be some evidence that the type was appointed by God to represent the thing typified.]

(c) A type must prefigure something in the future.

(d) Classes of the type and its antitype: typical persons, typical events, typical institutions, typical offices, and typical actions.

(2) Interpretation:

(a) Determine the significance within the time and culture of both the type and its antitype.

(b) Search the text for the point(s) of correspondence between the type and its antitype as they relate to salvation history.

(c) Note the important points of difference between the type and its antitype.

j. Prophecy and Apocalyptic

(1) Characteristics:

(a) Be aware that the style is generally figurative and symbolic.

(b) Watch for supernatural elements such as information conveyed by the announcement of angels, by visions, or by other supernatural means.

(c) Notice the emphasis on the unseen world that lies behind the action of the visible world.

(d) Follow the action to its usual conclusion by a sovereign intervention of God.

(2) Interpretation:

(a) Determine the specific historical situation surrounding the composition of the writing. Study intervening history to see whether or not the prophecy has been fulfilled.

(b) Study parallel passages or other cycles within the same prophecy for further information.

(c) Analyze whether this passage is part of a progressive prediction, is capable of developmental fulfillment, or includes prophetic telescoping.

i) Progressive prediction: this refers to the fact that, although each prophetic passage has a single intended fulfillment, often a series of passages exhibit a pattern of chronological progress in the prophetic enactment. Thus passage A may tell us about certain events, passage B about the events immediately following them, and passage C about the culminating events of the series. The combination of these various passages forms a whole that can be identified as progressive prediction. Sometimes the passages are presented as cycles within the same book, with each cycle presenting additional information. Two well-known examples of progressive prediction that occur in cycles are the books of Zechariah and Revelation.

ii) Developmental fulfillment: the completion of a generalized, comprehensive prophecy in several stages. E.g., the prophecy in Genesis 3:15 that speaks of the bruising of Satan’s head. Various stages in the developmental fulfillment of this prophecy include: (1) Christ’s death, (2) Christ’s resurrection and ascension, (3) the development of the church, and (4) Satan’s eventual imprisonment in the abyss and permanently in the lake of fire.

iii) Prophetic telescoping: When the prophets looked to the future, it can be compared to looking at a range of mountain peaks through a telescope. Although the mountains may look, at a distance, like they are one right behind another, there may be considerable distance between one range and the next. Biblical example: prophecies about Christ’s first and second coming.

E. Fifth step: Compare Your Work with Others

1. Compare your analysis with that of other interpreters. (Realize that other Bible students may have more knowledge of the Bible culture, or of Hebrew and Greek than we do. Also be aware that the Holy Spirit may have been giving illumination to those who seek it over the many centuries since the Bible was written. Humility is important. We can often learn from them.)

2. Modify, correct, or expand your interpretation as appropriate.

F. Sixth step: Apply Your Work to the Present Time and Culture: As we mentioned earlier, this step is not part of hermeneutics per se. Hermeneutics focuses on what God meant when he spoke it to the original audience. This step asks “How does that meaning apply to us in a different time and culture?”

1. There are two major categories of Scripture that we need to do this with:

a. First, how do we make the stories in the Bible relevant to today?

b. Secondly, how do we make the biblical commands in Scripture relevant to today’s believers in a very different time and culture?). Let’s look first at how we do that for the narrative portions:

2. God says in II Tim. 3:16 that All Scripture is useful for teaching believers, including New Testament believers. Therefore that must mean the stories found throughout the Old and NT must have relevance for us today. How do we find that relevance? One way we can do that is through Principlizing: Look at the historical setting, the culture, the context, the words and grammar used to identify the principle(s) that passage was intended to teach, or the principles (descriptive truths) illustrated within the passage that remain relevant for the contemporary believer. E.g., the biblical stories of Noah, Abraham, Samson, David, Daniel, Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, all can be models for us of how to live life (or in some cases, how not to live life).

3. The second category that we need to consider are biblical commands. How do we take the biblical commands given in a vastly different time and culture and apply them to our lives today? One was we might do this is a process we could call Transcultural transmission of biblical commands. There are four steps we can use:

a. First step: Discern as accurately as possible the principle behind the command. (What principle is God attempting to accomplish with the behavioral command?)

b. Second step: Discern whether the principle is transcultural or culture-bound by examining the reason given for the principle.

c. Most principles are transcultural because they are rooted in God’s holy nature. If a principle is transcultural, determine whether or not the same behavioral application in our culture will express the principle as adequately and accurately as the biblical one.

d. If the behavioral expression of a principle should be changed, suggest a cultural equivalent that will express the God-given principle behind the original command. (E.g., Greeting one another with the holy kiss–commanded 5 times in the N.T.) Men were to greet men, women were to greet women this way; no kissing across genders. If that were applied in churches today, it might have a different meaning than it did in ancient Israelite culture. Compare with J.B. Phillips attempt to do a transcultural transmission of that biblical command: “Greet one another with a hearty handshake.”

V. An important question for Christian counselors, especially in a postmodern age: Doesn’t Jesus tell us not to judge others, but allow them to do what they believe is right for them? Therefore if some people believe a certain interpretation of a passage, shouldn’t we accept that as God’s truth for them and refrain from making any judgments?

A. God’s Word does prohibit us from engaging in certain kinds of judging. However, there are other kinds of judging that God commands us to do.

B. For the purposes of our present discussion, let’s briefly look at two kinds of judging that Scripture prohibits, but then look at three kinds of judging Scripture commands.

C. Matthew 7:1: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”

1. Read verses 2-5. What Jesus is prohibiting is not all kinds of judging, but a very specific type of judging. He is telling us not to judge others before looking at our own lives and making sure we are not guilty of the same sin ourselves.

2. Another reason this is not a prohibition against all judging is that just a few verses later Jesus tells us to beware of false prophets (vs. 15), since identifying someone as a false prophet requires making a judgement about them. Jesus even gives specific criteria by which we can make those judgments (vs. 16-23).

D. A second kind of judging that we are not to do is to make judgments about other people in the “gray areas” where what is right or wrong depends on personal human opinion than clear guidance from God.

1. Romans 14:1-13 (Two gray areas: are Christians to be vegetarians or can they eat meat? Is Sunday a special day, or are we to regard every day as devoted to the Lord?)

E. One kind of judging that we are commanded to do is to recognize sin in our lives and turn from it before participating in the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:27-31).

F. A second type of judging we are commanded to do is to recognize open, unconfessed sin that is occurring in the Church that has been confronted and from which the person refuses to turn. (1 Cor. 5:1-13).

G. A third type of judging God calls us to do is to judge the teaching coming from pastors, Bible teachers, and evangelists to make sure it accurately aligns with Scripture (Titus 1:9, Phil. 1:9, Gal. 6:1, Acts 17:10-11 I Cor. 14:29, I Thess. 5:20-21).

H. Judging sometimes has a bad reputation because sometimes people sometimes combine biblical judging and judgmentalism together. When people sense the anger that is shown when people are judgmental, they reject that, not realizing that there is a type of biblical judging that is valid.

I. Biblical judging should always be done out of love for the person, and it should only be done in situations where God has given clear guidance that something is morally wrong.

J. Therefore some of the implications of this question for this discussion are:

1. When clients are causing themselves or others unnecessary emotional stress because they are misinterpreting the meaning of one or more Scriptures, God calls us to be accurate interpreters of His Word (see verses in Point G above), and

2. When clients are misinterpreting teachings from God’s Word in order to justify or rationalize unbiblical behavior that is hurting others, we have a responsibility to talk with them in love and confront them on their misinterpretation of God’s teaching (e.g., 1 Cor. 5:1-13)

3. For example, if a husband is emotionally abusing his wife by saying she must submit to him, I think it is appropriate to spend some time going through Ephesians 5 with him and helping him see that he is misinterpreting that passage (i.e., husbands and wives are to submit to one another. Submission is not a one-way street.)

4. So let’s use what we’ve learned this morning and apply it to some verses that Christians and Christian counselors frequently misinterpret.

VI. Examples of Passages Frequently Misinterpreted By Christian Counselors or Their Clients

A. Jeremiah 29:11: Sometimes when believers are going through difficult experiences, their friends will quote Jeremiah 29:11 to them, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.’” This verse is usually intended to encourage them that God’s promise to them is that their situation will improve in the near future and that they will soon be prospering. Is this a valid application of this verse?

1. Answer: This is a passage from a letter to the exiles in Babylon (29:1). God was promising that after they had been in captivity for 70 years God would bring them back to Jerusalem (vs. 10), would restore them, and would allow them to be prosperous once again (vs. 11).

2. Hermeneutical principles violated when we apply this to believers today?

a. We aren’t doing a careful historical-cultural and contextual analysis (we’re quoting this verse without studying the context)

b. We aren’t identifying the person or category of people for whom this particular passage is intended. [This is a promise to the nation of Israel, not be present-day Gentile believers.]

3. Question: If people get comfort from our use of a verse with them, what is the harm in using a verse out of context?

a. Three reasons: First, II Timothy 2:15 isn’t a suggestion that it would be nice if we didn’t take things out of context; it’s a command to study the Word so that we correctly handle it.

b. Secondly, if we use verses out of context, we have no justification for correcting those who are harming themselves or others by using verses out of context.

c. Thirdly, this passage seems to be promising people that God is promising them He will make them prosperous: “For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you.” Does God promise to everyone who follows him today that he will make them rich? [No. This was a promise to national Israel, that if they obeyed God once they returned from the exile, God would bless them financially. However, God doesn’t promise to make all NT believers millionaires.]

4. Are there some verses that could be validly used to bring comfort to believers today?

a. Matt. 11:28-30: [Given to all Jesus’ followers] “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

b. Phil. 4:6-7: [A promise given to the Christian believers]: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

B. Proverbs 23:7 says: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he (KJV). Is this a good verse to base Christian cognitive-behavioral therapy on?

1. Take a moment to turn to Proverbs 23:6-7.

2. Read other translations:

a. (NASB). Do not eat the bread of a selfish man or desire his delicacies, for as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, “Eat and drink” but his heart is not with you.

b. (English Standard Version). Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies, for he is like one who is inwardly calculating, “Eat and drink” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

c. (New Century Version). Don’t eat the food of selfish people; don’t be greedy for their fine foods. Selfish people are always worrying about how much the food costs. They tell you “Eat and drink” but they don’t really mean it.

d. (New International Version). Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

3. Major point of all these translations is: When you’re the guest of a stingy man, be careful how much you eat, because he is always calculating in his mind how much your food is costing him.

4. Should we then say that this verse can be the basis for teaching cognitive behavioral therapy?

5. This example points out well that when we quote half a verse without reading its context, we can often think it says something very different than what it is actually saying.

6. Does that mean that the Bible does not support the idea of cognitive behavioral therapy, i.e., that to change a person, you should help him or her change their thoughts? If you say that the Bible does support that idea, what might be some verses that do support that notion?

a. Romans 12:2 Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

b. Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. . . . .

c. Colossians 3:1-2 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. . . . .

d. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. . . . .

7. So Scripture does support the idea of cognitive behavioral therapy–we can help people change by encouraging them to change their thought life. We just shouldn’t use Prov. 23:7 as it’s basis.

C. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”

1. Suppose a client with whom you were counseling was in a serious car accident. She is going to survive, but it is not clear whether she will ever walk again, even though she desperately wants to recover her mobility. You want to encourage her by sending her a card. While card shopping you spot one with Philippians 4:13: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Should you send her this card, implying the promise that with God’s help she will definitely walk again?

2. Problems with that interpretation: [We all know of Christians who have had accidents who haven’t regained full mobility, even though they prayed for that.]

3. How will we go about deciding what is a valid interpretation? [Look at the verses in context].

4. Read verses 10-13.

5. So what is Paul saying here when he makes the statement “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength?” He’s saying, “The thing I have learned to do through Christ is to be content in every situation, whether I have plenty or whether I am in poverty.” That is the “everything” that he can do.

6. So this isn’t a promise that if she has enough faith, she will walk again. It is a promise that God can help her live with contentment, whatever her situation is.

D. A well-known Christian counselor and author, discussing the way to discover God’s will for one’s life, made the point that inner peace was an important indicator. The only verse he used to anchor his argument was Colossians 3:15 (“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts”). Would you agree with his use of this verse to make this point? Why, or why not?

1. Background: Discussions of God’s will often center around two concepts: God’s general will—his general moral commands that apply to all believers, e.g., “Marry only a believer,” and God’s specific will—what God wants a specific believer to do in a specific situation, e.g., “Should Julie marry Jim, Tom or Russ if all three are available, interested, and are believers?”

2. Does this verse substantiate the idea that intrapersonal peace (peace inside ourselves) is one way of discerning God’s specific will?

3. Historical-cultural and contextual analysis: .

4. Immediate context: Read verses 12–15. “Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”

5. The hermeneutical principle violated: Study how the passage under consideration fits into the flow of the author’s argument. Paul is teaching that interpersonal peace (peace between brothers and sisters) is God’s general will for all believers. He is not teaching that intrapersonal peace (peace within yourself) is a valid means of determining God’s specific will for your life.

6. Another reason this author’s interpretation is invalid, this one psychological rather than hermeneutical: We human beings have an amazing ability to rationalize the option we want, and think our feelings are God’s peace.

E. Romans 8:28; A Christian man lost his job due to company downsizing. He and his wife interpreted Romans 8:28 (“All things work together for good,” NRSV) to mean that he lost his job so that God could give him a better-paying one. Consequently he turned down several lower- or equal-paying job opportunities and remained on unemployment for over two years before returning to work. Do you agree with his way of interpreting this verse? Why, or why not?

1. What should we do first?

2. Two common misinterpretations of this verse:

a. All things work together for good. No, we realize that all things don’t naturally work together for good (a pantheistic interpretation). Sometimes young mothers or fathers get cancer and die early, leaving resentful families.

b. We sometimes interpret “good” to mean good from our human perspective, meaning a higher-paying job or a better situation, as this couple did, without pausing to look at what God and Paul intended it to mean.”

3. Hermeneutical principles violated:

a. Make sure the KJV is a correct interpretation. A better interpretation is the NIV: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” The verse is not saying that all things naturally work out for good, but that in the lives of those who love God, he is working behind the scenes to work in situations to help them work out for our good.

b. Secondly, do a contextual analysis to find out the authors’ definition of what God means by “good.” The believer mentioned in the exercise defined “good” from his own perspective (getting a higher salary) rather than understanding the authors’ (God and Paul’s) intended meaning. They define what they mean by good in verse 29, where they define it as becoming more like Christ. So what this verse really teaches is that God is working in every detail of our lives, using those experiences to help us become more like Christ.

c. So what God is promising Christians is that he is working through all circumstances to help us become more like Christ. But he is not causing us to lose a job so he can give us a higher-paying job.

F. A sincere young Christian attended a teaching series based on Psalm 37:4 ("Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart"). Based on the teaching, he began to write checks "on faith," and was rather dismayed when they "bounced." How would you counsel him regarding the teaching he had received concerning these verses?

1. Contextual analysis: [If you turn to Psalm 37 you would find the whole psalm has to do with godly wisdom, as opposed to looking at the world from a human perspective.]

2. Remember the first half of the verse when interpreting the second half: Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. As we delight ourselves in the Lord, he will change the desires of our hearts. We will not be obsessed with acquiring earthly possessions and earthly toys, but with pleasing him. As we delight ourselves in him, he will grant us the desire of our hearts, i.e., he will help us develop in ways that will truly please him.

3. Another verse later in the psalm, verse 16 states "Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked."

4. Hermeneutical principle overlooked: Careful contextual analysis.

VII. Closing Comments

A. Benefits for counselors of understanding hermeneutics [when I used to teach that course in hermeneutics to our Counseling students in Atlanta, at the end of the program many would tell me that they thought it was the most useful course in the whole program for preparing them to do Christian counseling. So I hope you will consider studying hermeneutics further than we’ve been able to touch on in this presentation. Here’s a brief reminder of the things we’ve gone over:

1. Hermeneutics can prevent us from reading our personal opinions or our preformed theological theories into Scripture.

2. It can help us help our clients to be able to correct psychological or spiritual problems that result from incorrect interpretations of God's Word.

3. It can help us be able to distinguish better from poorer interpretations of a text.

4. It can help us be able to show why an incorrect interpretation is incorrect.

5. It can help us be able to understand the meaning of texts which, on the surface, seem to contradict one another.

6. It can help us be able to remove roadblocks to someone coming to faith in Christ caused by misinterpretations of biblical texts.

7. It can add authority, credibility, and edification to our counseling, writing, or teaching.

8. It can help us serve as models of good biblical interpretation to those who look up to us.

9. It can help us not make incorrect theological statements which, if our clients repeat them to their pastors, would cause us to lose credibility with pastors who can be important referral sources.

10. And lastly, it can help us to “correctly handle the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

B. If you only take one insight away from this webinar, the most important hermeneutical principle is to study the verse or passage of Scripture in context.

C. If the meaning is still unclear, consult expository commentaries.

D. If you would like a more complete exposition of these points Dr. Karelynne Ayayo and I have coauthored a book that expands on these points. It is Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation, 3rd edition) available from Baker Book House. It includes 100 exercises, the first 50 or so came from counseling sessions where Christians were having problems because they were interpreting one or more verses incorrectly. The second 50 were added by Dr. Ayayo since she teaches in a seminary where most of her students are preparing to enter the ministry.

E. If you’re interested and want to talk further, you can call me at 561-317-4369. Or you can contact me through email at Hvirkler@aol.com

F. Also, if you have a hermeneutical question that wasn’t answered in this workshop, feel free to email it to me at my home and I’ll try to answer it if I can.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

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I. Introduction

A. The modern controversy over multiple intelligence began with the competing theories of Spearman versus Thurstone.

B. Spearman (1927) worked extensively with factor analysis and asserted that approximately 50% of the variance found on various tests of mental ability was due to a single factor, which he named g, for general factor. While he recognized that there were specific secondary factors that influenced intelligence (which he designated by the letter s), his emphasis was on g.

C. This had an influence in causing many of the early measures of intelligence to use a single score when expressing intelligence.

D. However, there are two major criticisms of factor analysis that affect whether intelligence should be considered primarily a unitary or a multiple concept. These are:

1. Factor analysis can only identify factors that are contained within the questions of a test. Therefore, if most measures of intelligence are primarily related to one aspect of intelligence, factor analysis will turn up a single factor, g. If there are other kinds of intelligence not being measured by these tests, they cannot be discovered by factor analysis.

2. Factor analytic procedures generally identify sources of common variance (variance shared by two or more variables) at the expense of identifying unique variance (variances due to two or more unique factors operating). Thus, factor analysis by its procedures would tend to lead people to the conclusion of g, because that is the purpose of its underlying processes, even though the reality may be that there are multiple contributors to intelligence.

E. Thurstone (1938) and later Guilford were early contributors to the idea that there might be multiple primary mental abilities. He developed a multidimensional model of intelligence which serves as the historical parent to the modern concept of multiple intelligences.

F. Howard Gardner (1983, 1993), a researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education and numerous colleagues continue to champion the idea of multiple intelligences and expound on the implications of this for educators. The next section describes Gardner’s theory of seven kinds of intelligence from his 1983 and 1993 books.

II. Multiple Intelligences: Gardner argues that people can be intelligent in many ways. The champion athlete, the gifted musician, the academician, the champion chess player, the gifted interpersonal mediator, are each intelligent but in diverse ways. Here are some of those kinds of intelligence:

A. Musical intelligence: Gardner identifies at least three kinds of persons with what might be called high musical intelligence: (1) the person with a gift for composition, who regularly hears tones, rhythms, timbres and larger musical patterns in his or her head, and who has the ability to put them together in ways that move and inspire others, (2) the person with musical performance gifts, who from a very early age may be entertaining others, and (3) the person with unusual gifts to remember and reconstruct tunes, rhythms and words, sometimes after only hearing them once.

B. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: This is the ability certain people have to be able to anticipate other’s actions, estimate the flight of a ball or other object, and use one’s body to accomplish a certain interaction. It is found to a high degree in professional athletes, dancers, mimes, the artist or entertainer who can draw or act out caricatures of human behavior that are exquisitely funny or moving, etc.

C. Logical-mathematical intelligence: This is the kind of intelligence commonly tapped by traditional intelligence tests. Piaget’s well-known theories of cognitive development–object permanence, concrete operations, formal operations–probably best apply to this area of intelligence.

D. Linguistic intelligence: This includes the ability to put ideas into words, to create word pictures, and to write creatively. It is found to a high degree in gifted writers and poets, but is present in varying degrees in everyone who communicates, including even those who must communicate non-verbally (i.e., the mute). It involves not only the ability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively (perhaps predominant in non-fiction writers), but also a sensitivity to sounds, rhythms, inflections, and meters of words, perhaps predominant in poets and fiction writers (who are sometimes known as “word-smiths”).

E. Spatial intelligence: People also differ in their ability to visualize things three-dimensionally. Navigators, engineers, and physicists are groups who frequently have a high level of spatial intelligence.

F. Intrapersonal intelligence: this involves “access to one’s own feelings, to discriminate between those emotions, to label them and to draw upon them as a means of understanding and guiding one’s behavior (Gardner, 1993, pp. 24-25).

G. Interpersonal intelligence: This involves the ability to notice distinctions in others—moods, temperaments, motivations, and intentions, and then to know how to respond appropriately. “In an advanced form, interpersonal knowledge permits a skilled adult to read the intentions and desires—even when these have been hidden—of many other individuals and, potentially, to act upon this knowledge—for example, by influencing a group of disparate individuals to behave along desired lines. We see highly developed forms of interpersonal intelligence in political and religious leaders (a Mahatma Gandhi or a Lyndon Johnson), in skilled parents and teachers, and in individuals enrolled in the helping professions, be they therapists, counselors, or shamans” (1983, p. 239).

III. A Brief Introduction to Some of The Implications of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences

A. Gardner and his colleagues obviously believe that there are a number of ways in which people can be intelligent, and that our present system—which only labels people who are high on logical-mathematical intelligence as intelligent—is lacking.

B. Gardner and many of his colleagues believe we should move away from traditional standardized testing as a means of assessing intelligence, and that we should develop ways that assess abilities in naturalistic settings.

C. For those in education, his books are worthwhile reading.

D. If this theory is correct, it obviously has important implications for our entire educational and career-exploration process.

E. It obviously has important implications for being able to encourage children to find their particular areas of strength and realize there are many ways that one can be smart.

F. It also may give us an idea why being a good counselor may not be directly related to GPA (which depends primarily on logical-mathematical intelligence and memory). The best counselors may be those who are high on interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence.

G. Whether or not Gardner’s specific taxonomy of seven intelligences stands the test of time, it is clear that this theory has important implications for all of us.

References

Gardner, Howard (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

Gardner, Howard (1993). Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice. New York: Basic Books

Spearman, C. E. (1927). The Abilities of Man. New York: Macmillan.

Thurstone, L. L. (1938). Primary Mental Abilities. Psychometric Monographs, 1.

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Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Note: The prices quoted for some of the tests below have probably changed in the time since this handout was originally printed

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1. Introduction:

a. For a test to be considered a validated test it should include:

i. a norm group, and appropriate norm group data for the populations on which the test will be used,

ii. standardized administration and scoring procedures,

iii. appropriate kinds of reliability data (and reliability levels generally in the .80s to .90s), and

iv. appropriate kinds of (and levels of) validity data for the kinds of inferences one wishes to make from the test.

b. Until a test has these kinds of data available it should still be considered in the experimental stage.

c. New tests will constantly be coming out. It is important for you to ask whether it has these kinds of data available. If it does not, I recommend that you politely tell the promoter that you are not interested in purchasing their product until they have invested the time and money necessary to assure that their instrument accurately measures what it claims to measure.

d. The following is a listing of some inventories developed either by or for Christians. Inclusion on this list does not mean that I recommend the test. This list includes some tests which I believe are strong psychometrically, and others which are promoted within Christian circles but for which psychometric data is unavailable or nonexistent.

2. PREPARE, PREPARE-MC, PREPARE-CC, ENRICH, and MATE: These five inventories have been developed by David Olson and his associates and are used in premarital or marital counseling. They have excellent psychometric data, including large norm groups, good split-half and test-retest reliabilities, and excellent predictive or concurrent validities. Information available by calling 1-800-331-1661.

3. The Interpersonal Behavior Survey: Developed by Dr. Paul Mauger, a Christian psychologist in Atlanta, this is probably the best-validated assertiveness inventory available in either the secular or Christian market. The content is not explicitly Christian, so it can be used with either Christian or non-Christian clients. Available from Western Psychological Services by calling 1-800-648-8857.

4. The Taylor-Johnson Temperament Analysis: An older test, and one that pastors can receive training on and use. It gives feedback on ten personality areas. A unique component of this test is that husbands and wives can answer it twice, once for how they see themselves, and once as they experience their spouse, ending up with profiles that compare each other, and their perceptions of each other. Has fairly strong psychometric data supporting it. Available from Sigma Assessment Systems at 1-800-265-1285 or from Psychological Publications (213) 465-4163.

5. Christian Personality Profile: This inventory, developed by Darryl Franken, measures the nine personality characteristics normally associated with the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, etc. There is a secular version of the test as well (the Michigan 9). Franken has done reliability and validity studies on the instruments. Information available at www.lifeskillstraining.org

6. Various Spiritual Gifts Inventories

a. Several Spiritual Gifts inventories are available. In most cases I have not been able to discover whether they have any psychometric documentation. Following are some publishers or distributors that have these inventories available:

b. The Wagner-Modified Houts Spiritual Gifts Inventory is available through Gospel Light (1-800-446-7735) for $3.99 per individual inventory or for $16.99 for a Group Leader’s guide which includes reproducible masters. Peter Wagner lists 26 gifts, including charismatic as well as non-charismatic gifts, so this inventory would not be appropriate to use in settings or with people who believed the charismatic gifts are no longer available today.

c. The International Center for Leadership Development and Evangelism in Canada (1-800-804-0777) has several inventories available. These include:

i. Houts Spiritual Gifts Inventory (non charismatic) $3.69 per inventory.

ii. Trenton-Lutheran Gifts Inventory (non charismatic) $3.69 per inventory.

iii. Wagner-Modified Houts (charismatic and noncharismatic gifts) $3.90 per individual, $16.99 for Group Leaders guide with reproducible masters.

iv. Larry Gilbert (non charismatic) $4.30 per inventory.

d. GiftQuest (Discovering Your Motivational Gift): 1-800-429-7512

7. Maret Software: 3813 W. 214th Street, Matteson, IL 60443, or (708) 748-1188 distributes individual assessment and counseling modules on premarriage, spiritual gifts, marriage, youth enrichment, moral attitudes, career development, alcohol dependency, and genograms. Each module is $79.00, may be used free for 30 days, and gives you unlimited uses for the purchase price. No psychometric data is included in their promotional literature.

8. Christian Version of the Adjective Checklist: Available from Measurement and Planned Development, 508 East Tazewell Way, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Telephone (804) 253-1633. I have a number of reservations about the psychometric strength of this test.

9. DISC System: The DISC system came from a personality theory developed by Dr. William Marston in the 1920s and 1930s, and has produced some 35 to 40 versions of the DISC test, two of the best-known being the Personal Discernment Inventory (DISC) and the Performax Test (Personal Profile System). The DISC instruments allege that they measure four dimensions of personality–dominance, influence, compliance and steadiness. These tests are being promoted by both secular as well as a few Christian groups. I have written the promoters to ask for psychometric data, and have only received data on reliability, never any data on validity. I would encourage you not to use any test, including these, no matter how face valid they may seem, unless the publisher is willing to give you full psychometric data on validity as well as reliability, since without validity data you have no way of knowing what the scores mean.

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Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (now retired)

Graduate Counseling Program

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Updated 2023

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I. Understanding the Various Causes of Depression

A. Introduction

1. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders, and one of the most common presenting problems in most counselors’ offices.

2. Between 20 and 25% of women will suffer from MDD sometime in their lifetime, and between 9 and 12% of men.

3. Interestingly, the incidence of MDD has been increasing in recent generations of children and adolescents, and the age of the first episode of MDD has been decreasing (Craighead, Sheets, Brosse & Hardi, 2007, p. 289)

4. Consequently, every counselor and pastor needs to be prepared to help clients with depression, and the need to have effective strategies to work with depressed clients is likely to only increase in the years ahead.

5. Furthermore, research indicates that the majority of people with depression receive inadequate treatment. A third to one-half of depressed clients who see a primary care physician are not accurately diagnosed. Even among those patients who are accurately diagnosed, many do not receive adequate treatment. Many do not receive a sufficient level of antidepressants for a sufficient length of time, and few receive any professional counseling (Improving Care for Depression, Harvard Mental Health Letter, 2006).

B. Types of Depression: Types of depression most often seen in churches or counseling offices include:

1. Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood: A short term and relatively mild depression that results from a difficult situation occurring in a client’s life (e.g., a person who moves to a new community where they leave their former set of friends behind and need to make an entirely new set of friends will often experience an Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood).

2. Bereavement is commonly found among those who have lost a loved one, but is differentiated from depression. However, it sometimes can lead to one of the depressive disorders.

3. Major Depressive Disorder (MDD): A more serious depression that lasts at least two weeks and includes a minimum of five symptoms, one of which must be depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities. Major Depressive Disorder can be further categorized as mild, moderate, severe, or severe with psychotic features. (Psychotic features usually indicates either hallucinations or delusions, or both.)

4. Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia): A less severe depression than MDD that has lasted at least 2 years.

5. Bipolar I Disorder: One or more Manic or Mixed Episodes, usually accompanied by one or more episodes of major depression. Also can have the same specifiers as MDD, (i.e., mild, moderate, severe, or severe with psychotic features).

6. Bipolar II Disorder: One or more hypomanic episodes, accompanied by one or more episodes of major depression. (A hypomanic episode is a period of heightened energy, but the elevation in mood is not as severe as in full-blown mania.)

7. Cyclothymic Disorder: At least two years that included several hypomanic episodes and several episodes of depression not severe enough to meet the criteria for major depression (i.e., depression more in the range of dysthymic disorder)

8. Seasonal Affective Disorder:

a. This is a type of depression that varies with the season. The most typical presentation is a regular pattern of becoming depressed during the winter months, with the depression lifting as the days become longer.

b. A less common variation has the mood becoming depressed during the summer months and then lessening in the winter months.

c. The first pattern (worse during the winter months) is more likely to occur in the higher latitudes and is less commonly seen in Florida.

d. Seasonal Affective Disorder can be coded depending on what category of depression it occurs in–e.g., Major Depressive Disorder, with Seasonal Pattern, or Bipolar 1 Disorder with Seasonal Pattern, or Bipolar 2 Disorder with Seasonal Pattern.

9. Postpartum Depression or Postpartum Psychosis

a. This refers to a depression that starts within four weeks after delivery.

b. It is not uncommon for mothers to experience some mild depression following delivery in response to the rapidly changing hormone balance in their bodies. (During pregnancy a woman’s levels of estrogen and progesterone greatly increases, and then in the first 24 hours after birth, those levels rapidly drop to normal, non-pregnant levels.) About 70% of women experience a mild depression during this time, which is often referred to as “baby blues.” However, postpartum depression refers to a more serious depression.

c. As with Seasonal Affective Disorder, it is no longer given a separate category, but instead is coded based on the category of depression it causes. As you may remember, Major Depressive Disorder can be mild, moderate, severe, or severe with psychotic features. So, for example, postpartum psychosis would be coded as Major Depressive Disorder, Severe, With Psychotic Features, With Postpartum Onset.

d. Sometimes the stress of childbirth or caring for a new baby can trigger a Bipolar 1 or Bipolar 2 Disorder or a Brief Psychotic Disorder. This is more common when the woman is 35 or older at the time of delivery.

e. Postpartum depression should be taken very seriously. Particularly when it reaches psychotic intensity it can cause suicide or harm to the infant if the mother starts to develop a delusion that the child is the Anti-Christ, or is possessed, etc.

f. About 1 in 1,000 mothers suffer a postpartum psychosis. Fifty percent of these women never experienced any mental health problems prior to their delivery.

g. Women who have a history of major depression are more likely to develop postpartum depression.

h. Even moderate postpartum depressions that do not cause psychosis should be treated, since depression in the mother can interfere with the attachment process that is so important for both the mother and the child.

10. Mood Disorder Due to a General Medical Condition: Either depression, mania, or a mixed mood presentation, where the mood disorder is believed to be a direct physiological result of a general medical condition.

11. Substance-Induced Mood Disorder: This refers to depression or mania caused by use of prescription medications, alcohol or drug abuse, or exposure to toxins. For examples, long term abuse of alcohol can cause major depression. Use of steroids can produce an episode of mania.

C. Understanding Depression: A Biopsychosocial-Existential Model

1. Biological causes of depression

a. Genetic conditions:

(1) Although the biochemistry of the brain is still in its infancy, scientists are beginning to identify the factors that cause one person to be more resilient in the face of stressful life events, while others become depressed from the same events.

(2) The brain is composed of several billion nerve cells. Nerve impulses travel through the nerve as electrical impulses, and when they get to a synapse (the short space between two nerve cells), they get turned into a chemical, called a neurotransmitter. This chemical transmits the impulse to the next nerve cell, where it is converted back to an electrical impulse, and the same process is repeated. If there is not enough neurotransmitter in the space between the cells, the impulse does not get through with the appropriate strength, and the person experiences depression.

(3) While there are many neurotransmitters, the three that we know the most about are serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Antidepressants are believed to work by increasing the availability of one of these three neurotransmitters in the brain.

(4) Researchers in Great Britain and New Zealand in 2003 identified two alleles (variations of a single gene that seem to affect one’s predisposition to depression). One version of the allele (known as 5-HTT) is short, and the other is long. They identified these two alleles in 847 New Zealanders and followed them from birth to age 26. In those people who had two copies of the long allele, only 17% of them became depressed, regardless of the stresses they faced. Thirty-three percent of those with one long allele and one short allele developed depression during that same period, and 43% of those who had two short alleles.

(5) Interestingly, this gene contains the code to produce the protein that transports serotonin across the spaces between brain cells (SSRIs work by increasing the amount of serotonin available in the brain).

(6) It is likely that there are other genes responsible for producing the proteins that transport other neurotransmitters, and as these are discovered, we will understand more about the factors that cause some people to be more predisposed to depression in the face of stress.

(7) However, a large NIMH meta-analysis in 2009 combining the results of 14 studies failed to replicate the results of this study (some studies agreed with this 2003 finding, others did not). This later research concluded that the magnitude of the stressors people were facing, rather than their genetic makeup, was what determined the amount of depression people experienced.

(8) Undoubtedly this research debate will continue in the coming years, and it is impossible to know what the ultimate conclusions will be. At this point it is probably best to say that some researchers believe that genetic factors may affect how resilient a person is in the face of stressors, and other researchers are not convinced that genetics plays a significant role.

b. Other medical conditions that can cause depression. They include, but are not limited to:

(1) Parkinson’s disease

(2) Huntington’s disease

(3) stroke

(4) Vitamin B12 deficiency or other metabolic conditions

(5) Endocrine conditions such as hyper- and hypothyroidism, hyper- and hypoparathyroidism, hyper- and hypoadrenocorticism

(6) Autoimmune conditions such as systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)

(7) Viral and other infections, such as hepatitis, mononucleosis, HIV, and certain cancers

c. Depression caused by long-term drug or alcohol use

d. Depression caused by learning that one has a serious or chronic physical illness or psychological disorder

2. Social or relational causes of depression: There are at least four social or relational causes of depression, which include:

a. Breakdown or conflict in a relationship, such as a marriage or friendship

b. Loss of a relationship, such as by death or geographical moves either by the client or the friend

c. Loss of a role, such as the loss of the mothering or fathering role when the last child leaves home

d. Inadequate social skills that results in lack of an adequate social support system, especially if previous friends or relatives move away or die.

3. Psychological causes of depression: When people become biochemically or psychologically depressed they often change their external or internal behavior, which can further deepen the depression.

a. External behavioral changes: Behavioral withdrawal, which causes the loss of positive reinforcements that come from those interactions

b. Internal cognitive changes: Aaron Beck and his associates have identified the cognitive changes that people often make as they become depressed. Some of those include:

(1) Selective attention: Euthymic individuals (people who are experiencing a pleasant state of mind) attend to both the positive and negative things that are going on around them. Depressed individuals selectively attend to the negative data around them and ignore the more positive data.

(2) Attributions: Euthymic individuals make more balanced interpretations of the events going on around them. Depressed individuals are likely to make much more negative interpretations of the events that they see and hear. For example, if a euthymic individual says “hello” as they pass someone in the hall and that person fails to reciprocate, a euthymic individual is likely to say to themselves that the other person may have failed to hear them or was deep in thought and distracted. A depressed person is more likely to interpret the lack of response as meaning that the person doesn’t like them or thinks they’re not important enough to talk with. Thus the depressed person’s attributions (or interpretations) are likely to contribute to further depression.

(3) Expectancies: Euthymic individuals tend to be optimistic about the future. Depressed individuals tend to be pessimistic or hopeless about the future.

(4) Assumptions: Euthymic people tend to have realistic beliefs about how other people are or feel about them. Depressed people tend to have negative beliefs about how other people are or how they feel about them.

(5) Schemas or core beliefs: Research has shown that people who experienced early trauma or loss of a loved one are more likely to become depressed when under stress. Other research has shown that once a person has experienced major depression, it takes less stress to activate that depression again. The theoretical explanation for this is that once a person has developed a depressive template about life, they are more likely to return to it when experiencing stress than they would be if they had never experienced that earlier deprivation or trauma.

c. Psychodynamic explanations of depression: One hypothesis Freud developed was that depression is anger turned inward. While most of us would argue that this is not an explanation for all anger, at least occasionally this may be a plausible explanation for some people’s depression. However, we must be cautious not to impose this explanation on every depressed person who also seems angry. Depression also makes many people more irritable than they were before the depression, so in some cases the anger is a result, not a cause, of the depression.

4. Existential (or spiritual) causes of depression: [Note: All the above theories of the causes of depression tend to have either direct or indirect empirical support. Direct support comes from direct observation and medical data: indirect support would come from the fact that treatments for depression which target the hypothesized cause have been found to decrease depression. Existential causes of depression are less easy to conceptualize in terms that can easily quantified. Thus while many counselors do believe that existential issues can sometimes cause depression, this belief is based more on clinical experience than empirically-substantiated research.]

a. Lack of an existential meaning or purpose for one’s life

(1) Carl Jung is well-known for his statement: “Among all my patients in the second half of life . . . every one of them fell ill because he had lost what the living religions of every age have given their followers [i.e., an existential foundation for their lives], and none of them has been really healed who did not regain his religious outlook.”

(2) Victor Frankl said: “Ever more people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.” In another place he also said: “Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” Essentially he was saying that people need to find a meaning and purpose for their lives that consists in some way of making the world a better place, and in order to be psychologically happy they need to devote themselves to that purpose.

(3) Existential depression affects not only middle-aged people. President John F. Kennedy said: “Modern American youth have everything—except a reason to live.” The significant increase in teen suicide—teens who see no purpose in going on living—underscores the truth of President Kennedy’s statement, which is probably even more true than at the time Kennedy made it.

b. A too-strict conscience code that causes continuous feelings of failure: In addition to the existential need to discover some meaningful purpose for one’s life, another existential reason people sometimes come for counseling is that they have too strict a moral code. They are constantly feeling guilty for the imperfections in themselves that every human being possesses.

c. Real guilt

(1) A third existential reason that people come for counseling was articulated by O. Hobart Mowrer in The Crisis in Psychiatry and Religion, in which he asserted that one major reason people experience anxiety, depression or guilt is not because they have too strict a moral code, but because they violate a moral code that they know they should honor.

(2) When people do what they know is wrong (or fail to do what they know is right), cognitive dissonance between their moral code and their behavior produces either depression, anxiety, or guilt. While real guilt can affect anyone regardless of their religious involvement, if a person who sees himself or herself as a Christian is engaging in behavior that violates God’s teachings, this is more likely to produce guilt, anxiety, and depression.

D. Summary

1. The above discussion probably does not list every cause of depression, but even from this sample of possible causes there seem to be multiple factors that can cause depression, either singly or in combination, including:

a. Biological causes

b. Social or relational causes

c. Psychological causes, and

d. Existential or spiritual causes

2. It is overly simplistic to talk about the treatment for depression. To help a given client who is depressed we need to identify the specific causes of that person’s depression, and then help them work on those specific issues.

II. Treatments for Depression

A. Treatments for Biological Causes of Depression

1. Whenever a person has a depression that seems to be out of proportion to the psychological stressors that preceded it, or the person has other physical symptoms not usually found in conjunction with depression, referral to a physician is indicated. As noted in the previous section, depression is sometimes an early indication of a medical disorder that needs to be diagnosed and treated (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, stroke, vitamin deficiencies or other metabolic conditions, endocrine conditions, autoimmune conditions such as lupus, bacterial or viral infections, cancer, etc).

2. However, even if it turns out that there is a medical disorder that is causing at least part of the depression, there is often a role for pastors or counselors to play. Several things that pastors or counselors can do include (see flowchart at the end of this handout–2nd to last page–for a visual diagram of this process):

a. Helping the client (and sometimes their family when appropriate) educate themselves about the disease

b. Help them do whatever grief work is necessary (the loss of physical or mental health means grieving the loss of the health and possibilities and the future one once took for granted)

c. Identify strengths and potentials the client still has, and

d. Help the client (and possibly their family) develop healthy attitudes and coping strategies

3. Physicians, with their schedule of seven minutes per patient, will not be able to do the above four things as well as a counselor, and so, if we do not encourage the client to continue to see us, they may not receive the psychological support that they need during this time of need.

4. Another biological cause of depression is long term drug or alcohol usage. Such long term use probably causes depression in a variety of ways:

a. The biological effect within the brain of the long term substance usage,

b. The damage to family and other relationships

c. The damage to one’s career,

d. Guilt about things done as a result of the substance dependence (financial problems caused to the family, automobile or other accidents that may have harmed others, lying, stealing, etc.)

5. When the depression is caused by long term drug or alcohol usage, obviously substance abuse treatment is the first treatment needed. Treating the depression as the primary problem is treating a symptom rather than the primary problem, and will not have lasting effectiveness.

6. If the person is in denial, then the Johnson Intervention may be a very effective way of helping the person accept the seriousness of their substance abuse problem and commit to treatment.

7. Research has shown that, when the Johnson Intervention is conducted by a trained intervener, 95% of the time the substance abuser will admit that they have a problem and voluntarily consent to treatment.

8. Caution: Do not attempt to do a family intervention based on your own instincts or watching the TV show Intervention without obtaining additional training or reading. Such interventions are often not successful and can make the situation worse.

9. However, the cost for hiring a professional intervenor to lead the intervention can sometimes be several thousand dollars, and insurance may not pay for it. Historically, the Johnson Intervention was designed so that families themselves could do the intervention, and definitely, counselors who are willing to invest a few hours in reading can definitely learn to assist a family in doing an intervention. To learn how to do a Johnson Intervention, I recommend reading (and having selected family members read) Love First: A Families Guide to Intervention by Jeff and Debra Jay. This approach is a good example of the biblical concept of “speaking the truth in love” to the substance abuser.

10. However, even if you do not do the intervention yourself, you can make yourself available to help the person deal with the issues noted in 4b, c, and d above, after the person has completed substance abuse treatment or has made substantial progress in their substance abuse treatment.

B. A Brief Summary of Empirically-Substantiated Medical Treatments Available for Depression

1. There are four classes on antidepressants, all of which have received extensive scrutiny and which have been shown, based on work with thousands of patients, to be effective in reducing symptoms of major depression. Those four classes are tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and the newest class of antidepressants, called by various names, but which we shall refer to as 4th generation antidepressants.

2. General principles about the antidepressants

a. Most antidepressants have equal effectiveness in treating depression overall: however, one antidepressant may work better for a specific person than another antidepressant.

b. Most antidepressants will take between 3 to 5 weeks to work, so patients often need encouragement to stay on them when they don’t notice any improvement in their mood for the first few weeks. (Most patients will notice their sleep improves almost immediately, which can be a significant benefit.)

c. If a patient has not shown improvement in five weeks, it is probably best for them to ask their doctor to try another antidepressant, because remaining on the first antidepressant longer is not likely to increase the likelihood that antidepressant will work for them.

d. Psychiatrists do not as yet have markers that will help them predict which antidepressant will work best for which patient, but there is the hope that pharmacogenetics and brain imaging will, in the future, help psychiatrists predict which antidepressant will work best for a given client

e. TCAs appear not to be effective for children because the chemical pathways needed for these medications to work have not developed in children. However, there is now evidence that Prozac, Paxil, and Celexa (all SSRIs) do work in children and adolescents.

f. As noted above, there are a number of medical illnesses that produce depression. These diseases have increased mortality rates if the depression is not treated, so it is important to treat it, but it is important for the treating physician to know about all the medications the patient is taking so he or she can prescribe an antidepressant that does not interfere with other medications.

g. The safety of antidepressants for the developing fetus was not established at the time these antidepressants were originally approved by the FDA because clinical trials typically exclude pregnant women. We have recently become aware that antidepressants have a small likelihood of increasing certain birth defects. While the actual increase in the likelihood of having a birth defect is quite small, many women will be unwilling to take antidepressants if there is any increased risk. Obviously, if pregnant women are open to counseling and other interventions that do not include taking antidepressants, this may be the way they would prefer to go.

h. There has been much publicity around the assertion that antidepressants can increase the likelihood of children, adolescents and young adults will have suicidal thoughts while on antidepressants (this happens in 2-4% of children and adolescents). Several points can be made:

(1) This seems to be an artifact of the treatment process, both with the TCAs and SSRIs: antidepressants appear to increase one’s energy level 4-7 days before they increase one’s mood. It is during this window that suicidal thoughts may increase for some people.

(2) The increase (based on multiple studies in various countries) appears to be in suicidal thoughts, not suicidal behavior. There does not seem to be an increase in completed suicide among people who take antidepressants.

(3) Since the advent of the “black box” warnings on antidepressants some years ago, use of antidepressants has decreased, and for the first time in several years the suicide rate (which had been gradually decreasing), started to increase again. Therefore it seems that not treating depression will result in more suicides than using antidepressants.

(4) Consider the phenomenology of the typical person who is having a difficult life experience and has become depressed. If they’re only given a pill and no help in how to improve their life, one could see how they might develop suicidal thoughts, because they know that a pill is not going to improve their life situation.

(5) Interestingly, another research study has shown that if clients are given counseling in addition to antidepressants there is no increase in either suicidal thinking or behavior.

(6) Most laypersons view antidepressants as they do other medications like aspirin—when the pain goes away they stop taking the medication. It’s important to educate them on the difference in the pharmacology between pain killers and antidepressants. To minimize the chances of relapse, it is generally consider best to continue on antidepressants for six months if this is the person’s first depression. If the person has experienced more than one depression or the depression was especially severe, long term treatment should be considered. Biochemical depression is now considered to be a chronic disorder in some people, and may require long term treatment to keep it in remission.

(7) With many diseases, any single medication may not treat all the symptoms of that disease. Lower doses of two medications, rather than a large dose of a single medication is a commonly-accepted practice. The same has been found to be true with the antidepressants, where two lower doses of two antidepressants may work more effectively than a single larger dose of one.

(8) When people have found the dosage that effectively combats their depression, research shows that their depression is most likely to stay in remission if they stay on the same dosage that produced their remission initially (e.g., cutting back to half-dosage increases the likelihood of relapse).

(9) When depression has deepened to the point that it is producing psychosis, antidepressants should be combined with antipsychotics to hasten remission of the psychosis.

(10) If the first antidepressant does not work, there is a good likelihood that another one (or a combination) will produce positive benefits.

3. Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCAs)

a. These were introduced in the 1960s and were for many years the primary treatment for depression. Studies have shown they are equally effective to the SSRIs (there is some debate: some believe that for severe depression they may be more effective than the SSRIs, but this has not been settled).

b. Seven tricylics and two tetracyclics have been approved for the treatment of depression.

c. They seem to work primarily by blocking the reuptake of norepinephrine.

d. They are now available in generic form, making them considerably less expensive for those on limited incomes.

e. The major reason they are used less frequently than the SSRIs now is their side effect profile. For some people they can cause anticholinergic effects (dry mouth, blurred vision, constipation, urinary hesitancy, memory disturbance and rapid heartbeat). They can be lethal when taken in overdose (approximately 10 days supply), and they are the number one cause of overdosage deaths in the U.S. Some produce sedation, weight gain and orthostatic hypotension (rapid decrease in blood pressure if one rises quickly from sitting to standing).

f. Also, because they can cause abnormal heart rhythms, they are used less frequently with the elderly than the SSRIs.

g. The TCAs are effective antidepressants and many people can take them without being bothered by side effects. Their cost savings make them attractive to persons or agencies with limited budgets.

4. Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs)

a. MAOIs affect the concentration of serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain.

b. They were introduced about the same time as the TCAs, but have never been as widely used because they require careful dietary restrictions.

c. Persons taking MAOIs must carefully avoid foods containing tyramine (found in aged meats and cheeses, chocolate, certain wines, and certain over-the-counter medications). If combined in the stomach, they can cause severe hypertension, severe headaches, flushing, palpitations, nausea and even stroke.

d. Fortunately, Emsam (seligiline) has been developed that can be dispensed by a skin patch, and avoids the above problems (i.e., since it isn’t digested in the stomach it doesn’t require those dietary restrictions).

e. MAOIs can function in treating unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, but the most common usage of the MAOIs has been the treatment of Atypical Depression. [Atypical depression is a depression that includes hypersomnia (rather than insomnia), hyperphagia (rather than loss of appetite), prominent anxiety, reverse diurnal mood variation (most depressed people feel worst in the morning, and their mood lifts a bit as the day goes by: reverse diurnal mood variation means they feel worse as the day goes along.)]

5. Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

a. The first SSRI (Prozac) was introduced in 1988, and several others (Celexa, Lexapro, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft) have been introduced since. They are the first line of treatment by physicians for depression now because their side effect profile is better than the TCAs (little if any dry mouth, constipation, urinary hesitation, orthostatic hypotension, sedation or weight gain).

b. The likelihood of suicidal overdose is very low.

c. They work primarily by blocking the reuptake of serotonin in the brain.

d. They can be co-administered with a TCA but not with an MAOI.

e. They do produce some side effects. The one which is most commonly complained about is sexual dysfunction in both men and women. Depending on the research study, between 1/3 and 2/3 of people who take SSRIs complain of sexatoxic side effects.

f. When sexatoxic effects do occur, the physician can lower the dosage and add a 4th generation antidepressant or replace the SSRI with a 4th generation antidepressant completely.

g. Although many physicians continue to believe that they are less effective than TCAs in treating severe depression, Nemeroff and Schatzberg (2007) say the data at this point does not support that opinion (p. 279).

h. While none of the antidepressants are addicting, it is important that clients not go off them abruptly. If they do, especially with the SSRIs, this can cause something called “Discontinuation Syndrome,” which can manifest with both medical and mood symptoms. The Discontinuation Syndrome is not caused because they are addicted to the medication, but because the body has adjusted to the presence of the medication, and needs time to gradually adjust of withdrawal of that medication. Therefore counselors whose clients are no longer feeling depressed should always encourage clients to consult with their physicians about an appropriate taper to their medications.

6. Fourth-Generation Antidepressants

a. These include medications such as Cymbalta, Desyrel, Effexor, Remeron, Serzone, Vestra and Wellbutrin.

b. Many (but not all) of these inhibit the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine), and thus are sometimes referred to as SNRIs (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors).

c. Some (e.g., Effexor) seem to work more rapidly than other antidepressants.

d. Wellbutrin doesn’t block the reuptake of serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine, so the manner in which it works is not known, but is quite popular because it has few side effects, doesn’t produce sexual impairment, and often produces weight loss rather than weight gain.

e. For patients with concerns about sexual dysfunction, Serzone and Remeron also are recommended.

7. Physicians here in Palm Beach County who can prescribe antidepressants

a. Any licensed physician can prescribe antidepressants–prescribing antidepressants is not limited to psychiatrists.

b. Many general practitioners, internists, and ob-gyns prescribe antidepressants to many patients per month, and so have quite a bit of experience with them. Other advantages to having one’s personal physician prescribe antidepressants are:

(1) They have a history with the client, and thus may have a better understanding of the client than someone who is meeting them for the first time.

(2) They may be more likely to be aware of other medical problems that the client has that could cause them to look like they are depressed (see above section C-1-b)

(3) It is less traumatic for the client to go to their family doctor to ask for antidepressants than to go to a psychiatrist (people interpret being referred to a psychiatrist as meaning there must be something seriously wrong with them psychologically).

(4) Their insurance will pay for their office visit if it has already been paying for their other checkups with that doctor

(5) The cost is considerably less (many psychiatrists in the area charge in the range of $300.00 or more for an initial visit, and most require that the patient pay for their visit immediately and then have insurance reimburse them, making a visit to a psychiatrist financially impossible for many clients).

(6) There is sometimes a considerable wait to see a psychiatrist for the first time, whereas one’s personal physician can often be seen within a few days.

(7) Clients may sometimes be more willing to trust a physician whom they know than a psychiatrist whom they have no history with.

c. However, for serious depressions that have not responded to previous treatment, a psychiatrist is a specialist in this kind of medication, and so may be better able to help the client find the right medication or combination of medications for their needs. And for bipolar disorder, most non-psychiatrists would not feel comfortable providing medication for this type of illness.

d. Psychiatrists that we have received good feedback on include:

(1) Dr. Richard Faulk (offices in Boca Raton and Ft. Lauderdale; strong Christian; works with all age groups). Phone: 561-218-1798

(2) William Ramonos: Jupiter: (Christian psychiatrist). Phone: 561-746-7224

(3) Marshall Teitelbaum: Palm Beach Gardens, Jewish, doesn’t have an outgoing personality, but very good with medication

(4) Robert Cobiello: Christian psychiatrist, Port St. Lucie: Phone: 772-225-1224

(5) Addly Cabronne: Christian psychiatrist, Port St. Lucie: Haitian, speaks Creole: 772-344-2293

e. Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs)

(1) These are nurses with advanced training (in this case in the psychiatric medications)

(2) They work under the supervision of a psychiatrist.

(3) Their fees are much lower than those of psychiatrists and they often spend more time with clients, especially for followup visits

(4) Psychiatric Nurses that we have received good feedback on include:

(a) Lindi Wadlington and Mary Guinan, 45th Street, WPB, both at 842-9550

(b) Heather Carr, Lake Park: Phone: 561-845-2708

f. A word about theological orientation and psychiatry: Some of the people on the above two lists are not evangelical Christians. However, one’s faith, or lack of it, does not generally enter into the conversation about depression symptoms and medication. We believe that when selecting a physician, psychiatrist, or ARNP the most important criterion is medical competence. All of the persons listed above, whether or not they are evangelical Christians, appear to be highly competent in the medical field, and that is why they appear on the above list.

8. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

a. For people who do not respond to any of the antidepressants, ECT may be a very viable option: 50% of people who do not benefit from any of the antidepressants will respond to ECT.

b. ECT is a much safer and less punishing therapy than it was during the mid-twentieth century (as pictured in the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”). Early ECT used high levels of current to both sides of the brain for longer periods of time, caused severe convulsions, sometimes resulted in broken bones, and caused significant memory loss.

c. Present day ECT uses much lower voltages for much shorter periods (2 seconds), is only administered to one side of the brain, and people are giving a short-acting sedative so that they don’t remember the treatment and so that they have only minor muscle contractions (e.g., their fingers and toes may tighten slightly when the current is applied).

d. Memory loss is much less and is usually temporary, there are no broken bones, and the effects are often dramatic. Patients who have suffered intractable, severe depression for months or years may feel significantly better after the first session, and may be euthymic (feeling cheerful and tranquil) after a series of 7 to 10 sessions conducted over 2 weeks. It is a highly effective treatment for those who do not respond to antidepressants.

e. For the first 80 years it was used, we didn’t understand how it worked. With the advent of brain scans, we are beginning to understand how it works (Nordvist, 2012). When a person is depressed, the parts of the brain that control mood and the parts of the brain that control thinking and attention have an overactive connection. ECT appears to work by restoring this connection to normal.

f. ECT is particularly helpful when:

(1) Rapid reversal of a severe or suicidal depression is needed,

(2) Depression is complicated by psychosis or catatonia,

(3) Antidepressants and psychotherapy fail to alleviate a crippling depression,

(4) Antidepressant cannot be safely used or cannot be used without at least minimal risk (e.g., during pregnancy), or

(5) When mania or bipolar disorder do not respond to drug therapy (Brody, 2006).

g. Many times antidepressants that did not work before will work after ECT.

h. It should be noted that ECT is a treatment for depression, not a cure. People who have a severe enough depression that it requires treatment with ECT will probably relapse some time in the future if they have no follow up treatment. Followup treatment to reduce the likelihood of relapse could include:

(1) Occasional booster ECT sessions

(2) Followup with antidepressant medication, or

(3) Followup with cognitive behavior therapy.

i. ECT appears to be a very safe treatment. According to the American Psychiatric Association there is no evidence that ECT causes brain damage.

9. Psychiatrists who provide ECT in the WPB area

a. Dr. Rafael Seminario: 561-848-2011

b. Dr. Raju Mangrolo: 561-691-1400

c. Since ECT is usually used as a last resort if medication does not work, we do not have feedback on these two physicians. I only include them because they are the names of physicians known to provide this treatment.

10. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS): TMS is a recently approved treatment for major depression. It has been FDA cleared and proven effective in the treatment of depression. TMS treats depression at its source without the side effects of anti-depressants. Medicare and almost all major insurance plans cover TMS therapy. TMS allows you to return to your daily activities right away.

11. An Experimental Treatment that is being used in select situations of severe depression that have not responded to any other kind of treatment

a. Deep brain stimulation has been used since 1997 to treat things like tremor, Parkinson’s disease, and severe cases of epilepsy and dystonia (involuntary muscle contractions). Now it’s being used experimentally to treat cases of severe depression that haven’t responded to antidepressants, counseling, or ECT.

b. An article from Science News (October, 2023) is available at https://www.sciencenews.org/article/brain-implant-depression-electrode-stimulation-surgery

c. This is one of the most complete descriptions that is written for non-physicians. It explains how the surgery is done, how it is individualized for each patient, and then gives summaries of the results for several patients who have had it done. I would recommend you download the article to use if you have a client who has severe depression and hasn’t responded to any of the less-invasive procedures (if they haven’t had ECT, they’ll probably need to try that first before they would be eligible for deep-brain stimulation treatment).

12. St Johns Wort (NOT!)

a. This herbal was used for many years in Europe as an antidepressant.

b. Double blind studies here in the U.S. showed that it only works by placebo effect (the client expects it to make them feel better, and so they do).

c. Furthermore, it interferes with the chemical pathways of about ½ of prescribed medications (including birth control pills, HIV medications, etc.), and studies are finding several more negative drug interactions each year.

d. It is increasingly being found as the culprit in calls to Poison Control Centers across the country, both in adults and in children who are being given St. Johns Wort by their parents.

e. Therefore clients who inquire about St. John’s Wort as an alternative to medications should be told that it has no efficacy beyond placebo effect and that interferes with the effectiveness of approximately 50% of other medications.

13. An often overlooked treatment for Major Depressive Disorder–aerobic exercise.

a. There is significant empirical evidence that engaging in aerobic exercise, e.g., walking, jogging, running, swimming for 30 minutes several times a week can sometimes be as effective for mild to moderate depression as an antidepressant.

b. It’s also been found that when one antidepressant isn’t fully treating the depressive symptoms, adding exercise to the medication treatment will be effective (NARSAD, 2011).

c. For a long time the theoretical explanation was that exercise prompted the brain to produce endorphins, which act as a mild antidepressant in their own right, and this may be true.

d. Other research from Japan is suggesting another mechanism, but this is still in the early stages of being studied (Reynolds, 2012).

e. Whatever the mechanism, moderate aerobic exercise is clearly a good thing to add to any treatment for depression.

C. Treatments for Social and Relational Causes of Depression

1. Breakdown or conflict in a relationship:

a. Many psychological theories have hypothesized that, in order for people to be healthy, they must be able to sustain healthy relationships with others, and that the breakdown of important relationships can lead to depression. Attachment theorists have made this the main linchpin of their theory. And Scripture clearly teaches that God designed us for relationships (with Him and with each other), and that our lives will be incomplete without those relationships.

b. Certainly anyone who has been a counselor or pastor for any length of time will attest to the fact that the breakdown of significant relationships can cause an adjustment disorder with depressed mood that can sometimes deepen into major depression. Improvement in the relationship will often bring resolution of the depression.

c. There are at least three significant lines of empirical research that support this theory. They include the research done by Interpersonal Psychotherapists (IPT), the research done by behavioral therapists, and the research done by behavioral marital therapists.

d. Interpersonal psychotherapists, building on the work of Harry Stack Sullivan, have developed one of the empirically substantiated therapies for depression. Their studies indicate that IPT is effective in treating:

(1) Major Depression

(2) Recurrent Depression

(3) Depression in adolescents

(4) Depression in the elderly

(5) Depression in HIV positive clients (Weissman, Markowitz, & Klerman, 2000)

e. Interpersonal psychotherapy has enough unique concepts and techniques that it is beyond the scope of this presentation to summarize them here. See the above volume (full bibliographic information is in the References) for a very thorough and clear description of the theory and practice of IPT.

f. Behavioral and behavioral marital therapy also provides empirical evidence that breakdown in important relationships can cause depression and that improving those relationships can successfully treat depression (e.g., Lewinsohn & Gotlib, 1995).

g. There are many variations of individual and marital behavioral therapy, but they all generally include the following techniques and goals:

(1) Monitoring and increasing positive daily activities

(2) Improving communication and conflict-resolution skills

(3) Increasing positive and negative assertiveness skills (positive assertion skills include the ability to express one’s thoughts, feelings, and desires comfortably, and negative assertion skills include the ability to disagree and the ability to refuse comfortably), and

(4) Decreasing the amount of negative life experiences.

h. It is interesting that Behavioral Marital Therapy reduced depression in women in distressed marriages but did not reduce depression in women whose marriages were not distressed. This suggests that some depression is caused by breakdown in relationships, and that in those cases depression may be reduced by improving those relationships. However, there may also be depression that is not caused by breakdown in a marital relationship, and that in those cases, relationship therapy does not result in a reduction in depression.

2. Loss of a relationship, such as by death or geographical moves by the client or the friend

a. Gordon Allport suggested that our self-esteem is contingent on the reflected appraisals we receive from others. If we receive primarily positive reflected appraisals from those around us, we feel positive about ourselves. If we receive primarily negative reflected appraisals from those around us, our self-esteem is threatened and we may become depressed.

b. One example of this that probably most of us can relate to is the experience of moving from a community where we had multiple friends to a community where no one knows us. Most of us experience at least a temporary depression in that new community, probably because we are not receiving positive reflected appraisals from people around us until we have an opportunity to build new relationships.

c. Loss of a friend or family member to death also causes depression. Bereavement is considered normal in such a situation. However, some people’s grieving experience continues for years and is considered abnormal. Weissman et. al. (2000) describe a fascinating example that they call “overgrieving” (complicated bereavement) and how they treated it successfully. The case involved a widow who had cared for her ailing husband for several years before he passed away. She had felt frustrated at his long-term illness and the impact this had on her and their marriage, and in the last few days of his life delayed in purchasing some medication he requested. When he passed away she was left feeling guilty for her anger and her delay, but had no one to express these feelings to, so spent several years withdrawing from contact with anyone. In IPT her therapists encouraged her first to recount the good things in her marriage, then eventually to talk about the frustrations, and then to eventually develop a balanced view of the strengths and challenges of her marriage. They then encouraged her to incrementally initiate contact with her former friends, which she gradually did, receiving a warm response. At the end of therapy she had worked through her conflicted and guilty feelings about her marriage, now had a balanced appraisal of it, and had renewed her friendship with several of her former friends and had a healthy social life again (pp. 70-72).

d. The important general principle is that when something prolongs the grieving process, the counselor or pastor should help the client understand and process whatever is standing in the way of completing the grieving process (e.g., guilt, the belief that to show one’s love for the deceased one must not stop grieving, unhealthy dependency, etc.), and then help the client resolve that issue or issues.

3. Loss of a role (role transitions)

a. IPT also hypothesizes that loss of an emotionally-important role can cause depression.

b. Such role transitions can occur with any change in life status, such as the beginning or end of a relationship or career, a move, promotion, retirement, graduation, or diagnosis of a physical or mental illness (because the illness may require giving up a role one has played)

c. They suggest the following therapy paradigm:

(1) Mourning and accepting the loss of the old role

(2) Helping the client move toward accepting a new role as a positive step

(3) Helping him or her master the new role

4. Inadequate social skills

a. This is the fourth major cause of depression that Weissman et. al. (2000) identify.

b. Their paradigm reflects their history as psychoanalysts in that they recommend:

(1) Review the positive and negative aspects of past significant relationships

(2) Identify and discuss common problems that occurred in those relationships

(3) Discuss the client’s negative and positive feelings toward the therapist, and how those relate to common problems in other significant relationships

c. Perhaps a more helpful paradigm could come from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, e.g.,

(1) Identify the relationship skills deficits the client has (if any).

(2) Identify the disabling self-talk that keeps the client from interacting with others in a healthy manner. Teach the client how to dispute with the disabling self-talk and replace it with empowering self-talk.

(3) Teach the client conversational skills and friendship-deepening skills if he or she is lacking in them.

(4) Encourage the client to try using those skills and empowering self-talk to gradually develop and deepen relationships with those who are willing to build relationships with him or her.

D. Treatments for Psychological Causes of Depression

1. Behavioral activation therapy to replace behavioral withdrawal

a. A common response to depression is that people withdraw from contact with others.

b. As they do so they lose the positive reinforcement that comes as a result of daily interactions with others (cf. Gordon Allport’s concept of reflected appraisals).

c. Some might argue that withdrawal precedes the depression, and the loss of positive reinforcers causes the depression. Others would argue that depression causes the withdrawal which leads to loss of positive reinforcers, so that the withdrawal deepens the depression.

d. In reality both probably happen in people, but the common result is that behavioral withdrawal either causes or deepens the client’s depression.

e. Behavioral activation is the method used to increase the occurrence of positive reinforcers again and thereby reduce the depression.

f. Note: Behavioral activation therapy is one of the most strongly empirically-validated psychological treatments of depression, so this is one that you should probably use in some way with all depressed clients

g. Basic Concepts Underlying the Use of Behavioral Activation in the Treatment of Depression

(1) When we work and socialize, we often experience a number of positive reinforcers as a result (e.g., sense of accomplishment when completing tasks, recognition, affirmation and friendship from others, etc.). When we become depressed, we often withdraw and lose those daily reinforcers as a result.

(2) When clients become depressed and withdraw from activities, a second result is that their attention becomes focused more and more on their own depressed state (selective attention), which increases the sense of deprivation.

(3) A third result is that client’s repertoire of adaptive behavior often decreases.

(4) A fourth result is that depressed individuals become preoccupied with escape and avoidance. For example, in order to distract themselves from the painful feelings of their depression, they often engage in distracting or avoidance behavior (e.g., watching television, staying in bed to avoid the anxiety-producing possibility of a negative interaction, etc.). While these activities do seem to produce temporary distraction or help the person avoid anxiety, they also have the long-term result of removing them from interactions that could produce positive reinforcements.

(5) A fifth result of depression is that clients often engage in excessive rumination and fail to fully engage in life experiences, even when they do carry them out. This partial engagement often diminishes the potential reinforcing effects that could come from full engagement in those activities.

(6) The basic theory of BA is to help the client through a process called “guided activation.” Guided activation attempts to identify those behaviors that will be reinforcing for the client, then design a program of small steps whereby they can begin doing those activities again, thereby increasing the amount of positive reinforcement they are receiving. It also encourages clients to experiment with full engagement in those activities, and compare the enjoyment they get from partial engagement with the enjoyment they get from full engagement.

(7) Proponents of this approach do not debate whether or not some people may have a biological vulnerability to depression. They simply make the point that one of the proven ways to decrease depression is to change what one does.

h. An Activity Chart can easily be developed (e.g. Beck, 1995, p. 202) by drawing a chart with boxes for each hour the client is normally awake (or reasonably should be awake) as rows, and each day of the week as columns. The client then fills in each box with a description of the activity he or she did during that hour, and then a rating from 0 to 10 on their sense of how well they accomplished the activity, and a similar rating on the pleasure they received from the activity.

i. Thus from 8 to 9 p.m. they might write down “Called friends” A= 5, P=7.

j. This can be used the first week to monitor the activity level of the client, and then in subsequent weeks to encourage him or her to increase his activity level (if it is low).

k. Although this seems like a very basic intervention, studies have shown that behavioral activation is very consistently correlated with reduction in depression.

l. For a comprehensive description of behavioral activation therapy, see the chapter titled “Behavioral Activation for Depression” by Dimidjian, Martell, Addis and Dunn in Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders (2008), edited by David Barlow, pp. 328-364.

2. Changes in cognitive habits.

a. CBT has been found in multiple studies to be as effective as TCAs in treating Major Depression, and as effective as the MAOIs in treating Atypical Depression. It also seems to have effects that endure after treatment has ended: 16 weeks of CBT produced as much benefit at the end of a year as staying on an antidepressant for the entire year (Craighead et. al., 2007, p. 293).

b. It has also been found that CBT patients often continue to improve after therapy ends. The explanation is that people get better at applying cognitive and behavioral skills as they practice them longer. In contrast, the benefits from psychoactive medications usually end when the medication is stopped. The client may stay in remission for a period of time after the medication has stopped, but once they have a relapse, they will need medication again.

c. As mentioned earlier, there are several cognitive processes that differentiate depressed from euthymic individuals

d. Selective attention: Euthymic individuals attend to both the positive and negative things that are going on around them. Depressed individuals selectively attend to the negative data around them, and ignore the more positive data.

e. Attributions (interpretations): Euthymic individuals make more balanced interpretations of the events going on around them. Dysthymic individuals are likely to make much more negative interpretations of the events that they see and hear.

f. Expectancies: Euthymic individuals tend to be optimistic about the future. Depressed individuals tend to be pessimistic or hopeless about the future.

g. Assumptions: Euthymic people tend to have realistic beliefs about how other people are or feel about them. Depressed people tend to have negative beliefs about how other people are or how they feel about them.

h. During the first through fifth sessions, in addition to behavioral activation cognitive-behavioral therapists are likely to discuss the cognitive errors that people are making that either cause or exacerbate their depression, and then, using Socratic questions, get them to look at the evidence for and against the cognitive assumptions and interpretations they are making.

i. As they evaluate those cognitive assumptions and interpretations they are encouraged to replace the depressive cognitions with more empowering and euthymic ones.

j. Starting with the sixth session, cognitive-behavior therapists may encourage the client to start to examine their schemas—those core beliefs that they may have gotten from childhood or from a previous depression that they may now have returned to, even though the situation does not warrant taking such a depressive attitude toward the present situation. Even as they have learned to dispute with the individual cognitions they have been saying to themselves, they are now encouraged to dispute with the schema that has returned.

k. Clients with both MDD and a personality disorder tend not to show improvement with medication, but CBT appears to help treat both the MDD and the personality disorder simultaneously (Craighead et. al., 2007, pp. 299-300).

l. CBT has been found to be as effective with the elderly as medication, and has advantages in that the elderly will more often experience complications from medications (Craighead et. al., 2007, pp. 301-302).

3. Assessing whether the depression is actually anger turned inward. Although most therapists would not agree with Freud’s hypothesis that all depression is anger turned inward, it probably is worthwhile to at least entertain this as a possibility and follow up on this hypothesis if it appears to apply in this situation.

E. Treatments for Existential Causes of Depression: For the purposes of this brief presentation existential Causes of depression will be grouped into three categories, although there are probably more than these three broad areas.

1. Existential depression that comes from having no sense of purpose in one’s life

a. Although Freud and early behaviorists thought that the primary motivation of humans was to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (which certainly may be true for animals and children), later theorists such as Adler, Erickson, Frankl, etc. have said that the more important motivation among adult human beings was the “will to meaning,” i.e., the need to find some meaningful purpose or meaning for one’s life.

b. Frankl and others have further hypothesized that human fulfillment comes from finding a purpose that relates to something larger than oneself, i.e., finding a purpose that involves using our gifts to make the world a better place. Hans Selye, the famed stress researcher, described this as “egoistic altruism.”

c. Sometimes clients invest the first few decades of their lives in a goal that they believe will bring them satisfaction, such as becoming the vice-president of their company with a nice home and car and membership in the country club, only to discover that reaching these goals does not bring the fulfillment for which they had hoped.

d. They come to counseling, not necessarily with a major depression (there may be no somatic symptoms of depression), but they may be definitely wrestling with what we might appropriately call existential depression.

e. The obvious goal here would be to provide an environment where they can explore themselves and their world, and hopefully, find a purpose that will give them a sense of how they want to invest the rest of their lives.

f. This last set of causes of depression are probably the ones that our professional training least prepared us for. As such we may feel uncomfortable dealing with them, and may want to refer our clients to someone else (e.g., a clergyperson).

g. However, they are in our office, and some of them have no clergyperson.

h. Some research may be relevant at this juncture.

i. National surveys in the latter part of the 20th century indicate that approximately 85% of Americans believed in a God of some kind. Further, Bart (1998) reports that a Gallup poll in 1992 found that 81% of people surveyed said they would like their own spiritual values to be integrated into the counseling process (those percentages may or may not be lower now).

j. What this suggests is that when counselors avoid including any discussion of the client’s religious, spiritual, or existential concerns in counseling, they may be imposing their discomfort onto the counseling process, rather than counseling within the client’s personal world.

k. This is not to suggest that we must all become experts in every Christian denomination.

l. The solution may be far simpler. For example, during the intake we might ask:

(1) “Do you have a specific religious or spiritual orientation?” And if the answer is “Yes”

(2) “Would you like this included in the counseling we do here?”

m. If the answer to this second question is also “Yes,” then as you discuss various issues you might ask at appropriate times, “How does your religious/spiritual worldview affect how you want to respond to this situation?” or “How can your religious/spiritual worldview help you through this difficult time?”

n. Many people turn to their religious faith or their spirituality to help them find an existential foundation and meaning for their lives. Books that may be helpful include such works as Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl (2006), The Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? by Rick Warren (2007).

2. Existential depression (guilt) that comes from failing to live up to an impossible moral code.

a. All clients develop a moral code from the upbringing they received from their parents, church, or other sources.

b. Based on the way their parents responded to them when they failed to meet their expectations, they probably developed a way of feeling toward themselves when they failed to live up to the expectations they eventually set for themselves.

c. If their parents set unrealistic standards and were harsh when they failed to live up to those standards, those clients may come to counseling with unrealistic guilt feelings and depression, even though their only fault may be that they are normal human beings.

d. In cases like this therapy may involve helping them understand where their enormous guilt feelings are coming from, help them re-evaluate the standards their parents set for them and replace them with more realistic standards, and help them replace the harsh attitudes they once experienced with the gracious acceptance that we all need when we fail to live up to all that we would wish to do.

3. Existential depression and guilt that comes from doing what violates what we know is right.

a. O. Hobart Mowrer says that we sometimes feel guilty because we are guilty.

b. The problem is not that we have too strict a conscience code, but that we have a reasonable moral code and we know that we have violated it.

c. How one can resolve this issue will depend on their spiritual or existential world-view.

d. Since the Christian faith emphasizes grace and forgiveness, consider integrating it into the therapy process, or refer them to a pastor.

F. Summary and Concluding Discussion Regarding Treatment of Depression

1. This discussion has said that depression can come from biological, relational, psychological or existential causes

2. If we want to help a depressed client we must ascertain what are the causes of their specific depression.

3. To adequately make a differential diagnosis we must investigate all possible sources of depression, including the existential areas of their lives.

4. The issue of combining chemotherapy and psychotherapy

a. Research suggests that most mild to moderate depressions, even when there are clear somatic symptoms, can be handled with behavioral, cognitive behavioral, or interpersonal psychotherapy alone. By changing our thinking and behavior, we can change the chemicals our brain is producing.

b. Severe depression is probably best handled with a combination of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy: indeed the research says that a combination approach is better than either one alone.

c. Another situation where the combined approach is warranted is where there is a treatment-resistant depression, i.e., where the depression has not responded to either medication alone or counseling alone (Barclay, 2004).

d. Severe depression with psychotic features usually needs to be handled in an in-patient setting by a combination of antipsychotics and antidepressants along with supportive psychotherapy.

5. The problem of relapse

a. The long term studies of both medication and psychotherapy indicate that even though there may be moderately high levels of remission of depression at the end of therapy, that unless there is some sort of followup therapy, there are high levels of relapse three or four years later (Mueller, Leon, Keller, Solomon, Endicott, Corywell et. al., 1999) .

b. The theories that speculate on why depression is often a relapsing condition include:

(1) The genetic situation that predisposes a client to depression remains constant throughout life (recall the different length alleles mentioned earlier in this handout).

(2) The belief that once a depressive schema has been activated, it can become re-activated more easily when stress re-enters a client’s life.

c. At the present there is limited research evidence to guide us on what kinds of followup psychotherapy are best. The thing we know is that there is a need for some kind of followup care. Included below are several suggested elements that could be included in a Relapse Prevention Program. Some are based on common sense: a few have had some empirical validation, and will be noted. They include:

(1) Informing the client that relapse can (not will) occur.

(2) Working with the client to develop a relapse prevention program that will work for them, using the cognitive, behavioral, relational, and existential methods that have seemed most effective during therapy.

(3) Helping the client make a list of symptoms that indicate returning depression, and helping them differentiate between a major depressive episode and the normal fluctuations of mood that occur for every human being

(4) Introducing and helping the client use the cognitive-behavioral strategy of mindfulness (mentioned briefly in Linehan, 1993, and discussed more extensively in Haynes, 2005; Hayes, Follette & Linehan, 2004; Langer, 1989). (This is the one Relapse Prevention Method that has been subjected to empirical validation.) While it is difficult to describe mindfulness clearly in a short statement, it is thoroughly described in the volumes mentioned above. In a short summary, it helps clients view the difficulties and pain of everyday life in a new way, so it is most frequently considered a cognitive-behavioral technique.

(5) Scheduling booster sessions and leaving the door open to return to therapy whenever needed.

III. Understanding Suicide and Suicide Risk Assessment

A. The following discussion is divided into five sections.

1. The first section deals with understanding the various reasons people attempt to commit suicide.

2. The second section discusses how we can “connect” with persons who are suicidal and how we can encourage people who are reluctant to talk about their suicidal thoughts to be willing to share that information with us.

3. The third section identifies the various factors that correlate with increased risk of a person attempting suicide.

4. Suicide Prevention Strategies (the last portion of this workshop) is divided into two sections

a. The fourth section deals with ways we can intervene to reduce the likelihood that people will attempt to end their own lives.

b. The final section deals with documenting your work with suicidal clients.

B. The field of suicidology is constantly changing, as are the demographics of those who attempt or commit suicide. There are some areas about which there is disagreement even among specialists in this area. The following discussion attempts to draw from acknowledged experts in the field. Ideas that represent a consensus will generally not be documented. Less-well-known ideas, and those about which there are differences of opinion will be referenced, and full bibliographic sources are given at the end.

C. Some facts about suicide (data from the CDC in 2009)

1. In the United States 100 people commit suicide each day. One person commits suicide every 15 minutes.

2. Males complete suicide (that is, they actually die from the attempt) about 4 times as frequently as females: females attempt suicide three times as often as males.

3. Suicide rates remain quite high (10-14 per 100,000 people) for all age groups from 15 to 80. The highest rate of suicide is in those over age 80.

4. Firearms were the most common way of committing suicide for all groups combined. For women, the highest method was poisoning (usually medication overdose).

5. Suicide rates are highest among the divorced, separated and widowed and lowest among the married.

6. It is estimated that there are 25 suicide attempts for every death by suicide.

7. Those with the following diagnoses are at particular risk: depression, schizophrenia, drug or alcohol dependency, and conduct disorder (in adolescence).

8. People who are alcoholics are 50 to 70% more likely to commit suicide than the general population.

9. Feelings of hopelessness are more predictive of suicide than depression alone.

D. Understanding Why People Make Suicidal Attempts

1. “In general, suicide is attempted/completed by persons who are experiencing intense psychological pain in response to unmet needs. Lacking the skills and resources to cope with this pain, they view suicide as the only viable solution to end their suffering” (Center for Information and Crisis Services, n.d.). “Death is sometimes chosen as the only alternative by people who feel deeply alone or shamed” (Shea, 2002, p. 5).

2. O’Carroll, Berman, Maris, Messick, Tanney & Silverman (1999). have argued that suicidal attempts can be divided into two classes

a. One class would be those cases where the person does not wish to die and primarily hopes to influence others in some way through their suicidal action (this has been called “instrumental suicide-related behavior”).

b. A second category would be those situations where people feel so hopeless or overwhelmed that they genuinely intend to end their lives.

c. I would add a third class: those who are ambivalent: they may engage in suicidal behavior, but hope (at some level) that they will not be successful. Some suicide experts say that almost all of the people who end up completing suicide are actually in this category. Even though they plan to end their lives, they hope until the very end that someone or something will intervene.

3. Possible motives for instrumental suicide-related behavior can include any of the following:

a. To try to influence some particular person.

b. To make people sorry.

c. To frighten someone or to get their own way.

d. To make people understand how desperate they were feeling [i.e., a “cry for help”].

e. To find out whether they are really loved.

4. Possible motives for those who are genuinely suicidal include:

a. To escape from an impossible situation.

b. To seek help. To get relief from a terrible state of mind [e.g., unrelenting depression].

c. To show how much they loved someone.

d. To make things easier for others (e.g, an incapacitated person may believe they are too great a financial or emotional burden on their family).

e. To do something in an unbearable situation (Center for Information and Crisis Services, n.d.).

5. Many suicidal people are undecided about whether they wish to live or die. Their suicidal behavior is an attempt to act out their pain or anger or sense of hopelessness.

a. If we can empathically connect with them and help them understand what they are trying to “say” through their suicidal behavior, we may be able to help them find some less-dangerous way of accomplishing their goal.

b. For those who are genuinely attempting to end their lives, we may be able to persuade them to delay any final action until such time as problem-solving, medication, and the passage of time may help them see that their situation is not as hopeless as it appears at the present moment.

E. Establishing a Caring Connection

1. Shea (2002) states: “It is important to realize that suicide ‘works’ at some level; it provides a solution to intense personal pain. As life ends, the pain ends.... Without conveying judgment, the clinician can recognize why suicide presents as a natural solution for many people. When clients sense that they are not being ‘put down’ for their choice of a solution, but rather, the clinician is seeking a more effective and life-enhancing solution, they may be more willing to explore other alternatives. The clinician’s ability to convey a nonjudgmental understanding of the client’s right to view suicide as a rational solution may introduce the rapport that is needed to help the client choose another solution” (p. 5).

2. One of the first things to do with a person who is suicidal is to establish a caring connection with him or her. This can be done through questions such as: (adapted from materials developed by the Center for Information and Crisis Services, n.d.):

a. What is going on?

b. What happened today?

c. Tell me more about it.

d. How has all this affected you?

e. How long has this been going on?

3. The caring connection can be further established by empathic responses (during the initial phase of intervention) that show you understand the person’s feelings. These might include responses like:

a. Things seem overwhelming right now.

b. You’re feeling exhausted.

c. The situation seems hopeless.

d. It’s hard for you to know what to do next.

e. You feel hurt and frustrated, etc.

4. You can start to encourage the person’s coping resources by statements such as:

a. How do you see things changing?

b. Where do things stand right now?

c. What have you tried so far?

d. What has helped in the past? What hasn’t?

e. Who has been the most supportive?

f. What have you thought of trying differently?

g. What would you like to do? What gets in the way?

h. What do you think needs to change? (for you to want to go on living)

i. Of the ideas we’ve talked about, what seems best to you?

F. Suicide Risk Assessment

1. Sometimes problem-solving discussions will change the person’s perception of the situation and he or she will begin to view the situation as hopeful rather than hopeless. If this happens the suicide risk may abate as a result of the problem-solving. However, many people who become suicidal experience their situation as so hopeless that they are unable to engage in such activity. Thus at the same time you are attempting to establish a caring connection and test the client’s ability to engage in problem-solving behavior, you should be evaluating how serious the suicidal risk is.

2. At least eight studies have shown that it is impossible to predict whether a specific individual will attempt suicide with any degree of accuracy: all the empirical suicide prediction models developed thus far result in high numbers of false positive and false negative rates (Rudd & Joiner, 1999, p. 102). However, while it is impossible to predict with accuracy whether a given individual will in fact attempt suicide at a given point in time, there are a number of factors that correlate with increased suicidal risk.

3. In general, suicidal risk increases with the following factors (more significant factors are listed first): [Explanation: the various studies below may sometimes seem to contradict one another. This is probably because they are sampling different populations, and because some studies are examining completed suicides only, whereas others are grouping completed suicides and attempted suicides together.]

a. Major depression. 90% of suicide victims are suffering a major depressive episode.

(1) The first several characteristics that increase the likelihood of attempted suicide are all symptoms of major depression. They are:

(a) Feeling depressed almost all day every day for at least two weeks.

(b) Feeling hopeless: they see no other viable option.

(c) Experiencing significant sleep disturbances—either insomnia or hypersomnia.

(d) Experiencing unintended weight gain or loss.

(e) Experiencing anhedonia—lack of enjoyment of activities that usually bring pleasure.

(f) Feeling fatigue, lack of energy, or reduced ability to concentrate.

(g) Feeling worthlessness, or experiencing excessive guilt.

(2) The fact that 90% of truly suicidal persons are suffering from major depression provides the clinical rationale for taking a more directive role with seriously depressed persons than with other counselees. Normally we respect the client's wishes and do not attempt to impose our own values (such as hospitalizing someone against their will). However, in severe depression (and also in the other end of Bipolar Disorder—mania), the person's perceptions and behavior are seriously distorted by the physical disorder from which they are suffering. If 90% of people who commit suicide have major depression, that means that few persons select suicide as a free choice: their perception is that their situation is hopeless and that they have no other choice.).

b. Hopelessness: while hopelessness is one of the symptoms that often accompanies major depression (see above), not everyone who is depressed has reached the stage where they feel hopeless. It has been found that hopelessness is an even better predictor of suicide than depression itself.

c. Mixed anxiety-depressed states. Sometimes people experience a combination of anxiety and depression simultaneously (often referred to as “agitated depression”). The combination of anxiety and depression may produce psychomotor agitation, panic attacks, or severe generalized anxiety in addition to depression. It produces a higher likelihood of suicidal attempts than if one has only depression by itself. Fawcett et. al. (1993b) found that persons with a combination of depression and panic attacks had three times the rate of suicide attempts as other patient groups.

d. Previous suicidal attempts. Moscicki (1997), reviewing epidemiological studies of completed suicides (i.e., suicidal attempts where the person ended up taking his or her life) stated that previous suicidal attempts were the single best predictor of completed suicides.

e. Being male. While the highest rate of attempted suicides occurs among women between the ages of 25 and 44, 80% of completed suicides occur among men (i.e., women attempt suicide more frequently than men, but men complete suicide more frequently than women).

f. Primitive ego defenses: Shea (2002) states that those with primitive ego defenses (e.g., borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders) are more likely to engage in impulsive acting out (either instrumental suicide-related behavior or genuine suicidal attempts)

g. Substance abuse. Long term substance dependence often leads to major depression. The suicide risk for people with a dual diagnosis of substance dependence and major depression simultaneously is significantly elevated. The long-term abuse of substances can produce what is called “acquired personality disorder,” i.e., a personality style that has borderline, narcissistic, or histrionic features, even though this person may not have had these features before the substance abuse started. These “acquired personality” features may also make them more vulnerable to suicidal attempts (p. 44). Also, if clients have experienced a number of reverses in their lives (e.g., marriage breakup, job loss) as a result of their substance dependence, they may become suicidal when acutely intoxicated. In such cases they should be closely monitored during the period of acute intoxication.

h. Suicidal thoughts, impulses or references. The majority of people who commit suicide have made several comments to family members, friends, or medical professionals in the months prior to their suicide. Such comments should always be taken seriously (see the section on “Flags” which follows). However, lack of suicidal thoughts or comments does not necessarily mean there is no suicidal risk. 69% of 100 patients who made serious suicidal attempts had either no suicidal thoughts or only fleeting suicidal thoughts prior to their attempts (Psychosomatics, 1999).

i. Psychiatric diagnosis. The seriousness of a suicidal risk occurs if a person has major depression, substance dependence, schizophrenia, panic disorder, or borderline personality disorder.

(1) Usually it is the combination of having one of the above diagnoses and a stressor such as the death of a loved one, separation, divorce or a job loss that leads to increased suicidal risk, not the psychiatric diagnosis alone (Gliatto & Rai, 1999).

(2) There are two times that persons with schizophrenia are more likely to commit suicide. The most common is when their schizophrenia is in remission, but during periods when they are feeling depressed and hopeless (Fawcett, Clark & Busch, 1993). The second is when they are in the midst of a psychosis and are experiencing command hallucinations telling them to kill themselves.

j. Having a definite plan and availability of means—or being impulsive.

(1) Whenever people have definite plans of how they intend to end their lives and the means are available (e.g., firearms in the house, drugs that can be used to overdose), risk increases.

(2) Firearms are the most common cause of completed suicides for both sexes.

(3) For men, hanging is the second most common means.

(4) For women, medication overdoses are the second (Gliatto & Rai, 1999).

(5) Just as it is important to ask a person explicitly about whether they are having suicidal thoughts, it is important (if they are) to ask them specifically about whether they have thought of how they would end their lives and whether they have access to those means.

(6) However, lack of a definite plan does not mean there is no risk of suicide, especially if the person has a tendency to act impulsively. A recent study of 100 attempted suicides revealed that only 14% had a specific plan before their attempt (Psychosomatics, 1999).

k. An unusual stress. People become accustomed to living at a certain level of stress, and some live with elevated levels of stress for extended periods of time. What increases suicidal risk is a sudden increase in the level of stress beyond the level to which a person has become accustomed. For men this may particularly involve the threat of a vocational or financial loss. For women, the loss of an important relationship may be particularly stressful.

l. Dangerous psychotic processes. These include command hallucinations (intense auditory hallucinations to the client to end his or her life), alien control (the sense that one’s mind is being controlled by some other force, person or demon), specific religious delusions (e.g., the belief that God wants the person to kill himself or some other person to prove his devotion to or faith in God) or delirial states (confusion or psychotic states caused by drugs, medications or medical issues).

m. With elderly. Risk increases with death of a spouse, being widowed, divorced, or living alone. The risk for men over 70 is particularly high, especially if men are experiencing decreased mobility, chronic pain, loss of control over personal hygiene functions or other matters in their life.

n. Occupation. Executives, professionals, and business owners have higher risk.

o. Financial resources. Risk increases with amount of resources.

p. Being white: Caucasians have almost three times the rate of completed suicides as do African-Americans (13.5 per 100,000 versus 5.1 per 100,000).

q. Emotional disorder in family. Risk is increased if there is alcoholism, depression, maternal suicide or other suicide in the immediate family.

r. Previous psychiatric hospitalizations.

s. Negative or variable outcome when person previously attempted to gain psychotherapeutic help. If people have tried to access the mental health system in the past and have failed to obtain what they considered to be satisfactory help, or if sometimes they have received help and at other times not, they are at increased risk of suicide.

t. People with a history of violence, either toward themselves or others.

u. Adolescents. Suicide is now the third leading cause of death among teenagers (Shea, p. 73). Adolescent suicide risk is increased by a number of factors including:

(1) an adolescent giving away possessions,

(2) family violence or family disruption is present,

(3) the adolescent is part of a peer group that glorifies death (e.g., the “Goth” scene),

(4) the adolescent has experienced a romantic rejection or ostracism by one’s peer group,

(5) the adolescent is struggling with ego–dystonic same-sex attractions,

(6) the adolescent feels unattractive, too short, too tall, too thin, too fat, too uncoordinated when compared with his or her peer group, or

(7) another adolescent within the peer group has recently committed suicide.

v. Perceived rejection by one’s family. Perceived rejection increases suicide risk for people of any age.

w. Lack of a support group.

4. Be particularly concerned if the person makes any of the following “FLAG” statements:

a. “I can’t take it anymore.”

b. “It’s just not worth it.”

c. “They won’t have me around to hurt anymore.”

d. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

e. “They’ll miss me when I’m gone.”

f. “I just can’t stand the pain.”

g. “I’m so lonely I wish I could die” (Center for Information & Crisis Services, n.d.)

5. Risk Factors Versus Risk Predictors

a. As the Ruud and Joiner (1999) article pointed out, the correlation between risk factors (identified through demographic studies) and the likelihood that a specific individual will attempt suicide is very low. For that reason Shea (2002) asserts that suicide assessment consists of three tasks:

(1) gathering information related to risk factors,

(2) gathering information related to this specific client’s suicidal ideation and planning (risk predictors for this specific client), and

(3) clinical decision-making based on those two databases (pp. 10-11).

b. Shea states: “In my experience, gaining access to a client’s concrete suicidal planning provides the most reliable data for a sound suicide assessment” (p. 13) (my emphasis). He further states: “knowledge of the degree of concrete planning probably serves as a better barometer of how close at hand the act may be. If the clinician is allowed to enter this secretive world of concrete suicidal planning, such an invitation my represent the best window we have into the severity of the client’s pain and the proximity of death as an answer to that pain” (p. 12).

c. How do we gain access to that suicidal planning, especially if the client is in an angry frame of mind or has decided to end his or her life an does not want anyone to interfere? (Approximately 25% of suicidal patients will deny suicidal ideation, even when asked: Simon, 2011). Again, Shea provides some helpful suggestions. These include:

(1) Use your empathy skills to build a caring, respectful relationship with the client

(2) Even if pressured by time constraints, do your very best to appear unhurried as you do the assessment with the client.

d. There are six techniques that Shea (2002, pp. 127-141) suggests can help a counselor obtain information from clients who may be embarrassed or reluctant to talk about certain issues (such as the suicidal thoughts they are having). These techniques include:

(1) Behavioral incident: This technique involves asking the client very specific questions related to their suicidal thoughts, with the idea that it is sometimes easier for a client to answer specific questions about a behavioral incident in their life than talk about suicidal ideation at a more general level. Examples of such questions might be: “Exactly how many pills did you take?” This might be followed by: “What did you do next?” (p. 130)

(2) Shame attenuation: Clients are sometimes ashamed to talk about certain issues. In shame attenuation, the therapist asks about suicidal thinking or behavior in a non-judgmental way that shows empathy for the life experience of the client. For example: “You told me you were highly opposed to suicide, but I’m wondering, with all the immense stressors you’ve recently experienced, did you have some thoughts of suicide, even if just fleeting in nature?” (p. 131).

(3) Gentle assumption: With this method, the counselor assumes that the thought or behavior is occurring, and frames a question based on that assumption. For example, “Have there been other ways that you have thought of killing yourself?” (pp. 132-133). My caution: Do not use with children or with clients who are histrionic or dependent, since their desire to please you may cause them to give you invalid information.

(4) Symptom amplification: When clients are tempted to minimize a behavior because they are reluctant to admit its presence, the counselor can suggest a frequency that is higher than he or she thinks is actually occurring. The client can then reduce the frequency, while still admitting that the thought or behavior is occurring. For example, “On the days when your thoughts of suicide were most intense, how much of the day did you spend thinking about killing yourself, 50% of the day, 80%, 90%?” (p. 134).

(5) Denial of the specific: With this technique, the counselor asks about a series of specific thoughts or behaviors, allowing the client to respond to each one before going on to another. For example:

(a) Have you ever thought of jumping off a bridge or building?

(b) Have you ever thought of using carbon monoxide poisoning?

(c) Have you ever thought of shooting yourself?

(d) Have you thought of overdosing?

(e) Have you ever thought of hanging yourself? (p. 135)

(6) Normalization: It may be easier for a client to admit to something if the counselor indicates that such a thought or feeling is fairly normal for people to have. For example: “Some of my clients tell me that, at times, the pain of their depression is so great that they have thoughts of wanting to kill themselves. Have you had any thoughts like that?” (pp. 136-137). Caution: Do not use this method with clients who are eager to please or who malinger or exaggerate their symptoms for secondary gain.

e. Using empathy, non-judgmental responses and the six techniques listed above, Shea recommends using the CASE approach (Chronological Assessment of Suicidal Events) to obtain a thorough evaluation of the client’s history as it relates to suicide. The CASE approach focuses on four easily remembered time categories. The term “suicide events” refers to death wishes, suicidal thoughts or feelings, and actual suicide gestures and attempts.

(1) Presenting Events: Starting with the immediate situation, the counselor asks the client about the specific suicidal thoughts they have been experiencing or behaviors they have engaged in.

(2) Exploration of recent suicidal events: This includes examining suicidal thought or behaviors that have occurred during the immediately preceding two months.

(3) Exploration of past suicidal events: Going back beyond two months, has the person experienced suicidal thoughts or engaged in suicidal actions during that time period. If there have been numerous suicidal attempts and interview time is limited, ask the client to identify the most serious attempts.

(4) Exploration of immediate intent: Coming back to the present, what is the client’s level of intent at the present time? Are they willing to make a safety contract? How do others who know them well feel about their ability to be safe? (pp. 143-188)

IV. Suicide Prevention Strategies

A. Seek to understand why the client is feeling hopeless. Show empathy for client's pain, while not reinforcing idea that situation is hopeless. In the process of understanding the client’s situation, assess his or her strengths, protective factors, and risk factors.

B. Distinguish between states (or behavior) that reflect increasing levels of suicidal risk. Rudd and Joiner (1999), building upon the work of J. Somers-Flanagan and R. Somers-Flanagan (1995) and O’Carroll et al. (1996) have developed the following continuum of suicide risk:

1. Nonexistent: no identifiable suicidal ideation.

2. Mild: suicidal ideation of limited frequency, intensity, and duration. No identifiable plans, no intent, mild dysphoria/symptomatology, good self-control, few risk factors, and identifiable protective factors.

3. Moderate: frequent suicidal ideation with limited intensity and duration, some specific plans, no intent, good self-control, limited dysphoria/symptomatology, some risk factors present, and identifiable protective factors.

4. Severe: frequent, intense, and enduring suicidal ideation, specific plans, choice of lethal method, method is available/accessible, some preparatory activity, severe dysphoria/symptomatology, multiple risk factors present, and few if any protective factors.

5. Extreme: frequent, intense, and enduring suicidal ideation, specific plans, clear intent, impaired self-control, severe dysphoria/symptomatology, many risk factors, and no protective factors (pp. 105-106).

C. Even though most persons who verbalize suicidal thoughts (Category 2 above) do not go on to commit suicide (Gliatto & Rai, 1999), anyone in Categories 2 through 5 should be taken seriously. However, hospitalizing someone is almost always a disruptive and expensive situation. Therefore the challenge is to find a level of treatment and protection that keeps the person safe, without over-responding to the situation.

D. Obviously the person in Category 1 (Non-existent risk) does not need suicide prevention intervention at the present time. Continued counseling (with re-evaluation if their situation worsens) is the appropriate treatment.

E. At the other end of the spectrum, persons in Categories 4 and 5 (severe and extreme risk) should normally be hospitalized immediately, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Until hospitalization has occurred the person should be accompanied and monitored at all times by either family members or police.

F. Several researcher/clinicians believe that people with mild to moderate suicide risk (Categories 2 and 3) can be safely and effectively maintained in outpatient treatment (Linehan, 1993; Rudd, Joiner, & Rajab,1996; Rudd & Joiner, 1999), using the following strategies: (Note: If you are a lay counselor or working an agency or in private practice under a supervisor, you should always check with your supervisor about their policy before implementing any of the following):

1. Increasing the frequency of outpatient sessions in order to speed the resolution of problems or symptoms (e.g., seeing the client two or three times per week during the crisis period).

2. Providing 24-hour telephone availability to emergency or crisis services.

3. Referring to a physician who can prescribe medication to relieve symptoms.

4. Frequent (usually daily) use of telephone contacts on days the client has no counseling session to monitor risk.

5. Actively involving the person’s biological family or church family in resolving problems, providing support, or monitoring suicide indicators.

6. Consultation with other professionals when needed to evaluate risk or provide treatment options.

7. Helping the person develop and use a support system.

Additional suicide prevention methods mentioned by other authors include:

8. If a person believes committing suicide is the unpardonable sin, do not disabuse them of this notion. Sometimes the only thing that keeps some people from suiciding is the fear that if they do so they will spend eternity in Hell. If they believe this, it may be helpful to let them continue to believe it. While a belief in eternal damnation does not absolutely protect a person from suicide (occasionally people in very intense pain will kill themselves even though they believe they will go to Hell), for most people this belief will be a helpful preventative barrier.

9. Help the client identify reasons for not killing himself or herself. There is some diversity of opinion in the field about whether or not it is wise to use children as one of the motivators to not kill oneself (if the suicidal person is a parent). I sent this question to the Executive Director of the American Association of Suicidology and received a variety of responses from members of that organization. Some believe that using children as a motivator for the suicidal person to not kill himself or herself can be useful and helpful. Others are concerned that a despondent parent might kill the children, then end his or her own life (something which is reported with some regularity in the newspapers). Cultural factors can play a role—for example, this might be an especially dangerous possibility for a female from a traditional Japanese background.

Two responders, Jon Richard, Psy.D., and Davis Hayden, Ph.D., made a “middle ground” recommendation. They suggested that we shouldn’t make a blanket statement about whether or not to use children as motivators for a parent not suiciding. Rather, we should do an individual assessment of the suicidal person’s attitudes towards his or her children, and of their feelings as a parent in the context of the suicidal crisis. Based on that assessment we should then decide (for that specific person at that specific time) whether or not to use the children as an argument for not committing suicide. (One way to do this would be not to suggest children as a reason for not killing oneself, and see if the suicidal person himself or herself brings up this idea.)

10. Use a “safety plan.”

a. In the past this has sometimes been called a “suicide contract” or a “suicide prevention contract” or a “no-harm contract.” This was basically a promise from the client that, if he becomes so despondent that he feels like harming himself, he will call the counselor (or the local suicide hotline) before taking any action. This can be either a verbal or a written contract. If you have established a caring connection with the client it can be very powerful. However, no-harm contracts are probably less safe to use when the person has a substance abuse problem or is on the verge of a psychosis, in which case inpatient treatment is generally necessary.

b. There are differences of opinion about the importance of safety contracts. However, about 80% of mental health professionals use them as part of their overall safety plan, though certainly not without using several of the other methods on this list along with them. They also are viewed positively by the majority of suicidal clients (perhaps as an indication that the counselor genuinely cares).

c. Shea (2002) suggests that they may be more valuable as an assessment tool than as a safety contract. To clarify, he suggests that the therapist watch the client’s verbal and nonverbal behavior very carefully when asking the client to agree to a safety contract. Indications that the client is ambivalent or not genuine in making the contract may become evident (e.g., a slight hesitation, turning away one’s eyes, or tears, etc.) and the counselor can take steps to find a protective environment if he or she sees such ambivalence.

d. Shea also believes that safety contracts are much more effective if done between a client and a counselor with whom the client has an established relationship than when there is no established relationship. He also suggests that safety contracts may be contraindicated with borderline clients since they provide secondary reinforcement (attention) for suicidal behavior. He instead recommends problem-solving (especially when the client knows dialectical behavior therapy principles) to de-escalate the crisis, rather than safety contracting.

e. The term “suicide contract” or “suicide prevention contract” has fallen out of favor among some circles for a couple reasons (1) its name, and (2) it’s a promise not to do something. One of the more popular terms that has replaced it is the term “safety plan” and the emphasis is on promising to do something rather than to not do something. A sample Safety Plan is the last page in your handout.

f. Here are the basic steps in developing a Safety Plan:

(1) First do a suicide risk assessment. If the person is feeling hopeless, has no support system, is depressed, is abusing substances, has psychotic symptoms, has easy access to lethal means, or shows ambivalence about making a safety plan, then probably they need to be hospitalized for their own safety, and a safety plan is not sufficient to keep them safe.

(2) If a person is mildly to moderately suicidal, does not have the above risk factors, and has some protective factors (e.g., a supportive family or church family, a belief that God does not want them to take their life, hope that things can get better, etc.) then a Safety Plan may be considered.

(3) The rationale for completing a Safety Plan can be explained to the client in the following way: “When we’re very depressed, it’s hard to think of things to do to help us get through that depression. That’s why we’ll do it now, when you’re thinking more clearly.”

(4) It is best to have two copies of the Safety Plan form, and have the client and the counselor each fill out one simultaneously.

(5) Most suicidal people recognize that certain people or situations or places increase their feelings of hopelessness, anger, or desire to commit suicide. These persons or situations or places should be listed in the first section under “Persons, Situations, or Places I Will Avoid.”

(6) Most suicidal people know that there are certain things that they can do when they are despondent that have helped them in the past. They can list them under “Things I Can Do” (if I begin to feel a strong desire to hurt myself).

(7) Then you can fill out the third part of the form “People I Can Call” and list their names and telephone numbers.

(8) It may be helpful to fill out the fourth part “Places I Can Go” if there are some places that are public and the person feels supported and welcomed when they are there.

(9) Once the client has completed it, signed it, and you have an appointment set up, make two copies of the client’s form, one for your files, and a second one for the client. Encourage the client to keep one copy with them at all times, e.g., in their wallet or pocketbook, and put another one in a safe place in case the first one is lost.

11. If available in your community, use a mobile crisis unit or suicide hotline, or beeper as a backup in case you are not available.

12. If the person is not willing to sign a safety contract, you can (and in most states you should) break confidentiality. Find the emergency contact person listed on your agency’s Intake Form and contact them. Otherwise contact whatever emergency personnel are used in your community for voluntary or involuntary hospitalizations.

13. If in doubt about a client’s suicide risk, consult. Consult with another mental health professional if you have questions about how to handle a particular situation. Document the fact that you sought consultation.

14. Consider a support group, depending on the client’s personality and source of the depression.

15. If under a supervisor, defer to them: While some researchers believe that person’s with mild to moderate suicide risk can generally be safely managed on an outpatient basis using the above methods, consult your agency’s policy (and your supervisor) about this before proceeding. Some agencies prefer to take a more conservative approach with suicidal clients, and you should obviously respect the policies and procedures of the agency where you are working. Also, since your supervisor is legally responsible for any of the counseling you do, you should obviously respect his or her thoughts about the safest course to take with any particular client.

G. Practical Steps in Dealing With a Suicidal Client or Parishioner Here in Palm Beach County

1. If you are a licensed counselor and you believe a person is seriously suicidal you can Baker Act them. If you are not a licensed counselor you can call the 24-hour Mobile Crisis Team at 877-435-4740 and ask them to come to your office or church and do an evaluation.

2. If they do an evaluation and believe the person is imminently suicidal, they can Baker Act them. However, they will not transport them to the facility.

3. Downside: The Mobile Crisis Team will have the police transport them. The police will handcuff them and take them to the facility, but this will probably be frightening and humiliating for the client.

4. If you are a pastor or a counselor and can contact family members who could transport them, that is preferable.

5. It is considered unwise to trust a potentially suicidal client or parishioner to drive themselves to such a facility.

6. Possible receiving facilities for clients/church members who are suicidal:

a. St. Mary’s Mental Health Institute

b. Columbia Hospital

c. Fair Oaks (Delray)

d. Jerome Golden Center (known formerly 45th St Mental Health Center, later known as Oakwood Mental Health Center, and now as the Jerome Golden Center).

H. Documentation

1. It is crucial to document what suicidal assessment and preventive steps one takes, for in a court of law it is highly unlikely that a jury will believe a counselor’s assertion that he or she did something if it is not written in the clinical record. However, the wrong kind of documentation can also harm a clinician in court.

2. To minimize risk one should conduct a thorough assessment and document that assessment. In troubling cases one should seek consultation and document that consultation was done. If a safety plan was done this can be included, but only after writing up the results of a thorough assessment, so that it is clear that depending on a safety plan (rather than hospitalizing a client) was a wise decision clinically.

3. Shea recommends that counselors should only use the word “suicide” in the clinical record in one of two ways:

a. If quoting the client directly, or

b. as an adjective, as in the phrase “suicidal ideation.”

4. To say, in the clinical record, that the client was suicidal leaves the clinician open to lawsuit in the unpleasant possibility that suicide actually occurs. Here is his suggestion of how to write up a clinical assessment of a potentially suicidal client (the setting is a hospital emergency room): “After consulting with the charge nurse, we both agreed that the client seemed safe to go. Despite the fact that she is currently moderately depressed regarding her divorce and has had some suicidal ideation about shooting herself, as well as some potential difficult financial stresses, there are many factors suggesting her safety. There is no evidence of psychosis, no drinking or drug history, strong support from her parents and friends, no action taken on her suicidal plan, no gun in the house, no thoughts on how to procure a gun, and no other suicide plans. She is also currently healthy and young and has no history of suicide attempts. She responded well to crisis intervention. During safety contracting, which was primarily used to more thoroughly assess any hidden ambivalence towards her own safety, she did not appear ambivalent. Both her verbal and nonverbal communications seemed genuine and spontaneous and were consistent with a genuine desire to live. I was particularly impressed with her powerful reason to live reflected by her statement concerning the need to be there for her eleven-year-old son. Our plans were shared with both the client and her parents who also agreed she seemed safe to go home. The client appeared thankful and agreed to the follow-up plan outlined below” (p. 297).

Recommendation for Further Reading

If you regularly work with potentially suicidal clients, I strongly recommend that you read Shawn Christopher Shea’s excellent book (2002), The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Substance Abuse Professionals. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. You would probably find the suicide-related websites listed at his website (www.suicideassessment.com) to be helpful as well.

Depending on the client populations with whom you work, you may find the following articles helpful, either for yourself or for family members, or both.

www.crisiscounseling.org/Crisis/Police911.htm Use of Police and 911 for Mental Health and Psychological Emergencies.

www.crisiscounseling.org/AbuseViolence/ChildViolence.htm The Risk of Violent and Homicidal Behavior in Children

www.oregoncounseling.org/Handouts/ConductOppositional.htm Understanding and Dealing with Conduct and Oppositional Disorders

 References On Depression

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Barclay, L. (2004). Combined therapy best for adolescent depression. Medscape News, August 17.

Bart, M. (1998, December). Spirituality in counseling finding believers. Counseling Today, p. 1, 6.

Beck, J. (1995). Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford.

Craighead, W.E., Sheets, E.S., Brosse, A.L, & Hardi, S.S. (2007). Psychosocial treatments for major depressive disorder. In Peter E. Nathan & Jack M. Gorman (Eds.), A guide to treatments that work: 3rd ed. (pp. 289-308). New York: Oxford University Press.

Frankl, V. (2006). Man’s search for meaning. Boston: Beacon Press.

Hayes, S.C. (2005). Get out of your mind & into your life: The new acceptance and commitment therapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger.

Hayes, S.C., Follette, V.M., & Linehan, M.M. (Eds.) (2004). Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition. New York: Guilford.

Improving care for depression: New Approaches to managing a chronic illness. Harvard Mental Health Letter, September, 2006.

Langer, E.J. (1989). Mindfulness. Boston: Perseus Books Group.

Lewinsohn, P.M., & Gotlib, I.H. (1995). Behavioral theory and treatment of depression. In E. E. Becker & W. R. Leber (Eds.), Handbook of depression (pp. 352-375). New York: Guilford.

Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford.

Mueller, T.I., Leon, A.C., Keller, M.B., Solomon, D.A., Endicott, J., Corywell, W., et. al. (1999). Recurrence after recovery from major depressive disorder during 15 years of observational follow-up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1000-1006.

NARSAD (2011). Regular exercise shown to work like a second antidepressant ‘medication’ for many depressed patients. Brain and Behavior Research, September, 2011.

Nemeroff, C.B., & Schatzberg, A.F. (2007). Pharmacological treatments for unipolar depression. In Peter E. Nathan & Jack M. Gorman (Eds.), A guide to treatments that work: 3rd ed. (pp. 271-288). New York: Oxford University Press.

Reynolds, G. (2012). How exercise fuels the brain. New York Times, February 22, 2012.

Warren, Rick (2007). The purpose-driven life: What on earth am I here for? Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Weissman, M.M., Markowitz, J.C., & Klerman, G.L. (2000). Comprehensive guide to interpersonal psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.

References On Suicide Risk Assessment and Prevention

American Association of Suicidology, 1999. Responses from members of the American Association of Suicidology.

Center for Information & Crisis Services (n.d.). Suicide Awareness & Intervention. Palm Beach County, FL.

Fawcett, J., Clark, D. & Busch, K. (1993a). Assessing and treating the patient at risk for suicide. Psychiatric Annals, Vol. 23, 244-255.

Fawcett, J., Scheftner, W.A., Fogg, L., Clark, D.C., Young, M.A., Hedeker, D., and Gibbons, R.: Time-related predictors of suicide in major affective disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry 147:1189-1194.

Freeman, A. & White, D. (1989). The treatment of suicidal behavior. In Freeman et. al. (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of cognitive therapy. N.Y.: Plenum.

Gliatto, M., & Rai, A. (1999). Evaluation and treatment of patients with suicidal ideation. American Family Physician. March 15, 1999 issue.

Linehan, M. (1993). Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. New York: Guilford.

Mattas-Curry, L. (2000). Eight factors found critical in assessing suicide risk. APA Monitor, Vol. 31, No. 2 (February, 2000).

Moscicki, E. (1997). Identification of suicide risk factors using epidemiologic studies. Clinical Psychiatry, Vol. 20, 499-517.

Motto, J., Heilbron, D.C., & Juster, R.P. (1985). Development of a clinical instrument to estimate suicide risk. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 680-686.

O’Carroll, P., Berman, A., Maris, R., Moscicki, El, Tanney, B., & Silverman, M. (1996). Beyond the Tower of Babel: A Nomenclature for Suicidology. Suicide & Life-Threatening Behavior, 26, 237-252.

Psychosomatics (1999). Suicide Risk Assessment: A Review of Risk Factors for Suicide in 100 Patients Who Made Severe Suicide Attempts. Vol. 40, 18-27.

Rudd, M.D., Joiner, T.E., & Rajab, H. (1996). Relationships among suicide ideators, attempters, and multiple attempters in a young adult sample. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 541-550.

Rudd, M.D., & Joiner, T.E. (1999). Assessment of Suicidality in Outpatient Practice. In L. Vandecreeek & T. Jackson (Eds.) Innovations in Clinical Practice: A Sourcebook, 17, pp. 101-118. Sarasota, FL: Professional Resource Press.

Shea, S. C. (2002). The Practical Art of Suicide Assessment: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals and Substance Abuse Professionals. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley.

Simon, R. (2011). Improving Suicide Risk Assessment. Psychiatric Times. December 1, 2011.

Safety Plan

Name: _______________________ Date: ____________________

I am committed to keeping myself safe and agree that I will not do anything that would intentionally cause harm to myself for the following _____ days. I would like to find some other ways to cope and to deal with my situation in a better way.

Persons, Places or Situations I Will Avoid

Things I Can Do (if I feel a strong desire to hurt myself)

People I Can Call

Name Telephone Number

24 Hour Mobile Crisis Team: 877-435-4740 or 211

St. Mary’s Mental Health Institute Columbia Hospital

901 45th Street 2201 45th Street

561-840-6040 561-842-6141

Signature: ______________________________________________

My next counseling appointment is scheduled for:

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.

Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Depression in Christians can come from a variety of sources–spiritual, psychological, and biological. To reduce the depression a individual is experiencing, it is important to understand the specific cause or causes of that person's depression. Some Christians teach simplistic models of depression, such as saying that all depression comes from unconfessed sin or lack of faith. Such teaching is inaccurate and produces further condemnation rather than help for hurting people.

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Spiritual Sources of Depression

Some depression comes from spiritual sources. King David from the Old Testament experienced depression when he realized that Bathsheba was pregnant, and when he later learned that the child conceived with her would die. Whenever we knowingly commit sin, we are likely to experience guilt feelings and depression. The only truly effective remedy for this kind of depression is confession, repentance and, when appropriate, restitution. Christians who are experiencing this kind of depression and who have not made a complete repentance (that is, they have not decided to turn from their sin) will not experience a complete release from their guilt and depression until they do so.

Another type of spiritual depression is called anomie. Anomie refers to the aimlessness and despair that comes when one lacks a sense of purpose or significance in life. Clearly the Christian message that we have a heavenly Father who loves us and fills our lives with eternal significance and purpose can be a powerful antidote to this kind of spiritual depression. Some Christian mothers experience this kind of spiritual depression when their last child leaves home and the purpose that guided their lives when raising their children is no longer present. Or some men or women who retire find that the work that gave their lives a sense of purpose is no longer there. In these situations it is important for them to find new activities that give their lives purpose.

A third type of spiritually-based depression occurs when individuals unconsciously transfer onto God their memories of how their earthly parents responded to them. Some parents use criticism much more than encouragement, and express anger and rejection when their children do something wrong. Their children, as adults, unconsciously may project these same reactions onto God, believing that He withdraws from and is angry with them when they fail. Since no one can live a perfect Christian life, this can cause a person to experience a spiritually based depression.

Psychological Sources of Depression

There are many psychological sources of depression; here we will discuss only some of the more common ones.

We all become depressed when we lose someone who was important to us. Bereavement can produce feelings that seem similar to depression. The intensity of grief that we feel is proportional to the importance that person or thing had in our life. Christians surely grieve the loss of loved ones, just as nonbelievers do. Our faith gives us added resources to cope with loss and disappointment, so that we need not grieve as those who have no hope. We need not grieve as someone would who believes that his or her loved one has ceased to exist, and that he or she will soon do also. We may still grieve, however, because we deeply miss the presence of someone we love, even though our parting is temporary. It is unhealthy to suppress our normal human grief processes based on the mistaken belief that Christians with enough faith should never experience sadness over the temporary (but nonetheless painful) loss of someone or something important to us.

Loss of things can also produce depression. This can include loss of job, financial security, and health. We can grieve over the loss of something we hoped would happen when we recognize that it won't. This might occur when someone else is chosen for a promotion that we believed would be given to us.

A third cause of psychological depression comes from a state called "learned helplessness." Animal researchers first identified this condition in animal experiments where they would place dogs in cages that lacked any means of escape and would send a mild electrical current through the floor. At first the dogs would try to escape, but eventually they would simply cower in the corner when the electric current was on. They continued this behavior even when the researchers transferred them to cages where they could escape. They had learned to perceive their situation as one in which they were helpless to avoid the pain. Dogs with "learned helplessness" manifested an emotional state like the state of agitated depression in humans, that is, they showed constant signs of being both anxious and depressed.

Many people who come for counseling experience learned helplessness and the depression that comes from it. Learned helplessness is especially common in women and children who receive verbal or physical abuse. Women and children often are financially and physically dependent on those who are producing the painful situations in their lives. They are in a situation like the dogs in the experiment mentioned above. They constantly fear that the pain could start again at any moment and that there is nothing they can do to avoid it or end it once it starts.

A fourth cause of psychological depression is lack of assertiveness. People often overlook or neglect the needs of timid, shy people. Because of this shy people often believe that no one really cares about them. They often miss many positive experiences that make people happy to be alive, and this also can contribute to depression. Usually timid people learn to be that way early in life. They may continue to be timid even though there is no one in their present world who would respond negatively if they were more assertive. Such people can often be helped through assertiveness training offered from a Christian perspective.

A fifth common psychological cause of depression is perfectionism. The perfectionist sets unrealistically high goals, then feels guilty, depressed, or anxious when he or she fails to reach them. Perfectionists also typically overlook the things they do right, and only focus on those situations where they make mistakes, causing them to have overly negative views about themselves.

The perfectionist also usually places unrealistically exacting standards on those close to him (family and co-workers), and this can cause those relationships to be unpleasant and depressing. Perfectionists who become Christians are likely to translate these same perfectionistic strivings into the spiritual sphere and will usually find Scriptures that seem to support their approach to life. These people will usually not change unless they become convinced that it is healthier, wiser, and equally Biblical to accept themselves as imperfect humans in the process of becoming more like Christ. They often fear that accepting themselves as imperfect will cause a life of mediocrity.

There is a growing belief that optimism and pessimism are learned attitudes. For example, the pessimist is someone who believes, perhaps based on early childhood experiences, that life is full of hurtful experiences and there is little likelihood that one can avoid them. Optimists are people who, based on life experiences, have come to believe that the world, while having its share of difficulties, is a situation they can master, and that will provide more enjoyment and fulfillment than pain.

Both pessimists and optimists experience pleasure and pain. However, pessimists expect pain, and are more aware of it when it comes. Because they believe it is unavoidable, they may not proactively take action that could help them avoid pain. They also, because they expect to be hurt, may unwittingly invite people to take advantage of them. Thus they are more prone to depression.

Biological Sources of Depression

Our bodies contain many billion nerve cells. Several billion of these are in our brain. Between two adjacent nerve cells is a small space called a synapse.

Nerve impulses travel through the nerve cell as electrical impulses. At the synapse these electrical impulses are converted into chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters carry the impulse to the next cell, where it is converted back into an electrical impulse. This process happens at the juncture of each nerve cell.

Some people, because of their genetic constitution, tend at certain times in their lives to produce an inadequate amount of one or more of the neurotransmitters. Then the nerve impulse does not get through with the strength it should. This could be likened to the functioning of a car if each of its spark plugs were fouled with carbon deposits.

Mental health professionals sometimes call this endogenous depression. Endogenous depression usually manifests itself in one of three ways: (1) feelings of depression, which may include crying and feelings of hopelessness, (2) lack of energy to carry out normal tasks, or (3) lack of enjoyment of activities that normally should bring enjoyment, such as eating or sexual activity.

If a person has a significant spiritual or psychological depression that lasts more than a few weeks, this can trigger an endogenous depression. However, some people develop an endogenous depression without any psychological or spiritual precipitating event.

When an endogenous depression starts, the depressed mood will often attach itself to whatever is most important in a person's life. For a Christian with endogenous depression, they may believe God no longer hears their prayers, or feel that they've lost their spiritual joy. In more severe cases of endogenous depression, the person may believe they have lost their salvation or that they have committed the unpardonable sin. If a Christian seems preoccupied with minor sins they have committed, and if normal counseling and reasoning from Scripture does not seem to change their feelings of alienation from God, it is very possible that they are suffering from endogenous depression.

The physical imbalance in the body that produces endogenous depression often corrects itself in six to eighteen months. However, if the endogenous depression is moderate to severe, the person may lose their ability to function effectively or may even attempt suicide if not treated with antidepressants.

Misunderstandings About Anti-depressants

In the Christian community there are two common misunderstandings about antidepressants. One misunderstanding is that antidepressants are addictive. A second is that they represent a “copout,” i.e., people take a pill rather than work through their problems in healthier ways.

In response to the first misunderstanding, antidepressants are neither addictive nor habit-forming. A person can take them as long as they have a chemical imbalance and then stop them gradually when the imbalance is corrected without any addiction problems. The reason for stopping them gradually is not that they have become addicted, but because their body has become accustomed to having a certain level of the antidepressant in their system, and it is important that we give the body time to adjust to lower levels of the medication.

Secondly, antidepressants cannot be used as a "copout" if the person has a psychological or spiritual problem. Antidepressants will only work when the person has an endogenous depression.

Depending on the type of antidepressant prescribed, it usually takes three to six weeks to produce maximum benefit. It is common for a person to not be able to identify significant changes during the first few weeks. Therefore, people should not stop taking them earlier than this if they have not experienced benefit. The side effects from most antidepressants last only a few days and then disappear as the body adjusts to their presence. Frequently if one anti-depressant does not work, another kind will. Therefore, if the first medication prescribed does not produce benefit, one should return to the physician or psychiatrist to see about trying another one.

Some Concluding Thoughts

The discussion above has talked about spiritual, psychological, and biological sources of depression as if they were clearly separable from each other. In real life, some components of all three can and often do coexist.

Depression is the most common mental health problem facing America: 10% of Americans become clinically (moderately to seriously) depressed each year. Mild depression often can be handled through self-help methods or brief counseling with a pastor or a friend.

When the depression persists after a few counseling sessions and seems to include the possibility of several biological, psychological, or spiritual factors, it is wise to seek out a Christian counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Most depression responds well to a combination of counseling and medication, and the principles learned in counseling can often prevent re-occurrences of depression in the future.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.

Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Revised 2023

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1. Introduction

a. Within counseling and psychology a battle between two paradigms has existed for at least the last fifty years.

b. On the one hand, psychiatry and clinical psychology have viewed mental difficulties in terms of a disease model (the “psychopathology paradigm”). To oversimplify briefly for the point of comparison, psychiatry and clinical psychology often have viewed mental or emotional difficulties as mental diseases with certain similarities to physical diseases.

i. Like physical diseases, these difficulties were not consciously or voluntarily chosen: they developed because of early life experiences (frequently emotionally traumatic ones), often occurring below the level of conscious awareness, which caused a person to develop certain unhealthy ways of perceiving and responding to the world.

ii. Because the genesis of these difficulties often lay below the level of conscious awareness, they were frequently not amenable to change through normal processes of living or self-help: they needed the aid of a trained professional to be changed. There would often need to be an emotionally corrective experience within a therapeutic context that would bring healing for the earlier trauma or traumas that produced the mental disorder.

iii. These disorders could be described and categorized in ways like physical diseases, as in the various versions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

iv. Although some of these difficulties could be understood as temporary dysfunctions due to difficulties adjusting to changes in life situations or traumatic events (e.g., Adjustment Disorders), or as relational difficulties that did not necessarily imply significant psychopathology (e.g., the V-codes) most mental difficulties are longstanding disorders that are unlikely to change without extended treatment.

c. On the other hand, counseling programs from the time to Rogers on often took a developmental (non-Freudian) approach to mental difficulties (the “problems-in-living paradigm”). Again, to oversimplify briefly for the point of comparison, some of the major postulates of this approach are:

i. Rather than believing that all mental or interpersonal difficulties have their genesis in traumatic early life experiences, developmental counselors often believed these difficulties can be understood most helpfully in terms of the present developmental situations a person is experiencing, i.e., they are the result of present problems-in-living rather than of mental disorders that had their genesis several years prior to the present situation. Or sometimes these difficulties may sometimes be the result of the specific interpersonal context of the client (e.g., an adolescent who is surrounded by peers who reinforce unhealthy choices and punish healthy ones).

ii. If the difficulty is a problem in living, this means that often individuals can find their own solutions, or can, through the aid of a trained lay counselor or psychoeducational experience, find their own solutions to problems. It is often unnecessary to consult a doctoral-level professional.

iii. It is best not to categorize these difficulties as mental diseases, because this gives both the treating professional and the client a sense that the problem will be longstanding and is beyond the client’s control. These beliefs can rob the client of a sense of potency, and thus can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

iv. Many difficulties that people experience are temporary, developmental, problems-in-living that will dissipate through changes in circumstances, the simple passage of time, advice from friends, and self-help processes. They do not require extended treatment by mental health professionals.

v. The people described above are positively motivated by the belief that the problems-in-living paradigm is more accurate than the psychopathology paradigm. There are at least two other groups who align themselves with this group, but for slightly different reasons:

(1) First would be those who believe that an emphasis on identifying people’s strengths and focusing on movement toward health is more helpful than identifying people’s weaknesses and focusing on them.

(2) Secondly would be those who have had negative experiences with the system based on psychopathology. They, or a loved one, were given a misdiagnosis, and treatment was unsuccessful. Or, they may have had the experience of being denied insurance coverage, or having a loved one denied insurance coverage, because of a previous diagnosis, whether that diagnosis was correct or incorrect. Or they may have seen the psychopathology system abused to reap financial gain. These people align with the problems-in-living paradigm because of their anger at the purveyors of the psychopathology model.

2. The View Both Ways

a. Subscribers to each of these paradigms criticize those who hold to the other paradigm in a variety of ways.

b. Some of the criticisms that those who hold the psychopathology paradigm have of those who hold to the problems-in-living paradigm are:

i. Proponents of the problems-in-living paradigm have often failed to recognize and adequately educate students to recognize serious, brain-based mental illnesses that clearly do exist (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc.). A few counseling programs, even today, do not require a course in psychopathology (e.g., DSM-5 diagnosis) in their curriculum. As a result, these mental health practitioners and their students are unprepared to recognize when a mental difficulty may have a biological component that needs a biological treatment.

ii. By treating all difficulties as if they were transient responses to developmental changes, the problems-in-living practitioners often underdiagnose, failing to recognize that certain dysfunctional patterns have been present for an extended period of time, and are not just responses to present developmental changes.

iii. Long-entrenched, well-established patterns of perceiving and responding to the world (e.g., personality disorders) often do not change just by advice from a friend or reading a book, or a brief informational psychoeducational seminar, because the experience(s) that caused that pattern of perception or responding have not been identified, reexamined and dealt with in some way that allows the person to begin perceiving and responding to life in a new way. Especially when the pattern was begun because of an emotionally traumatic experience or set of experiences, the simple giving of information about a new way to respond is often not enough to cause the person to begin responding using that added information.

c. Some of the criticisms that those who hold to the problems-in-living paradigm have of those who hold to the psychopathology paradigm are:

i. People trained primarily in the psychopathology paradigm may tend to overdiagnose the seriousness of people’s difficulties, particularly during certain developmental periods. For example, many individuals going through adolescence and early adulthood will exhibit behavioral symptoms that, from the standpoint of DSM-5 may suggest serious psychopathology. However, these symptoms often remit once a person has negotiated that developmental stage, and thus probably should not be conceptualized and treated in the same way as more enduring psychological syndromes.

ii. This point has particular relevance to college counseling centers. During this period people are making the developmental transitions:

(1) from adolescence to early adulthood,

(2) from the structure of living in one’s family of origin to living independently as an adult,

(3) adapting to the greater academic demands of college life, and

(4) experiencing the stress of deciding upon an adult career path.

All four of these factors could cause significant behavioral and emotional responses that may be transitory rather than enduring. If college students are treated using the psychopathology model exclusively, they may be given psychiatric diagnoses that are more severe than warranted.

iii. Because of the preconceptions that many people have of mental illness, the very act of giving a psychopathology label to someone may have two adverse consequences:

(1) It may reduce clients’ feelings of potency in their ability to conquer their problem.

(2) It may go into data banks and have adverse consequences on peoples’ careers or ability to qualify for certain types of insurance.

iv. A focus on identifying on, and building on, a client’s strengths may often be more helpful than focusing on the client’s weaknesses.

v. The psychopathology model may cause therapists to think in terms of extensive personality change requiring long-term treatment when a shorter, more focused treatment would do.

vi. The success of lay therapists and brief therapy suggests that many problems are amenable to treatment using a problems-in-living paradigm.

3. Towards An Integrative Paradigm

a. Persons trained in either of these paradigms often have difficulty discussing their respective paradigms with each other, for each often believes the other is making mistakes in conceptualizing what is causing clients’ difficulties and believes the mistakes the other is making compromise the effectiveness of treatment.

b. This is unfortunate, because the two paradigms are not logically incompatible. For some individuals, each paradigm is probably correct. Some problems are the result of anxiety produced as a person is entering a new developmental stage, and therefore can be treated effectively with short-term, psychoeducational, or self-help methods. The problems-in-living paradigm is fully adequate to conceptualize and help such individuals.

c. However, there are other situations where people are facing problems that are more complex. These may include brain-based disorders, disorders stemming from early trauma that caused dysfunctional schemas to develop (Beck, 1979; Young, 1995), disorders that stem from growing up in a dysfunctional family system that produced and reinforced unhealthy ways of perceiving and responding to others over long periods of time, etc. Such people are not likely to receive adequate help from self-help methods or informational psychoeducational groups alone but need more extensive treatment.

d. There is room in the DSM-5 to accommodate both paradigms comfortably. Obviously, the psychopathology paradigm is easily accommodated. However, the problems-in-living paradigm can also be conceptualized as one or more of the following:

i. One of the Adjustment Disorders

ii. One of the V-codes (the various types of relational problems), or

iii. One of the other V-codes, such as phase of life problem, academic problem, occupational problem, or identity problem, etc.

e. Some of the most angry opponents of the psychopathology paradigm are those who have had negative experiences with psychiatry, such as a misdiagnosis that led to improper treatment, receiving a diagnosis (either accurate or inaccurate) that made it difficult to obtain insurance coverage afterward, etc. Certainly these situations are lamentable, and one can understand the anger people have if they have experienced one of these consequences. However, we would not consider throwing out medical diagnoses because sometimes people are misdiagnosed and then not given the proper treatment, or insurance companies refuse to give insurance following a certain diagnosis. The answer to these frustrating situations is not to throw out all medical diagnoses, but (1) to help all physicians to become more accurate in their diagnoses, and (2) to legislate for insurance reform that does not allow people to be denied coverage by insurance companies because they have had illnesses in the past.

f. If both paradigms are correct for some people, what implications does this have for the education of mental health counselor training programs? The following are a partial list of possible implications:

i. That faculty and students recognize that both paradigms are true, depending on the client with whom one is working. It is less than optimal when there is either an explicit or implicit ongoing struggle between faculty and students who espouse one orientation over the other.

ii. That students need adequate exposure to both paradigms. This would mean that every good counselor education program needs to have training in DSM-5, differential diagnosis, and treatment of the DSM-5 disorders. It also means that every program should teach students that not all problems are the result of psychological disorders and train them in treating problems-in-living as well.

iii. That students need training in how to determine which paradigm best fits the client with whom they are working. Technically this is known in DSM-5 language as differential diagnosis. Students may be encouraged to ask questions such as:

(1) What is the specific configuration of dysfunctional cognitive and behavioral symptoms this client is experiencing?

(2) How long have the dysfunctional cognitive and behavioral patterns persisted?

(3) How pervasive are they (do they occur in only one context, or in several)? and

(4) Whether they seem to be the result of difficulty negotiating a new developmental phase, or have they been present for an extended period of time?

iv. Particularly when clients are entering new developmental phases such as adolescence or early adulthood, students should be encouraged to think first of using a problems-in-living conceptualization, since adolescents and young adults may often act in ways that fit DSM-5 categories but may only be expressing and acting out developmental anxieties.

v. Many of our traditional psychodiagnostic tests may not be helpful in deciding whether a person’s difficulties represent a temporary response to developmental events, or represent more long-standing pathology, since they tend to measure the amount of abnormality occurring in the person now, but do not assess its longevity.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.

Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Updated 2023

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1. Definition of “value” as used in psychotherapy: In psychotherapy the definition of a value is quite different than normal usage of the word. Normally a value refers to a moral principle. In psychotherapy the word “value” usually refers to the belief that a certain way of thinking or behaving is better, healthier, or more functional than another way of thinking.

2. Three theoretical possibilities regarding values in psychotherapy:

a. Value-free counseling: this was the assumption of Freud and most therapists through the 1970s. Therapy is a value-free technical intervention by a professionally-trained person.

b. Value-imposed counseling: this is the idea, advocated by such diverse persons as O. Hobart Mowrer, (early) William Glasser, and biblical counselors (followers of Jay Adams) that therapy is to a large degree a moral enterprise. To help people live healthily you must help them live morally. If people are unwilling to accept moral principles and guide their lives by them, they cannot be substantially helped. Therefore if they wish to be helped they must be willing to change their lives to align with certain moral/theological principles.

c. Value-informed counseling: The belief that all counseling is informed by some system of values, whether the counselor and client recognize this, and whether the values are made explicit or are only implicit.

3. Discussion

a. It is now recognized quite widely (by those who have thought carefully about this matter) that there is no such thing as value-free counseling.

b. Values are inevitably embedded in the theory and process of therapy, whether recognized or not (Jones and Butman, 1991, Modern Psychotherapies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal).

c. Browning (1987, Religious Thought and the Modern Psychologies): Any system that is used as a guide to shape, heal, or reform human life cannot avoid metaphysics and ethics.

d. Roberts (Journal of Psychology and Theology, Vol. 15: 191-203, Vol. 19: 319-333): therapies can be construed as virtues-systems: that is, psychological theories identify recommended personality traits and hold these up as virtues to be pursued.

e. From the standpoint of secular psychotherapy “non-moral goods,” such as self-awareness, autonomy, assertiveness, etc., often functionally replace “moral goods” as the guide to how one should make decisions about the direction one should take. This is especially true when therapists believe in “value-free” counseling, for they are not likely to ask clients whether there are any moral issues that should be part of their decision-making.

f. Thus, when the emphasis in therapy is totally one what the client feels and wants, and there is no emphasis on whether moral issues should be part of one’s decision-making, “non-moral goods” do functionally come to replace “moral goods.”

4. There are four predominant therapy systems today

a. Psychoanalysis ----> psychodynamic psychology

b. Behaviorism --------> cognitive-behaviorism

c. Humanistic psychology: humans are choosing rather than determined beings

d. Systems theory

5. All four of these are usually practiced from the perspective of secular humanism. Secular humanism affirms the following six theological statements (from Humanist Manifesto II): (The statement from secular humanism will be stated first, with the comparison statement from traditional Christianity following it):

Secular Humanism 

1. “We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfilment of the human race. As nontheists, we begin with humans, not God. . .”

Historical Christianity

1. We believe there is ample evidence that the universe and human life was created by a supernatural designer. We also believe that in the Bible that Designer tells us vital facts about himself, about human beings, and about his relationship to us. We believe the Bible teaches that, rather than being meaningless and irrelevant, developing a personal relationship with the God of the universe is the most important task every human being can accomplish during his or her lifetime.

Secular Humanism 

2. “We can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species.”

Historical Christianity

2. We believe that God has a personal interest in every human being, and that discovering and cooperating with that purpose is what gives human beings their highest fulfilment.

Secular Humanism 

3. “No deity will save us: we must save ourselves.”

Historical Christianity

3. God teaches that we cannot save ourselves. Our sins separate us from God and his holiness. We cannot atone for our own sins. It is only because God himself paid the price for our sins through the death of his son on the cross that we can be saved.

Secular Humanism 

4. “Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful.”

Historical Christianity

4. We believe God clearly says in his word that human beings will continue conscious existence after this life is ended, and the choices we make either to accept or reject him in this life will determine how we will spend eternity.

Secular Humanism 

5. “Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction.”

Historical Christianity

5. We believe that God gave absolute moral laws based on what he knew was necessary for human beings to live healthily in relationships. While human beings sometimes rationalize breaking these laws by saying they are relative and situational, we do not believe such a position can be made compatible with Scripture or human experience.

Secular Humanism 

6. “While we do not approve of exploitive, denigrating forms of sexual expression, neither do we wish to prohibit, by law or social sanction, sexual behavior between consenting adults. The many varieties of sexual exploration should not in themselves be considered ‘evil’ . . . Short of harming others or compelling them to do likewise, individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their lifestyles as they desire.”

Historical Christianity

6. We believe that God designed sexuality to be a beautiful and marvelous experience within the committed relationship of marriage. We believe that God teaches that the only form of acceptable sexual expression is in monogamous heterosexual marriage. We believe that when sexual relationships are entered into outside this context, they harm our relationship to God and they often eventually cause physical and/or psychological harm to one or both participants.

6. What we can clearly see from the above is that secular humanism is not value-free–it is an alternative religious system with clearly stated theological beliefs that are quite different from the theological beliefs of historical Christianity. Thus, the secular humanistic counselor is operating from a value-informed position just as much as the Christian counselor, just that those values are quite different.

7. Question: What are some of the ways that values and world-and-life views affect counseling? World-and-life views shape counseling theories and processes in at least four important ways:

a. In the definition of what a healthy human being looks like

b. In the definition of what is most important in human life

c. In the assertions of what causes problems in human life (Is it lack of knowledge, lack of skills, psychological trauma, sin, or what?)

d. In the definitions of what are the best ways to help human beings

Illustration: A Christian had been going to secular counselors, first one, and then a second, for several years. He didn’t believe he was making much progress, and hoped that by bringing God into his counseling, he might experience more benefit. Therefore he asked his counselor if he would do this.

The therapist said that he wasn’t trained to help him in that way. Furthermore, he replied: “God doesn’t have a problem–you do. So let’s leave him out of this.”

According to some studies, as many as eighty-five percent of Americans believe in God. Forty percent say He is an important part of their lives. But as this counselor stated, he had no training in how God could help solve his client’s problems. That is one of the reasons we need Christian counselors.

8. Secular counselors generally do not explicitly state the theology of the Humanist Manifesto in their counseling sessions.

a. Question: Doesn’t that indicate that their counseling is value-free rather than value-informed?

b. Response: by failing to bring God and his truth explicitly into the counseling session and deriving the direction for counseling from the client’s thoughts and desires only, these counseling sessions become functionally secular humanistic, even though those words are never used. Discuss.

c. Question: Since all professional counseling is value-informed, what do you think professional counselors should do in terms of informing their clients of their value systems?

d. Response: It would seem that it would be most honest if all counselors would tell clients what value system they are operating from, and then let clients make an informed decision about whether that value system is compatible with their own.

e. Question: Do you think most secular counselors will be willing to do this? Why or why not?

9. The above discussion focuses on the content of one’s value system–whether one believes or does not believe in God. What one believes about the relationship between God and humans. What one believes about what is most important in life to achieve happiness and surmount problems.

10. There is another way in which philosophical assumptions affect counseling, namely, postmodernism. Postmodernism differs from both traditional science and Christianity in its view of truth about the universe (it’s cosmology), as well as its beliefs about how we come to know truth (it’s epistemology).

Traditional Science, Postmodernism, and Psychotherapy:

A Brief Summary and Comparison

Within psychotherapy today there is a growing postmodernist trend, which significantly contrasts with the theories of psychotherapy built on a traditional scientific foundation. While any large philosophical movement is often diverse and one set of statements cannot accurately capture all the diversity of opinions, the following summary attempts to summarize the mainstream thinking within postmodernism. The following comparisons are summaries of ideas developed in fuller detail in the book Back to Reality: A Critique of Postmodern Theory in Psychotherapy by Barbara Held, 1995, New York: Norton.

Traditional Science

The purpose of science is to discover reality as it is.

Postmodernism

We cannot discover reality as it is, we only create or construct our own subjective realities using words

Traditional Science

Realism: the knower can attain knowledge of an independent reality, that is, a reality that is objective in the sense that it does not originate in the knower. Naive realism is to be distinguished from modest realism. Naive realism is the belief that we always see objective reality accurately. Modest realism is that belief that we can approximate an accurate understanding of reality, especially as we study a phenomenon more.

Postmodernism

Antirealism (often called constructivism or constructionism in psychotherapy circles): the knower’s own cognitive operations and theories always distort the object being studied, making all knowledge inescapably subjective or relative. All “truths” are constructions of the knower.

Traditional Science

General laws and truths may be attained using reason, science, and technology.

Postmodernism

There are no general laws and truths. All “truth” is highly transitory and subjective.

Traditional Science

Written material has objective meaning. Traditionally, the meaning of a text has been understood to be the author’s intended meaning. This belief recognizes the fact that some writers express their intended meaning more clearly than others, but nevertheless, the meaning of a text is their intended meaning.

Postmodernism

Deconstructionism: texts have no objective meaning. Each reader deconstructs them and reconstructs them to determine what they mean to him or her. The meaning of a text is not what the author intended, but what it means to the reader at that point in time.

Traditional Science

Individuals exist and have the capacity to choose and to form unique patterns of responses (their personalities).

Postmodernism

Many postmodernists now view the “self” as fragmented, ephemeral, and inconsistent–devoid of the capacity to choose or to be seen as possessing a consistent personality.

Traditional Science

Psychotherapy is a scientific enterprise based on experimentation, evaluation of results, and improvement of one’s theories and methods based on those results.

Postmodernism

Psychotherapy is an art rather than a science. Because there is no objective truth, and because what is “true” is constantly changing for both the therapist and the client, it cannot properly be labeled a science.

Traditional Science

Theoretical integration: No single theory accurately explains all human phenomena, so we need to use concepts from a variety of theories to explain the varieties of human experience.

Postmodernism

All general theories of personality are to be rejected because they try to impose a reality onto clients that may not be accurate for them.

Concluding comments: As we can see, whether a counselor approaches life (and counseling) from the standpoint of secular humanism or traditional Christianity will make a significant difference in how he or she counsels. Also, whether he or she bases his or her work on traditional science assumptions or postmodernism will affect one’s counseling. These two issues are rarely discussed in counselor education programs. We think programs should ask each student to think through these issues and decide what approach they will take on each one.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Latest revision, 2023

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I. Sources and Acknowledgments: The following ideas are gleaned primarily from the following six sources:

A. A lecture on spiritual direction by Rev. Celeste Cox, Associate for Pastoral Ministry and Formation at Bethesda By the Sea Episcopal Church, given at Palm Beach Atlantic University to a Counseling Theories II class in 1996.

B. A lecture on spiritual direction by Rev. Ron Hilliard, a pastor at First Presbyterian Church, N. Palm Beach, given at Palm Beach Atlantic University to a Counseling Theories II class in 1997.

C. Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction by Margaret Guenther. Boston: Cowley Publications, 1992.

D. Toward Holy Ground: Spiritual Directions for the Second Half of Life by Margaret Guenther. Boston: Cowley Publications, 1995.

E. Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction by Tilden Edwards. New York: Paulist Press, 1980.

F. Adventure Inward: Christian Growth through Personal Journal Writing by Morton Kelsey. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1980.

II. Spiritual Directors Provide Soul Therapy

[One reporter’s description of spiritual direction. The following is an excerpt of an article from the N.Y. Times News Service. Undated.]

San Francisco—If you think church is the best place to talk about God, consider the experience of the Rev. Janna Jackson, who spent 12 years as a minister in the United Methodist Church. “As a pastor, I found people were reluctant to talk about their personal religious experiences,” said Jackson, the former associate pastor of Los Altos United Methodist Church. “They were afraid people would think they were acting strange or crazy if they talked about that in church.”

Today, Jackson is learning a new way to talk about God. She is among a growing number of Christians—Catholic and Protestant, lay and clergy—training to become “spiritual directors.”

Spirituality is coming out of the closet, and right behind it is a new breed of religious counselor and spiritual soul mate. Topics that come up in sessions of spiritual direction include such things as divorce, death of family members, addiction, loss of faith, religious conversion, or confusion about the meaning and direction of life.

“It can be very similar to what a therapist does, but we are always focusing on the movement of God in your life,” said Pam Sullivan, the founder of La Casa de la Luz, a personal growth center in Lafayette that trains spiritual directors. Although the term “spiritual director” is a familiar one in the Roman Catholic Church, the field has changed a lot in recent years. Many lay people, including secular therapists, are entering the field. [HV note: By “secular therapists” the author is referring to licensed Christian therapists who are not ordained pastors. In the United States spiritual direction is usually done by believers, either pastors, licensed Christian counselors, or laypersons who have experienced spiritual direction themselves and have received training in how to do it.]

Rising numbers of Protestants have found a calling in spiritual direction. . .. New training programs in spiritual direction and “spiritual companionship,” as this ministry is sometimes called, are springing up at seminaries, retreat centers and other institutes around the Bay Area. San Francisco Theological Seminary, an interdenominational Protestant seminary in San Anselmo, recently hired a Roman Catholic professor to teach spiritual direction full-time to Protestant seminarians. Other schools are doing the same.

“It is quite the thing, and clearly something we have borrowed from the Roman Catholics,” said the Rev. J. Robert Nelson, a Methodist minister and director at the Institute of Religion at Texas Medical Center in Houston. “Methodists and other Protestants have never accepted the notion of someone else acting as an intermediary between them and God, but as it is practiced today, spiritual directors are more like guides letting the Holy Spirit do his work,” Nelson said.

Gerry Hair, a former Catholic priest and spiritual director in Contra Costa County, said spiritual direction has also changed in the Roman Catholic Church. “In the ‘50s and ‘60s, your spiritual director gave you directions in an authoritarian way, like a parent to a child,” said Hair. “Today, there is the assumption that you have a spiritual movement inside you, and we work together for the unfolding of that.”

Changes in the way spiritual direction is practiced are blurring the boundary between spirituality and psychology . . . While spiritual directors are becoming more “therapeutic,” many therapists are becoming more “spiritual.” Jonathan Tenney, a licensed marriage and family counselor, said changes in the way secular psychotherapy is practiced have drawn him toward spiritual direction. “There is a trend in psychotherapy today toward ‘brief therapy’ or short-term problem-solving therapy that is only designed to help people adjust or adapt to circumstances,” said Tenney. [In contrast] “We are dealing with the healing of the soul. . . . .”

[The Rev. Alan Jones, dean of Grace Cathedral and author of the book Exploring Spiritual Direction, sees an important difference between spiritual direction and secular psychotherapy.] “Psychotherapy is about ego-forming and ego-coping. Spiritual direction is about ego-surrendering,” he said. . . . Jones said many people come to him for spiritual direction when they need psychotherapy, and vice versa. . . . .

As practiced in his Anglican tradition, Jones said, spiritual direction often ends up in confession. “People are frightened of that word,” he said. “One woman came to me and poured her heart out for 45 minutes. I said, ‘Have you ever thought of making a confession?’ She said, ‘Oh, no! I’d never do that!’ I said, ‘Well, you just have.’”

“People need to come up against real guilt, say they’re sorry, and ask to be forgiven,” Jones said. “I don’t think people want to be ‘adjusted.’ I think they want to be forgiven. They want to be healed.”

Leaders in the spiritual direction movement attribute much of its rising popularity to the explosion of “12-step” groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous. One of the steps featured in this form of recovery is turning one’s life over to “a higher power.” “People in recovery are starting out a whole new life, starting to meet a higher power, and need to talk about it,” said the Rev. Frank Sherlock, who trains spiritual directors at Mercy Center, a Catholic retreat house in Burlingame. [End of newspaper article.]

III. Definitions and Distinctions: At a broad level, the practice of spiritual direction can be distinguished from several other kinds of counseling. Some of these include:

A. Secular counseling: In secular counseling the primary focus is on using secularly-based psychological methods and sometimes medication to help people adapt more comfortably to their life situations. The focus is on psychological rather than spiritual growth, and discussions of God in the counseling process rarely occur.

B. Christian counseling: While Christians vary in how they integrate their faith in counseling, it is generally true that Christian counseling focuses on using natural psychological methods and sometimes medication to help people adapt more comfortably to their life situations. The focus is on psychological growth, but if the client is open to this, discussion of God, how He could be involved in the growth process, and spiritual issues might occasionally occur. For most Christian counselors working with Christian clients, their faith would probably influence what options they would encourage their clients to consider, might involve prayer and Bible memorization as part of the counseling process, but psychological rather than spiritual issues would often be the primary focus of counseling sessions. Insurance reimburses for treatment of psychological, not spiritual issues, and most Christian counselors confine their interventions primarily to this area of living. (This is not a statement of whether this is what should be, but more a statement of what generally does occur.)

C. Counseling by pastors: Counseling by pastors is generally brief and focused on preparing a person for some event (e.g., marriage) or solving some problem (e.g., marital problems, coping with loss, etc.). While it uses discussion about God and spiritual resources more than secular counseling, the focus is often still on helping people prepare for a life event or adapt more comfortably to a life situation than it is on spiritual growth.

D. Spiritual Direction: A situation in which two people commit themselves to discovering what God is attempting to do in the directee’s life, and through this to encourage the directee to live in a fuller awareness of God’s presence and activity, as well as in greater obedience to how God would have them live.

E. Relationship of Spiritual Direction to Other Means of Christian Growth (many of the points in the following section are from Rev. Ron Hilliard):

1. There are multiple means of Christian growth

a. Bible study increases our knowledge of God, of how we can have a relationship with him, and provides correction.

b. Prayer provides an opportunity to recognize our dependence on God, enlarges our vision of what is important, and gives an opportunity for us to make our requests and for God to respond to those requests.

c. Worship provides an opportunity for communion with others, and opportunity to focus on God, it reminds us of our blessings, and it is an opportunity for us to reaffirm our belief in God’s presence and faithfulness, as well as an opportunity to be reminded of our responsibilities.

d. Fasting is another activity that has made a modest resurgence in the church in recent years and provides an opportunity to increase our conscious contact with God.

e. Meditation can do likewise.

f. Spiritual Direction is another avenue of spiritual growth—one avenue among many.

2. Three Levels of Spiritual Relationships

a. Spiritual friendships: these sometimes occur among believers. Usually they include equal mutuality.

b. Spiritual mentoring (or discipleship): When a more mature believer helps a younger believer grow spiritually. Discipleship as commonly practiced in evangelical churches focuses on learning correct doctrine and behavior. There is less mutuality than in a spiritual friendship, since one person is considered the teacher, and the other is the student.

c. Spiritual Direction: one person commits to being available to another person (generally a younger Christian) to help them explore what God is doing or would like to do in that person’s life. The focus is on what is happening experientially in the directee’s life in terms of his or her relationship with God, with less of an emphasis on theological doctrine or structured training (as in discipleship).

3. Why do we need Spiritual Direction?

a. It is possible to walk right by a beautiful flower in the mud and never notice the flower or its beauty. Similarly, in life it is quite easy to become so wrapped up in dealing with the details of our natural lives that we fail to notice what God is attempting to do.

b. Spiritual direction gives us an opportunity, with the help of another person, to slow down the frenetic pace of our lives for a few moments and ask: “What is God attempting to do in my life today? What has he been attempting to do this past week? In what ways have I experienced God’s grace in the previous week(s).

c. It also gives us an opportunity, often through the question of a director, to ask: “How can I be responsive and obedient to what God is attempting to do in my life?”

d. A spiritual director is a companion on the journey of faith. He or she is also a spiritual friend (see above), but the relationship is not characterized by equal mutuality. There is not an assumption that each person will share equally or benefit equally. One person (the spiritual director) has agreed to temporarily suspend meeting his or her needs to focus on meeting the spiritual needs of the second (the directee).

e. Note: The term “spiritual director” should not be taken to imply a kind of authoritarian relationship. The relationship is always entered into and continued voluntarily. The “spiritual director” only helps a person think about such questions as “Where am I on my spiritual journey?” “What is God attempting to do in my life right now?”

f. Implicit assumption: Our faith journey will be accelerated by sharing it with another, more mature Christian, who may help us see things we might otherwise have missed (e.g., a flower in the mud). If we are serious about growing in God, we need some kind of spiritual friend, mentor, or director to help us do that.

g. The spiritual director does not replace the Holy Spirit in our life. On the contrary, he or she helps us become aware of what the Holy Spirit is attempting to say to us that we might otherwise miss. (Cf. Larry Crabb’s recent emphasis on a similar concept in Connecting.)

4. Relationship of Spiritual Direction to the Spiritual Disciplines and Spiritual Formation

a. The spiritual disciplines include things like prayer, Bible reading, fasting, etc. A spiritual director might help us think about which spiritual disciplines would help us grow spiritually, but would be less likely to assign certain spiritual disciplines than would a person in a typical discipleship ministry.

b. Spiritual Formation is a term that is sometimes used to refer to how we might form the spiritual life in our own lives. It sometimes includes the practice of the disciplines. Engaging in spiritual direction may be one means of spiritual formation.

IV. History of Spiritual Direction

A. The process called spiritual direction had its historical roots in the desert monastic tradition of the 3rd century.

B. The monastics went into the wilderness for several reasons

1. The Bible often talks about going on a journey, going into the desert, going into the wilderness—all are repeated biblical metaphors.

2. They sometimes went there to escape persecution.

3. They sometimes went there to be alone with Jesus.

4. Some went there to escape the comfortable life. Ascesis: the training of an athlete or a soldier. Breaking connection with the world to be totally devoted to a cause (in this case the cause of being totally devoted to one’s life with Christ)

5. They were trying “to hold their salvation near,” i.e., by eliminating other distractions, they could focus on developing their relationship with God.

C. They usually found a spiritual father (an abba) or a spiritual mother (an amma) who would mentor them. Spiritual direction began here.

D. The monastics often engaged in contemplative prayer—being quiet before the Lord. They would wait, listening attentively to the voice of God. The process produced integrity before God and humility.

E. The monastics attempted to live a life of simplicity that allowed them to hear God’s voice more easily.

F. The monks were fleeing from the world’s distractions so they could focus on God. In a sense spiritual direction attempts to accomplish the same goal, but without having to go into the wilderness. The time with the spiritual director represents a structured time when people can leave the world’s distractions, and in the presence of a spiritual mentor, focus on what God is attempting to say to them and do in their lives.

V. Biblical Basis for Spiritual Direction: Spiritual direction is about moving toward spiritual maturity. The following biblical passages or biblical concepts encourage us to pursue spiritual maturity:

A. Romans 8:5-17 We are to grow in our awareness of the Spirit and in obedience to the Spirit.

B. Romans 8:28-29 To grow in spiritual maturity is to grow into conformity to Christ.

C. Romans 12:1-2 We are to be constantly involved in the process of transforming our minds (e.g., our attitudes and perceptions) so that they are more like Christ’s.

D. 1 Corinthians 12:27 We are to grow in our awareness of how to be a participating and contributing member of the body of Christ.

E. Luke 10:27 We are to love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as our self. The purpose of spiritual direction is to help the directee do these things.

F. 2 Corinthians 7:1, Hebrews 12:14 We are to grow in holiness, which is the purpose of spiritual direction.

G. Almost any of the Bible’s stories can be used as a metaphor to help people examine their own spiritual journeys. For example, using the Parable of the Prodigal Son one might ask:

1. What phase of the journey am I on today?

2. Have I “come to my senses”?

3. What is my act of confession?

4. What is my act of contrition?

VI. A Brief Overview of the Process of Spiritual Direction

A. Create a safe place where the person can be open to the Holy Spirit.

B. Foster learning the art of forgiveness. Most of us have experienced hurts that we find hard to forgive, but which need to be forgiven if our hearts are to become gracious.

C. Foster turning away from the old life (a life focused around the desires and demands of the world) and toward the new life (a life focused around what God is doing in our lives at this moment).

D. Crafting a philosophy of life by asking:

1. What is really important in my life?

2. How am I spending my time?

3. Is how I am spending my time consistent with what I say is important?

E. “Spiritual direction is about being a spiritual friend. It is about living out the qualities of courage, honesty, humility, the active discipline of prayer, and self-control. It means we have gotten over our Messianism [our belief that we can save the person through our own wisdom]. It involves the capacity to step aside and let the Holy Spirit give direction.” Rev. Ron Hilliard

VII. The Practice of Spiritual Direction

A. What Does a Spiritual Director Do?

1. Listens to our faith story.

2. Helps us clarify where God has been at work.

3. Allows a safe place for discussion of mystical experiences (times we have experienced God’s inbreaking into our lives).

4. Helps us notice things (If left to ourselves, most of us would miss God’s working in the events of our lives).

5. Helps us respond to God with greater freedom, encouraging us to try new spiritual activities.

6. Helps us try out new spiritual disciplines.

7. Helps us by loving and praying for us.

B. Why Do People Come for Spiritual Direction?

1. A crisis in their outside world has caused them to ask faith questions, e.g.

a. Why is God doing this?

b. Where is God in this? (They are not necessarily asking for help in handling the crisis, but in answering the faith question in the crisis. Crisis intervention per se would be more properly the province of pastoral counseling or of secular or Christian counseling.)

2. Vocational issues, e.g., What is God’s will in this vocation for me?

3. There is a shift in one’s faith and life (e.g., as when a person goes through a period of deep discouragement).

4. When people are going through certain transitions in life (pre-marriage, facing death, choosing a career, in recovery, etc.).

C. What might a session of spiritual direction look like?

1. Silence: perhaps for 5 minutes, to allow a person to center and focus on what is happening in their lives and what God may be attempting to do through those circumstances. May be used for contemplative prayer—taking time to be quiet before God.

2. Questions: “How are you and God doing?” “How do you view God right now?” “What is your image of God right now?”

3. Listening.

4. Linking what the person is saying to spiritual insights they have previously discovered.

5. Providing images or metaphors that help a person understand his or her experience.

6. Homework (usually given as a suggestion).

D. Some specific aspects of doing spiritual direction

1. Generally not done until one has been through spiritual direction oneself.

2. Usually a long term relationship (several months to a year or two).

3. Should not do spiritual direction with your spouse—should be someone who can have more objectivity, and who doesn’t have a dual relationship with you that might in some way affect your ability to share or their ability to inquire.

4. Should consist of a covenant that includes a set time, a set place, a mutually-agreed upon schedule for meeting, and a general idea of the length of the commitment director and directee are making. Some people meet weekly, others twice a month. It is not recommended that one meet less than once per month. Sessions are usually an hour, although they may be longer and less frequent if the directee must travel some distance.

5. Confidentiality and maintenance of proper boundaries are like what they would be in other types of counseling, although the director may share more of his or her personal life with the directee (if this would aid in the directee’s growth) than might typically occur in traditional counseling.

6. One of the most important jobs of the spiritual director is to listen, and then to help the directee reflect on his or her experience.

7. A spiritual director helps the directee identify his or her gifts and explore how God may be calling him or her to use those gifts now.

8. A spiritual director helps the directee clarify his or her value system and explore the degree to which one is living in ways consistent with that value system.

9. A spiritual director challenges the directee to keep his or her relationship with God honest.

10. A spiritual director helps the directee discern the movement of the Spirit in the directee’s life.

11. A spiritual director provides minimal instruction, asking the directee to identify what God is doing and how he or she wishes to respond to God’s movement in his or her life.

12. A spiritual director encourages the person to keep centered in God using centering prayer.

13. A spiritual director helps the directee be accountable in one’s prayer and devotional life.

14. A spiritual director helps the directee when he or she is going through a personal desert—going through a personal wilderness experience.

15. A spiritual director encourages the directee to increase his or her daily sense of relationship with God through centering prayer and journaling.

16. A spiritual director observes the ethical guidelines developed by the Ethics Task Force of Spiritual Directors International (Institute for Spiritual Leadership, 4906 South Greenwood Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60615).

VIII. Questions to discuss in class

A. What clarifying questions do you have about spiritual direction?

B. What do you think about the comparisons drawn between secular counseling, professional counseling done by Christians, counseling done by pastors, and spiritual direction? Do you agree with those basic generalizations? Do you think some of the emphases of spiritual direction could be integrated into the counseling done by Christian counselors (when desired by one’s clients) or counseling done by pastors?

C. Rev. Ron Hilliard believes there is a spiritual direction component to most of the life problems people bring to counselors and pastors. Do you agree or disagree? Why?

D. Other thoughts or questions on spiritual direction?

IX. Three Concluding Notes

A. There is a spiritual direction center at the Catholic Retreat Center in Lantana.

B. Spiritual direction does not claim to be a comprehensive counseling theory. It does not have a theory of personality, nor does it have a complete theory of pathology or change. It is instead an effort to provide a supportive context where a person can increase their conscious awareness of and obedience to God’s working in one’s life.

C. If you are interested in reading further about spiritual direction, a reading list is provided below.

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Books Related To Spiritual Direction

Cullingham, Kevin (Ed.)(1983). Spiritual Direction: Contemporary Readings. Living Flame Press.

Doughtery, Rose Mary (1995). Group Spiritual Direction: Community for Discernment. Paulist Press.

Dubay, Thomas (1994). Seeking Spiritual Direction: How to Grow the Divine Life Within. Servant Publications.

Dunne, Tad (1991). Spiritual Mentoring: Guiding People Through Spiritual Exercises to Life Decisions. Harper San Francisco.

Edwards, Tilden (1980). Spiritual Friend: Reclaiming the Gift of Spiritual Direction. New York: Paulist Press.

Fenhagen, James ( 1991). Invitation to Holiness. Morehouse Publishing.

Guenther, Margaret (1992). Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction. Boston: Cowley Publications.

Guenther, Margaret (1995). Toward Holy Ground: Spiritual Direction for the Second Half of Life. Boston: Cowley Publications.

Jones, Timothy (1991). Mentor and Friend: Budding Friendships that Point to God. Lion Publishing.

Kelsey, Morton (1980). Adventure Inward: Christian Growth through Personal Journal Writing. Minneapolis: Augsburg.

Leech, Kenneth (1992). Soul Friend. An Invitation to Spiritual Direction. Harper San Francisco.

Merton, Thomas (1960). Spiritual Direction and Meditation. The Liturgical Press.

Moore, Thomas (1992). Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. New York: HarperCollins.

Morneau, Robert (1992). Spiritual Direction: Principles and Practices. Crossroad Publishing Company.

By Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.. Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Revised September 2023

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I. Background

A. Earned a B.A. in psychology from Ursinus College.

B. Received an M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Illinois.

C. First served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois.

D. Next served as Director of the Counseling Center at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.

E. Spent several years in private practice in Boca Raton.

F. Then spent several years as Chairman of the Department of Counseling at Grace Theological Seminary in Winona Lake, Indiana.

G. Served as Chair or has taught in the Counseling Program at Colorado Christian University for 14 years. He resigned as Chair in May 1996 but continued to teach there.

H. He has written more than 25 books. (Explanation: Some books have two publication dates. Usually the first is for the hardback edition and the second is for the softcover).

1. Basic Principles of Biblical Counseling (hereafter abbreviated as BP) (1975, 1991).

2. Effective Biblical Counseling (abbreviated as EBC) (1977, 1986).

3. The Marriage Builder (MB) (1982, 1992).

4. How to Become One with Your Mate (1986).

5. Encouragement: The Key to Caring (ENC) (1986, 1990).

6. Understanding People: Deep Longings for Relationship (UP) (1987).

7. Inside Out (IO) (1988).

8. Men and Women: Enjoying the Difference (M&W) (1991, 1993).

9. How to Deal with Anger (1991).

10. God of My Father (Father) (1993).

11. Finding God (FG) (1993, 1995).

12. Hope When You’re Hurting (Hope) (1996, 1999).

13. Outside In (1997).

14. Understanding Who You Are: What Your Relationships Tell You About Yourself (Who) (1997).

15. Connecting: Healing for Ourselves and Our Relationships (Connecting) (1997).

16. The Silence of Adam: Becoming a Man of Courage in a World of Chaos (1998). With 2 coauthors.

17. The Safest Place on Earth: Where People Connect and Are Changed Forever (1999).

18. Bring Home the Joy: Best-Selling Authors Share the Secrets of Adding Enjoyment and Vitality to Your Marriage (Larry Crabb et. al., May, 2000).

I. Dr. Crabb went to his eternal reward on February 28, 2021 at the age of 77

II. Historical Progression in Crabb’s theorizing: Crabb was a very creative, prolific writer and theoretician. In reviewing the development of his thinking, I believe three identifiable stages can be seen as of this point in time: Crabb’s attitude in certain key areas appear to have changed during these three stages. I believe it will be easier to understand the more thorough analysis of his theory that follows if we discuss some of those key areas briefly in this introduction (documentation of some of these points will be given later in the outline so as not to obscure the initial statement of these trends).

A. Attitude toward the solvability of many of life’s problems

1. In his earlier writings Crabb seemed to portray the idea that people who were well-trained in Scripture and in counseling techniques could help Christian clients solve many of the problems that they face.

2. In the second stage of his writings it seems that he had changed his mind in this regard, and taught that we may need to change our beliefs about the solvability of many of life’s problems. Some problems may need to be accepted and lived with rather than solved. Following are two quotes (out of many which could be given), that exemplify this view:

a. “People can be divided into two groups: those who think that life works (or could work if certain principles were followed), and those who know it doesn’t . . . . The difficult conclusion that honest people eventually reach is that only some of life works that way. An even more difficult conclusion is that it’s often the most important parts that don’t . . . . [According to this first group] people suffering from depression should [after counseling] feel happy again. And sometimes they do. But not always. Not even most of the time” (Hope, pp. 23-25).

b. “Our struggles come in two categories: Either we struggle to manage what can be managed (like a stalled car or a warm refrigerator); or we struggle, foolishly, to manage what can never be managed (like an angry wife or a sullen teenager) . . . . The fundamental problems of our existence, the problems that really matter, fall into this second category, problems like unhappiness, family breakups, suicide, loneliness, and rebellious kids. Most of the concerns we bring to friends, pastors, and counselors—uniquely human concerns—cannot be figured out and repaired” (Hope, pp. 33-34).

3. In the third stage of his writing (Connecting, and The Safest Place on Earth) this attitude (that many of life’s most important problems have to be accepted rather than solved) continues, although it does not seem to be quite as pronounced as in the second stage of his writing.

B. Attitude toward integration of psychology and theology

1. In the first two stages of his theorizing Crabb was an advocate of integrating psychology and theology, always giving priority to Scripture as the source of truth but using psychological insights that were compatible with Scripture. He called this “spoiling the Egyptians,” after the biblical story of the Israelites who received the donations from the Egyptians as they left for the land of Palestine and used those donations for a new purpose–to furnish the Tabernacle of God.

2. In these first two stages Crabb rejected two approaches sometimes taken by Christian or biblical counselors:

a. Crabb asserted that “if properly approached, the Bible is sufficient to provide a framework (italics mine) for thinking through every question a counselor needs to ask” (UP, 21). He doesn’t mean that there is a verse in the Bible that specifically addresses every counseling issue, but that the Bible gives enough instruction to provide a conceptual framework to understand and deal therapeutically with every non-organically-caused psychological problem.

b. He stated: “The Bible is sufficient to answer every question about life, but not because it directly responds to every legitimate question. The idea of biblical sufficiency for counseling rests on the assumption that biblical data support doctrinal categories which have implications that comprehensively deal with every relational issue of life” (UP, 63).

2. In his latest book (The Safest Place on Earth) Crabb appears to be rejecting an integrative approach. Here is a sampling of his statements: “For guiding the church in providing soul care, I grant neither an authoritative nor a supplemental role to the discipline of psychology (p. 7) . . . “I believe in the Bible’s authority and sufficiency for the work of counseling. . . An integration model denies, if not biblical authority, at least biblical sufficiency” (p. 8).

3. Continuing a little later he disagrees with the idea of integration when conceptualizing why people experience problems. “For years, I worked hard as a counselor, trying to figure people out. Why has this teenage girl stopped eating? What is the relationship of early abuse to a current struggle with multiple personalities? Could my client’s sexual addiction have grown out of a poor relationship with his father that made him feel inadequate to relate to his wife in a sexually mature way? And what can I do about it? What’s the most effective treatment I can render as a paid professional?

“Those are the questions most counselors ask. They may be the wrong ones. I think they are” (p. 55).

B. Attitude toward what causes people to have problems in living

1. In the first stage and first half of his second stage Crabb used traditional psychological theorizing and techniques to understand why people were experiencing problems and how to best respond to them as counselors (see above quote).

2. In a rather dramatic about-face Crabb now asserts that psychopathology should not be understood primarily in terms of damaged psyches that need expert attention, but of disconnected persons who are desperately lonely for deep, accepting, relationships.

3. “Beneath what our culture calls psychological disorder is a soul crying out for what only community can provide. There is no ‘disorder’ requiring ‘treatment.’ . . . We must do something other than train professional experts to fix damaged psyches. Damaged psyches aren’t the problem. The problem beneath our struggles is a disconnected soul” (Connecting, p. xvi. Italics in the original).

4. In The Safest Place on Earth he cites with approval from the book Successful Psychotherapy: A Caring, Loving Relationship by C. H. Patterson and Suzanne Hidore the idea that counselors “should abandon all hope of identifying specific diagnosable disorders and coming up with specific technical treatment plans. They should instead focus on one simple yet profound idea—that the essence of all successful psychotherapy is love” (p. 48).

C. Attitude toward professional Christian counseling and counselors

1. For many years Crabb has been involved in training Christian counselors.

2. However, in his three most recent books (Hope When You’re Hurting, Connecting and The Safest Place on Earth) he has raised significant questions about the role of professional Christian counseling and counselors.

3. For example, in Hope When You’re Hurting Crabb asserts that the majority of people who need healing do not need the expertise of professional counselors, but could receive that help within the body of Christ, if elders (mature Christian men and women) could be taught that people need deep, honest relationships, and those elders could be encouraged to help people accomplish the goal of establishing such relationships (p. 138, 169).

4. Crabb does not believe that most churches and church elders are doing that effectively now, but he believes they could, and they should be trained to be able to do so. He devoted much of his time in his later years to encouraging this to happen.

5. At times he even seemed to be saying that counseling by Christian elders would be more effective than counseling done by Christian mental health professionals (e.g., “I believe the church can become a healing community with more power to do good in troubled peoples’ lives than can ever be available in a counseling center” Hope, p. 169).

6. In The Safest Place on Earth he goes even further, saying: “I am having a hard time coming up with a reason to train psychotherapists or counselors. The master’s counseling program where I teach has largely shifted to a spiritual formation model of personal change. Our focus is on developing students into spiritual friends and spiritual directors” (p. 48).

7. “I have taught graduate counseling for nearly twenty years. My earnest conviction is that we would do well to discard the vocabulary of professionalism, to no longer speak of patients, diagnosis, treatment, and psychotherapy. The very same concerns would be better and more powerfully addressed if instead we talked about souls disconnected from God, themselves, and others; about soul care and soul cure; about spiritual discernment into the workings of Flesh Dynamics and Spirit Dynamics; about spiritual friendship and spiritual direction” (Safest Place, p. 181).

D. The purpose of including these ideas in the introduction is to say that in order to accurately understand Crabb’s theory we must understand these shifts in Crabb’s thinking over time.

III. Theory of Structure

A. Ontologically Crabb was a dichotomist: he said he is not a "physicalistic reductionist." He believed that there are intangible parts of a person, such as thinking and feeling, that are not reducible to our physical body.

B. Functionally some of his statements sounded more compatible with holism (See for example, Effective Biblical Counseling (EBC), pp. 87-88)

C. Note: The following concepts could be considered either personality structures (and therefore would belong in this section) or could be considered personality processes (and therefore would be considered in one of the following sections).

D. Nous: the conscious mind. The part of a person that makes conscious evaluations including moral judgments (EBC, p. 90).

E. Phronema: the unconscious mind. That part of the personality which develops and holds on to deep, reflective assumptions. The reservoir of basic assumptions which people firmly and emotionally hold about how to meet their deep longings for significance and security.

F. We have two sources of input: (1) God through the Bible, and (2) Satan through our unconscious minds.

G. Kardia: heart. The basic direction of a person's life. The heart represents a person's fundamental intentions. For whom or what do I choose to live?

H. Boule and thelema: will. The capacity to choose. As I read Crabb, there seemed to be some change in emphasis over the years. His earliest books seemed to agree with the Adlerian notion that the will is not free but is determined by what we believe (soft determinism). His next few books seemed to emphasize more strongly our responsibility for our choices. His last few books seem to have a pessimism about how successful we can be in conquering our sin nature, even when we depend on God to help us do so, although they continue to emphasize personal responsibility.

I. Splagchnon: emotions. The capacity for feelings. Any feeling that is mutually exclusive of compassion involves sin.

1. Wrong emotions are described in EBC, pp. 104-105.

2. Wrong negative emotions can be traced to a wrong assumption about how personal needs can be met.

3. Guilt: comes from believing that what God provides is not enough and then going outside God's will to secure it.

4. Resentment: comes from believing that the fulfilment of our needs is threatened by something that God has allowed to happen to us.

5. Anxiety: fear that God will not supply something we need (EBC, pp. 105-106).

IV. Theory of Motivation

A. Crabb’s early theorizing: Five basic propositions about motivation (EBC, p. 76).

1. Motivation depends on a having a deficit in our lives.

2. We are motivated to do certain things because we are convinced that those behaviors will cause our need to be met.

3. We believe that some thing will meet our need. That thing becomes our goal.

4. When we conclude that a goal cannot be reached we experience negative emotions.

5. All behavior is motivated. All behavior makes sense if we understand the person's goal and his beliefs about how best to reach that goal.

B. Two basic needs (Crabb now prefers the phrase “deepest personal longings”)

1. Significance: a realization that I am engaged in a responsibility or job that is truly important, whose results will not evaporate with time, but will last through eternity.

2. Security: a convinced awareness of being unconditionally and totally loved without needing to change in order to win love. Loved by a love that is freely given, that cannot be earned and therefore cannot be lost.

3. This kind of security can only come from God's love. This kind of significance can only come from being involved in God's kingdom.

C. Romans 1 and human needs (EBC, p. 72) (This diagram doesn’t transfer accurately into substack format. See the book for a more accurate rendering.)

Basic human needs can be met only by God

Significance

Security

Without God the highest needs which can be met

Power

Pleasure

Inevitable long-term consequences of a life without God

Violence

Immorality

D. Drawing from Maslow’s theory, Crabb believed that self-actualization is the only stage that is not ego-centric, the only stage that does not operate from deficit motivation, the only thing that produces something close to Christian maturity, EBC, p. 80.

E. As Christians we should move through the bottom four stages of Maslow’s hierarchy on "wheels of faith." We should always operate from a position of fullness, not from deficit motivation. Motivation that comes out of fullness is worship and service. Crabb called this Expression Motivation (in contrast to deficit motivation).

F. If personal needs can only be met fully in a personal God, then only a Christian can reach the stage of self-actualization.

G. Important note: The above is Crabb’s first phase. He later repudiated this model (e.g., “I reject a need-centered, anthropocentric understanding of human nature” The Safest Place on Earth, p. 7). The following four-circle model is an emphasis of Crabb’s second stage in his theorizing.

H. Humans are made in the image of God. Crabb describes a four-circle model of human beings (UP, 114-189). [ See next page for visual diagram.]

1. Since we are made in the image of God, it follows that we must be like God in certain ways.

2. Humans resemble God in four significant ways. These four ways are symbolized by circles, each with an inner and outer ring. The outer ring represents a capacity, and the inner circle represents how fully we have developed that capacity. (These four circles represent motivational processes, not structures.)

(This diagram won’t transfer into substack format. See the book for a more accurate rendering, although it you don’t have access to the book you can draw a diagram with four circles, each with an outer circle that represents our capacity to have the capacity for each of those features, and an inner circle that represents how much we have developed that capacity.)

3. Personal circle: symbolizes our capacity or need for love (security) and meaning (significance).

4. Rational circle: represents our capacity to think and process information.

5. Volitional circle: represents our goals.

6. Emotional circle: represents our feelings.

7. Note: Understanding these four circles is crucial to accurately understanding Crabb’s middle stage of his theory of motivation, individual differences, health, pathology, and counseling. Therefore, make sure you understand the four-circle diagram (and the meaning of the inner and outer circles) well.

I. Third stage of Crabb’s theory of motivation: In his latest books Crabb said we Christians have the potential to live in either of two rooms (Safest Place on Earth, pp. 61-65, 69, 83, 87,89, 106, 110, 114, 129).

1. The Lower Room: This is the room that we design ourselves, representing our lower nature. It is the room where we have learned how to meet our psychological and other needs through our own efforts. We are stubborn independents, determined to manage our own lives and meet our own needs (i.e. to self-actualize using our own resources). “The passion coming from the Lower Room is to feel good quickly, to manipulate life’s circumstances to maximize our experience of pleasure and to minimize the pain” (p. 138). People living in this room see no value in brokenness nor in trusting God to meet their needs. The Bible calls this the flesh. Since we live as if we must meet our needs, we attempt to control others so that we are able to make this happen. Since we are the only ones to protect ourselves, we spend much energy in self-protective strategies. We try to do well in order to receive acceptance from others.

2. The Upper Room: This is the room that Christ gives to those who ask him. [For the non-believer, the room is there (i.e., one’s eternal soul) but “the electricity has not yet been hooked up.”]. When we live in the Upper Room we rest in God’s grace. We don’t have to prove our worthwhileness or acceptability because this is already provided in God. We no longer have to strive—we only have to accept and receive God’s grace. We enjoy worshiping and praising God. We enjoy seeing others grow. We do not have to try to control others or protect ourselves from them, since our needs for acceptance and significance are met in Christ. We have a passion to obey because of the acceptance we have experienced in Christ. Psalm 27:4 typifies our lives (“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”).

V. Theory of Development

A. In his early books (first stage) Crabb borrowed heavily from Adlerian and cognitive psychology

B. Elements of Adlerian psychology borrowed (these are ideas of Adler’s which Crabb appeared to accept and build upon, even though he did not explicitly verbalize each of them):

1. All behavior is motivated by the goals a child chooses (often unconsciously)

2. Every child wants to be viewed as a unique individual

3. Children will find positive ways of being viewed as unique if this behavior is encouraged.

4. If a child sees no positive ways of achieving a unique identity (e.g., if all the positive roles appear to be taken by other siblings, or if parents are threatened by the child's progress, and directly or indirectly discourage it), the child will attempt to achieve a unique identity through misbehavior.

5. Children seek to meet their needs for significance and security either through good behavior or misbehavior

6. A "guiding fiction" is a wrong assumption about how to meet our needs. This wrong assumption produces our unhealthy behavior.

C. Cognitive psychology suggests that the wrong assumptions we make at an unconscious level determine the wrong statements we say to ourselves at a preconscious or conscious level.

D. Adler believed that children can make both healthy and unhealthy assumptions about how to meet their needs for significance and security. Crabb would say that unless the assumption states that our relationship with God is the source of our significance and security, it is not fully healthy and is ultimately destined to collapse.

E. Development of a Fool (where foolishness is defined as the conviction that we can meet our needs for security and significance without God)

Age Stage

0-1 Stage of Naive Foolishness

2-5 Stage of Learned Foolishness

6-12 Stage of Practiced Foolishness

13-18 Stage of Disappointed Foolishness

19-30 Stage of Rearranged Foolishness

31-65 Stage of Stable Foolishness

F. Development of a Fool ties in with Crabb’s newer concept of “living in one’s Lower Room.” As long as one is living in one’s Lower Room, one is at one of the above developmental stages of Foolishness.

G. Crabb in his more recent theorizing moved from a psychological model of development to more of a “communitarian model,” i.e., that people cannot develop in optimal ways unless they (1) give up the effort to be the center of their lives and let God become center, (2) allow a community of other believers to encourage them to live in the Upper rather than Lower Room, and (3) are surrounded by close friends (spiritual friends and spiritual directors) who can envision what their Upper Room looks like, and can encourage them to live there.

VI. Theory of Individual Differences

A. Crabb does not speak to this issue at length, at least in his earlier books (one page B, p.87) separately from his theory of development

B. Probably if asked, he would say that genetic materials determine our potentials and our predispositions.

C. Secondly, interacting with our genetically-influenced potentials and predispositions is the degree to which we are operating from four full circles. (The degree to which we are operating from four full circles is significantly affected by the degree to which we have allowed sin to affect our thinking, so our sin nature is an important factor.)

D. Based on his latest theorizing we would also add the factor of the amount of time one spends in their Lower versus Upper Rooms.

E. Therefore it is plausible to assume, based on his writings, that Crabb would say that individuals differ from each other because of the individual combination of their genes, their history, their sin nature, the degree to which they are operating from four full circles, and the relative amount of time they are living in their Lower versus Upper Rooms.

VII. Theory of Health: Four Full Circles, Living in the Upper Room (UP, 114-212, esp. 125-129, 193-212)

A. Maturity is godliness. Much that passes for counseling never makes a significant change in people’s character, i.e., never moves them toward godliness.

B. Crabb differentiates himself from secular or Christian therapists who believe that self-esteem is something we should nurture. Self-esteem is a weed to be pulled out rather than a fragile flower to nourish. We (as Christian counselors) shouldn’t encourage the development of self-esteem because it has self at the center. Self-esteem is Lower Room activity—the determination to manage life with resources we can control (Safest Place, pp. 135-137).

C. A full personal circle: Being fully convinced that we are unconditionally and totally loved, and this love cannot be lost. Being fully convinced that we are deeply loved and accepted by God and are playing a truly significant role in His plan. Deeply enjoying God.

D. A full rational circle: The ability to think clearly, and a full recognition that our longings for relationship and impact can only be met in God. “Believing that life is in Christ and is in no way available through our own or other’s resources. Regarding ourselves as entirely unworthy of being loved or used by God, but realizing our dignity as image-bearers by accepting His love and cooperating with His purposes” UP, 199.

E. A full volitional circle: A full awareness that everything we do is a choice, leading to the ability to choose how we will act and react.

F. A full emotional circle: The ability to be accurately aware of all of our feelings, and to experience the full range of feelings that God has created within us.

G. A sense of timing and discretion as we interact with others, especially about areas of conflict.

H. Marred joy. A recognition that sins causes much of human life to not be all it could be, and a willingness to wait for eternity for all things to be right. There is an increasing emphasis on the pain that is in the Christian life in books such as Inside Out, Hope When You’re Hurting and Finding God.

I. Not being afraid of confusion as we struggle to understand complex issues. Realizing that temporary confusion is often a necessary part of the process of understanding complex issues and situations more deeply. Refusing to move to premature closure to avoid that confusion.

J. A recognition that we sometimes fail.

K. An acceptance of the fact that painful emotions are part of this life at times.

L. A deepening awareness of how sin pervades almost all of our thoughts, goals and behaviors. A growing awareness of our imperfection.

M. A growing awareness of our dependency on Christ.

N. A willingness to abandon self-protective ways of dealing with other people.

O. Living in one’s Upper Room.

P. Being open to other believers, encouraging them to live in their Upper Room and being likewise encouraged by them to do the same.

VIII. Theory of Pathology

A. Biological factors: Crabb recognizes that some psychological problems have a biological etiology (e.g., some depressions and other affective disorders; pathology based on physical lesions, degenerative diseases, learning disabilities, drug-induced psychoses, etc. He recognizes that medication can sometimes bring symptomatic relief, but seems to be suggesting that long term relief only comes when we change our thinking, live in close relationships, and accept the fact that continuing pain, including emotional pain, may be our lot as long as we live in temporal bodies.)

B. Early Crabb: Diagram of how "well-adjusted" people operate

Start Here

Vague sense of emptiness

v v v

Personal Needs

v v v

Motivation

€

Partial temporary satisfaction

C. Some "well-adjusted" people reach all their goals only to find those goals do not truly satisfy. This may lead to existential despair and in extreme cases even to suicide.

Suicide Vague sense of emptiness v Personal Needs v Motivation

€ €

€ Partial temporary satisfaction Basic assumption

€ €

Existential w w Goal w w w w w Goal-oriented behavior

Despair

D. Abnormal development leading to a psychological disorder (EBC, p. 136).

E. Middle Crabb: Psychopathology as Conceptualized By the Four-Circle Diagram

1. Personal Circle (deep longings for relationship and impact): Pathology can be a result of not feeling secure in one’s relationships, not feeling significant, or both.

2. Rational Circle (images and beliefs about how to best meet our longings for relationship and impact). Pathology can be the result of wrong beliefs or images about how to meet one’s needs for significance and security.

3. Volitional Circle. Pathology may be the result of not recognizing the unconscious beliefs that motivate our behavior, therefore not recognizing these behaviors are a choice.

4. Emotional Circle. Pathology may be the result of not being in touch with the full array of human feelings, or not being in touch with one’s feelings in the moment.

F. The Relative Importance of Sin Versus Psychopathology in Producing Personal Problems

1. In this second phase (e.g., M&W, 1991) Crabb seemed to be moving in the direction of saying that personal sin (the almost automatic desire to put our own needs as the center of the universe) is a much more serious problem than the psychopathology that comes from wounds inflicted by others.

2. To become healthy, Christians must become aware of how self-interest motivates (either consciously or, more frequently, unconsciously) our every thought, emotion and action. We need to be aware of our constant need of forgiveness for our self-centeredness, and be constantly striving to become more other-centered.

3. This is not to be a legalistic attempt to conform to external rules, but a heart-felt recognition of our self-centeredness, a confession of it, a recognition of our daily need for forgiveness, and a daily willingness to move toward other-centeredness.

G. Recent Crabb:

1. Sickness comes from living out of our lower room (trying to meet our needs through our own human striving rather than resting in the sufficiency of Christ found in our Upper Room).

2. We may also experience sickness when our Upper Room is contaminated by Lower Room intrusions, so that we think we are in our Upper Room, but some factors from our Lower Room are present.

3. Sickness also comes from being disconnected from others—living in a state of isolation rather than community.

IX. Theory of Counseling

A. Early Crabb: Counseling must focus on building a relationship

B. Using a confrontational approach with all people is questionable biblically and psychologically. (This was probably a response to Jay Adams and nouthetic counseling.)

C. The counseling approach must be individualized to a person's temperament and needs.

D. Use biblical concepts and psychological theory to understand what is wrong and develop a treatment plan.

E. Early and Middle Crabb: Steps [Relate these steps to the visual diagram (Early Crabb) and to the four-circle diagram (middle Crabb)]

1. Help clients get in touch with their true feelings (clients automatically want to start there). In the four-circle diagram, this is the emotional circle.

2. Help them become aware of the blocked goals that are causing those feelings (those goals are caused by our convictions about what we need to have in order to feel happy—the rational circle).

3. Help them become aware of wrong convictions and personal circle pain (personal circle) by:

a. Clarify biblical thinking (revising the content of the rational circle)

b Secure a commitment to act on the basis of the new assumptions (volitional circle)

c. Plan and carry out biblical behavior (volitional circle)

d. Identify Spirit-controlled feelings (emotional circle, personal circle)

F. Chart: EBC, p. 160

Identify problem feeling Identify Spirit-controlled feelings

€

Identify problem behavior Plan and carry out biblical behavior

€

Identify problem thinking Secure commitment to change

€

Clarify biblical thinking

€

v TEACH v v

G. Most recent Crabb: Do not try to analyze a problem using psychological theory. Do not attempt to develop a treatment plan. Do not diagnose. Instead, listen passionately. Envision what each person’s Upper Room response would look like. Pray that God would help them become all He wants them to be.

H. “Soul care requires two kinds of relationships: spiritual friendship and spiritual direction. Both exist only as part of a spiritual community. Neither is common in the Western church . . . “Rather than thinking in terms of therapists, counselors, pastoral counselors, and lay counselors, I propose thinking of a spiritual community as providing two kinds of relationships: spiritual friendship, which exists among spiritually minded peers who share their lives together, and spiritual direction, which takes place when time is specially set aside for one person to present his or her life to a respected (not always familiar) person who agrees to listen, pray, think, and speak, preferably without pay” (pp. 9-10).

I. Note that Crabb differentiates his approach from pastoral counseling and lay counseling. Counseling by pastors tends to be oriented toward one of three things: (1) answering a theological question, (2) preparing for an event (e.g., a wedding or a funeral), or (3) dealing with a specific problem. It tends to use biblical data and common-sense advice-giving as primary ingredients.

J. Lay counseling tends to be oriented toward problem solving. Depending on context, it may emphasize either brief training in psychological problem solving or in biblical problem solving, or a combination of the two.

K. Crabb differentiates his approach from either of the above, saying that what we need are spiritual friends and spiritual directors. Here is his description of spiritual direction: “In my view, spiritual counseling (or spiritual direction) does everything we now assume can only be done in psychotherapy. It probes the darkness of our deceived and defensive hearts (the Lower Room). It looks for life that has survived terrible assaults (the Upper Room). It enters the depths of pain and agony (the groaning of Rom. 8). And it provides an opportunity to relate in ways that heal (the stimulating toward love and good deeds of Heb. 10:24). . . . “The phrase ‘spiritual direction’ carries some baggage. I don’t use the term to imply that a director has the authority to tell someone else what to do. I refer, rather, to a mature saint called to serve others by pointing the way to God” (Safest Place, pp. 180-181).

X. Therapeutic Techniques

A. Early and middle Crabb

1. Primary level empathy

2. Additive empathy

3. Paraphrasing

4. Questions

5. Teaching

6. Confronting

7. Early recollections

8. Analyzing

9. Cognitive analysis

10. Thought stopping

11. Thought replacement

12. Scripture memory

13. Commitment to behavioral change

14. Exhorting

15. Be able to use the above to do the following:

a. Elicit significant personal events that led the person to develop convictions (e.g., Early recollections)

b. Identify what the client’s four-circle response presently is

c. Identify a biblical four-circle response

d. Help people move from (b) to (c)

16. A full personal circle is one in which the person is persuaded of his worth in Christ to the point where his motivation for life is rooted fundamentally in his love relationship to God.

B. Recent Crabb

1. Crabb states that he now rejects counseling theory and techniques coming from psychology (see quotes in Section II of this handout from Safest Place, p. 7, 8, and 55).

2. He is not very specific about how the church community should carry on its healing role. He says at the beginning of his latest book: “I’m confused about the exact kind of relationship that heals someone’s soul and about how it does work”(p. 6).

3. Later on in that book he attempts to be more specific: “A safe community where souls can rest, love, and heal is a community where people look at one another and are stirred by the Spirit to experience holy passions.

“How do we manage that? We don’t. We become mystics. We put ourselves in the humble position of dependence and let God do it.

“But what does that mean? There still is something for us to do. What is it? As I use the term, mysticism involves neither an emphasis on experience that minimizes the essential value of thought-through, rationally presented truth nor a special interior intensity reserved only for the more ethereal, less practical, and strange saints among us. A plumber fixing toilets and a monk at prayer can equally be mystics.

“Perhaps an attempt at definition will help: Mysticism is the felt arousal of spiritual passions within the regenerate heart, passions that can have no existence apart from a Spirit-revealed knowledge of truth and the promptings of the same Spirit to enjoy that truth.

“The difficulty, or course, is that we’re either managers or bad mystics. We tend to feel all the wrong passions (p. 146).

4. He also says that very few churches have anything approaching the kind of community that he believes will bring healing (p. xiv).

5. His general thought is that people will only receive soul-healing if they are in a community that is worshiping together, where there is the freedom to be lovingly authentic, where they are all envisioning the potential each other has for Upper Room living, and where they are encouraging each other to this kind of living.

6. Crabb also believes that spiritual formation (i.e., forming the life of Christ within us) is primarily a work of the Holy Spirit, rather than something that individuals do to themselves (Safest Place, pp. 125-126.)

Some Thoughts About Larry Crabb’s Biblical Counseling

Introduction

The late Larry Crabb, through the twenty-five books related to counseling he has published, has been an example of a theoretician who holds a high view of Scripture and who believes that Scriptural truth must always be given priority over psychological theorizing. He also understands psychology and the counseling process accurately, and he tries to integrate the valid insights from psychology with the truths of Scripture. He has done an enormous amount of good through his books and seminars. He has also championed the idea that the term “biblical counseling” does not need to be restricted to those who use a nouthetic approach, i.e., that there are other Christian counseling approaches that can validly claim the title “biblical counseling.” Any criticisms listed below should be understood as relatively minor in comparison with the significant contributions I believe he has made to developing a comprehensive Christian counseling theory.

Foundational Premises

+ Crabb’s idea that Scripture can provide a framework that has relevance for understanding every counseling issue.

+ His rejection of the idea that there is a specific verse and complete therapeutic strategy to be found in Scripture for every counseling problem.

+ Crabb’s rejection of the idea that if there is not a specific verse found to deal with a particular counseling problem, it is not a valid counseling issue.

I. Theory of Structure

+ Call humans “fallen image-bearers.” This phrase captures both positive tendencies within humans (we are “image-bearers”) along with a recognition of our tendency toward sin (fallen).

+ Crabb’s definitions of various Greek words regarding human personality functioning are basically compatible with the definitions of these words found in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (a multi-volume dictionary of NT Greek words).

+ Crabb attempts to relate biblical terms to contemporary psychological language.

± Crabb is ontologically a dichotomist, although functionally he talks as if he were a holist (see EBC, pp. 87-88). He doesn’t provide a substantial biblical or psychological justification for taking a dichotomistic view rather than holistic or trichotomistic view, nor why he remains a dichotomist ontologically when many of his statements and theory seem more consistent with holism.

II. Theory of Motivation

+ Crabb’s writings and theory integrate much of the good thinking of motivational and humanistic psychologists regarding psychological needs (he has now replaced the concepts of “needs” with “deep human longings.”).

+ His belief that our two basic human needs or longings are for security (relatedness to others) and significance or impact (to be engaged in a meaningful task) is compatible with the thinking of Glasser and others. (Glasser, for example, teaches that our two basic needs are to give and receive love, and to feel worthwhile to oneself and others.)

+ Crabb’s ideas, drawn from Adlerian psychology, that we develop convictions (beliefs) about how to best meet our needs, and that these convictions can be either healthy or unhealthy, seem sound.

+ His beliefs that Christians should move through Maslow’s first 4 stages on “wheels of faith” and that their needs for security and significance should be rooted in God rather than in the “reflected appraisals” of other human beings are thought-provoking. There seems to have been some change in his thinking on this issue. Earlier books seemed to focus on the idea that, for the obedient Christian, these needs could be met to a significant degree here on earth. Later books (e.g., Inside Out, Help for the Hurting, Finding God) seem to emphasize the fact that there is much pain and longing here on earth, even for the obedient believer, and that this pain and these longings sometimes will not be met until we get to heaven.

+ Crabb talks about three categories of “human thirst”–longings for physical comfort (represented by an outer circle), longings for relationships with people (a middle circle), and longings for God (an inner circle). He suggests people try to meet their longings from the outside in, but that true fulfillment comes from having our longings met from the inside out.

+ His theory of a four circle model of human personality is thoughtful and interesting. It identifies four important dimensions/processes in human functioning.

− In one of his earlier books Crabb states: “Christians never operate from a deficit, but rather from fullness (EBC, p. 84).” Even though one might say that Christians never need to operate from a deficit, many Christians do seem to operate from a deficit, even though they may not need to if they truly understood their acceptance in Christ. (In light of the tone Crabb has taken in his later books (e.g., IO, Help), it would be interesting to see whether he would still agree with the quotation from EBC given above.)

− Crabb says that God works on the conscious mind through the Bible, and Satan works on the unconscious mind. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that God works on both the conscious and unconscious mind, and Satan does also.

III. Theory of Development

+ Crabb’s integration of Adlerian theory and cognitive psychology provides several important advantages. (1) It gives a historical (developmental), a present-oriented, and a future-oriented (teleological) focus. (2) It recognizes the importance of both conscious processes and those that lie below the level of conscious awareness. (3) The concept of soft-determinism presents a middle path between hard determinism (with consequent lack of personal responsibility) and the opposite view that people consciously choose each behavior they perform.

± His theory of foolishness is interesting, and perhaps can be one focus of a theory of development, although it is important to recognize that a comprehensive theory of development would need to address other areas as well, e.g., physiological, cognitive, moral, characterological development, etc.

± Crabb’s recent emphasis on the importance of healthy connections with other human beings is compatible with the focus of ego-attachment theory, a theory in which there is a resurgence of interest recently. However, Crabb fails to connect his theory explicitly with ego-attachment theory, or bring out any of the rich insights that ego-attachment theory might make to his theory.

IV. Theory of Individual Differences

+ This category is not addressed comprehensively in one place within his books. Probably if asked, he would say that genetic materials determine our potentials and predispositions, and that our history, our sin nature, the convictions we develop, and the degree to which we are operating from four full circles, all combine to produce our unique personality.

± In Inside Out (IO) he also makes the distinction between shallow copers (those who ignore the inward ache and corruption and get on, more or less effectively with life), and troubled reflectors (those who are gripped by an awareness that something is terribly wrong and struggle in their efforts to move along through life). Putting everyone into one of these two categories seems a bit pessimistic. Is there no healthier alternative than these two states? [cf. Rom. 7:7-8:2. In this passage the Apostle Paul describes how we will never be totally victorious over our sin nature in this life. Nevertheless, he goes on to state: “There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The Apostle Paul sounds like neither a shallow coper nor a troubled reflector.]

V. Theory of Health

+ Crabb’s theory of four full circles recognizes that healthiness includes both the content of what we say to ourselves as well as the healthiness with which we process what we are experiencing (i.e., healthiness means that our ego defenses are not significantly distorting nor repressing accurate self-awareness).

+ He recognizes that changing unhealthy residual effects of past (e.g., wrong assumptions and convictions and the behavior patterns that result from them) is important in moving toward health.

+ Crabb has thoughtful descriptions (in Understanding People) of what healthy people look like. They are people who enjoy God deeply, feel his presence in their lives, are able to live openly and vulnerably with others, can withstand the pain that inevitably comes with such deep involvement, they recognize their dependence and are willing to live with uncertainty, and when they make mistakes, they recognize and repent of them.

+ He believes that simply having all one’s cognitions and behavior correct will not automatically lead to a life of happiness and contentment.

+ Crabb asserts that some of what looks like healthy Christian living may actually be a life of pretense, where there is too much use of denial and repression to deal with the unacceptable within us.

? Crabb states: “Beneath the surface of everyone’s life, especially the more mature, is an ache that will not go away. . . An aching soul is evidence not of neurosis or spiritual immaturity, but of realism. . . There is no escape from an aching soul, only denial of it . . . The effect of widespread pretense, whether maintained by rigidly living on the surface of life or by being consumed with emotionalism, has been traumatic for the Church. Rather than being salt and light, we’ve become a theologically diverse community of powerless Pharisees, penetrating very little of society because we refuse to grapple honestly with the experience of life. . . When we reflect deeply on how life really is, both inside our souls and outside in the world, a quiet terror threatens to overwhelm us” (IO, pp. 14-15).

Some would say that this is an unflinchingly honest description of what true spiritual maturity is, and that most of us live our lives in partial or significant denial. Others would assert that this seems to be an overly-dysphoric characterization of the Christian life–that through Christ there is the possibility of substantial healing for pain from the past, and a substantial sense that Christ is with us each day to go with us through the difficulties we face.

VI. Theory of Pathology

+ Crabb makes a helpful distinction between desires and goals (cf. Albert Ellis’ “I must have . . . . to be happy.”)

+ His diagrams and theory of pathology are thought-provoking and integrative. He suggests a relational etiology for all non-organically-caused psychopathology: “Every non-organically caused problem has its deepest roots in compromised [imperfect] love” (IO, p. 187). For example, anorexics, depressed persons, homosexuals, all were loved imperfectly (because no human parent can love perfectly), and as a result they developed mistaken beliefs about how to best meet their longings for relatedness and impact. Because it is painful to fully realize how much we desire deep acceptance from others, we develop a self-protective style of relating designed to help us avoid the experience of deep personal pain that would occur if we were fully honest and then people rejected us. These self-protective attitudes and behaviors, which keep us from being honest and deeply reaching out to people, are also sinful (IO, pp. 116-117). His discussions on the sin of self-protection and the sin of demandingness are interesting.

+ Crabb’s discussion of personal sin in producing relational problems is very thought-provoking, as are his ideas that confronting sin in Christians’ lives occurs preferably in the thought level (the self-centered orientation we bring to each situation), rather than focusing primarily on compliance with external behavioral codes. (Compliance in our external behavior is also important, but the core of sin is at a deeper level.)

− While there is a recognition that some psychological disorders have a biological etiology, his theory regarding the many kinds of psychological disorders, both those with primarily biological causation and those with combined biological/psychological causation, seems relatively undeveloped.

− Should we understand compulsive sin as the result of the transformation of our crucial longings (longings for God) into sin (IO, pp. 94-96)? Or is the “compulsivity” simply the result of the powerful pull inherent in some kinds of sinful stimulation (such as some sexual temptations)?

? Crabb seems to suggest (e.g., M&W) that behavior is caused either because people are wounded psychologically or because of sinful self-centeredness. Is it possible that there is a third motivation, e.g., legitimate God-given needs that are not in and of themselves sinful? (e.g., “It is not good that man be alone. I will make a companion for him.” Cf. also 1 Cor. 7 for legitimate, God-given sexual desires.).

If there is this third category, then all behavior is not motivated either by psychopathology or sin. It is possible that if our fulfillment of legitimate, God-given desires is not met, we might resort to sinful behavior (e.g., verbal aggression or verbal manipulation, etc.) to try to get them met. In that case the behavior was sinful, even though the need that motivated it may not have been.

VII. Theory of Cure

+ Has three good foundational assumptions (Understanding People) about Christian counseling. (1) The Bible does not give a complete answer for every counseling problem but gives a framework for thinking about every problem. (2) A relationship with Christ gives important resources for resolving psychological problems. (3) The body of Christ provides an important context for working through problems in the Christian life.

+ Crabb’s theory of counseling flows logically from his theories of personality, motivation and pathology.

+ His theory of counseling integrates much of secular theory into a comprehensive framework.

+ Crabb recognizes that we should not counsel everyone the same way. We need to adjust our counseling styles to our clients’ unique personalities.

+ His model has emotional, cognitive, and behavioral components.

+ Crabb’s model integrates Scripture with Adlerian and cognitive psychology.

+ His theory includes several thoughtful critiques of nouthetic counseling.

+ Crabb has an interesting concept that Christian counseling is different from secular counseling in terms of being “over” (to obedience) and “up” (toward sanctification). However, he also stresses that it is much more than compliance to a code of external behaviors–it is full recognition of how our sin nature constantly influences all our behavior.

+ He has a balanced critique of the tendency within some contemporary therapy to focus on “victimhood.” Because we live in a world filled with sinful and imperfect people, we are all “victims” from time to time, and therapists will need to spend time dealing with that pain in their counselees. But we are also all victimizers, and it is equally important that we recognize and deal with that. Either an unwillingness to spend any time dealing with the pain a counselee has about being victimized or an unduly-long emphasis on being victimized without a recognition that we are all victimizers can be equally unhealthy (IO, p. 132).

− Crabb seems at times to fail to recognize that needing support and affirmation from other humans is part of the biblically-recognized condition (e.g., Gen. 2:18, 1 Cor. 12:21-22, Rom. 12:3ff.). Because of our sinful condition we can shift too much of our emotional dependency for feeling healthy from God onto people, but there is a level of dependency on others that is neither sinful nor unbiblical.

- Because his theory of pathology is not thoroughly developed with regard to the multiplicity of various kinds of disorders, his theory of cure is correspondingly not as developed as it might be.

VIII. Therapeutic Techniques

+ Crabb encourages the use of an eclectic, comprehensive set of techniques.

+ He recognizes that techniques can be used in a variety of ways, and what they do can be conceptualized in a variety of ways. Therefore, it is possible to use a technique developed by someone from a different theoretical orientation (even an orientation with which one disagrees) by reconceptualizing and modifying how one uses the technique.

+ The variety of approaches he recommends are compatible with Jesus’ Style of Relating as described by David Carlson. Carlson shows that Jesus encouraged the downcast, strengthened the frightened, taught those who needed teaching, and confronted those who needed confrontation. Jesus did not use one method with everyone.

± The one-year program which Crabb developed at Colorado Christian University (CCU) is sufficient to learn to use Crabb’s model well. However, it’s probably not long enough to teach a person the variety of theories and methods they will need if they wish to become licensed professional counselors. If a Christian is only going to learn one theory of counseling, Crabb’s is probably an excellent choice, but most Christian counselors will probably need to learn a variety of approaches in order to pass national competency exams and be licensed. (Clarification: CCU has now broadened their program to two years and expanded the curriculum so that it is more suited to preparing students for licensure.)

± Crabb’s recent emphasis on “eldering”: It is good for Christians to be compassionately involved with each other when possible. However, I have several major questions about the viability of his model of laypersons ever doing a significant amount of the counseling now done by professional Christian counselors.

(1) In today’s world of downsizing, Christians do not usually have enough time to be deeply involved in the lives of their spouses and children, much less to have intensive relationships with those outside their family. Most people will only be able to spend this kind of intensive time with people if it is part of their vocation.

(2) Most Christians are not trained in facilitation skills, the skills necessary to help a person let down their ego defenses and explore their own deep thoughts, feelings and goals. Nor are they trained in therapeutic confrontation–how to confront in ways that do not raise defensiveness. While a few people may have developed these skills naturally, most Christians, even mature Christians, haven’t. Crabb repeatedly recognizes that church pastors and elders don’t do a very good job of counseling now. They are likely to confront, moralize, spiritually mumble, practice amateur therapy, or give good old-fashioned advice (Hope, p. 173). Does he really think he can change these ingrained ways of responding into something more therapeutic in a few hours in a weekend seminar?

(3) Our counseling is dependent on our models of what causes people to be psychologically unhealthy, what a healthy person should look like, and how to help an unhealthy person become healthier. I fear that the majority of lay Christians have rather simplistic models in all three areas, models which Crabb himself rejects as inadequate (e.g., IO, pp. 45-47, 52).

(4) Would any of us feel competent to counsel after taking one course in counseling, which is three times as long as the typical amount of time Crabb spends training elders?

(5) There are several issues about “dual relationships” which are not addressed when counseling is done by one’s peers and fellow church members, e.g.

(A) Most clients are reluctant to tell fellow church members deeply personal struggles. They would rather tell someone who is pledged to confidentiality and who has no other relationship to them.

(B) Many peer counselors will be reluctant to therapeutically confront a peer because of not wanting to affect the relationship/friendship.

(C) If counseling “doesn’t work” it may harm relationships within the church.

(6) It has been assumed that clients choose counselors on the basis of the severity of their difficulties. Paul Mauger, a Christian psychologist, tested this assumption using the MMPI to identify seriousness of pathology. He found no differences in pathology level of those who chose psychiatrists, psychologists, Master’s-level counselors, pastors, or lay counselors. Therefore we cannot assume that people who have serious problems will not go to elders who have very little training.

(7) Many counseling problems, even when done by skilled therapists, take from 10 to 20 sessions to resolve (See Clinical Handbook of Psychological Disorders (2014) edited by David Barlow. The average number of sessions needed to treat most of the psychological problems in the book, even when done by the world’s leading therapists, is 15.) When done by novice therapists without professional training they may take even longer. I am concerned that the typical elder will tire of counseling most persons long before that. In their impatience they may stop counseling before it has achieved its desired result, or they may accuse the client of being unmotivated.

(8) The large Consumer Reports study of counseling (Seligman, 1995) found that the briefer counseling is, the more likely it is that clients will be dissatisfied with it and will believe that it did not help them achieve their objectives. By virtue of the limited training Crabb gives elders, and the fact that they are doing this counseling in addition to their work, family and church responsibilities almost guarantees that it will be short-term counseling.

(9) In order to counsel effectively, most elders would need expansion of their models of pathology, health, and therapeutic growth processes, the kind of training usually only received in a professional counseling program.

(10) To say this in a slightly different way, I believe Crabb’s goal (in Connecting) is right—we become healthy to the degree that we can participate in healthy relationships. And I believe his plan is partially right—the church could do more to foster such relationships. However, I believe the psychopathology that often produces difficulties forming healthy relationships (maladaptive schemas, selective attention, misattributions, less than healthy expectancies, unrealistic expectations of oneself and others, cognitive avoidance mechanisms) is more complicated than most committed laypersons, or even elders, are equipped to deal with.

People do have difficulty forming and keeping relationships because of maladaptive core beliefs or schemas. However, they are unlikely to change core beliefs just by talking with a layperson who has no understanding of maladaptive schemas and automatic thoughts that keep a person from trusting and sharing deeply.

If the above statement is true (i.e., that people have difficulty forming and keeping relationships because of maladaptive core beliefs and schemas), then it is important that counselors be trained in both ego attachment theory (which helps them and their clients understand the historical reasons why they may have difficulty “connecting”), and cognitive-behavioral therapy (which is probably the most efficient way to help them understand and change the automatic thoughts, intermediate beliefs, and core beliefs that keep them from connecting. Unfortunately, Crabb’s weekend program does not give elders in-depth training in either ego-attachment theory or cognitive-behavioral therapy.

− His model does not teach skills, such as communication skills, conflict-resolution skills, assertiveness training skills, job search skills, time management skills, decision-making skills. For at least some clients, they will need skill-training in addition to changing internal thought processes and goals.

‒ In his latest books Crabb has become increasingly negative about the possibility that counseling can help people resolve most of the more significant problems with which they deal. This premise is open to dispute, since between 80 and 92% of people who go to counselors affirm that through counseling their problems have been solved or significantly improved (Nathan & Gorman, 2015, A Guide to Treatments that Work).

- Crabb is a brilliant theoretician and therapist. He also has insights about people based on decades of academic study of psychology, theology, and the practice of psychotherapy. I don’t think, when he asserts that mature elders can do counseling, that he fully appreciates the difference between himself and the average church elder.

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of Minirth and Meier

Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Updated 2023

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Introduction:

1. The 12-step model has been used in several treatment approaches since its original development by Alcoholics Anonymous. It continues to be used in groups such as AA and also other substance abuse problems. It has also been used by some psychiatrists and psychologists in treating other mental health problems, and these practitioners have often integrated psychological insights into the 12 Steps. One of the most well-known of these approaches was developed by Minirth and Meier, so I will use their approach to discuss psychotherapy approaches using the 12 Steps.

2 The Minirth-Meier approach should not be limited to the Twelve Step approach described in The Path to Serenity. Other aspects of their theory are found in books such as Happiness is a Choice (1978), Introduction to Psychology and Counseling (1982, 1991), Love Hunger: Recovery from Food Addiction (1989), Love is a Choice (1989), and We are Driven: The Compulsive Behaviors America Applauds (1991). Several of these books have been coauthored with Dr. Robert Hemfelt, a Christian psychologist.

3. The first eight points of a comprehensive counseling theory can be subdivided into:

a. points that primarily describe a personality theory (theory of structure, motivation, development, individual differences, and health), and

b. points that primarily describe a counseling theory (theory of illness, theory of cure, and therapeutic techniques).

4. The theory developed in Path to Serenity is primarily a counseling theory. There is less emphasis on construction of a detailed personality theory.

5. The Twelve Step approach of Alcoholics Anonymous was started as a lay approach to helping people struggling with alcoholism. There have been at least three major modifications of this original use. First, in the last forty years we have seen the gradual integration of concepts from psychotherapy into the working out of the Twelve Steps. The Minirth-Meier book represents one example of this kind of integration. Second, we have seen the Twelve Step model applied to several other kinds of problems, including drug addiction, food addictions, sexual addictions, work addictions, exercise addictions, addiction to approval from others, control addictions, addictions to perfectionism, etc. Minirth and Meier, in their various books, have followed this trend (see pp. 35-36). Third, Minirth and Meier clearly assert that the God mentioned in the Twelve Steps should be identified as the God of the Bible. Alcoholics Anonymous has used the phrase “God as you understand him” because they say that not everyone is willing to embrace the God of Christianity at the beginning of their treatment. Many people who start the AA program with ambivalence toward God do come to accept the God of the Bible eventually.

6. If a trend is evident, there seems to have been a trend in Minirth and Meier’s more recent books to using a Twelve-Step Model to explain more of the struggles Christians face.

7. This summary is primarily drawn from The Path to Serenity. Unless otherwise noted, page numbers represent page numbers from that book.

8. As you may be aware, Minirth and Meier are no longer partners. Frank Minirth started his own organization, and Paul Meier joined Steve Arterburn to form the New Life Clinics. Therefore this or more accurately a summary of the 12 Step Approach formerly promoted by Minirth, Meier, and their associates.

I. Theory of Structure: Minirth and Meier indicate that they endorse a holistic, rather than a dichotomous or trichotomous model of human beings (Introduction to Psychology and Counseling, Second Edition, p. 41).

II. Theory of Motivation:

A. They believe that human beings have three basic needs: (1) for self-esteem, (2) for relationships with others, and (3) for a relationship with God.

B. People attempt to achieve serenity (or self-esteem) through some control addiction–some way of giving them a sense of control over their lives.

C. Those attempts to achieve control over their emotional life may include dependence on alcohol, drugs, food, sexual experiences, perfectionism (either of a secular or religious variety, i.e., legalism), career achievements, codependency, controlling others, etc.

D. The factor these all have in common is that they are attempts to satisfy internal needs or feelings by manipulating external events, people, or things.

E. The choice of an addiction is usually made unconsciously and shaped by factors and experiences in one's family of origin.

F. The addiction causes an obsession–the mental preoccupation or craving to control something or someone (p. 5).

G. The obsession leads to a compulsion–a drivenness in some area of one's behavior that lives out or acts out the mental obsession (p. 5).

H. Paradoxically, the attempt to achieve emotional control through one of these addictions often sends one’s life dangerously out of control.

I. People sometimes choose other people for life partners who have corresponding addictions–the person with an addiction to rescuing chooses a person with an addiction to being rescued.

J. As people's addictions threaten to push their lives out of control, they may be caught in the precarious situation of believing they can no longer continue to live with their addiction, but they also cannot let go of it, for they have no alternative strategy by which to live (cf. the metaphor of the little girl on the merry-go-round who thought she had to get off, but was too frightened to do so).

III. Theory of Development

A. Based on our experiences in our family of origin, we develop beliefs about how we can best meet our needs for emotional security.

B. Those beliefs cause us to develop addictions (dependencies)–ways which we believe will cause our need for self-esteem to be met.

C. We come to replace God, who could best meet our emotional needs, with our dependencies.

D. Abusive relationships with our earthly parents cause us to have distorted pictures of our heavenly Father, and often convince us that He cannot meet the needs we have.

E. When our control addictions do not work, we may become further convinced we cannot trust God to meet our needs.

IV. Theory of Individual Differences

A. This approach does not attempt to explain all the reasons we are different from each other.

B. One important reason we are different from each other is that we develop different beliefs about how to meet our need for self-esteem (different control addictions).

C. Two other reasons we are different are that we have experienced different kinds of pain and developed various ways of dealing with our pain.

V. Theory of Health

A. This is best understood as the end result of going through the Twelve Steps.

B. People do not usually grow up healthy. They only become healthy by going through the recovery process themselves–learning to look to God (rather than the successful use of their addictions) to meet their need for emotional fullness and self-esteem.

C. The Twelve Step model does not just define health as the absence of pathology. It includes a positive description of health as well.

VI. Theory of Pathology

A. An addiction is anything that is done to change reality. It is an effort to alter interior moods and feelings (to meet our needs for emotional fullness and self-esteem) by manipulating or incorporating substances, people, and events from the outside.

B. The problem is not food or material goods or sex, the problem is that people are trying to meet an underlying spiritual or emotional hunger by use of an addictive agent (pp. 10).

VII. Theory of Cure

A. Steps 1-3: Surrender steps: surrendering our addiction and our efforts to control that addiction to God.

B. Steps 4-5: Spiritual and moral inventory steps: recognizing the damage our addiction may have done, and attempting to understand how we developed that addiction.

C. Steps 6-7: Miracle transformation steps: handing our character defects over to God.

D. Steps 8-9: Restitution steps: attempting to make amends to those we have harmed and to rebuild those relationships.

E. Steps 10-11: Daily maintenance steps: attempting to recognize distorted thinking (thinking that would perpetuate the addiction) and with God's help, attempting to change the distorted thinking and behavior.

F. Step 12: Transcendence and evangelism step: sharing our experience with others.

VIII. Therapeutic Techniques: The Twelve Steps

A. Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over our dependencies--that our lives had become unmanageable.

1. Hitting bottom–the first step in recovery.

2. People have different bottoms. For some it is:

a. a physical bottom (becoming so sick physically that we realize we must give up our dependency).

b. an emotional bottom (depression, anxiety, a nervous breakdown).

c. a spiritual bottom (realizing we have nothing substantial to give meaning and purpose to our lives).

d. a circumstantial bottom–some circumstance that is too much for us to ignore.

e. a relational bottom–some relationship that is very significant is seriously threatened.

3. Substeps within Step 1

a. Make a list of things that seem unmanageable.

b. Name our addiction(s). (The authors believe that many people have poly-addictions.)

c. Look at the losses resulting from our addiction(s).

d. Say our addiction(s) out loud.

e. Find a place where we will receive affirmation from others as we confess our addiction(s).

f. Accept ourselves at the same time as we recognize that we have become powerless to handle our dependency.

B. Step 2: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

1. “Insanity” in this step does not mean psychosis. It means attempting to maintain control of one's life through the use of the dependencies that have not worked in the past, expecting that this time they will work. It results in a sense of brokenness, incompleteness, or alienation from God.

2. Being restored to “sanity” means being restored to wholeness or healthiness by being restored to a right relationship to God.

3. Addictions can become false gods which we pursue and worship (without necessarily realizing that we are doing so).

C. Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

1. Recognizing our powerlessness and submitting our lives to God.

2. Coming to believe in a God big enough to do a miracle within our lives.

D. Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. A major purpose of Steps 4 and 5 is to identify and release the pain from the past so the person does not remain in a destructive lifestyle (p. 84). Substeps in Step 4 include the following:

1. Prepare for this experience with prayer

2. Tell our story, first on paper, and then to a carefully-selected group. Things to include are on pp. 88-89.

3. Acknowledge the full extent of our dependencies, codependencies, and addictions.

4. Discover the roots of our addictions (i.e., usually through abuse–active abuse, passive abuse, emotional incest, and negative messages).

5. Inventory the history of our major life relationships.

6. Identify our guilt feelings.

7. Look for the good that also occurred.

8. Make an inventory of our resentments.

9. Take the time necessary to do this step completely.

E. Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

1. Admit the exact nature of our wrongs to God, not to add to his knowledge, but for our own growth–letting go of pride, developing humility.

2. Admit the nature of our wrongs to ourselves and accept ourselves with compassion.

3. Recognize false guilt–guilt that may have come because of wrongs that others did to us that somehow we feel responsible for causing. Let go of that false guilt and the resentment for the wrongs of others that may have caused that false guilt.

4. Admit to another human being our faults and take adult responsibility for them.

5. Choose to live a life based on honesty.

6. Move out of loneliness and isolation.

7. Connect with another person on an intimate sharing level–choose a confessor and do a formal Fifth Step.

F. Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

1. Begin by recognizing the things within ourselves that need to be transformed.

2. The reason these characteristic ways of responding may be difficult to release is that often they served as survival mechanisms during childhood and may continue to reap psychological payoffs during adult life.

3. Recognize whether you have one of the six major personality defect patterns.

a. Chronic depression (low self-esteem)

b. Chronically anxious personality

c. The naive/passive personality

d. The compulsive/controlling/driven personality

e. The angry/explosive personality

f. The pathologically dishonest personality

4. Recognize that growth does not require us to give up our personality, but letting God remove only those parts that are unhealthy.

G. Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

1. We must admit that our character defects are major–not just minor mistakes or weaknesses.

2. We must give up our grandiosity–our tendency to see ourselves as far more magnificent and grand than we really are.

3. We must give up our belief that we have enough power within ourselves to transform our character defects.

4. We must recognize God's power to transform our lives.

5. A nine-point plan: see pp. 165-172.

H. Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

1. Make the list without worrying about whether you will actually go to all these people.

2. On your list include all primary and secondary victims of your addictions, including the next generation (your children).

3. Make a second list. This is a list of all persons with whom there are present relationship boundary problems. These include the following:

a. Violating the boundaries of others–being overly possessive, chronically fighting, constantly criticizing, being overly-controlling, or being physically, emotionally or spiritually abusive.

b. Allowing others to violate our boundaries without giving them honest feedback–by being overly submissive or playing the victim or martyr role

c. Having too thick or rigid boundaries, or

d. Having too fragile or nonexistent boundaries

I. Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

1. The purposes of making amends is to be reconciled to our own conscience, to God, and to other people.

2. Separate people into three groups: those to whom we should make amends immediately, those whom we should make amends later, and those whom we should never contact because it could open up relationships that should not be rekindled.

3. When there are people who have died or cannot be contacted because we have lost track of them consider using the empty chair technique, writing a letter that is not sent, or having a graveside dialogue.

4. For those people with whom there are ongoing boundary violations, see the nine-point plan for making living amends (pp. 202-209).

J. Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

1. Our ongoing personal inventory should include four major areas: physical (our bodies often tell us when something is wrong), emotional, relational, and spiritual.

2. Warning signs that we may be in danger of relapsing include anger building inside of us, excessive preoccupation with old addictive agents, beginning to rationalize old dependencies, isolation, hearing ourselves starting to use "stinking thinking."

3. Five steps to take when we realize we are in danger of relapse include acknowledging to self, another person and God the possibility of relapse, forgiving oneself, resetting necessary abstinence or balance boundaries, listen to what the relapse is trying to tell us, and recommitting ourselves to a revitalized recovery program.

4. We need to continue to count our blessings, not just our errors.

K. Step 11: Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

1. Recognize the thoughts that make us uncomfortable giving control to God, and dispute with those thoughts.

2. Make prayer and meditation a regular part of our lives.

L. Step 12: Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Critique of the Counseling Theory Implicit in the 12-Step Minirth-Meier Approach

Strengths

1. Strong commitment to the trustworthiness of Scripture as God’s Word.

2. Integrates concepts discovered by trained psychotherapists into the Twelve Steps, which initially was developed as a lay program.

3. Defines the God of the Twelve Steps as the God of the Bible. However, allows people to go at their own pace in accepting this definition of God.

4. Helps people view psychological problems from a spiritual perspective.

5. The approach integrates psychological and spiritual growth into a unified maturational process.

6. Holistic view of persons.

7. Interesting definition of psychological addiction: “An addiction is anything that is done to change reality. It is an effort to alter interior moods and feelings by manipulating or incorporating substances, people, and events on the outside” (Path to Serenity, p. 10).

8. Clear explanations of the Twelve Steps; good illustrations to help make the theoretical discussion more understandable and personally relevant.

9. Recognition that Bill W’s Christianity was not totally orthodox but good discussion of why we should not dismiss the valid truths he rediscovered just because some of what he believed may not have been sound.

10. The authors apply the Twelve Step model not only to people recovering from addictions or dependencies, but also to people suffering from codependency, and adult children of dysfunctional families.

11. Discussion of what happens in AA, Al-Anon, or ACOA meetings may help some people to become willing to attend them who would not be willing to otherwise because of stereotypes they hold.

12. List of addictions (pp. 35-36) is interesting, and helps people see that they can be unhealthily dependent on many activities other than alcohol or drugs. Discussion of religious addictions is interesting.

13. Breaking each of the Twelve Steps into the substeps necessary to carry it out provides a helpful roadmap for clients and counselors.

14. Good integration of material from the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions into material from the Big Book helps assimilate information from the Big Book.

15. Good clarification that a mild or moderate need for certain things (e.g., relatedness to others, a sense of some control over our lives, etc.) is not wrong, but it’s when these dependencies control us that they become unhealthy (p. 90).

16. Confirmation that there is authentic (true) guilt, and differentiation of this from false guilt (unnecessary shame).

17. Affirmation of the need for forgiveness to become psychologically healthy.

18. Material on developing assertiveness as a way of developing and maintaining healthy boundaries with others seems good.

Criticisms

1. Path to Serenity and some of the other Minirth-Meier books seem to suggest that the addiction/Twelve Step model can be applied to all psychopathology that does not have an organic base. Sometimes problematic behaviors may be related to love hunger, addictions, etc., but sometimes they may be related to triggering sequences unrelated to love hunger and dependencies. For example, some people overeat because of love hunger. Some people may overeat because they are unconsciously trying to meet spiritual needs through food. However, some people may overeat because they have developed unwise cognitive and behavioral habits related to food. Some people may overeat because food simply tastes good.

2. Part of their expansion of the recovery model to explain all psychological problems comes through Minirth, Meier, Hemfelt and Fowler’s definitions of obsessions and compulsions to embrace a non-standard description of both of these concepts. For example, the DSM-5 describes obsessions and compulsions in the following way:

“Obsessions are recurrent and persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are experienced as intrusive and unwanted, whereas compulsions are repetitive behaviors or mental acts that an individual feels driven to perform in response to an obsession or according to rules that must be applied rigidly. Some other obsessive-compulsive and related behaviors are also characterized by preoccupations and by repetitive behaviors or mental acts in response to the preoccupations.

“While the specific content of obsessions and compulsions varies among individuals, certain symptom dimensions are common in OCD, including those of cleaning (contamination obsessions and cleaning compulsions); symmetry (symmetry obsessions and repeating, ordering, and counting compulsions); forbidden or taboo thoughts (e.g., aggressive, sexual, and religious obsessions and related compulsions); and harm (e.g., fears of harm to oneself or others and related checking compulsions).

Obsessive-compulsive disorder in the DSM-5, and the obsessions and compulsions that are part of it, are almost certainly a brain-based disorder, that is, there is something wrong in the physical brain functioning that causes this disorder. It only occurs in a small portion of the population (approximately 2.5%), and the obsessions and compulsions are ego-dystonic. In contrast, the obsessions and compulsions that Minirth and Meier are discussing are psychologically-based (the result of adopting faulty beliefs about how to best meet one’s self-esteem needs), they are ego-syntonic (in that the person believes that a certain lifestyle is the best way to live–even though the anxiety that lifestyle creates may not be ego-syntonic), and they believe almost 100% of the population suffers from one or more of these obsessions and compulsions. It is important to recognize that Minirth and Meier are using the words “obsessions” and “compulsions” in non-standard ways when compared with the DSM-III-R, DSM-IV or DSM-5.

3. Similarly, Minirth and Meier’s expansion of their model to encompass all human beings rests on a non-traditional definition of addiction. Addiction usually refers to “the harmful effects of excessive reliance on drugs for pleasure and the relief of tension” (Sarason and Sarason, 1996, Abnormal Psychology, p. 398). In DSM-5 this is specified further in terms of either substance dependence or substance abuse. Minirth and Meier expand their definition of addiction to refer to many unhealthy cognitive activities or overt behaviors that many other therapists would simply identify as unwise or unhealthy choices, not as addictions.

4. We all grow up with at least some of our love hunger needs unmet. We all have at least a few unhealthy ways of thinking or behaving. The fact that both exist doesn’t mean the former causes the latter (this is the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy). [For those of you whose Latin is rusty, this is the logical fallacy that because B follows A, this must mean that A caused B.]

5. The Path to Serenity states: “Almost all dependent persons have lost their true identity because they grew up in dysfunctional families where they were forced to assume false survival roles (p. 83).” Since the authors suggest in other places that we all grow up with unhealthy dependencies, the implication is that everyone develops unhealthy dependencies because of dysfunctionality in their family of origin. An alternative possibility is that, because of our finiteness and our sin nature, we are all likely to become dysfunctional thinkers (i.e., placing our emotional dependencies on something other than God), regardless of our family of origin. Some unhealthy families exacerbate the dysfunctionality, but the fact that we grow into dysfunctionality is, at least for some people, a result of the human condition (our finiteness and sin nature), and not necessarily a reflection on our family. [It might still be true that the psychological and spiritual growth resulting from going through the Twelve Steps helps one grow out of that dysfunctionality, whatever its source.]

6. Their explanations of depression would raise questions for some in the psychological and psychiatric field, and sometimes even seem contradictory to other statements they make. Here are some of those statements:

a. “The Christian who is depressed is depressed because he is choosing (either out of ignorance of the Word or else on purpose) to be depressed, choosing not to live by God’s principles” (Happiness is a Choice, p. 133).

b. “People choose to be depressed for various reasons, for example, to punish themselves for guilt feelings, to manipulate their spouse or friends” (Choice, p. 13).

c. “Most human depression is the result of our own irresponsible behavior–our own irresponsible handling of our anger and guilt . . . The irresponsible action of holding grudges is what brings on the majority of depressions” (p. 44).

d. The psychoanalytic explanation that depression “is really our anger turned inward (Serenity, p. 139)” seems to me to be a simplistic explanation of anger. There may be other reasons that some people become depressed besides this reason.

e. “Most suicide threats are merely manipulative” (Choice, p. 32). I would argue that while some suicide threats are manipulative, other threats and actual attempts probably come because people lose hope that there is any way out of their present situation.

7. Similarly, their statements on abused women would probably be questioned by many male and female therapists, both outside as well as within the Christian field. Their statement was: “Whenever a battered wife comes seeking advice and consolation because her husband beats here up twice a week, our usual response is, ‘Oh, really? How do you get him to do that?’ In all the scores of cases of this nature that we have analyzed in depth, there was only one case in which the battered wife was not provoking (usually unconsciously) her explosive husband until he reached the boiling point (of course, this does not diminish the husband’s responsibility)” (Choice, p. 96). While both spouses may have been involved in the verbal interchange that escalated the conflict, this gives neither party the right to physically assault their partner. Most domestic abuse experts would strongly disagree with Minirth and Meier in their approach in this matter.

8. The identification of six major personality defect patterns (low self-esteem, chronically anxious, naive/passive, compulsive/controlling/driven, anger/explosive, and the pathologically dishonest personality, (Serenity, pp. 149-157) seems of limited value for two reasons:

a. These six defect patterns are not nearly as comprehensive as some other models (Compare with the cognitive-behavioral schemata of Jeffrey Young for a more comprehensive and helpful listing of personality defect patterns)

b. These are descriptions of end-states: it seems it would be more helpful to describe the dysfunctional thinking and/or behavior patterns that produce a particular end state within a person, rather than the end-state itself, since each person will have unique dysfunctional thinking and behavior patterns that cause them to reach that end state. Effective therapy focuses on identifying the cognitive processes involved in getting a person to that end-state, rather than the end-state itself.

9. The characterization of sexual promiscuity as meaning that one has too thick a personal boundary (p. 185) seems questionable. While for some exploitive males, sexual promiscuity may be a result of too thick a personal boundary (using people rather than relating to them in true intimacy), sexual promiscuity in many females (e.g., those with dependent, histrionic or borderline features) seems to be a result of too thin personal boundaries.

10. Similarly, the characterization that a perfectionist is someone who has too fragile personal boundaries seems questionable. Most therapists would probably characterize the perfectionist as someone whose boundaries are too thick and rigid.

11. Dan Allender, in the book Hope When You’re Hurting, (1996), co-written with Larry Crabb, says that the Recovery Movement is based on three questionable assumptions. Those questionable assumptions are: (a) Everyone is addicted to something, (b) No one ever becomes totally unaddicted, and (c) Freedom in (not from) addiction is a lifelong process of “doing the Steps” (pp. 114-119). Clearly Minirth and Meier have come down on the side of accepting the validity of these three assumptions for everyone.

12. Allender also has the following critique of the Recovery Movement, which would probably apply to secularized versions of the 12 Steps, but not to Minirth and Meier’s version. “The recovery movement was a legitimate effort to reform the church, [but in its secularized versions] it has become an alternative that has weakened our view of idolatry, systematized [the process of] sanctification (in the Twelve Steps), and removed some element of paradox and mystery. The recovery movement has created community on the basis of shared shame in specific addictions rather than on the basis of confessing that each of us is an adulterer and a murderer redeemed by Christ. In attempting to reform the church, the recovery movement has provided an alternative definition of what is wrong, what must happen to change, and how to remain in fellowship with God and others” (p. 116). Remember, this is a critique of secularized versions of the 12 Steps, and not of Minirth-Meier’s version of the Recovery process.

Concluding comment: Please do not infer from the length of this critique section that I am more critical of this theory than of other theories whose critiques have been shorter. The length of this critique is more because the criticisms take more words to explain than some other theories. I do agree with many of the premises of Minirth and Meier’s theory–namely, that we are all affected by sin, that sinful thinking about how to best meet our needs is often rooted in our experience in our families, and that there are many parallels between the 12 Steps and the process of Christian growth (i.e., sanctification). I think it would be better to avoid the words “addictions,” “obsessions,” and “compulsions,” in the ways these authors have used them because in the psychiatric literature of DSM-III, IV and 5 these words have come to mean different things than the definitions Minirth and his co-authors have given them. I also have serious disagreements with some of their printed statements about depression and wives abused by their husbands. So I would encourage Christian therapists to consider this model when it seems to apply (and would be helpful) to a specific client, but it probably should not be considered a complete explanation for all clients. And some of the comments about domestic violence and depression should definitely be questioned.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Latest revision: 2023

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Clarification of terminology: The term “biblical counseling” is used both by Larry Crabb and by the advocates of the nouthetic counseling to describe their theories. Both Crabb and nouthetic counselors use this title because they believe their counseling approach rests on a solid biblical foundation. Without taking a position on this issue of who can legitimately claim this title, in this paper “biblical counseling” will be used synonymously with “nouthetic counseling” to refer to the approach developed by Jay Adams and those who have adopted his approach.

The historical background of nouthetic counseling: Jay Adams, the founder of nouthetic counseling, was born and raised in Maryland, 18 and child of non-Christian parents. He became a Christian at 18 and started attending a Presbyterian church. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity from Reformed Episcopal Seminary (Bachelor of Divinity or Master of Divinity are the standard degrees for those entering the pastorate), followed by a Master’s degree in Greek.

After entering the ministry, Adams had his first crisis counseling experience, which he relates in the Preface to Competent to Counsel (1970). A man came to him facing impending death. Adams believed he failed to help the man, and decided he needed to become a more effective counselor.

Adams taught for 17 years at Westminster Seminary. As he read Freud and Rogers, he became convinced that what they were calling “sickness” was what Scripture called “sin.” He spent two months with O. Hobart Mowrer, who had developed an approach quite antithetical to the psychotherapy of the time (this was the 1960s). Mowrer taught that people feel guilty, not because of an overly-harsh superego (as Freud had asserted), but because they are guilty. To become healthy, he encouraged confession, accepting responsibility, and changing one’s behavior. Mowrer had been raised in the church but had abandoned his faith in the supernatural. He emptied Scriptural terms of any vertical dimension but did develop a moral model of psychotherapy that in several ways paralleled the moral model developed by William Glasser (Reality Therapy).

Based on his understanding of Scripture and the influence of Mowrer, Adams moved from a medical model of mental illness to a moral model. During this time he also earned a Ph.D. in Speech at the University of Missouri and an STM in Systematic Theology. He started the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF) in Laverock, Pennsylvania, which continues to serve as an educational and promotional center for nouthetic counseling.

Adams eventually moved to the California branch of Westminster, and for many years continued to write extensively about nouthetic counseling and serve as editor for a journal called initially The Journal of Pastoral Practice (now renamed The Journal of Biblical Counseling). He has written approximately 100 books and pamphlets on various aspects of nouthetic counseling. There are now several other authors who have written books on nouthetic counseling or supportive of the basic approach of nouthetic counseling, including Wayne Mack, Howard Eyrich, John MacArthur, Martin and Deidre Bobgan, John Broger, Ed Bulkley, and William Playfair. He completed his earthly journey on November 14, 2020. He was 91 years old.

Schools that have strong nouthetic counseling emphases include Westminster Theological Seminary (both the Philadelphia and Escondido campuses), The Master’s College and Seminary, Biblical Theological Seminary, and Southeastern and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminaries. Non-seminary-related educational programs that teach this approach include the Biblical Counseling Foundation (Rancho Mirage, CA), Faith Baptist Counseling Ministries and the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (both of Lafayette, IN), and the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (Laverock, PA).

The primary sources, unless otherwise noted, for the first part of this summary of nouthetic counseling are Competent to Counsel (Adams, 1970), The Christian Counselor’s Manual (Adams, 1973), and Introduction to Biblical Counseling (John MacArthur and Wayne Mack, Eds., 1994).

An excellent review of the history of nouthetic counseling is provided by David Powlinson in “Biblical Counseling in the Twentieth Century (Chapter 3) in Introduction to Biblical Counseling (MacArthur & Mack, 1994).

In the last several years a second generation of biblical counselors (a name they now prefer over nouthetic counselors) has arisen. While they maintain considerable continuity with the emphases and core beliefs of nouthetic counseling, they also differ in some of their thinking and emphases.

This first section will describe classical nouthetic counseling as taught by Jay Adams, and I will use the phrase nouthetic counseling to describe these ideas. The second generation of biblical counselors are not monolithic in their thinking, but in the second section of this summary I will describe some of the ways in which their thinking and writing has been changing from historical nouthetic counseling. I will also refer to their ideas by the phrase biblical counseling.

I. Presuppositions

A. Adams believes that humanistic theories have little to offer because they put human beings in the center of their theory rather than God. Because they start without recognizing the proper starting place for theories about humans, it is foolish to look outside the Bible to study the nature of humans.

B. Nouthetic and biblical counselors believe that the Bible is authoritative, relevant, and comprehensively sufficient to handle every counseling problem, based on II Timothy 3:16-17 and II Peter 1:3 (Adams, multiple places; MacArthur and Mack, 1994, p. ix, 57, etc.).

1. II Timothy 3:16-17 says: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work..”

2. II Peter 1:3 says: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him. . .” (italics added)

C. Nouthetic counselors make a clear differentiation between biblical counseling and Christian psychology, endorsing nouthetic counseling and rejecting Christian psychology. They reject the concept of integrating psychology and theology.

D. Nouthetic counselors reject the concept that psychological problems are caused by unmet needs, indwelling demons, unhealthy learning experiences, genetic predispositions, or inborn temperaments. Sin is the cause of human problems (MacArthur and Mack, 1994, p. 58).

E. Preaching and counseling are essentially the same activity: the differences are that counseling is directed at one individual at a time and focuses on the specific problems that individual is presenting, while preaching focuses on a group of individuals. The content, however, is the same.

F. Nouthetic and biblical counselors believe that the epistemological model of apprehending truth through general revelation and special revelation is flawed–only the latter category (special revelation, i.e., the Bible) can be accurately termed revelation. Therefore all “truths” discovered by humans through the study of the natural universe (often called “general revelation,” as in studies by scientists, physicians, psychologists, educators, etc.) should not legitimately be called “revelation” and as such are of questionable validity (pp. 68-78).

G. Nouthetic counselors believe that apart from salvation, no amount of counseling can resolve basic problems (p. 140). The nonbeliever cannot be counseled biblically (i.e., to move in biblical directions). All you can do is try to prepare them for salvation (p. 167). Counselees who are avowedly non-Christians must be told there is no true hope for them until they are born again (p. 199).

H. Nouthetic counselors believe that the basis of nearly every counseling problem is a doctrinal problem (p. 146).

I. Counseling is essentially discipleship training (p. 148).

J. Counselors should constantly confront clients with the demand to honor and glorify God (pp. 160-161).

K. We should look to the first man—Adam—before the Fall to see our potential. Christ is now our model of what a healthy human being should look like.

II. Theory of Structure

A. Adams believes humans have both a material and a non-material part.

B. He believes that the Gnostic view of humans (the spirit is good, the body is evil) is not biblical (this is a view implied in the theories of both Bill Gothard and Charles Solomon). Adams believes that our spiritual being is as cursed as our material being.

C. Calls his theory “duplex” rather than dichotomous because he wants to stress the unity of the two parts, while still remaining ontologically a dichotomist.

D. MacArthur and Mack’s (1994) book suggests that the dichotomous view has become the standard for the movement (see pp. 376-377). Nouthetic counselors believe that we are composed of a body and a soul/spirit. This assumption (that humans are only composed of two parts—there is no soul (psyche)—that is distinct from the spirit) is the basis for their later arguments that there is no category of psychological problems that are distinct from spiritual problems. Based on a duplex (or dichotomous) view of human beings, they argue that all problems are either bodily (physical) problems or spiritual problems; there is no valid category of “psychological” problems.

III. Theory of Motivation

A. Choice of lifestyle

1. There are two basic lifestyles humans can choose. The feeling-oriented lifestyle is one that is motivated by doing what feels good, or what one believes will feel good. The commandment-oriented lifestyle is one that is focused on glorifying God.

2. Adam and Eve could choose to live a feeling-oriented way of life or a commandment-oriented life toward God. They chose the former, and with that decision brought about the Fall.

B. Motivation through rewards (incentives) and punishments

1. Note that Adams uses the concept of reward in a very different way than most behavioral psychologists. Most psychologists view rewards as something behavioral (e.g., food, attention, something physically pleasurable, etc.) that increases the likelihood that the behavior it followed will be repeated.

2. According to Adams, our primary reward should be the knowledge that our life is pleasing to and glorifies God. Thus for Adams his idea that a reward is something cognitive, a concept that would not be compatible with Skinnerian behaviorism.

C. Motivate clients through modeling (as in Bandura) rather than through Skinnerian reinforcement

1. We as parents, church leaders or counselors should motivate by example. A given behavior can be put into practice only when you see it done.

2. Adams doesn’t agree with a Skinnerian approach to motivation for three reasons:

a. There is no confrontation with the Word

b. There is no dependence on the Holy Spirit

c. There are no absolute standards of right and wrong.

IV. Theory of Development

A. Personality is the sum total of all that one is through nature (genetic potentials) and nurture (life experience). Personality development depends on a person’s willingness to be shaped by God.

B. Habits

1. Habits are a foundational part of Adams’ theory of development. His understanding of habits is based on the theories of William James and Gordon Allport.

2. According to Adams, habits are initially conscious acts that are repeated enough times that they eventually occur automatically and unconsciously. Habitual living is a God-given ability–we couldn’t live without routine.

3. Adams’ biblical basis for this theory is II Peter 2:14 “being trained in godliness” (godly habits). If humans practice what God wants them to do, the obedient life (commandment-oriented lifestyle) becomes part of them.

4. Sanctification can be understood as putting off the feeling-oriented lifestyle and putting on the commandment-oriented one.

V. Theory of Individual Differences: Adams doesn’t develop an explicit theory of individual differences. A theory of individual differences is implicit in his writing. There are four basic concepts that form a rudimentary theory of individual differences:

A. Spiritual state: unbelievers versus believers

B. Specialized group: (each group has typical problems they will present)

1. Children: will usually present with problems related to parents and teachers.

2. Older children and young singles: will usually present with problems related to parents and the opposite sex.

3. Older singles: Major problem–resenting not being married.

4. Married people: problems with spouse and in-laws.

5. Older people: loneliness.

6. Handicapped persons: self-pity and resentment toward God.

7. Knowing what group people are in helps us recognize what problems they are likely to have.

C. Spiritual gifts (Adams’ theory of spiritual gifts is most fully developed in The Christian Counselor’s Manual, 1973, Chapter 30).

1. Human beings have one or more gifts.

2. Counselors should help counselees

a. Realize everyone is gifted

b. Discover what their gift(s) are

c. Find a proper place for the exercise of their gift

d. Recognize their gift is to be exercised for the benefit of the whole body of believers

e. Help the counselee appreciate his or her own gift(s).

D. Sins and dodges:

1. We are all sinners. We attempt to dodge the guilt and effects of our sins in various ways.

2. The combination of our sins and our dodges are an important component making up our unique personality style.

E. Thus people differ from one another because of their spiritual state, the group they are in, the spiritual gifts they have (and how they view and use those gifts), the sinful patterns they engage in, and the way they deal with or attempt to dodge the effects of their sins.

VI. Theory of Health: As with many other counseling theories developed in the 1960s and before, Adam’s major focus is on developing a theory of pathology rather than a theory of health. He would probably say that a healthy person is one who is committed to living a commandment-oriented lifestyle out of love for God.

VII. Theory of Pathology

A. Adams believes the medical model of mental illness is both inaccurate and ineffective.

B. He would summarize the medical model of mental illness in the following way:

1. Patients have psychological illnesses that are analogous to physical illnesses.

2. They are not responsible for their illnesses.

3. They are not responsible for getting well on their own.

4. They need the expert care of a physician (or in this case a psychiatrist or psychologist).

C. In contrast, the primary assertions of the moral model of Mowrer and Glasser (which is basically adopted by Adams) include:

1. Patients’ problems are moral.

2. Their problem is not an overly-strict conscience, but that they repeatedly violate it.

3. Patients suffer from real guilt (not false guilt).

4. To get better, patients must stop blaming others and accept responsibility for their own behavior.

5. Clients’ problems will be solved, not by ventilation of feelings, but by confession of sin.

D. Adams believes there is an iatrogenic (physician-caused) pathology caused by the medical model

1. By causing abolition of conscience standards, counselors only make guilt worse.

2. By removing feelings of responsibility, counselors remove hope of being able to change.

E. An overview of Adams’ theory of the etiology of emotional problems.

There are three possible sources of problems:

1. Physical causes: e.g., injury, disease, or genetic causes

2. Demonic

3. Hamartiagenic (sin-caused)

4. There is no category of psychologically-caused abnormal behavior, i.e., problems caused by our past history or by psychological processes that operate below the level of conscious awareness (and therefore beyond the control of the person).

a. People (aside from those with organic problems), are in psychiatric hospitals because of their unforgiven and unaltered sinful behavior (Adams, 1970, xvi).

b. People are responsible for their behavior. They get in trouble because their behavior is irresponsible. Freudian therapy fails to help because it provides a pseudoscientific rationale which irresponsible people use to continue to justify their behavior.

c. The cause of human problems is either organic or sin, but not mental illness (1970, p. 29). What they have are unsolved personal problems.

d. People have dysphoric feelings (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger) because of their sinful behavior. Feelings flow from actions (1970, p. 93). People feel guilty because they are guilty (1994, p. 104).

5. Everything non-organic is spiritual (i.e., the result of personal sin): Counselors need to recognize we’re engaged in spiritual warfare.

a. However, Adams believes demon possession is rare. Adams subscribes to the amillennial theory that Satan and his demons were bound, bruised, curtailed and restrained at the time of Christ’s death and resurrection (Rev. 16:14; 20:7-10, II Thess. 2:9-12). Satan and his demons are prohibited from wholesale deceit now.

b. Demonic oppression or possession doesn’t happen now for Christians because Satan and the Holy Spirit can’t co-exist, although oppression or possession can occur in non-believers.

c. Adams believes that labeling problem behavior in Christians as the result of demonic oppression or possession is incompetent counseling. It leads to the following results:

(1) Since problems are due to sinful behavior of people, giving them an incorrect diagnosis of the cause of their problems complicates the issue.

(2) It produces hopelessness and despair.

(3) It shifts the focus from the clients’ responsibility to that of demons.

6. Hamartiagenic (non-demonic) causes of pathology

a. Adam and Eve’s choice of a feeling-oriented lifestyle rather than a commandment-oriented lifestyle led to the Fall. The same choice leads people today to reject God and the principles He has given to us in Scripture.

b. Rejection of God’s principles causes internal and external consequences.

c. In order to deal with the painful internal consequences (depression, guilt, anxiety) we develop patterns of avoidance (these function, according to Adams, similarly to defense mechanisms, i.e., they allow us to function even though we are experiencing anxious feelings, but they operate at a more conscious level, and therefore humans are responsible for what they do with them).

d. In order to deal with the painful external consequences we develop ways to shift the blame–dodges or blameshifting [cf. how Adam and Eve engaged in dodges– Adam attempted to shift the blame to Eve (and to God for creating Eve), and Eve attempted to shift the blame to the serpent].

e. Problems can be identified at three levels

(1) Preconditioning problem: the underlying habit pattern.

(2) Performance problem: the present behavioral manifestation of the long-term habit. This can be either doing something one shouldn’t be doing, or not doing something one should be doing.

(3) Presentation problem (presenting problem): the presenting behavior or feeling that results from the performance problem. For example, Ginny has learned to be passive-aggressive in her intimate relationships (the preconditioning problem), which causes angry conflicts in her marriage (performance problem), and she comes to counseling complaining of depression (the presenting problem).

7. Example: The Case of Leo Held (see Adams, 1970, p. 26). This is the story of a man who had a series of interpersonal difficulties–with neighbors, fellow-drivers, and co-workers, which eventually ended in a shooting spree. He might be diagnosed today as having paranoid personality disorder. Adams raised the question of whether Held’s problem was that he had a legitimate psychological illness, or was it that he had developed the sinful habit of nursing resentments? Adams opts for the second explanation.

8. Second example: Steve (Adams, 1970, pp. 31-32). Steve was a college student who spent too much time on activities other than his studies, then began to act bizarrely to distract attention from his poor grades. He was diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia. Adams concluded that Steve was simply trying to camouflage his irresponsible behavior (not studying enough) by acting as if he had a serious mental illness.

9. Third example: Mary (Adams, 1970, pp. 33-35). Mary was diagnosed with manic-depressive illness (now called Bipolar Disorder). Adams concluded that this was just a cover for her guilt about an adulterous relationship with her neighbor.

10. In all three examples Adams seems to be suggesting that people act as if they have some serious mental illness in order to cover some sinful or irresponsible behavior in which they have engaged.

VIII. Theory of Cure

A. Adam’s model of cure follows from his view of pathology. There are three main elements:

1. Counselees have problems resulting from sin that must be resolved God’s way.

2. These problems must be resolved by verbal confrontation using the Scriptures.

3. The resolution must be done out of love for counselees, and to help them love God and enjoy Him in their lives

B. Counseling is essentially helping clients become sanctified (grow spiritually) (Adams, 1970, p. 73).

C. The Holy Spirit is the source of all genuine personality change that involves the sanctification of the believer (p. 21).

D. To be led by the Spirit (Ga. 5:18) means to be led by the teachings of Scripture (nouthetic counselors would reject hearing directly from the Spirit (through either the gifts of the Spirit or through something such as healing of memories or journaling) as either not being for today (in the case of gifts of the Spirit) or as being too mystical (as in healing of memories or journaling).

E. The biblical counselor should focus on what the counselee is doing, not why. Asking counselees why they are doing something gives them opportunities to engage in ego defenses, dodges, and blame-shifting.

F. The biblical counselor should use authoritative instruction–directive, nouthetic techniques.

G. The goal of biblical counseling is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

H. Depressed people whose symptoms fail to show any sign of a biochemical root should be counseled based on the assumption that they are depressed by guilt (Adams, 1970, p. 126).

I. “Mental breakdowns” are really breakups (cited by Adams with approval from Dabrowski, Positive Disintegration). Breakdowns are an opportunity to restructure response patterns in a healthier way than ever before (p. 171).

J. The counselor should help the counselee identify desire-oriented decisions and reject them in favor of commandment-oriented decision-making. The client must be taught to ask not “What do I want?” but “What does God want?” (Adams, 1973, p. 122).

K. Comparison with other forms of counseling

1. Adams claims that counseling theories include implicit, if not explicit, theological stances

2. Rogerianism, for example, teaches that God is not needed in solving humanity’s problems, at the core humans are essentially good, the solution to human problems lies in the realization of our own inner potential, and the goal of counseling is to make human beings autonomous. All of these are theological statements.

3. Adams asserts that Freudianism and behaviorism also include implicit or explicit theological stances.

4. Important conclusion: Adams believes that the counseling methodology grows out of the counseling philosophy: therefore we must reject both.

a. “The non-directive role violates the pastors’ convictions, his conscience and his calling. He acts as if God had nothing to say to the counselee” (1970, p. 78).

b. “Rogerianism, therefore, must be rejected in toto. Every remnant of this humanistic system exalting man as autonomous must be eradicated. The basic premises lead to the methodology. Reject the one and you [must] reject the other” (p. 103).

L. Who should be counseling?

1. Adams believes that II Timothy 3:16-17 teaches that Scripture gives us all the data necessary for the Christian to be fully equipped for Christian living.

2. Scripture says nothing about psychological problems. What we have labeled psychological problems, Scripture labels as sin. Man’s problems are moral ones, not psychological ones. Therefore counseling should be done by the pastor. Psychologically-trained persons have no legitimate place in counseling (Adams, Answers to Questions, pp. 15-18).

IX. Therapeutic Techniques

A. Get basic biographical data using the Personal Data Inventory (1994, pp. 387-390).

B. Get concrete data about problems

C. Stress what the counselee is doing rather than why (asking Why questions invites clients to rationalize).

D. Distinguish preconditioning, performance and presentation (presenting) problem.

E. Take a behavioral history to identify habitual (particularly unbiblical) response patterns.

F. Problems must be assessed and solutions offered based on God’s perspective, not from the client’s (Reason: We tend to evade looking at the consequences of our sin by minimizing, dodging, and blame-shifting).

G. Adams states: “The more directive I became (simply telling counselees what God required of them), the more people were helped. Spelling out and getting commitments to Biblical patterns of behavior after an acknowledgment of and repentance for sin seemed to bring relief and results” (1970, p. xiii; 1973, pp. 16-17).

H. “His [the pastor’s] Christian presuppositions must at all times control the interview” (1970, p. 86).

I. “The Book of Proverbs exhorts the young man to listen to others rather than depend upon his own ideas: ‘Do not rely on your own insight’ (3:5). Words could hardly be more anti-Rogerian” (1970, p. 99).

J. Check the counselee’s motivation: Ultimately it must be loving obedience done because God says this is what should be done.

K. Insist on obedience regardless of how one feels.

L. Restructure the way a counselee talks: The recommended biblical counselor responses (CR) to typical counselee statements (CE) are given below: (From Adams, 1973, p. 451):

CE: “I can’t!”

CR: “Do you mean you can’t or won’t?” or “God says that you can.”

CE: “I have done everything that I could.”

CR: “Everything? What about . . . .”

CE: “I’ve tried that but it didn’t work.”

CR: “Did you really try? How many times? For how long? In what way? How consistently? (Get the details: “[P]recisely, what did you do?”)

CE: “No one believes me, etc.”

CR: “Can’t you think of one person who does? How about some more?” or, “I believe you . . . .”

CE: “I could never do that.”

CR: “Never is a long time. Really, how long do you suppose it might take you to learn? By the way, if you think hard enough you will discover that you have learned to do a number of things that are just as hard (or harder). Take for instance . . . .”

CE: “If I had the time, I’d do it.”

CR: “You do. We all have 24 hours each day; it all depends on how you slice the pie. Now let’s work on drawing up a schedule that honors God.”

CE: “Don’t blame me . . . .”

CR: “Are you saying you’re not responsible?” God says . . . .”

M. If the client is reluctant, tell him or her “You can’t say can’t” (1970, p. 131) (based on I Cor. 10:13).

N. Confession is an important technique in biblical counseling

1. Unconfessed sin can cause psychosomatic problems and guilt.

2. Confession brings pardon and relief (James 5:14).

3. The process should be: repentance, confession, reconciliation.

4. Confession may be to God, elders, or person(s) sinned against.

5. The counselor should be careful not to minimize the counselee’s sin or let the counselee’s confessor do likewise.

6. Roleplay in the counseling session what should be said.

O. Dealing with unbiblical behavioral patterns through dehabituation/rehabituation (Adams, 1973, pp. 191-216):

1. Become aware of what you are doing through “log lists” and chart keeping: “Own it.”

2. Discover the biblical alternative and ask God’s forgiveness: “Disown it.”

3. Structure your life so that change can occur. The counselor should give concrete homework every session.

4. Break links in the chain of sin

5. Get help from others: identify one or more people to whom to be accountable.

6. Stress the whole relationship to Christ, not simply this specific behavior.

7. Practice the new pattern.

8. Check with the counselee to see how he or she is doing.

P. Dealing with transference: If counselee transfers perceptions and behavioral patterns from parents or other people onto the counselor, the counselor should confront this directly and expect an apology (see Adams, 1970, pp. 101-102).

Q. For child lying: Wash out mouth with soap.

R. Prayer

1. Does not stand alone.

2. Prayer should be combined with changing one’s thought patterns and behavior.

S. Daily devotions

1. This is a way of maintaining proper contact with God.

2. It is the first step in problem-solving.

T. Family Conference Table (1973, pp. 233-244) (this appears to be a nouthetized version of the Adlerian Family Meeting)

1. Open and close with prayer

2. Family members begin with confession

3. Have a secretary to keep record of commitments family members make

4. No arguing allowed

5. Eventually the table comes to symbolize communication

U. The cliff-hanger: Solving part of the problem in session, and leaving the counselee to solve the rest as homework.

V. Multiple counseling: Adam’s term for counseling with the whole family system.

W. Team counseling: having multiple counselors in a session with one counselee. Adams allows no more than four counselors to work with one client simultaneously.

X. Adams does not believe in group therapy: “Group therapy that is predicated upon the principle of ventilating anger in order to get something off one’s chest is totally out of accord with the verses just cited [Prov. 14:29 and 29:11]. Ventilating sinful feelings is simply unbiblical” (1970, p. 221).

Y. Termination occurs when clients spontaneously begin to solve problems on their own.

X. Changes that Are Occurring Within the Second Generation of Biblical Counselors

A. As mentioned earlier, the second generation of biblical counselors are not monolithic, so they do not agree on all of the following issues, but here are some of the general changes they are verbalizing.

B. This discussion is drawn primarily from:

1. The Biblical Counseling Movement After Adams by Health Lambert (2012)

2. Multiple articles from CCEF Now (2012)

3. Affirmations & Denials: A Proposed Definition of Biblical Counseling by David Powlinson, 2010.

4. Psychology & Christianity: Five Views: Second Edition, edited by Eric Johnson (2010)

5. Introduction to Biblical Counseling, edited by John MacArthur and Wayne Mack (1994)

C. Since the number of articles written by biblical counselors written in the last twenty-five years is massive it is impossible to do a comprehensive analysis of all that has been said or written by these second generation biblical counselors. This is an attempt to summarize some of the major thoughts and changes proposed by these authors and biblical counselors.

D. Commitments that are Unchanged: Even though there are some modest changes in emphasis among second generation biblical counselors and Adams, there is also high respect for him as the founder of the biblical counseling movement, and many of his ideas remain the foundation for second-generation biblical counseling. Biblical counselors continue to affirm these ideas that were articulated by Adams:

1. All counseling is a theological enterprise: All counseling takes place within the context of some theological worldview, whether recognized by the counselor and client or not. That theological worldview may be one that says God does not exist, or that if he exists he’s really not relevant to the counseling process, or one that says every event in our lives should be viewed from the context that God is working in our lives. Even some Christian counselors who sincerely believe in God in their personal lives rely almost exclusively on their secular counseling training when they counsel, and rarely if ever include discussion of God and his perspectives in their counseling. Thus they function almost identically to secular therapists, even though they are sincere Christians themselves. Biblical counselors agree that God in Christ is the fundamental reality in all counseling (Lambert, 2012, p. 45).

2. If all counseling is a theological enterprise, then the most important training for those who wish to be counselors is theological training. Almost everyone who teaches biblical counseling has a Masters of Divinity degree.

3. The Bible is the authoritative source of wisdom and is sufficient to help people with any problem that requires counseling: thus the Bible should be the primary training manual for counselors (Lambert, p. 45). There are, in the writings of second generation biblical counselors, occasional references to secular counseling resources, but the vast majority of their writing and teaching is drawn from the pages of Scripture.

4. The church has the inescapable responsibility to do counseling. The only question is whether church leaders will do it well or poorly.

5. Biblical counselors continue to disagree with the concept that there are two ways that God reveals his truth–natural revelation (science) and special revelation (Scripture). Even though most Christian theologians and scholars have used this dichotomy as a two-fold way in which God reveals his truth to mankind, biblical counselors do not agree that truth discovered through the use of science and logic (what has historically been called “natural revelation”) should be called “revelation.” Since it depends on human discovery and logic, which is inescapably distorted by humans’ sin nature, it does not deserve to be called revelation. The only thing that deserves to be called “revelation” is Scripture, and the only counseling principles and methods that can be fully trusted would be those drawn from Scripture.

6. Biblical counselors remain committed to the idea that the Bible is the source of wisdom about how to change, and that Jesus Christ is the source of the power to change (Lambert, p. 24).

7. It appears that biblical counselors continue to believe that significant change can only occur if a client becomes a Christian. For example, Mack says: “Those counselees who are avowedly non-Christians must be told that there is no true hope for them until they are born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3, 36)” (MacArthur and Mack, 1994, p. 199).

8. Some of the primary leaders in this second generation of biblical counselors would be David Powlinson, Ed Welch, Paul Tripp, and Wayne Mack.

E. Changes between Adams and second generation biblical counselors: the modest changes that have occurred include both theoretical ones and methodological ones. Lambert (2012, pp. 45-46) describes those changes using the following taxonomy: Second generation biblical counselors:

1. Have emphasized the development of ministry to those who are suffering as well as those who are sinning. The primary focus of Adams’ writings were on how to counsel those who were having difficulties because they were sinning: second generation biblical counselors have also focused on how to counsel those who are suffering.

2. Have developed a deeper understanding of human motivation. Adams’ theory of motivation was primarily behavioral: second generation biblical counselors have attempted to develop a deeper understanding of how human motivation works.

3. Have emphasized the development of a more collegial, collaborative counseling relationship. Adam’s counseling style was predominantly formal, authoritative, and confrontational: second generation biblical counselors tend to emphasize a more loving, compassionate counseling approach.

4. Have attempted to talk less confrontationally with counselors who use other counseling approaches. Adams’ tended to interact with people, even Christians, who embraced other theories in a very confrontational, black-and-white way. Second generation biblical counselors have been more likely to be more kind and gracious in their conversations with proponents of other theories.

5. In the sections below we’ll look at each of these changes in more depth.

F. Recognizing both sin and suffering

1. Adams primary emphasis in his writings and counseling was to identify the sin the counselee was engaged in and confront that sin.

2. Second generation biblical counselors have not abandoned the idea that people sometimes come to counselors because they have sinned and that sin is producing consequences. However, they also recognize that sometimes people come to counselors because they are suffering from the sinful behavior of others, or sin in the world, or other reasons. And they also believe that people come to counseling because of a combination of both.

3. Adams occasionally defended his position, saying that he recognized that suffering was also a cause of human problems. However, these statements were very brief and rare, and he never emphasized or developed a methodology to work with clients who came to the office because they were suffering. For example, in The Christian Counselor’s Manual, there is only one reference to misery and one reference to suffering, and there is no discussion of how to minister to suffering, hurting people (Lambert, p. 201).

4. Second generation biblical counselors draw attention to the fact that large sections of Scripture do recognize that suffering is a significant part of human experience: therefore if we are going to be balanced biblical counselors we need to have a recognition and a methodology for dealing with clients who are suffering as well as for clients who are sinning.

5. Several of the leaders in the second generation of biblical counselors–Powlison, Welch, Lane and Tripp have all written extensively on the theological basis for recognizing clients as sufferers and the need to develop ways to minister to such clients (Lambert, 2012, pp.50-66).

G. A Deeper Understanding of Motivation

1. Adams primarily understood sinful behavior as the result of practicing sinful behavioral habits.

2. His counseling methodology was something he called “dehabituation” (stopping the sinful habit) and “rehabituation” (practicing a new God-honoring habit in its place).

3. Second generation biblical counselors differ from this emphasis by saying it is important to understand the motivation behind the sinful behavior–why the person is sinning. (Adams heavily criticized the concept of asking “Why?,” asserting that it gave the client an opportunity to rationalize their behavior.)

4. Second generation biblical counselors such as Powlinson, Welch, and Schwab that sin in Scripture is not simply behavioral patterns that have become habits. Sin arises from the heart (e.g., Mark 7:21, Galatians 5:15-21, 1 Timothy 6:10). Some of these writers make two criticisms of Adams’ theory of motivation:

a. It comes out of the secular behaviorism of O Hobart Miller and William Glasser and

b. It does not include some important biblical concepts, namely, the fact that we are motivated by internal processes, and changing ourselves (or helping our clients change themselves) must include changing those internal processes and motivations, rather than just substituting more godly behaviors for sinful ones.

c. In his later writings Adams does recognize that this internal emphasis is missing in his early writings (something Adams did not frequently do), but he left it to second-generation biblical counselors to develop this concept.

5. Some of the concepts regarding this deeper understanding of motivation are summarized below.

6. Powlinson talks about the fact that every human being worships something. We can center our worship on God, or we can center it on something else (pleasure, acquisition of money or things, attractiveness, power, or popularity, etc.).

7. In the Old Testament God talked often of idolatry, which in those times often focused on external, physical idols. In the New Testament the emphasis shifted to internal idols, such as the ones mentioned in the paragraph above. Powlinson has called these “idols of the heart” and this has become a major paradigm shift in second generation biblical counseling. To help a person change it is crucial to not just work on changing the external behavioral habits, but to help the person identify and change the internal idol (or goal) that is producing that behavior.

8. Welch talks about the fact that many times our anxieties, depression, or addictions come because we are worshiping one of these internal idols of the heart, and when our attainment of that idol is blocked we become anxious, depressed, or resort to some addiction to deal with the feelings generated when we aren’t successful in achieving the goal inspired by our idol.

9. There are many biblical texts to support this deepened theory of motivation. One among many that speak to this issue is Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees in Mark 7:18-23. They were living with the assumption that external behaviors were what contaminated a person. He instead confronts that thinking and says that what comes out of men’s hearts is what contaminates him.

10. This new paradigm about human motivation also changes second generation biblical counselors methodology. Instead of focusing on dehabituation and rehabituation (a behavioral emphasis), Powlinson talks about “X-ray questions”–questions that ask the client to look at the motivations behind their behavior (Lambert, 2012, pp. 66-80).

H. Continuity in Methodology

1. In Competent to Counsel Adams laid out the conceptual ideas that were the framework for nouthetic counseling.

2. A few years later he laid out his thoughts about counseling methodology in his book The Christian Counselor’s Manual.

3. Adams and second generation biblical counselors agree on the importance of listening and careful data gathering. Nouthetic and biblical counselors base this idea of careful listening on passages such as Proverbs 18:2-3, James 1:19, and Hebrews 4:14-16.

4. In Introduction to Biblical Counseling Wayne Mack recommends the use of the Personal Data Inventory (essentially an intake questionnaire) that is the same one that Adams introduced almost 25 years earlier.

5. Powlinson says (in Speaking the Truth in Love) that counselors should ask two categories of questions:

a. What is happening in the client’s life, and

b. What does God have to say about the situation the client is facing?

6. This approach continues the thinking of Adams without significant change.

7. Secondly, there is much continuity between Adams and second generation biblical counselors in emphasizing the importance of biblical instruction

8. Adams strongly objected to the non-directive approach of Carl Rogers and thought that pastors/counselors should be directive and help clients understand God’s instructions. This too remains an important focus of second generation biblical counselors.

9. Thirdly, Adams and second generation biblical counselor agree that it is not enough for counseling to result in new insights–the end result should be changes in one’s behavior. To this end, homework assignments and followup on those homework assignments by the counselor have been and remain an important part of this counseling (Lambert, 2012, pp. 81-86).

I. Changes in Methodology

1. Adams’ model for counseling was quite authoritative and formal. There is a movement in second generation biblical counselors to a more personal, sensitive style. Powlison says: “The most characteristic biblical counseling relationship is a long-term friendship, consisting of mutually invited counseling and generating dependency on God as well as constructive interdependency on one another. The authoritative short-term intervention is the emergency, life-saving measure (Crucial Issues in Contemporary Biblical Counseling,” Journal of Pastoral Practice 9, no. 3 (1988): 65-66.).

2. In another place Powlison even more directly criticized Adams’ method when he says: “Adams tells me I need compassion, identification and mutuality, but he teaches and models rebuke, proclamation, and authority. He calls me to balance, but doesn’t teach me how” (“Review of Hebrews, James, I and II Peter, Jude, by Jay E. Adams,” Journal of Biblical Counseling, 15, no. 1 (1996): 64.

3. Lambert (2012) identifies six changes in methodology that are found among leaders of the second generation of biblical counselors, each of which they ground in Scripture:

a. Counseling that treats counselees in the same way one would treat a family member (e.g., 1 Timothy 5:1-2)

b. Counseling that communicates to the counselee that the counselor affectionately cares for them (illustrated in Jesus’ life and teaching).

c. Counseling that is sacrificial (e.g., 1 Thess. 2:7-8)

d. Counseling that is sensitive to where the person is emotionally. Adams was trying to draw a clear contrast with Rogerian person-centered therapy, where Rogers taught that people have the truth within them, and it will express itself if the counselor shows unconditional acceptance. However, in his rejection of Rogerianism and person-centered counselors, he reacted so strongly that he confronted clients with biblical truth without listening to and understanding their pain. Mack takes an example from Adams’ Christian Counselor’s Casebook and specifically criticizes Adams’ approach as being insensitive–Adams immediately confronted the client about where he thought her behavior was unbiblical without taking the time to hear her perspective and build a relationship with her (Introduction to Biblical Counseling, pp. 173-175). Mack shows an awareness of things such as attending skills, empathy, process and timing that is not seen in the writings of Adams (ibid, pp. 175-181). He mentions the use of what have been called “facilitative conditions” or “core conditions,” identifying them by the names “compassion, respect, and sincerity” citing biblical passages and verses rather than empirical research to justify their place in counseling.

e. Counseling that sees the counselor as a fellow sinner and sufferer, and

f. Counseling that addresses suffering before sin (pp. 90-99).

J. Differences in How Biblical Counselors Talk with Other Christian Counselors

1. Jay Adams was never willing to set aside his combative, aggressive tone when talking with Christian counselors who believed in integrating Christian theology and psychology.

2. Despite several attempts by various people to build bridges between Christian counselors and nouthetic counselors, Adams remained so “irascible and sectarian” that several Christian integrationists such as John Carter, Bruce Narramore and Larry Crabb eventually expressed their unwillingness to attempt further dialogue with Adams (Lambert, p. 104).

3. In contrast, leaders of the second generation of biblical counselors such as Powlison, Welch, and Tripp, while still maintaining their belief in the superiority of biblical counseling over integrative approaches, have attempted to have a much more cordial relationship with integrationists.

K. Have Biblical Counselors Changed in Their Beliefs in the Sufficiency of Scripture?

1. Jay Adams was very clear that he believed that Scripture gives the counselor everything they need to counsel.

2. There is a debate between Eric Johnson (Foundations for Soul Care, 2007) and Health Lambert about whether there has been a shift on this doctrine. Johnson believes that second generation biblical counselors have been more willing to recognize that psychology can provide helpful information to counselors, while Lambert argues that second generation biblical counselors continue to affirm the sufficiency of Scripture.

3. Powlinson’s comment that follows seems to express the belief of Adams’ and of second generation biblical counselors: “Do secular disciplines have anything to offer to the methodology of biblical counseling? The answer is a flat no (emphasis added). Scriptures provide the system for Biblical counseling. Other disciplines–history, anthropology, literature, sociology, psychology, biology, business, political science–may be useful in a variety of secondary ways to the pastor and the biblical counselor, but such disciplines can never provide a system for understanding and counseling people” (Quoted by Mack in Totally Sufficient, pp. 50-51).

4. As I read these two opposing views of what second generation biblical counselors believe (i.e., Johnson’s versus Lambert’s), I think this can be resolved in the following way: I believe that second generation biblical counselors believe that Scripture provides a totally sufficient framework for addressing every counseling problem and that they also believe it can provide many helpful details by which to do counseling, but that they are willing to accept that psychological research can sometimes provide additional helpful details to use within that Scriptural framework. If you have the time and interest to read those authors yourself you can decide whether you agree with this way of resolving this difference of opinion.

A Critique of Nouthetic or Biblical Counseling

Note regarding this critique: The first portion of this critique focuses on traditional nouthetic counseling as taught by Jay Adams and by those who continue to use his teachings as the basis for their counseling. The second portion includes my thoughts on biblical counseling–the teaching found in second-generation nouthetic counselors (they prefer the term biblical counselors), such as Powlinson, Welch, Lane, and Tripp.

Explanation of symbols: A + before a statement indicates that this is a point I agree with. A - before a statement indicates that this is a point I disagree with, and will usually contain an explanation of why I believe that assertion is incorrect. A ± before a statement indicates that I agree with part of the statement and disagree with another part.

TRADITIONAL NOUTHETIC COUNSELING

Presuppositions

One of the foundational presuppositions of biblical counseling is that the Bible has comprehensive, sufficient answers for every counseling problem (based on II Timothy 3:16-17 and II Peter 1:3), and that therefore no additional data from the field of counseling and psychotherapy is necessary. It is important to read these two passages in their historical and grammatical context to see if that is what they are teaching.

– II Timothy 3:16-17 states: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Adams says that this verse teaches that the Bible has all the information the pastor needs in order to counsel. Further training in counseling is unnecessary and may be detrimental because of unbiblical underlying presuppositions found in psychology.

However, the text is only talking about the training of pastors (the phrase "man of God"–anthropos theou–means pastor). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul defines what the Word will equip the pastor to do. It will equip him to (1) teach correct doctrine, (2) rebuke incorrect doctrine, (3) train in right behavior, and (4) correct wrong behavior.

This does not mean that Scripture will teach pastors how to conduct weddings, funerals, board meetings, church business meetings, organize or deliver sermons, or many other things, including counseling. At the seminaries where Adams has taught, he used a number of other textbooks besides the Bible to train pastors for these other functions. Therefore II Timothy 3:16-17, correctly interpreted, is not claiming that the Bible is a complete counselor-training manual for pastors or for others who are called to the ministry of counseling. As Crabb has noted, the Bible contains many important truths that are foundational for effective Christian counseling. But just as it does not claim to contain all the truth necessary for physical healing, neither does it claim to contain all the truth necessary for psychological or interpersonal healing. II Timothy 3:16-17 is saying that the Bible contains all the theological information necessary to fully train a pastor to teach correct doctrine and rebuke false doctrine, and to train in right behavior and rebuke wrong behavior. It does not claim that he will not need other textbooks to train him about other facets of ministry, including counseling.

– Similarly, II Peter 1:3 states: “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.” This verse is also used by biblical counselors to assert that the Bible contains everything we need to know in order to counsel. Note the explanation of this verse given by the theologians who wrote the NIV Study Bible: “God has made available all that we need spiritually through our knowledge of him. If indeed II Peter was written to combat an incipient Gnosticism, the apostle may be insisting that the knowledge possessed by those in apostolic circles was entirely adequate to meet their spiritual needs. No secret, esoteric knowledge is necessary for salvation” (1985, p. 1899). Thus, when viewed in context, neither II Timothy 3:16-17 nor II Peter 1:3 claim that the Bible is a comprehensive counseling manual.

– A second questionable assumption is the assertion that the basis of nearly every counseling problem is a doctrinal problem. There are at least two strong arguments that can be made against the validity of this position. First, there are many Christians who have impeccable doctrine, but who nevertheless make their spouses and children miserable. Second, many of those Christians who come for counseling know their doctrines correctly but have struggled for years to make their lives conform to that doctrine. It seems clear from these two examples that knowing doctrine correctly does not mean a Christian will have no counseling issues.

– Nouthetic counselors teach that counselors should constantly confront clients with the demand to honor and glorify God (MacArthur and Mack, 1994, pp. 160-161). It is true that Christians should attempt to honor and glorify God. But constantly confronting them with the demand to do so will probably be counterproductive. When people experience the Lord’s healing and grace in their lives they will often desire to honor and glorify him. But a counselor constantly confronting them with this demand is likely to cause resentment and resistance. Scripture teaches that when we are told we have to do something, our normal response is to rebel (Ro. 7:7-8). In contrast, when we experience God’s love, we desire to love in return (I Jn. 4:19).

Theory of Personality Structure

+ Adams makes the important point, from a Christian perspective, that a personality theory needs to include one's relationship to God as a significant part of understanding human personality. (Most secular counseling theories totally ignore the divine-human relationship, implicitly suggesting that it is unimportant, or view it as a projection of an immature person who has not developed the capacity to accept one’s aloneness in the universe.)

+ Adams also clearly separates himself from the Gnostic view that the body is bad and the spirit is good.

+ Thirdly, Adams stresses the functional unity of the body (material part) and the spirit (immaterial part) of human beings.

– Although Adams stresses the functional unity of body and spirit, he remains ontologically a dichotomist, that is, he believes that humans are composed of two different essences. It is clear from biblical studies of the last forty years that the biblical authors were writing from a holistic perspective, and that the dichotomous view of human beings came out of secular Greek philosophy. Biblical counselors are strong to assert that they accept nothing secular but derive their theory totally from biblical data. Therefore it is surprising that they reject a theory of personality structure coming consistently from the biblical authors in favor of one coming out of secular Greek culture.

– Adams claims it is foolish to look outside the Bible to study human personality. This takes away an important source of information about human functioning and is inconsistent with his own statement that psychology is useful for describing what is there.

Theory of Motivation

+ Adams makes a positive contribution by his stress on personal responsibility in developing one's lifestyle.

+ It is also valuable for people to consider the spiritual implications of their lifestyle choice (a commandment-oriented versus feeling-oriented lifestyle).

+ Adams shows the significant differences between a Skinnerian and a biblical view of motivation.

– Considering all motivation to come from one of two motivational tendencies seems to be overly-simplistic. The biblical counseling model doesn't deal with the facts that (1) many times we are motivated by needs that operate below the level of conscious awareness, (2) the effects of past experiences (especially traumatic events) shape motivational drives, or (3) preconscious cognitive assumptions (e.g., mistaken beliefs) often effect how we believe we can best meet our needs.

– Adams also doesn't give adequate recognition to the fact that often commandment-oriented living is not motivated by a desire to please God. For example, the legalism of the Pharisees of Jesus' day was designed primarily to win the approval of men (Mt. 6:5). In a similar way, some of the rigid legalism found among Christians today, while externally it looks like commandment-oriented living, may not be motivated by a genuine desire to love and serve God with one's life.

– Adams and the writers who wrote Introduction to Biblical Counseling (1994) identify themselves with traditional Reformed theology (Calvinism). Some Reformed theologians (e.g., B.B. Warfield) espouse a theory called cosmic determinism, the belief that everything that happens in the universe is determined by God. The majority of Reformed theologians today, probably the group with which Adams would identify himself, believe in a more limited form of determinism called soteriological determinism. Briefly, this theory hypothesizes that God determined (elected) in eternity past those who will become believers. Those whom he elected will be irresistibly drawn to Him, and they will undoubtedly persevere in the faith throughout their lives. Those whom God does not elect cannot possibly come to God. This view, theological determinism, contrasts with Arminianism, which is the view that God makes his grace available to all and allows people to choose to accept or reject that grace.

Adams and his followers claim to be Reformed (deterministic) in their theology, that is, God determined from eternity past who was going to be saved, and human beings have absolutely no say in the matter. However, the entire emphasis in their counseling theory is on exhorting people to choose God's way of life and reject one's own sinful inclinations. This constant emphasis on choosing (theological voluntarism) is more compatible with Arminian than Calvinistic theology. Neither Adams nor his followers explain, at least in their primary works on counseling, how they reconcile being determinists in their professed theological stance and voluntarists in their counseling stance.

Theory of Development

+ Adams views personality as the sum total of all one is through nature and nurture, which recognizes the influence of both genetic predispositions, learning experiences, and the interaction between the two. His concepts of habits, habituation, and dehabituation are simple, easily-grasped frameworks for pastors and clients.

– Biblical counseling needs a more complete model of development that addresses how individuals develop intellectually, emotionally, morally, and spiritually. By failing to develop a model of psychological development they do not have an adequate way of explaining why a committed 16-year-old Christian who has been a believer for three years is different in spiritual maturity than a committed 45-year-old Christian who has been a believer for the same length of time. The sanctification process, to fully explain Christian growth, must include more components than simply the development of habits.

Theory of Individual Differences

+ While Adams does not explicitly develop an integrated model of why people are different, there are several ideas that he develops which may be combined to form such a model. These include a person's spiritual state (believer versus unbeliever), what developmental group they belong to, their spiritual gifts, and their specific sins and dodges (ways they avoid dealing with their sinfulness). His ideas on spiritual gifts are sound and practical.

– Two major criticisms of Adams' theory of individual differences are that it is not comprehensive enough and that it is not unifying enough. Regarding comprehensiveness, there are probably more factors than these four that influence or determine why we become the unique persons we are. Regarding unifying factors, if human beings are choosing beings as Adams continuously emphasizes, then there preferably should be some central component within our personality that chooses why we develop one lifestyle and not another–we will not simply be the combination of several sources of variation. For example, Adlerians talk about a mistaken belief that leads to a particular lifestyle. McGee does something similar. This theory lacks a sense of why and how people develop the lifestyles (personality styles or schemas) that they do.

Theory of Health

– While Adams would probably say that the healthy person is one who chooses a commandment-oriented lifestyle out of a desire to love and obey God, he does not seem to have explicitly elaborated a view of healthy human functioning. His emphasis has been on explaining why people are unhealthy.

– One can be concerned that Adam’s model of Christian living and counseling could easily lead to an overuse of suppression and repression to deal with the psychological processes that come from our sin nature. There is a significant difference between repressing our awareness of sinful desires versus recognizing them and yielding them to the Holy Spirit for his transformation. Biblical counseling does not adequately differentiate between the Christian life which appears healthy because of external behavioral obedience, versus a Christian life where the individual is fully aware of his sinfulness, and regularly chooses the path of obedience.

Theory of Pathology

+ Adams has made a clear statement of a hamartiagenic view of pathology, and has tied his view to Scripture. He has focused on the importance of people being responsible for their behavior at a time (late 1960s, early 1970s) when most secular and Christian mental health professionals had adopted the medical model of mental illness (i.e., that people with mental illness were sick and were not responsible for their behavior). His concept that the ego defense mechanisms are people's responses to the consequences of sin is interesting.

+ In a sense, Adams has two related developmental views of sin-caused pathology. These are:

(1) A preconditioning problem (a long-term habitual way of dealing with stress)

↓

performance problem (the present manifestation of that habitual behavior pattern)

↓

presentation problem (the unhappy emotions people feel because of their unhealthy behavioral patterns).

(2) The choice of a feeling-oriented lifestyle

↓

rebellion against God's laws

↓

patterns of avoidance (internal ego defenses used to shield ourselves from the emotional results of our disobedience)

↓

dodges and blameshifting (external behavior by which we attempt to dodge responsibility for our problems and shift the blame to someone else.

– From a Christian standpoint, to assert that abnormal behavior has a sinful component can be accepted: since everyone is a sinner it is likely that sin is a component in much of our behavior. However, to assume that all abnormal behavior that is not biologically caused is a result of sin is questionable. For example, is the anxiety that a shy person has in social situations because of lack of social skills best understood as sin? What about the confusion of a child who is being double-binded by his or her parents? Or the emotional distress a child feels when triangulated between his divorcing parents? Or the fear a student has because of lack of good test-taking skills? Or the depression an abused wife feels because of fear of future beatings but who sees no way out for herself and her children?

– In a related way, to say that schizophrenia is a perceptual problem but not a mental illness seems to be an underestimation of the severity of this disorder. People with schizophrenia have identifiable organic and functional differences within their brains, which produce a variety of both positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms include auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, and sometimes grossly disorganized speech and behavior. Negative symptoms include affective (emotional) flattening, loss of fluency and productivity in thought and speech, and loss of goal-directed initiative. This is much more than just a perceptual disorder.

– Adams' discussion of the case of Steve (described in Competent to Counsel, pp. 31-32) seems questionable. This college student was diagnosed as having catatonic schizophrenia, yet turned out to be faking his illness because he did not want his academic failures to be discovered. While it is possible to fake any physical or mental illness (something called either factitious disorder or malingering depending on the purpose of the person who is doing the faking), Adams seems to be wanting his readers to conclude that the majority of mental illness involves faking psychiatric symptoms. Yet the percentage of those diagnosed with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder who are later recognized as faking is a very small percentage of actual cases, not the majority of those who have these serious mental illnesses.

– Similarly, the person who is in a manic psychosis because they have bipolar disorder is likely to have serious difficulties in their perceptions, judgment and behavior. They are likely to experience delusions (for example, that people are inserting thoughts into their mind, or able to read their thoughts), command hallucinations (where they hear auditory commands to do things they normally would not do), need very little sleep, exhibit very poor judgment, are unable to stay on task, and become very irritable if they are limited in any way. They are also likely to have highly elevated sexual drives during the manic period and act out these drives in ways they would never do when in their normal state. Many of these behaviors are sinful, but the person in a manic psychosis is doing these things for very different reasons than a person who would do these same behaviors as a result of a rationally-considered decision. Adams' suggestion that manic-depressive illness is just another excuse for sinful behavior (1970, pp. 33-34) fails to recognize that bipolar disorder is recognized as a genuine biologically-based disorder throughout the world.

– Adams states that emotions follow from behavior. If you behave badly, you will feel badly. If you behave responsibly, you will feel good. Adams says that depressed persons whose symptoms fail to show any sign of a biochemical root should be counseled based on the assumption that they are depressed by guilt (Competent to Counsel, p. 126). While it is sometimes true that emotions sometimes follow from behavior, this is neither a comprehensive nor a complete view of emotions. To use depression as an example, there are at least eight other sources of emotions and emotional states.

First, we know that some people inherit a genetic predisposition to either unipolar and bipolar depression. Secondly, people develop basic assumptions about the world (for example, that the world is a basically trustworthy or basically untrustworthy place) based on their experiences during the first years of life (see theories of Adler, Erickson, or Jerome Frank, etc.). Those basic assumptions and perceptual sets (now called schemas or core beliefs by cognitive behaviorists) cause them to selectively attend to some stimuli and not to others, and also determine how they interpret the meaning of those stimuli.

Thirdly, those interpretations cause many of the feelings that they experience, not the responsibility or irresponsibility of their behavior at that moment in time.

Fourthly, the healthiness of the social system within which one lives also influences one's feelings. Being part of an enmeshed, highly critical family will cause one to be depressed no matter how responsible one's behavior is.

Fifthly, being regularly subjected to verbal, physical or sexual abuse will cause depression, even if one is doing nothing wrong themselves.

Sixthly, lacking the skills to perform or interact effectively in one's social, academic or work environment can cause someone to be depressed, regardless of their desire to live responsibly.

Seventhly, there are a large number of hormonal and endocrine dysfunctions that can cause depression.

Eighthly, some depressions are the result of grief (e.g., losing a loved one by death, losing a marriage, one's health or one's ability to be productive, losing part of one's body as a result of an accident or disease, etc.).

When people feel badly because of their own bad behavior they should be asked to look at the advantages and disadvantages of continuing their present behavior but let us give up the simplistic notion that bad personal behavior is the cause of all negative emotions.

– Adams seems to teach that people are responsible for all their behavior, even those behaviors committed in the midst of a psychosis, since he does not believe in the validity of mental illness. In contrast, most cultures of the world recognize that there are certain states of extreme mental illness where people's capacity to choose is diminished, and therefore their responsibility for their actions is comparably diminished (e.g., the McNaughten Rule).

We might conceptualize degrees of responsibility on a continuum. At one end would be those actions that are chosen with full awareness, and for which the person is fully responsible. Further along the continuum might be those actions that are propelled by cognitive processes, some of which happen below the level of cognitive awareness. The Christian "overtaken in a fault" (Ga. 6:1) might be an example. He or she may not have consciously decided to sin but was seduced into sin by Satan working below the level of conscious awareness. While he still may face the consequences of his sin, if he or she shows an attitude of repentance the church might respond to him differently ("restore him gently") than they would to the person who intentionally and with premeditation chose to sin (cf. 1 Cor. 5). One of the purposes of secular and Christian therapy is to make unconscious processes conscious, so that people have increased capacities to consciously choose how they will behave.

At the far end of this continuum would be those who, in the midst of a severe mental illness, such as a psychotic episode where they are experiencing strong command hallucinations, might commit acts normally punishable by a death sentence. Because of the McNaughten Rule, they might be considered as having committed those acts during a time when they possessed diminished capacity to choose their behavior, and therefore during a time when they would be viewed as having diminished responsibility. The fact that the insanity defense is sometimes used when the person was not psychotic and was responsible for their behavior does not affect the possibility that some people legitimately deserve to be tried under the umbrella of the McNaughten Rule. Those convicted of offenses committed while psychotic may be institutionalized for a variety of reasons–to receive treatment, for the protection of society, and to underscore the importance of maintaining oneself on proper medication so that there is not a recurrence of the psychotic state that produced the violent behavior.

To summarize, our behavior is not always consciously chosen. Except in psychotic states, we are responsible for our behavior, including that which is produced as a result of unconscious processes. One of the purposes of counseling is to make more of those unconscious processes conscious, and so increase a person's degree of self-control.

– Adams' amillennial view that Satan and his demons were bound at Christ's resurrection would be questioned by many who do not believe an amillennial view best explains the biblical data. In the words of another minister and writer, Satan seems (to many Christians) to be alive and well on planet earth.

Similarly, there are many missionaries who disagree with Adams' assertion that Christians cannot be oppressed by Satan or his demons today. Merrill Unger, a highly respected evangelical theologian, also took this view in the first edition of his book Demon Possession in the World Today. He received so many accounts from missionaries around the world to the contrary that in the second edition of his book he publicly reversed his earlier statement, and said that he now believes that Christians who return to a life of sin or who speak without proper respect about Satan and his demons (Jude 8-10) may leave themselves open to demonic oppression even today.

– Adams quotes with approval from Dabrowski's Positive Disintegration that mental breakdowns are actually breakups–chances to restructure response patterns in a healthier way (Competent to Counsel, p. 171). This may be true for the neurotic breakdowns, at least for those where people receive good, supportive and insight-oriented therapy so that they recognize unhealthy components of their previous lifestyles and are able to learn healthier alternatives. This is probably less true for psychotic breakdowns. Having a major break with reality is very unsettling for most people. Some never recover fully. Others may recover gradually and painfully over a period of time, but very few who have psychotic breakdowns emerge healthier than they were before.

Theory of Cure and Therapeutic Techniques

+ Adams has rightly emphasized that all counseling theories have an implicit theology. Likewise he emphasized, many years before most were doing so, that counseling is a value-informed enterprise. He has encouraged pastors that they do not need to refer all clients, an idea that was being taught in many seminaries in the 1960s. He has emphasized that there is a moral, voluntary dimension to psychopathology. He has drawn attention to the implications of the doctrine of God's sovereignty as a means of inspiring hope in counseling. He stressed, at a time when few Christian counselors were doing so, that there should be a spiritual goal in counseling, that is, growth in godliness.

– Adams makes the questionable assumption that the Greek verb noutheteo (noun = nouthesia) should be the major paradigm for Christian counseling. Noutheteo means “to warn, advise, admonish, i.e., to exert influence on another's nous (mind).” Therefore Christian counseling should primarily be admonishment, warning, and advising.

Noutheteo is used only 8 times in the New Testament, and nouthesia only 3 times. In contrast, parakaleo is a word that suggests a much more nurturing, supportive kind of counseling. Parakaleo means to summon, invite, ask, implore, exhort, comfort, and encourage) and is used 109 times in the New Testament. The noun form, paraklesis, is used 29 times.

Noutheteo and Parakaleo are not, as Mack asserts, identical in their meaning. Noutheteo primarily does refer to admonishing or exhorting another person. Parakaleo also includes this, but also includes the concepts of comforting, encouraging, empathizing, supporting, and teaching. The fact that parakaleo and paraklesis are used approximately twelve times more frequently than noutheteo and nouthesia (138 versus 11 uses) suggests that parakaleo should be considered the more primary paradigm for Christian relationships. The practical implication of this is that biblical counseling should not be primarily looking for someone’s sin, and then admonishing them to turn from it. Sometimes biblical counseling will include this activity. But biblical counseling should also include, when appropriate, supporting, nurturing, empathizing, caring for, and guiding or teaching people better ways to live or respond.

The well-known classic article called Jesus' Style of Relating by David Carlson demonstrated that while Jesus confronted the self-righteous, he also gently taught those who wished to understand, and spent much of his time comforting the burdened and weary. Thus Jesus' style of relating encompasses and models the breadth of parakaleo, more than being primarily nouthetic confrontation.

– Adams asserts that counselors should not ask "Why" questions (since they invite the client to come up with rationalizations for their behavior), but only "What are you doing?," and then confront the behavior if the counselor believes it is out of line with God's standards. It is true that asking a "Why" question could serve as an impetus to create rationalizations, but this criticism reflects a misunderstanding of the process of therapy. Therapists generally believe that the first step in helping people change their behavior is helping them understand the beliefs that are producing the present behavior. They then help their clients reexamine whether or not those beliefs are valid. The "why" question does not come out as judgmental, but as an invitation to understand oneself at a deeper level. Of course, if a counselor were to ask "Why" questions in a judgmental way, he is likely to produce the kind of defensiveness and rationalizations Adams predicts, but this is not the way well-trained counselors ask the question "Why?"

– Relatedly, Adams seems to misunderstand the clinical purpose of empathy. According to theorists such as Carkhuff and Egan, empathy serves to build a trusting relationship where the client feels comfortable sharing himself, even the parts of himself that he believes are unacceptable. Rogers, who was one of the first therapists in the twentieth century to emphasize the therapeutic benefits of empathy, believed that people get "stuck" because there is a discrepancy between what they are actually experiencing and what their consciousness allows them to experience. Since they're out of touch with their actual experience, they can't effectively deal with whatever is troubling them. Empathy, particularly for theorists since Rogers such as Carkhuff and Egan, does not mean affirming that all the client thinks or feels or desires is correct, but means creating an environment where the client can feel safe examining all of his experience, as the first step in changing those parts that are unhealthy.

– Adams' unwillingness to allow "Why" questions to be part of the therapy process, or to provide an empathic environment where clients feel comfortable sharing deeply, can short-circuit the process of deep biblical counseling for several reasons. First, God tells us in many places throughout the Old and New Testament that he is not just concerned with external behavioral compliance, but with why we are doing what we are doing (e.g., Mt. 15:8, Jn. 4:23-24). Second, God clearly understands that we have sinful thoughts and motives, and that these reach to the very depths of our personality (Jer. 17:9). A judgmental counselor will probably only cause a client to suppress or repress negative thoughts or feelings or motives, rather than acknowledging them and then working them through. The common theme I have gotten from clients who had been to a nouthetic counselor was that the nouthetic counseling style tended to coerce them into external behavioral compliance, without allowing or encouraging them to understand what was producing the unbiblical thoughts, feelings and behavior they were experiencing.

– Adams has failed to develop a substantial biblical personality theory to underlie his theory of cure. While it might be possible to produce a theory of change without a theory of personality, having a theory of personality helps us understand why our theory of change works. The question is, "Does Scripture give us a theory of personality?"

There is the basis for a personality theory in Scripture. Briefly, that theory is that our perceptions (how we perceive) is the basis for our thoughts, our feelings, our motivations, and our behavior. Nous is the word that refers to our perceptual set, or our mind-set. This mind-set includes not only how we perceive the world, but what we view as important, and the collection of attitudes we have about ourselves and our relationship to the world as a result. Biblical passages include “Let this mind(set) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). Or “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Ro. 8:5). There are dozens of verses that refer either to a corrupt and depraved mind-set or to a mind-set that is in the process of being renewed.

The way we perceive the world forms the basis for all other personality functions. At conversion there is a perceptual reorganization; our old mind-set is superceded, at least potentially, by a new set of attitudes. This perceptual set (our assumptive world) is not normally in our conscious awareness: it is usually preconscious or unconscious. It is usually brought to conscious awareness in a nurturing, supportive environment where we feel comfortable relaxing our ego defenses and looking carefully at our own assumptions.

– If the above is true, Adams' model of counseling is deficient on at least two grounds relative to this: (1) failure to deal with the perceptual set that underlies behavior and feelings really amounts to failing to deal with the root problem--the mind-set (or set of attitudes) that constitutes what the Bible calls the "old man." (2) Adams' confrontational counseling style makes it highly unlikely that he will ever create the kind of nurturing environment where a person's defenses would relax enough to examine one's perceptual set and be able to discuss it (since confrontation tends to make our ego defenses tighten rather than relax).

– Adams' approach to counseling may tend to overuse and misuse advice-giving as a therapeutic technique. There is an appropriate use of education–primarily when there is information the client needs, doesn't have, and can't obtain easily. Advice can be overused or be less than maximally therapeutic when (1) the counselor doesn't take long enough to understand the full extent of the problem, (2) the counselor tells the client things he already knows or has already tried, (3) the counselor tells the client something when the client is not emotionally ready to accept it, or (4) the counselor tells the client advice which the client would be more likely to apply if he "discovered" the insights or solution himself.

Think about the difference in clinical impact of the following two statements: (1) “Jim, you must forgive your wife.” or (2) “Jim, what do you think Jesus wants you to do with the feelings you have now toward your wife?” Is the second approach less biblical than the first? Which approach is more likely to cause Jim to begin to let go of the angry feelings he has toward his wife?

Advice-giving in counseling is based on two mistaken assumptions about the counseling process. One of those is the assumption that if people are simply told the right thing to do, they will do it. Especially where there is a history of much pain or anger or fear, as there often is in situations where people come for counseling, simply telling people what to do often produces little behavioral change.

The second mistaken belief, closely related to the above, is that the primary role of the counselor is to tell the client what to do. Experienced counselors are generally in agreement that an effective counselor is one who makes empathy statements and asks questions that enable clients to understand themselves more deeply, and then at the appropriate time, ask clients to identify for themselves the changes they are ready to make in light of their deepened self-understanding.

– Adams' model of psychopathology seems overly-simplistic. All behavior, both healthy and unhealthy, seems to be influenced by a variety of factors. These include physiological components, psychological components such as perceptual set, family upbringing, modeling that comes from family and other significant others, one's ego defenses, influences from our current social network, sin-based components, demonic influences, the conflict between our old and our new mind-set, and the interaction between all of these factors.

– Healing of unhealthy psychological components usually happens only in a nurturing context where a person can let down his defenses and examine himself at a deep level. Confession and turning from sin-based components can happen either in a confrontational or a nurturing context, but most people find it easiest to admit their failings in a nurturing environment. Thus a nurturing therapy relationship is more likely to produce healing in more people than is one that consistently uses confrontation.

Lastly, MacArthur and Mack (1994) asserted that, apart from salvation, no amount of counseling can resolve basic problems (p. 140), and that counselees who are non-Christians must be told that there is no hope for them until they are born again (p. 199), seems to go strongly against the empirical data. Thousands of well-designed research studies now show that secular counseling helps between 70 and 85% of people with a variety of psychological problems (e.g., A Guide to Treatments that Work, 1998). While secular counseling usually does not help a person move toward personal salvation, it has been shown to help a large percentage of people, whether they be Christians or non-Christians.

BIBLICAL (SECOND GENERATION) COUNSELING

Areas of Agreement

+ I agree with Stan Jones (in Psychology & Christianity: Five Views edited by Eric Johnson; 2010, IVP) when he said about David Powlison’s chapter on biblical counseling, “There is much of value here....” He then went on to make four important points where he agrees with biblical counselors:

(1) “we often insufficiently mine the riches of the Scriptures and the Christian tradition in our understanding of people and their problems,

(2) “we can also be insufficiently critical of secular assumptions and values embedded in the psychologies we embrace,

(3) “the value of certain approaches to psychology is often oversold; and

(4) “the damage done by the psychologizing of our culture and of the church is real” (p. 276).

+ I agree with biblical counselors that God’s Word and God himself provide a context for understanding all of life and for understanding the mental health problems that people face. While it doesn’t provide all the details for understanding every mental health problem, the context it provides is important.

+ I agree with biblical counselors that we as Christian counselors have often let secular psychological theories influence our counseling much more than we have used Scripture to influence our counseling.

+ I agree that Scripture probably has much more to offer us as Christian counselors than we have recognized in terms of (1) how deeply we are flawed, (2) how much wisdom Scripture has to offer about a wide range of problems people experience, (3) how much we use the wonderful implications of the fact that we are children of a loving, heavenly father in our counseling.

+ I agree with Powlison (Affirmations & Denials, www.ccef.org/print/758) when he said, “You either die to yourself and live for Another, or you live for yourself and die. It’s not about meeting your needs, but about turning what you think you need upside down” (p. 8).

+ I agree with Powlison’s comments when he said: “Carl Jung described a different aspect of the counseling dynamic. ‘Patients force the psychotherapist into the role of a priest and expect and demand of him that he shall free them from their distress. That is why we psychotherapists must occupy ourselves with problems which, strictly speaking, belong to the theologian’....Psychotherapists function as ‘secular priests,’ as the more self-conscious among them freely acknowledge.... Mental health professionals necessarily act as prophet-theologians, who define human nature and the meaning of life while typically excising God. They necessarily act as priest-pastors, who typically shepherd the human soul to find refuge in itself, in other people, and in psychoactive medication, because they construct a universe barren of the living God and his Christ” (Affirmations & Denials, pp. 10-11).

+ I agree with second generation biblical counselors that counseling that reflects the Bible’s full teaching about the human condition must focus just as much (or even more) counseling ministry on those who are suffering as on those who are sinning.

+ I agree with second generation biblical counselors in the need for a deeper understanding of motivation than Jay Adams’ writings gave us. David Powlison’s discussions of “idols of the heart” (e.g., that we all worship something—popularity, prestige, power, pleasure, physical attractiveness, etc.), and that when these idols of the heart are not met, they often lead to anxiety, depression, anger, or one of the addictions. We must look at what idols of the heart lie below the sinful habits that are expressed in external behavior.

+ I agree with second generation biblical counselors in the importance of having a less formal model of counseling than Adams’ taught, and instead create one that is more personal, sensitive and compassionate. Also, the importance of understanding a client’s struggles and empathizing with them rather than quickly confronting them when the counselor sees something that looks like sinful behavior.

+ I agree with second generation biblical counselors on the importance of entering into a mutually-respectful dialogue with other Christian counselors rather than the confrontive manner that Adams’ had. We can grow more by listening than we can by confronting.

Areas of Partial Agreement or Disagreement

± I agree with Adams and Powlison that the Bible has something to say to everyone, including those with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, Asperger’s disorder, etc. For example, it is important to believe in God, to trust him for one’s salvation, to try to live life according to the 10 commandments, etc. However, I would disagree with them that what the Bible says comes anywhere close to providing a comprehensive plan for how to help them with those psychological disorders.

± “We deny that the processes and goals labeled self-actualization, self-fulfillment, healing of memories (emphasis added)...recovery, etc. describe valid aims of counseling, though they may evidence analogies to elements of biblical wisdom” (Affirmations & Denials, p. 5).

While I agree with parts of that statement, I don’t think he understands what healing of memories is, and how often it frees a person from past bondage and trauma and allows them to significantly deepen their relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, which hopefully are the central goals of biblical counseling.

- I disagree with Powlison’s statement that “We deny that any form of determinism neuters moral accountability to God” (Affirmations & Denials p. 4).

Biblical counseling (as did nouthetic counseling) has explicitly aligned itself with Reformed Theology (Calvinism) which either affirms soteriological determinism (God determines who will and will not be saved) or cosmological determinism (God determines everything that happens in the universe, including every action of humans).

Powlison and other biblical counselors have never explained (at least in the documents I have read) how they can affirm divine determinism and human responsibility simultaneously. It is logically impossible for an individual human behavior to be determined and voluntarily chosen at the same time, despite Powlison’s assertion above.

Nouthetic and biblical counselors’ emphasis on clients choosing to accept Christ and choosing godly (rather than ungodly) behavior is more compatible with Arminian theology than with Reformed theology. As a matter of fact, it’s perfectly compatible with Arminian theology.

- “We affirm that the growth process for which counseling must aim is conversion followed by lifelong progressive sanctification within every circumstance of life” (Affirmations & Denials, p. 5)

However, not every client is willing to take Christ as their Savior or make him the center of their life at the point when they seek counseling. Christ did not say, before he healed someone, that they must first accept him as Savior and Lord. He instead ministered to them wherever they were spiritually, and in gratitude many of them accepted him as Savior and Lord after their healing. Should we not, as counselors, do likewise?

From a Christian perspective, counseling that does not include God nor help people make peace with God and obey his commandments is not complete counseling (we might agree with Adams and Powlison on this). But the reality is, not everyone is ready to make God the center of their lives. We have to be willing to help them where they’re at. And even though we might not think this will be the best and most complete help we can give, we should not declare that it is not counseling.

- Powlison’s unwillingness to call anything that is less than comprehensive care as care.

For example, we might consider comprehensive medical care as the situation where a physician gives a patient information about a healthy diet, about losing weight, about stopping smoking, about getting adequate exercise and the patient going out and doing all these things as comprehensive care.

However, most physicians who work with specific patients for any length of time realize that some patients will follow through on their suggestions, but many will not. Therefore instead of giving them the most comprehensive care that they could, they instead give them they guidance they can, and they treat the illnesses that come because the patient is unwilling to comply with certain suggestions that would make them healthier.

Would we assert that the physician is not giving medical care because the patient is unwilling to make all the changes that the physician knows would be best for the patient? He or she is still giving medical care, even though it is not all the care that could be given.

In a similar way, just because a counseling client is not willing or ready to accept the entire Christian message at a given point in time does not mean that it is not valid to call what they do receive as counseling.

− If Powlison really does believe in substantive engagement with and learning from psychology, is this significantly different from a view that believes in integrating psychology and theology, giving preference to theology whenever the assertions of the two fields disagree? What is the difference between “substantive engagement” and “integration”?

− Powlison says that he believes in substantive engagement and learning from psychology, and his writings show evidence that he has read secular psychology books. However, despite that awareness, there are very few instances when you see him using the specific methods that have been discovered by secular psychology. His comment quoted in the Summary of Biblical Counseling seems to indicate his ambivalence about substantive engagement and learning from psychology when he says: “Do secular disciplines have anything to add to the methodology of biblical counseling?” The answer is a flat no” (emphasis added). Time after time I would repeatedly write in the margins of his articles or articles by other second generation biblical counselors “Good point” but at the end of that same section be thinking “There are so many other insights or counseling techniques that could be incorporated into this section that are never mentioned.”

So my final point to this Summary and Critique of Nouthetic/Biblical Counseling is this: there are many important truths we can learn from this approach, especially if our training was primarily in secular institutions, but let’s combine those important insights with all the truths God has allowed human beings, even non-Christian human beings, to discover through the avenue of common grace.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Revised 2000, 2023

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Foundational Premises

I. The critical importance of relationships in human life

A. If one looks at the Bible as a gestalt, the primary focus of its pages is on relationships—from the first chapters of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation. While the Bible never says explicitly that relationships are a critical aspect of human life, from the amount of attention that is paid to them this is certainly a reasonable inference to draw.

B. Scripture talks primarily about two kinds of relationships—our relationship with God, and our relationships with other human beings. The first three chapters of Genesis talk about the close relationship Adam and Eve had with God and the loss of that relationship. Most of the rest of the Bible tells the story of God providing a way for us to be reconciled to Him again. The last chapter of the Bible talks about a glorious homecoming, when the effects of sin will be removed and those who have desired to be at peace with God will enjoy eternity in a closeness that we cannot fully understand here on earth.

C. Scripture also devotes a large amount of space telling us how to live in peace with our fellow human beings, our countrymen, our church family members, and our own families.

D. Clearly the reasonable inference we can draw from all this emphasis is that God knows that healthy vertical and horizontal relationships are crucial to human health and happiness.

II. A comprehensive understanding of human beings must include an understanding of God

A. Secular counseling theories start and usually end their discussions with human beings. God, if he is mentioned, is usually relegated to a few paragraphs somewhere in the first 200 pages. Usually even this is not a reference to the true God. Instead it is a reference to projections made by human beings who, unable to tolerate the anxiety produced by the thought that there may be no cosmic father figure to give them security, project their need for such a father figure and create a god in their own minds.

B. In contrast, Scripture begins the story of humanity by talking about the God who truly is, and who is not simply a projection of human anxieties. These early chapters teach, either explicitly or implicitly that human beings can most accurately be understood by recognizing:

1. that God exists.

2. that God created humans. Human personality is not the result of random biological and chemical processes, but the result of a careful plan conceived by a personal Creator to fashion people who have the potential for relationships and meaningful accomplishments.

3. that God created humans to have personal relationships with him, and that the decision they make in this regard--to be in rebellion against, indifferent to, or friends of God, is the single most important decision humans can make during their earthly lives.

4. that God created humans to play a special role on this earth, namely, to govern (or exercise responsible stewardship) over the earth

5. that human problems originated, not by lack of education or faulty conditioning or parenting (as most psychological theories posit), but by human desires to be God and the center of their universe. (This is not to assert that these other factors (lack of education or faulty conditioning or parenting) do not cause psychological or interpersonal problems, for they certainly do. It is only to say that they are an incomplete explanation. For a more complete explanation we must add a recognition that human beings have a sin nature that interacts with, and often exacerbates the effects of these other factors. This sin nature includes human’s desire to usurp God as the rightful center of the universe, and place themselves there instead. It also includes the human tendency to be self-centered in our desires which, if unchecked, can lead us to violate either God’s principles or the rights and needs of others in the pursuit of our own desires.)

III. The Importance of “the middle story” in human life

A. Peter Wagner, in his book The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit (1988, pp. 30-35) describes some concepts first brought to public attention by Paul G. Hiebert, a respected missiologist at Fuller School of World Missions (a missiologist is someone who studies the world missionary movement).

B. Hiebert compares the cosmology of most Westerners with much of the rest of the world. Secular westerners usually believe in a single-tiered (naturalistic) universe only. Christian westerners typically believe in a two-tiered universe, with God and other supernatural forces inhabiting the upper story and human beings occupying the lower story. In contrast, most other cultures believe in a three-tiered universe; the middle story represents the sphere where the interaction between humans and supernatural beings occurs.

C. This is not considered primarily an external combat between supernatural and natural beings, but an interaction that occurs intrapsychically. The majority of what happens in human life is believed to occur in this middle story.

D. Hiebert makes the point that he believes this three-tiered cosmology is truer to biblical reality than is the two-tiered one. Christian growth, according to Scripture, occurs because of the influence of the Holy Spirit living within us. Likewise, Christians struggle “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12, NIV). The spiritual weapons and armor described in Ephesians 6:13-18 refer to cognitive truths that Christians can use to refute the theological lies or half-truths that Satan and his forces attempt to insert into our minds. Thus according to God’s Word much of our Christian experience, and non-Christians’ experiences as well, occurs in the middle story.

E. If the above is true, then a Christian theory of personality and counseling must address what happens in this “middle story.”

IV. Scripture does not claim to be a comprehensive textbook on psychology, psychiatry, neurology, or the study of interpersonal relationships. While not claiming to be a comprehensive textbook in these areas, it does include important insights in these areas, and what it does say is authoritative.

A. Some biblical counselors have asserted that Scripture does claim to be a comprehensive counseling textbook based on 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and 2 Peter 1:3.

B. II Timothy 3:16-17 states: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Jay Adams says that this verse teaches that the Bible has all the information the pastor needs to counsel. Further training in counseling is unnecessary and may be detrimental because of unbiblical underlying presuppositions found in psychology.

C. However, the text is only talking about the training of pastors (the phrase "man of God"--anthropos theou--means pastor). Furthermore, the Apostle Paul circumscribes what the Word will equip the pastor to do. It will equip him to (1) teach correct doctrine, (2) rebuke incorrect doctrine, (3) train in right behavior, and (4) correct wrong behavior.

D. This does not mean that Scripture will teach pastors how to conduct weddings, funerals, board meetings, church business meetings, organize or deliver sermons, or many other things, including counseling. At both the seminaries where Adams has taught, he used several other textbooks besides the Bible to train pastors for these other functions. Therefore, II Timothy 3:16-17, correctly interpreted, is not claiming that the Bible is a complete counselor-training manual for pastors or for others who are called to the ministry of counseling. As Crabb has noted, the Bible contains many important truths that are foundational for effective Christian counseling. But just as it does not claim to contain all the truth necessary for physical healing, neither does it claim to contain all the truth necessary for psychological or interpersonal healing. II Timothy 3:16-17 is saying that the Bible contains all the theological information necessary to fully train a pastor theologically for the pastorate.

E. Similarly, II Peter 1:3 states: “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.” This verse is also used by biblical counselors to assert that the Bible contains everything we need to know to counsel. Note the explanation of this verse given by the theologians who wrote the NIV Study Bible: “God has made available all that we need spiritually through our knowledge of him. If indeed II Peter was written to combat an incipient Gnosticism, the apostle may be insisting that the knowledge possessed by those in apostolic circles was entirely adequate to meet their spiritual needs. No secret, esoteric knowledge is necessary for salvation” (1985, p. 1899). Thus, when viewed in context, neither II Timothy 3:16-17 nor II Peter 1:3 claim that the Bible is a comprehensive counseling manual.

V. As scientific Christian investigators, we accept three basic sources of truth.

A. Scripture (the data source), interpreted through the process called hermeneutics

B. Human experience, interpreted through the process of scientific research and statistical analysis of that research

C. Elaboration and clarification of the truths discovered from those data sources through the processes of logical induction and deduction.

VI. While we cannot know truth exhaustively, there is such a thing as truth, and through careful study we can progressively understand it more clearly.

A. There is a growing debate within higher education and psychotherapy about whether there is such a thing as absolute truth. There is also a debate about whether it is possible, even if there is objective truth, for human beings to ever know that truth with certainty.

B. Scripture appears to teach that there is absolute truth in at least two categories--(1) factual truth and (2) absolute moral truth.

C. Naive realism is the belief that we always see objective reality accurately. Modest realism is the belief that, through careful observation and repeated confirmation, we can approximate an accurate understanding of phenomena.

D. Postmodernism is the movement that is questioning whether there is such a thing as absolute truth and, if there is such a thing, whether human beings can ever know it. Traditional science takes the position that there is absolute truth (at least in the factual realm), and the epistemological position of modest realism.

E. While any large philosophical movement is often diverse and one set of statements cannot accurately capture all the diversity of opinions, the following table attempts to summarize the mainstream thinking within postmodernism. The comparisons on the next page are summaries of ideas developed in fuller detail in the book Back to Reality: A Critique of Postmodern Theory in Psychotherapy by Barbara Held, 1995, New York: Norton.

{Comment: I do not know how to format a table in Substack, so the first statement is a summary of what traditional science asserts, and the following statement is an assertion of what postmodernism asserts.]

Traditional Science Postmodernism

Traditional Science: The purpose of science is to discover reality as it is.

Postmodernism: We cannot discover reality as it is, we only create or construct our own subjective realities using words

Traditional Science: Realism: the knower can attain knowledge of an independent reality, that is, a reality that is objective in the sense that it does not originate in the knower. Naive realism is to be distinguished from modest realism. Naive realism is the belief that we always see objective reality accurately. Modest realism is that belief that we can approximate an accurate understanding of reality, especially as we study a phenomenon more.

Postmodernism: Antirealism (often called constructivism or constructionism in psychotherapy circles): the knower’s own cognitive operations and theories always distort the object being studied, making all knowledge inescapably subjective or relative. All “truths” are constructions of the knower.

Traditional Science: General laws and truths may be attained using reason, science, and technology.

Postmodernism: There are no general laws and truths. All “truth” is highly transitory and subjective.

Traditional Science: Written material has objective meaning. Traditionally, the meaning of a text has been understood to be the author’s intended meaning. This belief recognizes the fact that some writers express their intended meaning more clearly than others, but nevertheless, the meaning of a text is their intended meaning.

Postmodernism: Deconstructionism: texts have no objective meaning. Each reader deconstructs them and reconstructs them to determine what they mean to him or her. The meaning of a text is not what the author intended, but what it means to the reader at that point in time.

Traditional Science: Individuals exist and have the capacity to choose and to form unique patterns of responses (their personality styles).

Postmodernism: Many postmodernists now view the “self” as fragmented, ephemeral, and inconsistent--devoid of the capacity to choose or to be seen as possessing a consistent personality.

Traditional Science: Psychotherapy is a scientific enterprise based on experimentation, evaluation of results, and improvement of one’s theories and methods based on those results.

Postmodernism: Psychotherapy is an art rather than a science. Because there is no objective truth, and because what is “true” is constantly changing for both the therapist and the client, it cannot properly be labeled a science.

Traditional Science: Theoretical integration: No single theory accurately explains all human phenomena, so we need to use concepts from a variety of theories to explain the varieties of human experience.

Postmodernism: All general theories of personality are to be rejected because they try to impose a reality onto clients that may not be accurate for them.

F. In regard to these two basic questions (“Is there absolute truth?” and “Are humans capable of gaining at least a modestly accurate comprehension of it?”), God’s teaching in Scripture seems to me to be more consistent with that of traditional science than that of postmodernism.

VII. All counseling is done from the perspective of some value system, whether recognized or not. All value systems include a theological stance, either explicitly or implicitly.

A. Definition of “value” as used in psychotherapy: In psychotherapy the definition of a value is quite different than normal usage of the word. Normally a value refers to a moral principle. In psychotherapy the word “value” usually refers to the belief that a certain way of thinking or behaving is better, healthier, or more functional than another way of thinking.

B. Three theoretical possibilities regarding values in psychotherapy:

1. Value-free counseling: this was the assumption of Freud and most therapists through the 1970s. Therapy is a value-free technical intervention by a professionally trained person.

2. Value-imposed counseling: this is the idea, advocated by such diverse persons as O. Hobart Mowrer, (early) Glasser, and biblical counselors (followers of Jay Adams) that therapy is to a large degree a moral enterprise. To help people live healthily you must help them live morally. If people are unwilling to accept moral principles and guide their lives by them, they cannot be helped. Therefore, if they wish to be helped they must be willing to change their lives to align with certain moral/theological principles.

3. Value-informed counseling: The belief that all counseling is informed by some system of values, whether the counselor and client recognize this, and whether the values are made explicit or are only implicit.

C. It is now recognized by many that there is no such thing as value-free counseling.

D. Values are inevitably embedded in the theory and process of therapy, whether recognized or not (Jones and Butman, 1991, Modern Psychotherapies: A Comprehensive Christian Appraisal).

E. Browning (1987, Religious Thought and the Modern Psychologies): Any system that is used as a guide to shape, heal, or reform human life cannot avoid metaphysics and ethics.

F. Roberts (Journal of Psychology and Theology, Vol. 15: 191-203, Vol. 19: 319-333): therapies can be construed as virtues-systems: that is, psychological theories identify recommended personality traits and hold these up as virtues to be pursued.

G. In previous generations the concept of “good” usually referred to a moral quality and contrasted with the concept of “evil.” However, in contemporary secular psychotherapy “good functioning” has come to mean someone who is self-aware, autonomous, and self-assertive. These “non-moral goods” often have functionally replaced “moral goods” as the guide to how one should make decisions about the direction one should take. This is especially true when therapists believe they offer “value-free” counseling, for they are unlikely to ask clients whether there are any moral issues that should be part of their decision-making.

H. Thus, when the emphasis in therapy is totally on what the client feels and wants, and there is no emphasis on whether moral issues should be part of one’s decision-making, “non-moral goods” do functionally come to replace “moral goods.”

I. There are four predominant therapy systems today

1. Psychoanalysis ➔ psychodynamic psychology

2. Behaviorism ➔ cognitive-behaviorism

3. Humanistic psychology: various psychotherapies, all having in common the belief that humans are choosing rather than determined beings

4. Systems theory

J. All four of these are usually practiced from the perspective of secular humanism. Secular humanism affirms the following six theological statements (from Humanist Manifesto II):

Secular Humanism Historical Christianity

{Comment: As mentioned above, I do not know how to format a table in Substack, so the first statement is a summary of what secular humanism asserts, and the following statement is an assertion of what historical Christianity believes.]

1. Secular Humanism: “We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfilment of humanity. As nontheists, we begin with humans, not God. . .”

1. Historical Christianity: We believe there is ample evidence that a supernatural designer created the universe and human life. We also believe that in the Bible that Designer tells us key facts about himself, about human beings, and about his relationship to us. We believe the Bible teaches that, rather than being meaningless and irrelevant, developing a personal relationship with the God of the universe is the most important task every human being can accomplish during his or her lifetime.

2. Secular Humanism: “We can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species.”

2. Historical Christianity: We believe that God has a personal interest in every human being, and that discovering and cooperating with that purpose is what gives human beings their highest fulfilment.

3. Secular Humanism: “No deity will save us: we must save ourselves.”

3. Historical Christianity: God teaches that we cannot save ourselves. Our sins separate us from God and his holiness. We cannot atone for our own sins. It is only because God himself paid the price for our sins through the death of his son on the cross that we can be saved.

4. Secular Humanism: “Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful.”

4. Historical Christianity: We believe God clearly says in his Word that human beings will continue conscious existence after this life is ended, and the choices we make either to accept or reject him in this life will determine how we will spend eternity.

5. Secular Humanism: “Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing no theological or ideological sanction.”

5. Historical Christianity: We believe that God gave absolute moral laws based on what he knew was necessary for human beings to live healthily in relationships. While human beings sometimes rationalize breaking these laws by saying they are relative and situational, we do not believe such a position can be made compatible with Scripture or human experience.

6. Secular Humanism: “While we do not approve of exploitive, denigrating forms of sexual expression, neither do we wish to prohibit, by law or social sanction, sexual behavior between consenting adults. The many varieties of sexual exploration should not in themselves be considered ‘evil’ . . . . Short of harming others or compelling them to do likewise, individuals should be permitted to express their sexual proclivities and pursue their lifestyles as they desire.”

6. Historical Christianity: We believe that God designed sexuality to be a beautiful and marvelous experience within the committed relationship of marriage. We believe that God teaches that the only form of acceptable sexual expression is in monogamous heterosexual marriage. We believe that when sexual relationships are entered into outside this context, they harm our relationship to God and they often eventually cause physical and/or psychological harm to one or both participants.

 K. What we can clearly see from the above is that secular humanism is not value-free--it is an alternative religious system with clearly stated theological beliefs that radically differ from the theological beliefs of Christianity. Thus the secular humanistic counselor is operating from a value-informed position just as much as the Christian counselor, but those values are very different.

L. What are some of the ways that values and world-and-life views affect counseling? World-and-life views shape counseling theories and processes in at least four important ways:

1. In the definition of what a healthy human being looks like

2. In the definition of what is most important in human life

3. In the assertions of what causes problems in human life (Is it lack of knowledge, lack of skills, psychological trauma, sin, or what?)

4. In the definitions of what are the best ways to help human beings

M. Most secular counselors do not explicitly state the theology of the Humanist Manifesto in their counseling sessions. They might assert that their counseling is value-free rather than value-informed. Is that a valid assertion?

N. A world-and-life view (such as secular humanism or Christianity) can be integrated into the counseling process either explicitly or implicitly (Tan, 1999, Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 164-176).

O. Most secular counselors implicitly integrate secular humanism into their counseling (sometimes without awareness on their part) by:

1. deriving the direction and goals for therapy from clients’ thoughts and feelings, without any attention as to whether God exists or has given any moral guidelines that would apply to these clients’ situations

2. never considering whether God’s help might be enlisted in overcoming the problem(s) these clients are facing. Teaching clients to solve their problems independently of God’s help.

3. ignoring the issue of whether clients’ actions are commendable or harmful to themselves or others, focusing instead on whether they help clients achieve the goals they desire now.

P. By failing to bring God, his principles, his power explicitly into the counseling session, and deriving the direction for counseling from the client’s thoughts and desires only, these counseling sessions implicitly integrate a secular humanistic view of reality into the counseling process, even though those words are never used. This is usually the case in secular therapy, even when the client is a Christian.

Q. Thus, the argument can be sustained that all counseling is done from the perspective of some value system, whether recognized or not and that all value systems include a theological stance, either explicitly or implicitly.

VIII. This model is based on the concept of theonomous law, that is, that God’s laws (or principles) are set up with our best interests in mind.

A. Within the secular world there is often the assumption that religious rules are developed by humans with the intention of robbing human beings of as much enjoyment as possible.

B. The Bible presents biblical principles as deriving from God himself. As a loving heavenly Father, his principles are set up to enable us to live life healthily and enjoyably (e.g., Ps. 119:165). While breaking these commandments may produce some short-term enjoyment, there are usually long-term costs that far outweigh the short-term pleasure.

C. God’s principles, such as the Ten Commandments, permanence in marriage (in most situations), etc. are what enable people to live in relationships healthily. Breaking of these commandments destroys the trust that is necessary to live in community. Thus, the Christian counselor can help both non-Christian as well as Christian clients to see that living ethical lives is in their best interest and help them to learn how to do so. While the believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit to help him or her live according to God’s will, all humans are surrounded by God’s common grace, and so can be helped to live more morally.

D. See handout on “Does the Bible Teach the Concept of Theonomous Law” for further details.

IX. If we develop an integrated Christian model of personality and counseling, the conclusions we draw will have different levels of authority, depending on whether our conclusion is drawn directly from a data source or from an interpretation of a data source:

A. Scripture (as a data source) is authoritative and without error.

B. However, we build our models, not directly on the data source, but on our interpretations of the data source. Those interpretations may contain errors.

C. Analogously, data about human beings simply is.

D. Our interpretations of what that data about human beings means may contain errors.

E. Thus A and C are data sources and represent truth as long as we have collected our data correctly. B and D are interpretations of those data sources.

F. We should consider our interpretations (B and D) as hypotheses, which may be replaced when more data or better hypotheses/paradigms become available.

G. The following model attempts to integrate data and theories from the fields of biological psychiatry, ego attachment theory, object relations theory, and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

X. A theory of personality and counseling, if it claims to be thorough and comprehensive, should address at least eight important questions (and some subquestions). Those are:*

A. Theory of structure

1. What is the structure of personality?

2. If structure is to be disregarded, what are we to substitute?

B. Theory of motivation

1. What causes this structure to act or behave?

2. To what extent does past, present and future affect behavior?

3. What role does the unconscious, preconscious, and conscious mind play in influencing human behavior?

4. Do these factors determine or only influence human behavior?

C. Theory of development

1. Does personality change during the lifespan?

2. If it does, in what ways does it change and how does this affect the individual's functioning?

D. Theory of individual differences: How does one explain why individuals differ from each other?

E. Theory of health: What does a healthy individual look like?

F. Theory of illness: How are biological, psychological, social, and hamartiological (sin-based) factors believed to cause unhealthy behavior?

G. Theory of cure: At a theoretical level, what must happen for a sick person to become well again?

H. Therapeutic techniques: At a practical level, what should a pastor or counselor do to help a person become well again?

I. Demonstrated effectiveness: What empirical validation do we have that this theory is accurate and effective?

1. This ninth factor does not prove that a theory or model is valid or not. For one reason, it is possible for a therapy approach to work, but not for the reasons its practitioners think it does.

2. Similarly, it is possible for a theory to be correct and not achieve demonstrable results for any of several reasons--failure to accurately translate the theory into practice, poor choice of measurement instruments, inadequate research design, inadequate statistical power, etc.

3. Therefore, the pragmatic utility of a theory is not an absolutely certain way of proving the validity of a theory, but certainly is helpful in several ways.

J. Model that addresses non-believers as well as believers: many Christian models of counseling only address Christians directly (e.g., Charles Solomon’s, Jay Adams,’ Robert McGee, Bill Gothard’s, and Larry Crabb’s most recent theory, etc.). This ignores the facts that:

1. All people start out as non-Christians have and personalities, therefore we need to have a theory to explain their personality development

2. Non-Christians come for counseling as well as Christians, and we need to have a way of understanding and helping them with their struggles, and

3. Sometimes non-Christians appear to be healthier, in some aspects of personality functioning, than believers. We need to have a model that explains this phenomenon.

* Several of the above components were adapted from Joseph Rychlak, Introduction to Personality and Psychotherapy,, 1970, pp. 20-22.

The Content of the Proposed Model

I. THEORY OF STRUCTURE

A. See article Some Thoughts About a Biblical View of Personality for a fuller elaboration of this section.

B. To briefly summarize what is in that article, theological theories about the nature of human beings can be categorized as either partitive or aspective theories. Partitive theories teach that human beings are composed of either two (dichotomous) or three (trichotomous) identifiable, divisible parts/substances. The dichotomous view teaches that humans are composed of a material substance (body) and an immaterial substance (soul or spirit). The trichotomous view teaches that humans are composed of three differentiable substances (body, soul and spirit are each unique substances).

C. Holism is less well-known within the Christian community. It is an aspective view of human beings and teaches that humans in their present state are an indivisible unity. They are not composed of differentiatable (or ontologically distinguishable) substances:

1. Body refers to the whole person in one’s mortality, i.e. with the limitations and human frailties that come with having a physical body (Ladd, 1974, p. 458).

2. Soul refers to the whole person as a living being related to other human beings. It refers to a human as a thinking, feeling, choosing, social being (Ladd, 1974, pp. 458-459).

3. Spirit sometimes has considerable overlap with soul, i.e., it refers to the whole person as a living (as opposed to non-living) being. The difference is that soul emphasizes the whole person in relation to other humans, while spirit emphasizes the whole person in his or her capacity for a relationship with God (Ladd, 1974, pp. 458-459).

D. For the five reasons discussed in more detail in the complete article I believe the holistic (rather than a dichotomistic or trichotomistic) view of human beings is most consistent with the biblical, psychological, and biological data that we have available to us. Those reasons are:

1. that the biblical writers intended their words to be understood holistically. We should not use a model imported from pagan Greek philosophy rather than the intended meaning of the biblical authors.

2. that the biblical writers often use the words “body,” “soul,” and “spirit” interchangeably to refer to the whole person, something which makes sense if they were using these words holistically, but does not make sense if each of these words refers to a differentiatable part of human beings,

3. that if we’re going to be consistent about understanding humans partitively (i.e., composed of different substances) we must become ochtochotomists, since Scripture talks about eight parts of human beings,

4. that dichotomous and trichotomous theories don’t make sense conceptually when we examine how the brain, the mind and the spirit are related to each other (for example, some trichotomists claim that we have three brains--the physical brain, a psychological brain, and a spiritual brain, etc.), and

5. the fact that almost every theorist who claims to be a partitivist conceptually becomes a holist when he starts to explain how human beings function raises questions about the validity of partitive theories.

E. In the field of secular psychology we have two trends that bear on this issue.

F. One of these is the debate about whether human beings can best be described in partitive or holistic terms.

1. While Freud did espouse a tripartite formulation of personality (id, ego, and superego), he never suggested that these were three different substances. As a materialist he viewed them as three processes, interacting with each other, that all arose from a single substance. Thus Freud (and those who followed him in the psychoanalytic and psychodynamic traditions) were all holists, believing human beings were composed of a single substance.

2. Behaviorists (and the cognitive behaviorists who followed them) have almost exclusively been ontological holists, believing humans are composed of a single substance.

3. Most of the humanistic theorists were holists both ontologically (believing there was only one substance) and psychologically (believing that you needed to understand the personality before you could understand the meaning of a particular behavior).

4. For example, in Adlerian psychology an emphasis was made on understanding the lifestyle a person had chosen to understand the meaning (purpose) of an individual behavior.

5. Also, Transactional Analysis (TA) encouraged therapists to attempt to understand the games a client was playing, and the larger life script he or she was acting out, in order to understand the meaning of a specific behavior.

6. Gestalt therapists have always taken a holistic approach toward understanding personality functioning.

7. Contemporary cognitive behaviorists attempt to understand specific behaviors in light of broad schemas (sets of core beliefs about oneself, the world, and one’s relationship to the world) that may be guiding that person’s life.

8. The constructs “Personality styles” and “personality disorders” attempt to understand specific behaviors in a more holistic (rather than atomistic) way.

9. There have occasionally been psychological theorists who come from a strong background in philosophy and have been dualists, but they have been infrequent.

10. Thus, secular psychologists and psychotherapists have for the large part been ontological and psychological holists.

G. A second connection from the field of psychology concerns the historical debate between functional versus structural theories of personality.

1. If humans are composed of various kinds of substances, as dichotomists and trichotomists propose, then structural views of personality are clearly warranted (the various substances produce various structures within the personality).

2. If, on the other hand, humans are composed of a single integrated substance, then the emphasis shifts from structural views to functional views, i.e., How does the fact that we are, simultaneously, physical beings, psychological beings, and spiritual beings, affect our functioning at this moment in time?

3. Since both the biblical data and the movement within psychology is to increasing view humans holistically, that perspective will be used in the rest of this paper. Readers who prefer a different perspective can translate the concepts discussed into their preferred frame of reference.

4. Since this paper takes a holistic perspective, the remainder of this section on Theory of Personality Structure will focus on the hypothesized processes that occur within that holistic structure.

H. There does seem to be a basis for a personality theory within Scripture. There is a basic similarity between the ideas found in the modern psychological concept of schema (as used by cognitive-behaviorists) and the more general concept of “mind” or “mindset” discussed in Scripture. Our perceptions (how we perceive) is the basis for our thoughts, our feelings, our motivations, and our behavior. Nous (mind) is the Greek word that refers to our perceptual set, or our mind-set. This mind-set includes not only how we perceive the world, but what we view as important, and the collection of attitudes we have about ourselves and our relationship to the world as a result. Biblical passages include “Let this mind (set) be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 2:5). Or “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (Ro. 8:5, italics added). There are dozens of verses that refer either to a corrupt and depraved mind-set or to a mind-set that is in the process of being renewed.

I. The way we perceive the world forms the basis for all other personality functions. At conversion there is a perceptual reorganization; our old mind-set is superseded, at least potentially, by a new set of attitudes. This perceptual set (our assumptive world) is not normally in our conscious awareness: it is usually preconscious or unconscious. It is usually brought to conscious awareness in a nurturing, supportive environment where we feel comfortable relaxing our ego defenses and looking carefully at our own assumptions.

 J. Similarly, the word heart (Greek word kardia) found in Scripture relates closely to purpose in life and personal moral values. Heart has two primary denotations:

1. What is the center of our lives (what do we live for) is comparable to purpose in life.

2. Our conscience code, or personal moral values. Heart is frequently used, especially in the Old Testament, as a synonym for conscience. The New Testament has another word for conscience (suneidesis), which sometimes refers to conscience code and sometimes to conscience prick (the warning alert that we have violated our conscience code).

K. There are several personality processes which I’ve visualized on a diagram, but I was not able to format that diagram in Substack. Therefore I will discuss each of those personality processes without an accompanying diagram. While not all the concepts found in this diagram have their exact equivalent in Scripture, many of them do, and none of them are incompatible with the teachings found there.

L. The diagram (or model) attempts to explain why we behave the way we do, identifying the multiple factors that influence or determine a given response. It attempts to explain both healthy as well as unhealthy responses.

M. The first several categories in the diagram are (1) genetic predispositions, (2) prenatal and postnatal health, (3) injuries or illness, and (4) life experiences are discussed in most development psychology texts and our understanding of these influences is expanding each year as more research is done.

N. Those four factors are important in the development of schemas (a mind-set that includes our view of self, our view of others and the world, and our view of the relationship between our self and the world).

O. (Note: In this discussion the terms “schemas” and “core beliefs” will be used as synonyms.) Jerome Frank referred to these mind-sets (schemas or core beliefs, with their attendant intermediate beliefs and automatic thoughts) as “assumptive worlds.” They may be either adaptive (generally accurate filters of the world) or maladaptive. Maladaptive schemas are distorted filters of reality usually resulting from trauma and painful experiences that cause us to expect the world to continue to be painful and traumatic.

P. Maladaptive schema can either arise because of early life experiences (see Jeffrey Young’s identification of 18 early maladago,,,ive schema) or because of trauma that occur later than early childhood.

Q. Once formed, schema influence our use of at least seven cognitive processes, so that the data which we allow into consciousness continues to support the schema we have chosen. Each of those seven processes are described below.

1. Selective attention: It is impossible to attend to all stimuli that bombard us from without and within. Life experiences, including parental training, pleasant or unpleasant experiences, cause us to attend to some stimuli as being more important, and not attend to others.

2. Attributions: attributions are the interpretations we make of experiences (the B in Albert Ellis’s ABC model of emotion). Between differences in selective attention and differences in attributions, two people experiencing the same situation may have quite different responses.

3. Expectancies: Seligman has shown that pessimism can be learned (cf. learned helplessness), and that optimism may also be learned. Years ago Eric Berne (author of Transactional Analysis) suggested that people can be divided into at least three groups based on expectancies--Winners, Losers, and Non-Winners (this third group are those who work hard but expect to miss success by a hair-breadth and they always do). To this we might add “Realists” (possessing a balance of optimism and pessimism) and “Optimistic Realists” (those who know that life can be difficult and not everyone can be trusted, as do Optimists, but nevertheless expect more ptriggerings than unpleasantness from life). Thus from most optimistic to most pessimistic, expectancies might be:

a. Optimists (in TA terms--Winners, i.e., those who expect to succeed)

b. Optimistic Realists

c. Realists

d. Non-winners

e. Pessimists (in TA terms--Losers, i.e., those who expect to fail)

4. Assumptions: These cognitive processes include beliefs about how men generally are and how women generally are. These assumptions can either be positive, realistic, or negative.

5. Standards: these are expectations about how people ought to be. They are thus different than assumptions, which are beliefs about how people actually are. Standards (or expectations) can be either realistic or unrealistic.

6. Automatic thoughts: Automatic thoughts and attributions are related, but slightly different processes. An attribution is generally an interpretation of some event external to the organism. An automatic thought may be something that happens without any external event triggering it. The person who keeps himself from attempting an activity may do so as a result of automatic thoughts such as “If I try it I’ll make a fool of myself” or “I’m sure I wouldn’t enjoy it, so I might as well not try it.”

7. Defense mechanisms: Most theorists recognize some validity to the Freudian concept of ego defense mechanisms, even if they do not agree totally with the theory. From a cognitive-behavioral perspective, ego defense mechanisms can be conceptualized as cognitive avoidance processes, i.e., they are processes by which a person avoids being consciously aware of certain thoughts, feelings, or realities which cause them to be uncomfortable.

R. There are two other cognitive components that are not subcomponents of one’s schema. They are multiple intelligences and purpose in life/personal moral values.

S. Multiple intelligences: We tend to think of intelligence in monolithic terms--the hypothetical construct that intelligence tests measure. One researcher, Howard Gardner (Multiple Intelligence: The Theory and Practice, 1993, New York: Basic Books) has suggested that there are a variety of types of intelligence. There is the rational-analytic type of intelligence commonly measured by present IQ tests. But there is also emotional intelligence--the ability to be aware of and accurately deal with one’s emotions (cf. Crabb’s emotional circle). There is musical intelligence–musical aptitude. There is visual-spatial intelligence–useful in things like engineering. There is esthetic intelligence–artistic aptitude. There is also interpersonal intelligence–the ability to interact effectively with others. Our capacities in each of these areas affect our behavior.

T. Purpose in life and personal moral values:

1. Purpose in life: Frankl, Jung and many other of the existential therapists have talked about the importance of having a meaningful purpose in life, something that gives meaning and direction to one’s life, and that can sustain one through challenging times.

2. Personal moral values: Glasser and Mowrer discussed the importance of having a set of moral values, and living consistently within that set of values, but few other secular therapists have emphasized this concept. There is also the related idea from social psychology of cognitive dissonance--which is activated when we hold certain moral values and then violate them. It is possible that living within one’s moral values is more important to the believer than to the unbeliever because the Holy Spirit does not allow us to be at peace when we are sinning. At least for believers, the degree to which one is living within their moral values is a particularly important aspect of personality, producing either peace (when one is behaving as one should) or depression, anxiety, guilt, displaced anger, or substance abuse (when one is violating one’s conscience code).

U. Emotional responses: Present life experiences, filtered through one’s schema, ability to respond, and existential point in life, produce one’s emotional responses.

V. Influence of one’s immediate social context: Depending on who is around, the emotional response may be acted out in an overt behavioral response (if the person interprets it as safe to act out) or suppressed (if the person believes it would be dangerous to act it out).

W. This entire process (from schema to behavioral response) represents one’s personality style. If that personality style is consistently an unhealthy one, it is called a personality disorder.

II. THEORY OF MOTIVATION

A. What causes this structure to act or behave? Many motivational psychologists such as Adler, Murray, Maslow, Glasser, and Crabb suggest that we are motivated by felt needs, desires, or longings.

B. We believe that certain situations or interpersonal activities will meet those needs, longings, or desires, and so those situations or interpersonal activities become goals for us.

C. Maslow suggests that we have various levels of needs, i.e., that we attempt to meet certain basic needs first, and once those are met, then attempt to meet “higher” kinds of needs. In general those are:

Self actualization

Purpose

Love

Physical Security

Basic Physical Needs

1. basic physiological needs (food, water, air),

2. safety needs (safety from harm),

3. belongingness and love needs--the need to give and receive love,

4. significance needs--the need to feel worthwhile to oneself and others--the need to feel one is making some sort of contribution to the world, or that one is respected by others.

D. We are all influenced by those four levels of needs. However, the fifth level of need (self-actualization) may be expressed in a variety of ways. Some may have the kinds of “peak experiences” about which Maslow spoke. Others may have a need for aesthetic beauty. Others, especially those who are having difficulty successfully meeting the needs lower on the scale, may not find self-actualization to be a very pressing need.

E. A need which Maslow spoke very little of was a religious need--a need to be meaningfully, personally, and positively related to God. Many of the psychoanalytically-influenced persons of Maslow’s time viewed religious needs as the result of not having fully resolved childish dependencies. Others viewed it as a holdover from an earlier, prescientific era.

F. Existential theories recognize the need (at least in many maturing adults) to have a meaning for one’s life that transcends the few short years we spend on this earth. Many existential therapies also recognize the loneliness of human beings if their only relationships are other human beings (Coe, 1999, Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol 18, No. 2, pp. 109-128). But secular existential theories don’t have an answer to that loneliness. Only the Bible gives us the answer that we are not alone in the universe—there is a Creator who desires a loving, personal relationship with us, and who will ultimately call us into an eternal relationship and life with Him.

G. Christianity, at least as early as Augustine, saw the possibility that there was a healthy religious need in man (Gordon Allport would reaffirm this idea in the 1950s in The Individual and His Religion). Allport would go on to say that religion in one’s life could be used either opportunistically (extrinsic religion), or as a healthy, integrating function (intrinsic religion).

H. Thus one way of making Maslow’s hierarchy more explicitly compatible with Christianity would be to identify this top level as the need for a relationship with God.

I. It is interesting that in the story of the creation of human beings (Genesis 2 and 3), all five of these levels of needs were addressed.

J. Religious needs, particularly among very committed believers, can become more motivating than lower-level needs (such as safety), causing people to be willing to suffer imprisonment, torture, or even death rather than to be disloyal to the God in whom they believe.

K. The analogue of the need for a relationship with God among non-believers might be called the “existential need.” Some people may attempt to meet their religious needs through other means than a personal relationship to God. They may do this be living ethical lives that give them a sense of satisfaction or by engaging in good endeavors or causes (for example, Hans Selye’s concept of egoistic altruism).

L. There are differences in the healthiness which people accord to various needs, and the accuracy of their beliefs about how to best get those needs met (cf. Crabb’s rational circle). For example, some people may believe that the best way to meet their needs for love and acceptance would be to become involved romantically with whoever will accept them, with the hope of eventually finding someone who will not abandon them. Another person might believe the best way to meet their longings for significance would be to invest themselves totally in their career, in hopes of moving up the executive ladder. Thus, there are some beliefs and priorities (of meeting needs) that are healthier than others. As Christians we believe that trusting that God will meet all our necessary longings and centering our lives around his teachings about how to best meet those needs in our lives, is the healthiest lifestyle. However, this is not to deny that some non-believers may invest themselves in worthwhile causes, integrate their lives around those causes, and live a life which for them is quite fulfilling.

M. To what extent do past, present and future affect behavior? This proposed model would suggest that the past plays a significant role in who we are up to this point in time, but we can make choices in the present, and set goals for our future. Therefore all three time dimensions play a significant role, but the extent each time-frame plays will vary from individual to individual.

1. The behavior of the person who reacts impulsively and is not introspective is shaped primarily by what has worked in the past and any immediate goals which he or she hopes to accomplish in the present or immediate future.

2. The less impulsive and more introspective person may be influenced differently by these three time frames.

3. The careful planner may be primarily affected by the future.

N. What role does the unconscious, preconscious and conscious mind play in influencing human behavior?

1. Several factors may act to keep some mental processes out of conscious awareness. These can include:

a. anxiety

b. guilt or shame

c. pain

d. the length of time between when a memory was first laid down and the present, or

e. the speed at which some cognitive and interpersonal events happen (some cognitive processes occur so quickly that people are not consciously aware of each step in the process unless they stop and consciously try to identify the various steps by which they came to a conclusion).

2. The more intense the emotions involved, or the longer away in time the original memories and the present time is, the greater the likelihood that something will reside in the unconscious rather than the preconscious.

O. Do these factors determine or only influence human behavior?

1. When we react without thinking, our behavior is determined by our genetic makeup, health or injuries received that may affect our behavior, our ability to conceptualize and develop a response to what is occurring (multiple intelligences), our schema, our moral values, our sin nature, and what our experience in our social environment has been in the past (i.e., our reinforcement history).

2. When we consciously process an event before responding, we have the possibility of our responses being influenced rather than determined by these factors.

3. The Holy Spirit’s enabling (the theological concept is special grace) gives believers additional power to choose how they will respond: however, all people (unbelievers as well as believers) have some ability to choose their responses rather than be determined by these previously mentioned factors. (Some would call this common grace--the grace God gives to all human beings, that allows them to be choosing beings.)

III. THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

A. Genes are sometimes coded so that certain processes (both healthy and pathological ones) do not manifest until certain points in the developmental processes. Genes are also differentiated by their degree of penetrance: the higher the degree of penetrance, the more likely the gene will express itself in the development of the organism. Genes with lower degrees of penetrance may or may not express themselves depending on other factors.

B. Prenatal and postnatal health, injuries and illness affect development in various ways.

C. Life experiences (includes both interpersonal and impersonal life experiences) and our psychological reaction to them affect our development in a variety of ways (please refer to diagram two pages back as you read the following section):

D. For the sake of simplicity, I would like to suggest that we have four basic needs: (1) the need for acceptance—to be connected in a caring way to those around us, (2) the need to be able to differentiate from others—individuation (3) the need to believe that one is making some sort of meaningful contribution to the world, and (4) the need to believe that one has the capacity to have some power over his or her life. (This last need has been historically called an “internal locus of control,” in contrast to an external locus of control. Persons with an external locus of control believe that the world or other people control what happens to them. Persons with an internal locus of control believe that they have the knowledge and skills to determine, at least to some degree, the direction of their lives. A more recent term that has a similar meaning is the term “effectance.”)

E. These first two needs (acceptance versus individuation) exist in dynamic equilibrium. We have a desire to be close to others, but at the same time not to be engulfed by them. Healthy persons can both have close relationships and at the same time differentiate themselves from those around them.

F. When a child with these basic needs grows up in a healthy environment, these basic needs are met. The child is loved, but the child is also allowed to begin to develop their own unique personality and ideas and preferences. As a result, he or she develops the ability to sustain healthy ego attachments (healthy relationships) and that child develops positive internalized parental objects (images of their parents as loving, affirming, validating of them). These healthy family relationships encourage the development of healthy (or adaptive) schema.

G. In contrast, when children grow up in unhealthy family systems, one or more of these basic needs are not met. As a result of not experiencing respectful love and validation in their first significant relationships, they often will develop difficulties having healthy ego attachments. Their images of their parents will be internalized as negative objects, and they are likely to develop maladaptive schema of one kind or another (recall Young’s taxonomy of 18 maladaptive schema).

H. Those schemas are maintained in the ways discussed earlier in this paper, e.g., through the things the child or adolescent selectively attends to, through the interpretations they make, through their expectancies, assumptions, standards, automatic thoughts and defense mechanisms. (Note that their intelligence, moral standards, purpose in life, and behavioral skills also affect their life experience, but are not part of one’s schema per se.)

I. Those who have had healthy experiences throughout this process are more likely to have success in

1. forming healthy ego attachments in adolescence and adulthood,

2. more likely to have success in negotiating the normal developmental tasks (e.g., dating, marriage, career selection, career development, parenting, adult friendships), and

3. have positive self-esteem.

J. Those who have had less healthy experiences are more likely to encounter difficulty in these three areas.

K. Further thoughts on Internalized Objects:

1. To simplify significantly, object relations theory believes that out of infants’ interactions with their primary care givers, they develop patterns of relating to themselves, others, and the world. Children also internalize images of their significant others, and these internalized images continue to affect their view of themselves in significant ways. Thus, if children have an internalized image of a scowling, rejecting parent, their self-concept will be quite different than someone who has an internalized image of a gracious, accepting parent.

2. For the non-believer, pathogenic internalized objects can be replaced through therapy. While object relations therapists might not agree, some mental health professionals would also believe pathogenic internalized objects can be at least modified, if not replaced, if one experiences healthy friendships or a healthy marriage.

3. For believers, the above may be true, but the experience of replacing a rejecting internalized object with an image of a loving, forgiving God may represent the most stable foundation for replacing negative internalized objects. (Note: simply reading that God is a loving, forgiving Father is not likely to change a negative internalized object. Normally a person must have some experiential encounter for this to occur.)

4. The concept of internalized objects can be integrated with Bandura’s concept of models. When Person B finds Person A attractive, Person A becomes a role model, and internalized object whom Person B attempts to emulate.

L. Further thoughts on Schemas:

1. Schemas develop because of our life experience, and then continue to influence how we experience life from that point on.

2. The cognitive-behavioral concept of schemas is still in the process of being developed.

3. One avenue for development would be to integrate them with Maslow’s hierarchy, that is, schemas attempt to answer the following questions:

a. How can I meet my basic physiological needs for food, water and air?

b. How can I meet my needs for physical safety?

c. How can I meet my need to belong--to be able to give and receive love?

d. How can I meet my need to feel significant--to feel I am making a worthwhile contribution?

e. How can I meet my need to be related to God?

 4. Present descriptions of schemas focus on answering questions b through d. Especially for Christians, including question e would be useful (and may even significantly change the answers to questions b through d).

5. As people mature they should have increasing abilities to become aware of their selective attention, attributions, expectancies, assumptions, standards, automatic thoughts, and cognitive avoidance processes and to reevaluate all of the above. In general, there should be greater ability to articulate what is going on with each of these processes as one develops (cf. Piaget), increasing abilities to make discriminations between concepts and behaviors which one was not capable of making at earlier stages, and increasing abilities to be able to dispute the validity of one’s cognitive processes or beliefs/assumptions/expectations as one becomes developmentally more mature.

M. Normally the schema one leaves early childhood with continue to go with them throughout adolescence and adulthood (because these various cognitive processes tend to reinforce the mindset one already has), unless there are experiences that help one change. These significant, schema-changing experiences might include therapy, one or more deep and healthy friendships (“Love is nature’s psychotherapy” --Eric Berne), religious conversion (particularly when followed by involvement in a healthy church), involvement in personal growth experiences and groups, etc.

N. It is possible that development might also go the other way, for example, a woman raised in a healthy family might come out of childhood and adolescence with fairly healthy personality functioning, but if she marries an abusive man and continues in the relationship for several years, may develop an increasingly-unhealthy schema, especially if she does not have the support of friends, family or therapy to help her remain healthy.

O. A fifth basic need

1. It has been posited earlier that children have four basic needs—for acceptance, individuation, contribution, and effectance.

2. I believe that sometime during development most people become aware of a fifth need, namely, the need to be related to God—to someone who is larger, more powerful, and who is timeless. This need can be recognized, rejected, caricatured, or psychoanalyzed in positive or negative ways, but is nonetheless there.

3. Romans 1:18-20 teaches that all people have enough data to know that God exists. Apparently those who deny his existence do so either out of disappointment with God, because they want to be God of their lives, or because they are unwilling to give up sin in their lives. Understanding the reason a specific person is denying God’s existence may be a first step in helping him or her re-examine his or her stance toward God.

P. Facets or aspects of development: There are many distinct aspects of development. All of the following would apply to believers and non-believers. The last one would apply primarily to believers. Note: these descriptions of the various aspects of development is highly abbreviated:

1. Intellectual development: The growing ability to incorporate increasingly complex schemas (in the Piagetian sense), and to use these schemas to understand material and make valid differentiations between concepts.

2. Emotional development: The growing ability to be aware of and correctly understand the emotions one is feeling, as well as the increasing ability to modulate expression of those feelings in appropriate ways.

3. Psychological development: The development of adaptive or maladaptive core beliefs (and the intermediate beliefs and automatic thoughts that derive from those core beliefs).

4. Moral development: The development of a moral code that approximates the moral code revealed by God through nature (Romans 1 and 2), an awareness of when one is violating that moral code, and the learning of appropriate responses when one recognizes one has violated that moral code.

5. Spiritual development: Development of an awareness of God’s presence in one’s life, of being reconciled to Him, of basing one’s moral behavior increasingly on that love relationship (rather than fear), and of carrying that awareness that God is working in one’s life both externally and internally into more and more situations. [The antithesis of this is what Crabb calls “Development of a Fool,” referring to the idea of a person going through life based on the illusion that God is not present and the delusion that one does not need him to be present.]

6. Note: Unlike many of the moral development theorists, I believe there is, at least within the Christian faith, an important distinction between moral and spiritual development. For example, it is theoretically possible for a person to be raised by loving, principled parents and develop a strong moral code himself or herself, without having a personal relationship with God. Spiritual development, as I am using the term here, refers to the degree to which a person has developed a warm, personal relationship with God. In some people moral and spiritual development are strongly correlated (hopefully in Christians they would be), but in others the correlation may be less or even absent.

Q. Do Christian parents inadvertently raise their children to become idolators?

1. All children start life attempting to build their identity on their own human efforts (e.g., the Adlerian notion that each lifestyle is an attempt to build an identity through either positive or negative behavior; Crabb would call this living in one’s Lower Room)

2. Coe (1999, p. 123) says: Most of us become “terribly habituated in this form of autonomy, which is then entrenched and is brought characterologically into the faith. For most Christians, learning to live in the power and love of the Holy Spirit [rather than by attempting to earn acceptance from others by superior performance] will be entirely against their habitual character.”

3. If this is true, then perhaps we need to be teaching our children (once they become believers) that their significance and security rests in who they are in Jesus rather than in their performance and their acceptance by others.

R. The ability of the Holy Spirit to overcome the effects of negative family interactions on development

1. Recently Dodds (1999, Journal of Psychology and Christianity, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 129-139) published the results of a fascinating study she had done. Briefly, she developed a world-wide network of 40 judges. She developed a set of descriptions for normal, mature Christians, and then a second set of criteria to describe Christians who have exceptional maturity and health by virtue of their relationship with God. She then extensively interviewed 12 people who were identified by this world-wide group of judges as being in this second group.

2. Interestingly, she found that 11 out of the 12 people identified as exceptionally mature and healthy by virtue of their close relationship with God had begun life in ways that would not have led one to predict that they would end up being selected for her study. In her words “the majority came from families far below the ideal. Only one [of the 12] had an ideal family and childhood life. Some were at the extreme of dysfunctional family life, including incest, rape, violence, and alcoholism” (p. 132).

3. Of further interest was the fact that none of these 12 people had arrived at their present state of emotional health and maturity through the process of therapy. While this study should certainly not be used as an argument against the helpfulness of Christian counseling, it may provide proof that the Holy Spirit can help persons overcome the effects of dysfunctional early family life with or without counseling, and can help them not only become normal Christians, but can even help them become exceptionally healthy persons.

IV. THEORY OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: Individuals are different for each of the following reasons

A. One’s genetic makeup, which causes certain factors, sets limits to certain factors (e.g., height, I.Q), and leads to certain predispositions and preferences (things that are influences, but not determining factors)

B. The degree to which a person has experienced health or illness, safety or accidents

C. The parental figures images one has internalized

D. The models to which one has been exposed

E. The adaptive or maladaptive schema one has developed

F. How one selectively attends to the experiences around them

G. The attributions (interpretations) one makes of one’s experiences

H. The expectancies for success or failure one has

I. The assumptions one has about the nature and behavioral predispositions of males and females/people in general

J. The expectations one has of how people ought to behave

K. One’s automatic thoughts

L. The specific defense mechanisms one uses, and whether there is overuse of them (some use of defenses is adaptive and healthy)

M. The degree to which one has a meaningful purpose in life

N. The moral values one has incorporated

O. The degree to which one is open to the influence of God or evil influences in one’s life

P. The work of the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit does not work identically in each person’s life—I Cor. 12:11, Eph. 4:11-16)

Q. The intellectual abilities one possesses

R. The degree to which one is surrounded by caring, supportive friendships

V. THEORY OF HEALTH: Psychological healthiness is a result of the following factors:

A. Absence of genetic factors that cause serious mental illness (e.g., autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, alcoholism, etc.)—or if such factors are present, acceptance of the presence of such factors, and appropriate preventative or compensatory action(s) taken.

B. Absence of prenatal or postnatal physical injuries or illness—or if such injuries or illness has occurred, acceptance of this fact, and appropriate rehabilitative or compensatory action(s) taken.

C. Either positive internalized objects from childhood—or if these were not present in childhood, have been replaced in adolescence or adulthood with positive internalized objects because of therapy, healthy friendships, healthy marriage relationship, religious conversion, the Holy Spirit’s work, or some combination of the above.

D. Positive role models, either from childhood, or if not gained in childhood, from reading, education, therapy, models experienced in adulthood, or internalizing Christ as one’s “ego ideal” (Freudian concept for a positive role model, internalized at both an unconscious and conscious level).

E. Intelligence--the ability to understand and respond adaptively to what is going on in one’s life, either through one’s natural ability to understand and develop adaptive responses, or through consultation, counseling, education or personal reading.

F. An adaptive schema

1. Selective attention: The ability to selectively attend to the most important information at a given moment, and to shift one’s attention to new areas as needed. The willingness to examine all the relevant data, and not just to attend to data that confirms one’s previously-accepted schema

2. Attributions: The ability to make plausible attributions from the data available, the courage to check out one’s attributions in socially-appropriate ways if failure to do so would interfere with one’s functioning or relationships, and the willingness to change one’s attributions if data indicates it is appropriate to do so.

3. Expectancies: Expectancies either in the realistic or optimistic realistic range.

4. Assumptions: Assumptions about men and women in general that reflect accurate gender differences. A willingness to view individual men or women as unique persons, and not impose gender stereotypes.

5. Standards: Expectations about how people ought to be that are realistic, that can be renegotiated for individuals in one’s life as necessary, and a graciousness when people do not live up to our expectations.

6. Automatic thoughts: A growing awareness of the automatic thoughts that often occur below the level of conscious awareness, and the ability to gather data and dispute with automatic thoughts that are inaccurate and that interfere with healthy living

7. Defense mechanisms (cognitive avoidance processes): An adequate functioning of defense mechanisms so that they allow the person to withstand everyday stress and traumas, but not so pervasive that they distort the person’s perception of reality or ability to deal with problems that occur.

G. Purpose in life: An existential purpose in life that gives the person a meaning and direction for their life, and that gives them the ability to endure periods of hardship

H. A positive relationship with the three persons of the Trinity that is consciously experienced on a daily or frequent basis.

I. One or more honest, mutually-nurturing friendships

J. Personal moral values:

1. A set of values that shows respect for the value and integrity of other persons.

2. A commitment to live a life consistent with that code.

3. Preplanning in order to try to avoid situations where one would be tempted to violate that code.

4. A “conscience prick” that alerts one when one has violated one’s conscience code.

5. A willingness to confess violations and make appropriate amends.

K. Differences between Christians and non-Christians

1. Many of these descriptions would be similar, or only require some modest modification, to show how the description for a healthy believer and non-believer compare.

2. In some cases the content, or the basis for a process will be somewhat different for the two groups. Some examples follow.

3. The ability to selectively focus on the data around oneself in such a way that a person receives a balanced and accurate picture of the environment--same for both groups.

4. The expectancy that, with God’s help, one will be able to succeed in giving and receiving love, and of having a significant and helpful impact on the world around oneself--obviously has a different content for Christians than for non-Christians.

5. Having accurate assumptions about human nature, including accurate assumptions about men and women in general, and of recognizing individual uniquenesses. Similar for both. The Christian recognizes that we are all sinners, and that we need to take precautions about ourselves and others as a result.

6. Having a clearly defined set of moral values that is rooted in a love for God and for one’s fellow man. Being willing to add to, modify, or subtract from that set if one becomes aware of good reasons for doing so, and living one’s life in light of that set of values. Some similarities as well as some differences.

L. Following is an example of some foundational thoughts that could be integrated into a Christian schema:

1. I am deeply fallen (i.e., I have a sin nature that makes me naturally self-centered and selfish, that affects even my most noble actions, and that makes it impossible to ever earn right standing before God through my own good works).

2. I have been wonderfully redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ, so that I am no longer under condemnation. I can rejoice in that now and can look forward to doing so in a greater way throughout all eternity.

3. I am deeply loved by God, who knows all my sins and imperfections. He has promised that nothing can ever separate me from his love. Because he loves me, I can love myself. (Note: these first three items are paraphrased from an article by Bill Counts which appeared in The Journal of Psychology and Theology, 1974 entitled “The Nature of Christian Self-Esteem.”)

4. I am not complete in myself. I need close relationships with others for at least two reasons: I need to be in relationship to be healthy, and I need others because I do not have all the spiritual gifts myself.

5. God will give me the ability to do everything he calls me to do. Therefore I do not need to be anxious about the future.

6. I am significant because God calls me to minister his truth and his love to those around me, and in so doing, my life has an opportunity to count for eternity. The significance of my life does not depend on any earthly system of accounting, but on whether I am faithful to show God’s truth and his grace to the people around me.

7. God has no ungifted children. I will not focus on comparing my abilities with those of others. By finding and developing the gift(s) God has given me, and by using those gifts in ways that manifest the fruit of the Spirit, my life will always be gifted.

M. Some Scripturally-based responses that Christians can use to dispute with common core beliefs, expectancies, or automatic thoughts they may have: (Adapted: original author unknown)

1. We may say: "It's impossible"

2. God says: All things are possible if you trust me (Luke 18:27)

3. We may say: "I'm too tired"

4. God says: I will strengthen you (Isaiah 41:10)

5. We may say: "Nobody really loves me"

6. God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 13:34)

7. We may say: "I can't go on"

8. God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)

9. We may say: "I can't figure things out"

10. God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)

11. We may say: "I can't do it"

12. God says: You can do all things as I strengthen you (Philippians 4:13)

13. We may say: "I'm not able"

14. God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)

15. We may say: "It's not worth it"

16. God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28)

17. We may say: "I can't forgive myself"

18. God says: I FORGIVE YOU (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)

19. We may say: "I can't manage"

20. God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

21. We may say: "I'm afraid"

22. God says: “My peace, which passes all understanding, will keep your heart and mind (Philippians 4:7)

23. We may say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"

24. God says: Cast all your cares on me (I Peter 5:7)

25. We may say: "I don't have enough faith"

26. God says: I've given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)

27. We may say: "I'm not smart enough"

28. God says: I will give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)

29. We may say: "I feel all alone"

30. God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

VI. THEORY OF ILLNESS: There is a difference between a psychological disorder (which is more pervasive and generally more long-standing), unhealthy behavior that occurs within a specific situation (and is usually more limited to a certain context and specific developmental situation), and lack of existential meaning in one’s life. All may be the focus of counseling. A psychological disorder will generally take longer-term therapy, while unhealthy behavior may sometimes be handled by self-help reading, lay counseling, or brief therapy. Lack of existential meaning might be treated with existential therapy: Christians might argue that existential therapy that helps a person discover the God of the Bible would ultimately be most helpful. Psychological disorders, unhealthy behavior, or existential anxiety or depression may be caused by:

A. Genetic causes

B. Physical injuries

C. Illness

D. Negative internalized objects

E. Negative or non-existent models (e.g., abusive parent or absent parent)

F. Lack of ability to understand a situation and/or know how to deal with it effectively

G. Unhealthy (maladaptive schema)

1. Selective attention that causes a person to develop a distorted view of one’s environment or the actions of other people

2. Misattributions that cause a person to misinterpret the meaning of events or the behavior of others. This may be exacerbated when the person is unwilling to check out his or her interpretations to obtain data that would either confirm or disconfirm one’s interpretations.

3. Expectancies--either pessimistic or non-winner expectancies. (Cognitive-behavioral studies have shown that pessimistic expectancies often have the effect of causing others to behave in ways that fulfil the person’s negative expectancies.)

4. Incorrect assumptions (inaccurate stereotypes) about the way men and women are

5. Standards--unrealistic expectations of other people. Sometimes due to failure to recognize what one’s expectations are. Can be exacerbated by

a. an unwillingness to discuss one’s expectations or

b. an unwillingness to make one’s expectations more realistic.

6. Automatic thoughts which disable oneself or which cause dysfunctional emotions or behavior

7. Overuse of any defense mechanism--denial, repression, over-compensation, reaction-formation, projection, etc.

H. Lack of a personal relationship with God

I. Lack of an existential purpose in life that gives meaning and direction to one’s life

J. Lack of an appropriate moral code

K. Lack of a commitment to live within one’s moral code (O. Hobart Mowrer claimed that a significant amount of psychopathology was because people were violating their own moral values, and experiencing guilt, shame, anxiety, or depression as a result.)

L. Lack of awareness when one has violated one’s moral code (Scripture calls this a “seared conscience” or a “hardened heart”).

M. “Worldly guilt” rather than “Godly guilt” [worldly guilt refers to intense feelings of guilt or shame about having violated one’s moral code, but without a consequent commitment to change one’s behavior (2 Cor. 7:10-11)].

N. Problems may result when people are out of touch with their feelingseveralefore act them out, rather than talk through their problems or needs.

O. Problems may also result when people do not have appropriate cognitive and behavioral skills, such as conversational skills, friendship-deepening skills, communication and conflict-resolution skills, problem-solving skills, parenting skills, budgeting skills, or knowledge or technical skills needed to perform effectively on the job.

P. Problems may also result because of the immediate social context one is in. One may be involuntarily part of a dysfunctional family, or one may be choosing to associate with a peer group that reinforces unhealthy behavior and punishes (or ridicules healthy behavior).

VII. THEORY OF CURE: A theory of cure follows from the previously discussed ingredients in psychological health or psychopathology. Often a schema will produce unhealthy cognitive processes in a number of ways. The counselor should be alert to which of the following areas unhealthy processes are occurring: [After each category the similarities and differences between a Christian and secular theory of cure are briefly discussed]:

A. Is there a possibility of a biologically-based problem, where medical treatment should occur first, and then counseling should be provided either if the medical treatment does not cure the problem, or if there are residual effects even after medical treatment? [This step is similar for secular and Christian therapy, although God may give added resources to miraculously heal or to accept and deal with difficult situations.]

B. Are there traumatic life experiences that need healing? [Theory is not different for secular versus Christian therapy. Christian therapists have some additional methods, such as healing of memories, which are not available in an identical way to the secular therapist.]

C. Has the person internalized negative parental objects? If so, what is the most appropriate and efficient way of replacing that negative object? Standard secular object relations therapy usually involves twice weekly sessions for three to five years. Christian therapists may have additional ways to deal with this--e.g., conversion, healing of memories, discipling with a very nurturing mentor, surrounding a person with a more nurturing environment, the work of the Holy Spirit in replacing negative internalized objects with the person of Christ, etc.]

D. Is the person behaving maladaptively because of poor modeling? If so, can they be taught alternative behavioral responses? [Secular and Christian therapists have similar theories in this regard. Christians may have additional models—biblical figures, including Christ, to make available to the client.]

E. Bandura’s model:

1. Albert Bandura has noted that the most efficient way to learn a complex skill is from a model.

2. Models that affect people can be either negative or positive.

3. The models to which we are exposed clearly affect our development in a variety of ways.

4. Sometimes exposure to a model who is attractive to the person can motivate them to change their behavior without being consciously aware of the cognitive processes (core beliefs, intermediate beliefs and automatic thoughts) that support that way of behaving. If the new behaviors are reinforced the person may continue these new behaviors without even being aware of the cognitive content that would have justified moving from the old to the new behavior.

5. Thus modeling may at times be a more efficient way of helping people change than psychotherapy that helps them by encouraging them to examine and change their core beliefs, intermediate beliefs and automatic thoughts.

6. This above process (of modeling) may provide an explanation of why discipling (in a Christian context) or mentoring (in either a Christian or secular context) works.

7. However, this process of change by identifying with an attractive role model can be either positive or negative. Children, adolescents, or adults may identify with healthy role models or with unhealthy ones.

F. Has the person been given a pathological life-script?

1. 2000 years ago Jesus demonstrated the power of stories (i.e., parables) to enhance listener interest and motivate change.

2. In the 1970s and 80s Eric Berne (the founder of Transactional Analysis) formalized the power of parental injunctions using the concept of life-scripts. He argued that individuals often are living out life stories that were pronounced over them by their parents (e.g., “You’ll never amount to anything.” “Men will always leave you for someone more interesting.”). He encouraged people to look for script breakers and to create new scripts for their lives.

3. In the 1990s this concept has been appropriated by narrative therapy. Briefly, narrative therapy encourages people to envision what they want their life story to look like, and then act out that new script.

4. Two advantages of using modeling (discipling) or narrative therapy as a method of cure are:

a. The rapidity in which change can sometimes be accomplished (in comparison to an insight-oriented approach like CBT where it takes time to help a person identify, evaluate, and change their cognitive processes).

b. Some clients may be amenable to modeling or narrative therapy who might not be as amenable to insight-oriented therapy.

5. The major disadvantage of these two approaches in comparison to CBT (see below) is that clients make changes without a full awareness of why they are rejecting a former way of thinking and behaving and choosing another. Some counseling pragmatists say that the important thing is that people change, whether they understand the reasons for their change. Other therapists believe that change is more thorough and people are less likely to relapse if they change both their overt (i.e., external) behavior as well as their covert behavior (the cognitions that underlie the overt behavioral changes).

G. Going back to a CBT model: Does the person selectively attend to the data around him or her? [Same for secular and Christian therapists.]

H. Does the person misinterpret the data coming to him or her from the environment? [Same for secular and Christian therapists.]

I. Does the person have a pessimism that affects all his or her encounters and activities? [Similar theory for secular and Christian therapists: however, because of the promises in God’s Word, Christians have additional bases for optimistic realism.]

J. Does the person have distorted assumptions about men, women, and people in general? [Similar for secular and Christian therapists, but the indwelling Holy Spirit provides added resources for correcting distorted assumptions (if we’re willing to let him work on those assumptions).]

K. Does the person have unrealistic expectations of others, and consequently is feeling frustrated or angry when they fail to meet those expectations? [Similar for secular and Christian therapists, although the Christian has added resources through the Holy Spirit to help him or her give up unrealistic expectations.]

L. Is the person engaging in disabling self -talk, or other kinds of automatic thoughts that are harming their effectiveness? [Similar for secular and Christian therapists. The content one uses as a secular versus Christian therapist to dispute with disabling self-talk or dysfunctional automatic thoughts may be similar and, at times, may differ (Judith Beck–Cognitive Therapy—is a good example of a secular therapist: Robert McGee—Search for Significance—provides a good example of the differences in content a Christian might use.)]

M. Is the person overusing unhealthy defense mechanisms such as denial, repression, projection, etc.? [Similar for both secular and Christian therapists, though the Holy Spirit may make it easier for a believer to recognize his or her use of defense mechanisms—if the believer is open to this.]

N. Is the person experiencing either real or false guilt feelings that need to be dealt with? [False guilt can be dealt with similarly by both kinds of therapists: The Christian obviously has different content to use in dealing with true guilt than does the secular therapist.]

O. Is the person lacking a purpose in life that would give meaning and direction to his or her life? [Both non-Christians and Christians can find a purpose that gives meaning and direction to their lives, although the content for the Christian may be different.]

P. Is the person unaware of his or her feelings, and so is acting them out rather than talking them through in some more healthy way? [Similar for both.]

Q. Does the person lack some important behavioral skills that he or she needs in order to live effectively (see VI O for list)? [Similar for both.]

R. Is there a possibility of demonic temptation, oppression, or possession? [Nonbelievers generally do not believe in demons, so this question is a non-starter for them. If the Christian therapist believes there is a possibility of demonic temptation, oppression or possession, an article written by the present author for Bakers Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling :Revised Edition, (1999), entitled “Demonic Activity, Sin, and Psychopathology” may be helpful. (A more recent version of this article is also available for downloading from my faculty website if desired). ]

VIII. THERAPEUTIC TECHNIQUES

A. I would disagree with Jay Adams’ assertion that use of a particular therapeutic method implies acceptance of the philosophy or goals of the original developer of that method. For example, it is likely that Jay Adams has not discarded every technique he learned while obtaining his Ph.D. in speech simply because most of these techniques were developed by non-Christians for non-Christian purposes. He takes these methods but uses them to accomplish different goals within the church than the secular originator attempted to accomplish with his secular audience.

B. In an analogous way, we need to understand the method itself, the original intention when using the method, whether the philosophy behind the method is compatible with a Christian mindset, and then decide whether the method itself, or some modification of the method, can be used to accomplish Christian goals.

C. Facilitation skills: There is general acceptance that attending, empathy, respect, genuineness, and concreteness are important in creating a therapeutic relationship where clients feel comfortable lowering their defenses and allowing someone else to understand their struggles. This is especially important when a Christian is struggling with sin (and feels guilty) or believes that a Christian should not be experiencing the struggle he or she is having (and feels ashamed). Consequently, facilitation skills are important at the beginning and throughout the process. This does not mean that we condone or accept sin (as some have asserted that empathy does), but that for a client to effectively address a problem, he or she must feel comfortable honestly and fully sharing it.

D. Integration of Christian truth and God’s love into the counseling situation can be either implicit or explicit.

E. Incarnated truth: God gave us not only his principles (as found in his word), but also a real, live demonstration of those principles in action (through the Incarnation). It is unlikely that we would have as clear an idea of how God wanted us to live if we had only had a manuscript telling us what to do. Similarly, if a therapist can help a client understand why he or she is experiencing problems, but also can model how to live differently, this will be more powerful than if the client were only sent home to read a book. Thus, the counselor should model in the therapy relationship how to live out the truths that are being discussed in the session. (This can be an example of implicit integration and can be done whether the client is open to spiritual things.)

F. Prayer and Explicitly Bringing God into the Therapy Process:

1. Obviously, explicit integration in the counseling session should not be done without the client’s permission. If clients desire explicit integration it can be done in several ways.

2. Prayer can play many important roles in the counseling session. It may be a request that God give us wisdom beyond our own. It may remind the client that God is interested in his or her problems (Christians sometimes forget this in the midst of anxiety), and it may be a gentle reminder that the goal of Christian counseling is not just reduction in pain/increase in pleasure, but that our lives are a spiritual journey, in which problems can help us grow in our closeness to and dependence upon God. While caution about praying should be taken with a few groups of clients (especially those where there may be difficulty maintaining appropriate boundaries), for most Christian clients who desire it, prayer may be a helpful part of the counseling process.

3. As we have seen earlier in this paper, explicitly bringing an awareness of God into the therapy process can change the person’s selective attention, interpretations, expectancies, standards, and automatic thoughts in a variety of ways. Questions might include:

a. What difference does it make when you remember that God is aware of your struggle and he does care about the pain you are experiencing?

b. What do you think God wants to teach you through this experience?

c. What do you think God wants you to do with the feelings you are experiencing right now?

d. How do you think God feels toward you because of the mistake you made? Etc.

G. Concreteness about cognitions, emotions, and behaviors that need to be changed: Research indicates that the more concrete counselors can become in these three areas, the more likely we are to be able to help the client change. The DSM-5 (through its symptom lists) can often be a useful source of ideas about things that may need to be changed, since these symptom lists usually specify cognitive, emotional and behavioral factors that usually occur with each disorder. Therefore one can look at the symptom lists for the client’s diagnosis, use the symptoms that apply to that specific client, then add to it any additional problems specific to that individual.

H. Identification of traumatic events that need healing: Some clients will come with a clear recognition that certain traumatic events started a process of disruption in their lives that needs healing. In this event a variety of approaches can be used, depending on the training and comfort level of the counselor, including healing of memories, gradual ventilation and desensitization, EMDR, systematic or in vivo desensitization, or written exposure therapy.

I. Identification of core mistaken beliefs, schemas, etc.: This is sometimes done using an Adlerian Lifestyle Inventory, Early Recollections, one of Jeffrey Young’s Schema inventories, or verbal dialogue. Sometimes the focus is on some element of a schema, such as attributions, automatic thinking, etc. With this approach an empirical study is sometimes designed to collect data that could either confirm or disconfirm the client’s attributions, automatic thinking, or schema. The client carries out the study, brings back the data, discusses the results, and then if warranted, discusses a new attribution or automatic thought that could be justified by the data.

J. Identification of skills the client may be lacking to be effective in one’s life: Sometimes a client is simply lacking some skill he or she needs to be effective. This might include conversational skills, friendship skills, dating skills, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, decision-making skills, money-management skills, etc. Sometimes because of this skill deficit the person has also begun to engage in disabling self-talk. In this case it is important to clearly identify the skill that is lacking, provide training (or help the client locate training), decide whether changing one’s self-talk is also an issue, then initiate one or both kinds of treatment.

K. Homework: The goal of counseling is to enable the client to translate insights and new skills to their real-world setting. Homework, initially assigned by the therapist, but eventually increasingly assigned by the client themselves, helps make this bridge.

L. Recognition that some problems need long-term counseling and others can be resolved in brief therapy.

1. There is a conceptual difference between some problems which arise as a person is experiencing some developmental change, or a problem that affects only one area of cognitive functioning, versus those problems that are more long-standing and that may affect several areas (e.g., most maladaptive schemas affect several areas)

2. We should not attempt to create a long-term dependency in a client who only needs short-term counseling.

3. On the other hand, there are certain kinds of problems that cannot be adequately dealt with in brief therapy. Especially if a client has insurance that severely restricts the number of sessions reimbursed, it may be necessary to consider which of several alternatives (or combination of alternatives) will be most helpful to the client:

a. Identifying the most important problem, working on it, and deferring others until a later time

b. Making more extensive use of bibliotherapy

c. Use of a support group to broaden the effects of individual therapy

d. Seeing the client for a reduced rate after insurance will no longer reimburse

e. Identifying which area of cognitive functioning is most amenable to rapid change and central to the problem. Focus on that area, with the hope that change in one area will produce corresponding changes in related ones.

M. Matching identified problems with specific interventions: Many Christian counseling theories suggest that all non-organically based psychological problems can be handled with one counseling approach (e.g., Charles Solomon, Robert McGee, Larry Crabb in the latest version of his theory). However, common sense suggests that just as not all medical problems can be treated using one medication or one surgical procedure, not all psychological difficulties will respond to one type of intervention. The empirical research on therapy effectiveness is also suggesting that specific treatment protocols for specific presenting problems are more effective than trying to apply one treatment to every problem.

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Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology Emeritus (now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Theonomous law is the theory that God’s laws (or God’s principles) are set up with our best interests in mind. This theory holds that human beings will be healthier and be better able to live in relationship with each other if they honor God’s commandments to be truthful with each other, to be faithful to their commitments, to respect each other’s property and families, etc. When these core ingredients are lacking in human relationships, love, trust and peace is decreased or made impossible. Thus God’s principles are not given primarily so that we could bring more glory to God (as if He needed that from us), or in order to spoil our enjoyment of life (as some secular hedonists assert), but because as a loving heavenly Father God saw that these principles were necessary if we were to live healthily as individuals and in relationship to each other.

An important question is whether Scripture teaches the concept of theonomous law. Following are some of the verses that I believe teach that God’s principles are set up with our best interests in mind.

Ps 1:1-6 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

[Note: These verses not only affirm the benefits of living within God’s principles, but also warn against the damaging results, both temporal and eternal, of living outside God’s principles (vs. 4-6).]

Ps 19:7-11 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. 10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. 11 By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

[Six benefits of keeping God’s law are listed: (1) it revives the soul, i.e., it gives healing to the whole person by assuring forgiveness and cleansing, (2) it provides wisdom, (3) it gives joy—inner peace and tranquility, (4) it provides clear direction, (5) it forewarns of possible pitfalls, and (6) it promises great rewards for godliness.]

Ps 37:35-40 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a green tree in its native soil, 36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. 37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; there is a future for the man of peace. 38 But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off. 39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

[Although those who fail to follow God’s principles may seem to prosper temporarily, their prosperity will soon end. In contrast, those who live according to God’s principles have the promise of God’s deliverance.]

Summary of Psalm 119: This Psalm states, perhaps better than any other, the Psalmist’s belief in the principle of theonomous law (though he did not call it by that name). David loved God’s law because he saw behind it the heart of the lawgiver, one who had given precepts by which humans could walk in blessedness (happiness), even when surrounded by earthly misfortunes or enemies.

In God’s law David finds deep happiness (vs.1 and 2), freedom from the shame and guilt that comes when humans violate God’s moral order (vs. 32, 45), hope (vs. 49), comfort (vs. 52), a recognition that God’s commands emanate from his goodness (vs. 68), a means of preservation through difficult times (vs. 92-93), a source of greater wisdom than his enemies, his teachers, or even the elders around him possess (vs. 98-100), a source of light so he does not stumble (vs. 105), of refuge and hope (vs. 114), and of peace (vs. 165).

Ps 119:1-176 Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. [Note: The concept of blessedness refers to deep happiness that comes from knowing one is right with God.] 3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways. 4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. 5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! 6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. 7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws. 8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

17 Do good to your servant, and I will live; I will obey your word. 18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. 19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. 20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. 21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are cursed and who stray from your commands. 22 Remove from me scorn and contempt, for I keep your statutes. 23 Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees. 24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors.

25 I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word. 26 I recounted my ways and you answered me; teach me your decrees. 27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. 28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. 29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through your law. 30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your laws. 31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not let me be put to shame. 32 I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free [Note: Many non-believers view biblical commands as restricting their freedom. According to this Scripture obedience to God’s commands brings freedom (and according to Jn. 8:34, 2 Pet. 2:19, and Rom. 6:19-20 disobedience to God’s principles results in slavery).]

33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. 34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. 35 Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. 36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. 37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. 38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. 39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. 40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.

41 May your unfailing love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise; 42 then I will answer the one who taunts me, for I trust in your word. 43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. 44 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. 45 I will walk about in freedom [Note the concept of freedom again], for I have sought out your precepts. 46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame, 47 for I delight in your commands because I love them. 48 I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.

49 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. 50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. 51 The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law. 52 I remember your ancient laws, O LORD, and I find comfort in them. 53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law. 54 Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge. 55 In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law. 56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts.

57 You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words. 58 I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. 59 I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. 60 I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands. 61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not forget your law. 62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. 63 I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts. 64 The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees.

65 Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. 66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands. 67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

73 Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. 74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. 75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and in faithfulness you have afflicted me. 76 May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. 77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. 78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause; but I will meditate on your precepts. 79 May those who fear you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. 80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be put to shame.

81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. 82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say, "When will you comfort me?" 83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees. 84 How long must your servant wait? When will you punish my persecutors? 85 The arrogant dig pitfalls for me, contrary to your law. 86 All your commands are trustworthy; help me, for men persecute me without cause. 87 They almost wiped me from the earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts. 88 Preserve my life according to your love, and I will obey the statutes of your mouth.

89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. 90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures. 91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. 92 If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life. 94 Save me, for I am yours; I have sought out your precepts. 95 The wicked are waiting to destroy me, but I will ponder your statutes. 96 To all perfection I see a limit; but your commands are boundless.

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. 102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 106 I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws. 107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word. 108 Accept, O LORD, the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your laws. 109 Though I constantly take my life in my hands, I will not forget your law. 110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from your precepts. 111 Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart. 112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees to the very end.

113 I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. 114 You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word. 115 Away from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commands of my God! 116 Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. 117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees. 118 You reject all who stray from your decrees, for their deceitfulness is in vain. 119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross; therefore I love your statutes. 120 My flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws.

121 I have done what is righteous and just; do not leave me to my oppressors. 122 Ensure your servant's well-being; let not the arrogant oppress me. 123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. 124 Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. 125 I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes. 126 It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken. 127 Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, 128 and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.

129 Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. 130 The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. 131 I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. 132 Turn to me and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name. 133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me. 134 Redeem me from the oppression of men, that I may obey your precepts. 135 Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees. 136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.

137 Righteous are you, O LORD, and your laws are right. 138 The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they are fully trustworthy. 139 My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. 140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. 141 Though I am lowly and despised, I do not forget your precepts. 142 Your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true. 143 Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight. 144 Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding that I may live.

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees. 146 I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. 147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. 148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises. 149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws. 150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law. 151 Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true. 152 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.

153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. 154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. 155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees. 156 Your compassion is great, O LORD; preserve my life according to your laws. 157 Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes. 158 I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word. 159 See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love. 160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.

161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. 162 I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil. 163 I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law. 164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws. 165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble. 166 I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands. 167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. 168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.

169 May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word. 170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. 171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. 172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. 173 May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. 174 I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight. 175 Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. 176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

[Probably the single verse in Scripture that most clearly teaches the concept of theonomous law is Isaiah 48:17.]

Isaiah 48:17 This is what the LORD says–your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.

Introduction to the New Testament References Regarding Theonomous Law

In the New Testament the interpersonal aspects of theonomous law are repeatedly emphasized—that is, that God’s laws were given so that we might be able to live in caring, trusting relationships with each other.

Mark 12:28-31 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Rom 13:9-10 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

1 Tim 1:5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

James 1:25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does.

I Jn 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

Conclusion and Implications for Counseling

The purpose of this study was to assess whether the Bible supports the concept of theonomous law, i.e., that God’s principles are laid down, not primarily to bring honor to God (although in following them we may do that), or to restrict human beings’ enjoyment of life (a common assertion of secular hedonists), but because God saw that these principles are necessary for humans to live at peace with themselves and with others.

I believe that the verses listed above, which are by no means an exhaustive list on the subject, do provide biblical support for the theory of theonomous law. They teach that obedience to God’s principles (1) brings freedom from shame and guilt, (2) brings a sense of forgiveness and cleansing, (3) provides wisdom, (4) brings inner peace and tranquility, (5) provides direction for living, (6) forewarns us of possible pitfalls, (7) reassures us that God will ultimately deliver us from troubles, (8) provides freedom from slavery to sin, (9) enhances our ability to live in caring, trusting relationships, and (10) promises rewards and hope for the future.

If this understanding of theonomous law is true, it provides an important rationale for Christian counselors to help clients develop the ability to follow biblical principles in their living, since to do so will not only help their lives be more pleasing to God, but also help them to be healthier psychologically and to have more fulfilling relationships.

If theonomous law is true it can even provide a rationale for encouraging non-believers to follow Scriptural principles (though we might not call them by that name to non-believers), since to the degree that they live lives of honesty, integrity and fidelity, to that degree their lives will be healthier. While non-believers do not have the special grace that God provides through his Holy Spirit to help believers live obedient lives, they still have access to the common grace that God makes available to all humanity.

Towards a Biblical View of Personality

Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.

Professor of Counseling Emeritus (now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

Revised August, 2023

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Theological theories about the nature of human beings can be categorized as either partitive or aspective theories. Partitive theories teach that human beings are composed of either two (dichotomous) or three (trichotomous) identifiable, divisible parts or substances. The dichotomous view (sometimes also called “dualism”) teaches that humans are composed of a material substance (body) and an immaterial substance (soul or spirit). The trichotomous view teaches that humans are composed of three differentiable substances (body, soul and spirit are each unique substances). Trichotomous views are frequently found in books on Christian psychology, including the work of Bill Gothard (1979), Charles Solomon (1982), Tim LaHaye (1986), and Watchman Nee (1968). Dichotomous views are frequently found among those writers who have been influenced by Reformed theology at some time in their theological development (e.g., Jay Adams, 1986, Larry Crabb, 1987).

Holism is less well-known within the Christian community. It is an aspective view of human beings and teaches that humans in their present state are an indivisible unity. They are not composed of differentiable (or ontologically distinguishable) substances:

(1) Body refers to the whole person as a physical entity, i.e. with the limitations and human frailties that come with having a physical body (Ladd, 1974, p. 458).

(2) Soul generally refers to the whole person as a living being related to other human beings. It refers to a human as a thinking, feeling, choosing, social being (Ladd, 1974, pp. 458-459).

3) Spirit sometimes has considerable overlap with soul, i.e., it refers to the whole person as a living (as opposed to non-living) being. The difference is that soul emphasizes the whole person in relation to other humans, while spirit emphasizes the whole person in his or her capacity for a relationship with God (Ladd, 1974, pp. 458-459).

We use words aspectively quite often when we talk about people. For example, we may say a person is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a teacher, or a full-time homemaker. Each of these descriptions of a person refers to an aspect of her whole being, but there is not some differentiable part of her that can be separated from other parts that can be labeled mother, wife, daughter, teacher, or homemaker.

If we look at the biblical texts themselves we find that it is possible to read holistic, dichotomistic or trichotomistic definitions into many of them. What hermeneutical principle should be used to decide whether an aspective or partitive definition of these words should be used when we interpret Scripture?

1. From a hermeneutical perspective the correct answer to this question would be--How did the Old and New Testament writers intend their words to be understood? While it is likely that the Old and New Testament writers were not intending to make ontologically precise distinctions about the nature of human beings, there is now a growing consensus among Old and NT scholars that the Hebrews understood humans holistically, and used words like body, soul and spirit generally in a holistic, rather than partitive sense. A partial listing of works written in the second half of the 20th century that suggest this growing recognition:

a. The Pauline View of Man by W.D. Stacy. New York: St. Martins, 1956.

b. Man: The Image of God by G. C. Berkouwer (1962).

c. The section on anthropology in The Theology of Saint Paul, by D.E.H. Whiteley (1964).

d. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Gerhard Kittell and Gerhard Friedrich, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley, 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-1976. See, for example, Vol. 7, p. 1064.

e. "The Concept of Soul in Psychology and Religion, J.F.K. Howard, The Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, December, 1972, pp. 147-154.

f. The chapter on Pauline anthropology (Pauline personality theory) in A Theology of the New Testament by George Eldon Ladd (1974).

g. "The Psyche in Psychology and Theology," Basil Jackson, The Journal of Psychology and Theology, Winter, 1975.

h. Romans by E. F. Harrison (p. 90) in Expositors Bible Commentaries (Vol. 10) edited by Frank Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

i. 2 Corinthians by Murray Harris (p. 345) in Expositors Bible Commentaries (Vol. 10) edited by Frank Gaebelein. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976.

j. Part II, Chapters 3 and 4 of The Human Puzzle: Psychological Research and Christian Belief, by David G. Myers (1978).

k. "What God Hath Joined: The Psychospiritual Unity of Personality", David Benner, Christian Association for Psychological Studies Bulletin, 1979, Vol. 5, No. 2.

l. Christian Theology (1985) by Millard Erickson and Introducing Christian Doctrine (1992), also by Erickson.

m. Created in God’s Image, by Anthony Hoekema (1986).

n. “Anthropology” by J.E. Colwell in The New Dictionary of Theology, edited by Sinclair B. Ferguson and David F. Wright (1988). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, pp. 28-30.

o. Renewal Theology (1988) by J. Rodman Williams.

p. E. S. Kalland (1992), in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, 64-65.

q. Probably the finest multi-volume set discussing the meaning of Greek words, written by a team of scholars, is The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. Nearly every article concerning human personality is written from a holistic perspective (Brown, 1975, 1978; Esser, 1976; Schutz, 1975; Sorg, 1976; Thiselton, 1975).

Objection: We might be inclined to ask: Why then do so many Christian writers (including Christian mental health writers) and older theologians talk about human beings as dichotomous or trichotomous?

One possible answer: We've been brought up in a Greek-influenced culture. Greeks in general subscribed to a partitive view of human nature. According to this line of thinking, human beings were composed of a body, their corporeal substance, and a soul, a noncorporeal substance. During the early years of the Christian era the Church substituted Greek, partitive understanding of these words for the holistic definitions intended by the Hebrew authors (Erickson, 1985, p. 520), and we have continued to use these definitions ever since, without realizing that we may have been giving these words different definitions than the biblical authors intended.

While some liberal theologians recognized the influence of the Greek culture as early as 100 years ago, most conservative evangelical theologians have only come to recognize the influence of the Greek culture on ourselves and to recognize that the Old and New Testament writers were writing out of a Hebrew (rather than a Greek) mind set in the last 50 to 60 years. Many of the standard Systematic Theologies (Berkhof, 1941, Buswell, 1962, Chafer, 1947, Strong, 1907, etc.) were originally written in the 1940s or before, and so reflect the dichotomistic and trichotomistic views of those days.

However, more recent theological works such as George Eldon Ladd's highly respected A Theology of the New Testament (1974), the many articles related to the nature of man in the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (1975, 1976, 1978), Erickson’s highly regarded Christian Theology (1985), and J. Rodman Williams’ Renewal Theology (1988) all reflect the awareness that the Hebrews used these words holistically. Ladd (1974), for example, says:

“Paul’s view of man has been interpreted in three ways. Scholars of an older generation understood 1 Thessalonians 5:23, where Paul prays for the preservation of spirit, soul and body, to be a psychological statement and understood Paul in terms of trichotomy: spirit, soul, and body are three separable parts of man. Other scholars have interpreted Paul against the background of Greek dualism and have seen a dichotomy of soul and body. Recent scholarship has recognized that such terms as body, soul and spirit are not different, separable faculties of man but different ways of viewing the whole man (p. 457).”

Thus if we believe that to interpret the Bible's meaning accurately we must understand the words as the authors intended them to be understood, this points strongly to the conclusion that we should conceptualize human beings holistically, at least when reading Scripture.

Objection: But what about Hebrews 4:12 and I Thessalonians 5:23? Don't they require a trichotomous understanding of human beings?

Response: Hebrews 4:12 was not intended to be a discussion of the constitutional nature of human beings, and should not be so used. Highly-respected biblical expositor Leon Morris (1981) says on this passage:

“We should not take the reference to “soul” and “spirit” as indicating a dichotomist” over against a “trichotomist” view of man, nor the reference to “dividing” to indicate that the writer envisaged a sword as slipping between them. Nor should we think of the sword as splitting off “joints” and “marrow.” What the author is saying is that God’s Word can reach to the innermost recesses of our being. We must not think that we can bluff our way out of anything, for there are no secrets hidden from God. . . . The Word of God passes judgment on men’s feelings (enthymeseon) and on their thoughts (ennoion). Nothing evades the scope of this Word. What man holds as most secret he finds subject to its scrutiny and judgment (p. 44).”

As God’s Word did with the ancient Israelites, it was doing with believers who were part of the New Covenant era: it penetrated to the depths of their personalities to reveal where their true commitments lay. Modern commentators are in general agreement that it is inappropriate to try to base a theory of trichotomy on this passage (e.g., Bruce, 1964; Morris, 1981).

I Thessalonians 5:23 says: “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The author's intention here, as in Hebrews 4:12, is not to give a discourse on the nature of humans. This is more likely to be a rhetorical device (hendiatris), used to emphasize Paul's desire that their entire being will be set apart as holy and kept blameless until the second coming of Christ (See for example, Leon Morris, 1959. For an opposing view see Thomas, 1978, pp. 294-295.)

Other Reasons for Believing in a Holistic View of Man

2. The biblical writers frequently use "body", "soul" and "spirit" interchangeably to refer to the whole person. This makes sense if they are using the words holistically. It doesn't make sense if the words refer to parts of man that are divisible from each other and different in substance from each other. Following are just a few examples of the many that might be cited:

a) Body--soma. Romans 12:1 "Present your bodies (your entire selves) as a living sacrifice."

b) I Co. 9:27 "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified." (Paul kept his entire self, not just his body, in a state of self-discipline.)

c) Soul--psuche. I Thess. 2:8 "We love you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our souls (our entire selves) as well."

d) Spirit--pneuma. Ro. 8:16 "The Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit (with our entire personality) that we are God's children."

3. If we're going to be consistent in understanding man partitively, we need to be ochtochotomists, for Scripture speaks of at least eight parts of man that have psychological denotations--body, soul, spirit, heart, mind, strength, liver, and flesh (e.g., 1 Thess. 5:23; Matt. 15:19; 22:37; Mark 12:33; Lam. 2:11 (KJV); John 6:63).

4. Dichotomous and trichotomous theories don't make sense conceptually. Six reasons why:

First, both of these theories place the intellect, emotions and will in the soul. But do we do no thinking, feeling and deciding in our spiritual relationship to God?

Second, if thinking, feeling and deciding occur in the soulish substance, what is the activity that occurs in the body (that is, the brain)?

Third, if the trichotomous view is correct, then we have a physical brain, but we must also have a second kind of mind–a soulish brain, and thirdly, a spiritual brain (this very idea, that we have a physical brain, a soulish brain, and a spiritual brain is advocated in Kylstra & Kylstra, 1996). And yet that does not seem to be how we function. When an electrical impulse goes through certain neurons in our physical brain it produces a psychological thought or feeling or decision (Medina, 1996), and that thought or feeling or decision can take us either closer to or farther away from fellowship with God (the spiritual part of that process). These three processes are one functioning unity–not parallel processes that happen in three different kinds of substances that just happen to be perfectly correlated.

To elaborate further, when we have a cognition (e.g., a thought or attitude or expectation) it makes no difference if the cognition has behavioral, psychological or spiritual content. According to writers such as Kylstra and Kylstra, if we had a thought about something we just saw, this would occur in the physical brain. If we had a thought about a relationship, this would occur in our soulish brain. If we had a spiritual thought, this would occur in our spiritual brain. Yet there is no evidence that we have three brains. A cognition is caused (or represented) by electrochemical impulses in our brain, regardless of the content of that thought. Advocates of the idea that we have two or three separate and distinct brains must prove this to be so against the overwhelming evidence that we have a single, unified brain that processes all cognitions, whether they be sensory, psychological, or spiritual in nature.

Shields and Bredfeldt (2001) contend that it is a huge step of faith of faith to assume that the complexity of the brain is an adequate explanation for the mind, intelligence, and conscious awareness (p. 76). Psychiatrists, neurologists and neuropsychologists are regularly discovering how incredibly sophisticated the brain is. I would argue that the burden of proof lies with those who argue that humans have two or three brains (despite absolutely no evidence to back up this assertion), than with those who agree with the biblical authors that we are integrated, holistic beings with a single brain.

Fourth, if the body and soul are substantially different parts of man, and intellect, emotions and will are part of the soul, not the body, then why is it that damage to the body (brain damage) effects our ability to think, to feel, and to make wise choices?

Fifth, when dichotomists or trichotomists try to make clear cut distinctions between the soul and the spirit in describing how people function psychologically, these descriptions make no sense psychologically. For example, consider this discussion from the late J. Barton Payne, a highly-respected theologian. “Distinctions between ruah [spirit] and nepesh [soul]: ruah is the principle of man’s rational and immortal life, and possesses reason, will, and conscience. It imparts the divine image to man and constitutes the animating dynamic which results in man’s nepesh as the subject of personal life. The distinctive personality of the individual inheres in his nepesh, the seat of his emotions and desires. Ruah is life-power, having the ground of its vitality in itself; the nepesh has a more subjective and conditioned life” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, p. 837). I have the greatest respect for J. Barton Payne, but the above statement makes no sense psychologically. His discussion, however, is fairly typical of dichotomists and trichotomists.

Sixth, many organically-based mental illnesses (e.g. mental retardation, autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.) are bodily-based genetic defects, but significantly affect soulish functions (interpersonal relationships) and spiritual functions. This doesn't make sense if they are different substances, for what happens to one substance would not necessarily affect the other substances of which humans are composed.

5. Almost every theorist who claims to be a partitivist conceptually becomes a holist when he starts to explain how human beings function. For example, Clyde Narramore (1960) is a trichotomist; J. Oliver Buswell (1962) is a dichotomist, as are Jay Adams (1986) and Larry Crabb (1987). Shields and Bredfeldt (2001), appear to be dualists, while at the same time affirming that humans are essentially unitary beings (p. 79). Each of these persons, while claiming to be ontological partitivists, become holists when they try to explain human functioning. Whenever we have to move from the theory we claim to be right to another theory in order to explain how something works, it should make us question the validity of our first theory.

Other Objections to Holism

Objection 1: But couldn't these substances interact with one another, rather than being totally independent? Thus damage to the body could indirectly affect soulish functioning and spiritual functioning?

Response: They could, but the relationship between damage to the body (e.g., brain damage or hormonal dysfunctions) and the deterioration in psychological or spiritual functioning is very specific. For example, a lesion or a tumor in a certain part of the brain causes very specific difficulties in psychological functioning, and these specific difficulties occur regularly among most people who have this specific damage to the brain. The correlation between damage to a certain part of the body and the specific psychological and/or spiritual difficulties it causes suggests that the brain is what causes the person to think and feel and make decisions, not just that the brain interacts with a non-material substance to cause the specific decrements in functioning.

Objection 2: But what about death? Doesn't the separation of the body from the personality at death demonstrate that we are composed of both a material and an immaterial substance?

Response: It is possible that something that is one integrated unit at a certain point in time can subsequently be separated into two different substances. For example, water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen. The fact that it can be separated through electrolysis does not mean that the atoms were not integrated into one unit at an earlier point in time. In a similar way, the fact that our personalities are separated from our physical bodies during the intermediate state (II Cor. 5:1-8), does not mean that God has not created us as integrated biological, psychological and spiritual beings in our present state.

Erickson (1985) addresses this issue with a concept which he calls “conditional unity.” He says:

“The full range of the biblical data can best be accommodated by the view which we will term “conditional unity.” According to this view, the normal state of man is as a materialized unitary being [i.e., holism, or as Erickson calls it, monism]. In Scripture man is so addressed and regarded. He is not urged to flee or escape from the body, as if it were somehow inherently evil. This monistic condition can, however, be broken down, and at death it is, so that the immaterial aspect of man lives on even as the material decomposes. At the resurrection, however, there will be a return to a material or bodily condition. The person will assume a body which has some points of continuity with the old body, but is also a new or reconstituted or spiritual body (p. 537).”

The important question is not whether we have difficulty conceptualizing what we will be like during the time between death and when we receive our glorified bodies. (The question of whether we receive a glorified body immediately at the point of death or at the time of Christ’s second coming is unclear from the text in 2 Corinthians 5—see Harris, 1976, p. 350. Alcorn (2004, pp.51-63) makes several interesting points suggesting that God gives us a new body immediately after death, although this may not be the permanent glorified body that we will have throughout eternity. The fascinating account of Piper (2007) also suggests that we receive a new body immediately upon after death.)

Whether or not we receive a new body immediately at the time of death or at some time after that, the fact that humans have to go through a transitional state where their mind continues even though the physical body dies causes many Christians to believe we must be either dichotomous or trichotomous beings. However, this does not necessarily need to be the case. There are many states of being that we do not understand, yet we accept as being true. For example, most modern physicists believe that the majority of matter in the universe is not the matter we can see with our eyes or with microscopes or telescopes but is something called “dark matter.” Yet even the most advanced physicist knows little about dark matter: no one has ever seen it, nor even been able to prove its existence. It’s existence is inferred from various scientific experiments.

In a similar way, most modern physicists believe that much of the energy in the universe is not the energy that we can measure with scientific instruments but is something called “dark energy.” As with dark matter, no one has ever seen this energy, nor even been able to prove its existence. Its existence is inferred from various scientific experiments.

The point is this: If most of the matter and the energy in the universe is in a form that we cannot prove or measure or conceptualize, yet most highly educated scientists do believe exists, it should be clear that God can create situations that our human minds cannot fully understand. The important question is not whether we can easily conceptualize how our personalities manage to exist even when the bodies that housed those personalities are no longer alive. The important question is whether God taught that our bodies, our intellectual, psychological, and spiritual capacities are integrated into one unity, or whether they are separated into several different substances, and on this question Christian theologians are increasingly saying that the biblical writers were writing out of a holistic rather than a Greek (partitive) mind-set.

Objection 3: Don’t New Age religions often embrace holism? And don’t liberal and neo-orthodox theologians believe in holism? Won’t we decrease the difference between evangelical Christianity and these other positions if we accept holism?

Response: Some evangelical writers (e.g., Shields and Bredfeldt, 2001) have implicitly argued against accepting holism for these very reasons. However, to reject a position because someone you disagree with accepts that position is an example of the logical fallacy known as an ad hominem argument. A position is not invalid because someone you disagree with (on other matters) accepts that position, anymore than a position is valid because someone you agree with (on other matters) accepts that position. Each conclusion is sound based on having valid arguments to support it: whether or not people you agree with or disagree with have taken that position is irrelevant.

As has been shown above, the biblical writers accepted a holistic view of human beings thousands of years before liberal Christianity, neo-orthodox Christianity, or the New Age religions appeared. We should not abandon a biblical understanding simply because another group with whom we disagree on other matters also adopts it.

Objection 4: Doesn’t the use of the concept “holism” (or “monism”) suggest that we are embracing the philosophical position of materialism (i.e., that the physical material universe is all that exists), and therefore holism (monism) affirms a position that is contrary to evangelical Christianity?

Response: The words “holism” and “monism” are sometimes used by other writers as if they were interchangeable. However, I would argue that they have quite different definitions. “Monism” is a term most often used in metaphysics that refers to the belief that there is only one kind of substance in the universe. Most evangelical Christians would disagree with monism because they believe that there are at least two, and possibly more, kinds of substances in the universe. God, the Trinity, is composed of an eternal substance that is totally perfect and never perishes. Human beings (and everything else in our natural universe) is composed of a different kind of substance that contains imperfections and does age. Angelic beings (and the demons who rebelled and left their initial status) may be composed of a third kind of substance. Thus most evangelical Christians would reject the concept of monism.

“Holism” has a variety of definitions depending on its context, but in the present discussion refers to the idea that human beings are not composed of two or more different substances or essences, but are composed of one substance that produces their physical, intellectual, psychological, and spiritual behavior. As one can see, it is very possible to reject monism as a metaphysical concept while still being open to the concept of holism as it pertains to human beings (see also Footnote 1).

Objection 5: How is it possible to explain consciousness just on the basis of chemicals and firing of neurons in the brain?

Response: This is probably one of the primary reasons why some people, including Christians, still cling to dichotomous or trichotomous theories. For example, highly respected psychologist Larry Crabb (1977, pp. 86-88) says that he is not a “physicalistic reductionist.” He believes that there are intangible parts of a person, such as thinking and feeling, that are not reducible to our physical body. Shields and Bredfeldt (2001, p. 76) make a similar argument. Probably most Christians who believe in dichotomy and trichotomy do so for this reason. In light of recent brain research, the following points can be made:

First, granted it is difficult to understand how neurons firing can produce something like conscious awareness, thoughts, feelings, goals, a sense of self, and religious longings. However, it is also true that there are hundreds if not thousands of biochemical processes that occur in the body every day that we do not understand. The reason why many medications work is incompletely understood. The reason why many medical treatments work often is not understood. Thus the fact that we cannot understand how neuronal firings produce consciousness is not a very strong reason for positing that we have a soulish brain and a spiritual brain in addition to our physical brain.

Second, there are now several types of brain scans available, and their combined results suggest that when conscious activity (e.g., thinking, feeling, desiring, acting, etc.) occurs, one can identify certain portions of the brain that are activated, depending on what cognitive or behavioral activity is occurring. There are literally hundreds of research studies that now endorse the idea that conscious cognitive processes (and also cognitive processes that occur below the level of conscious awareness), are represented by electrical activity in the brain.

Third, positing a soulish brain (and possibly a spiritual brain) to explain consciousness just creates a hypothetical construct and says it is occurring there, without any evidence to back up that claim. Unlike the hundreds of experiments that strongly suggest that cognitive activity occurs in the physical brain, there is not a single shred of evidence to support the contention that conscious activity occurs in the soulish brain or the spiritual brain.

Four, positing two more brains in addition to our physical brain causes further problems in how we explain how human beings function. For example, if we assert that there are two kinds of other substances of which human beings are composed, each of them being a qualitatively different substance than our physical being and brain, then we also have to posit that there are several more mechanisms that transmit information from our soulish brain to our physical brain, from our spiritual brain to our soulish brain, from our spiritual brain to our physical brain, from our physical brain to our soulish brain, and from our physical brain to our spiritual brain. Just as there is no evidence to support the contention that we have two or three brains, there is no evidence for the multiple mechanisms needed to transmit information back and forth between these multiple brains.

Thus in the process of asserting that human beings aren’t holistic because we can’t understand how consciousness can arise from neuronal firings, we have created a theory (either dichotomism or trichotomism) that has many more unproven assumptions than if we just accepted the biblical concept of holism and the idea that we don’t fully understand the process of consciousness, just as we don’t understand thousands of other biochemical processes that occur in our minds and bodies.

For the reasons stated above I believe that the holistic view of man's nature is both hermeneutically more valid and fits the biblical and psychological data better than either of the partitive views.

Question: We've been used to defining the words related to human personality in partitive senses. What would holistic definitions of these words look like?

DEFINITIONS: (from a holistic perspective)

Explanatory note: All words that exist in a language for any length of time develop a variety of meanings, or denotations. When you look at a word in a dictionary and see (1) followed by a definition, (2), etc., each of these is a denotation. Similarly, biblical words have a variety of denotations, including those words that sometimes refer to human personality. Thus, each word below will often include two or more definitions:

1. soma (body): can mean either (1) a corpse, (2) the body in a general biological sense, or (3) (psychological denotation) the whole person. “The body is not something external to man which, as it were, is added to his essential self or soul. Man does not have a soma [body], he is soma” (Motyer, 1975, p. 235).

2. basar (flesh in Hebrew): “the external form of a person..... However, it would be inappropriate to think that the Hebrews conceived of a living soul inhabiting an otherwise dead body. Rather, they saw the human reality as permeating all the components with the totality being the person (Theological Wordbook of the OT, 1980, p. 136). Sarx (flesh in Greek): can refer to (1) body in a non-moral sense (neither good nor bad) or (2) (psychological denotation) a set of thoughts or attitudes that are in direct contrast to godly thoughts and attitudes. Contrary to the thinking of some writers, the flesh itself is not bad (see denotation 1), but a fleshly mind set (denotation 2) is.

Many partitivists describe the conflict between flesh and spirit as a conflict between two ontologically-different substances, when biblically it is a conflict between two opposing mindsets (the worldly mindset versus the spiritual mindset).

3. nepesh (soul in Hebrew): “A total of 775 occurrences of the noun nepesh have been counted in the OT, and of these it is rendered in the Greek translation (LXX) some 600 times by psuche ..... Thus in its most synthetic use nepesh stands for the entire person” (Theological Wordbook of the OT, 1980, p. 590.) Psyche or psuche (soul in Greek): can refer to (1) a living being or (2) (psychological denotation) to the whole person as a striving, willing, purposing self (Ladd, 1974, p. 460).

4. ruah or ruach (spirit in Hebrew): this word refers to wind, breath, mind, and spirit. In creation, God breathed into Adam the breath of life (ruah), and Adam became a living being. The word can also refer to the attitude a human being takes toward God (e.g., a rebellious spirit). Pneuma (spirit in Greek): “that aspect of man through which God most immediately encounters him; that dimension of the whole man wherein and whereby he is most immediately open and responsive to God” (Dunn, 1978, p. 693). The Holy Spirit works in our spirit to produce a mindset that is in direct contrast to the fleshly mindset (Gal. 5:17 (KJV) “the flesh lusteth against the Spirit”). When used in this way, the “flesh” refers to our sinful nature (which is the way the NIV translators translated the word “sarx” in this context). The Holy Spirit is working within our spirit to produce attitudes that are compatible with God's will for us as humans, and that generally are contrary to fleshly (sinful) attitudes. The word is sometimes used of human’s self-awareness or self-consciousness (e.g., 1 Cor. 2:11), another example of how it is impossible to make sharp distinctions between pneuma (spirit) and psyche (soul).

5. suneidesis (conscience): Conscience is the ability to reflect upon one's past actions and either feel convicted or approved. There appear to be some basic ideas which God places in our conscience, but which can be distorted by worldly teaching or experience (e.g. Romans 1:18-32). However, many of the ideas of right and wrong found in our consciences are produced by family or societal upbringing. The conscience can be scarred, so it no longer performs its function of warning us of personal wrongdoing (I Ti. 4:2). Therefore the Holy Spirit and our consciences are not synonymous.

6. leb (heart in Hebrew) or kardia (heart in Greek): (1) “a comprehensive term for the personality as a whole, its inner life, its character. It is the conscious and deliberate spiritual activity of the self-contained human ego. . . It is the person, the thinking, feeling, willing ego of man, with particular regard to his responsibility to God, that the NT denotes by the use of kardia” (Sorg, 1976, pp. 181-182). (2) The word “heart” in the OT and NT is sometimes used as a synonym for conscience (e.g., Ro. 2:14), sometimes as a synonym for the mind (e.g., Ro. 1:21; Eph. 1:18), and sometimes as a synonym for the will (1 Cor. 4:5; Ro. 2:5, 6:17). The wide diversity of ways it is used argues against the possibility of dividing personality up into discrete parts.

7. nous (mind): the biblical writers do not use the word "mind" to refer to a person's intellectual processing capability independent of his moral stance. Biblically the concept of "mind" refers to our capacity for religious knowledge and insight, which can distinguish between good and bad (Harder, 1978, p. 127). In modern psychological terminology it refers to a mindset, a set of attitudes that correspond in varying degrees to the set of attitudes God wishes us to possess. For example, "Let this mind [this set of attitudes] be in you that was also in Christ Jesus . . ."

8. old self, new self: (these are sometimes translated as “old nature” and “new nature):” There are at least two ways these terms have been understood. One way is to understand the first set of terms as who we are in our identification with Adam after the Fall, and the second set as who we are in our identification with Christ. Another way of interpreting them is that the "old self" refers to the entire human personality of a person whose attitudes are characterized by self-centeredness and who tries to earn acceptance through good works. The "new self" is the entire human personality or a person whose attitudes are characterized by God-centeredness and who accepts God's vicarious atonement as the basis of his acceptability. These two states do not refer (as one Christian counselor stated) to a person before and after psychotherapy.

Summary and Conclusions

Many Christians continue to think of human beings partitively (i.e., they are either dichotomists or trichotomists). As this article has tried to show, the biblical writers conceptualized human beings holistically. Thus to properly interpret God’s Word, we should do likewise.

In addition to the above reason, dichotomous and trichotomous theories run into severe problems when they try to describe how human beings function psychologically (see the six problems in the section entitled Dichotomous and trichotomous theories don’t make sense conceptually for a brief discussion of only some of the problems these theories produce).

Thirdly, every contemporary secular psychological theory is founded in holistic rather than dichotomistic or trichotomistic theory. If we are to integrate the Christian faith with psychology we should not set up unnecessary paradigm conflicts by holding onto theories of human functioning that had their roots in secular Greek culture when a biblical paradigm is more compatible with modern psychological thinking.

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Morris, L. (1959). The first and second epistle to the Thessalonians. In F. F. Bruce (Ed.), The new international commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.) The expositor’s Bible commentary, Vol. 12, pp. 3-158. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Narramore, C. (1960). The psychology of counseling. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Nee, Watchman (1968). The spiritual man (3 vol.). New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers.

Piper, D. (2007). 90 minutes in heaven: A true story of death & life. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.

Schutz, H. G. (1975). Body. In C. Brown (Ed.). The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, pp. 229-242.

Shields, H., & Bredfeldt, G. (2001). Caring for souls: Counseling under the authority of Scripture. Chicago: Moody.

Solomon, C. (1982). The rejection syndrome. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.

Sorg, T. (1976). Heart. In C. Brown (Ed.). The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, Vol. 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Strong, A.H. (1907). Systematic theology. Old Tappan, NJ: Revell.

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (1980). Edited by R. Laird Harris, Gleason Archer, and Bruce Waltke. Chicago: Moody Press.

Thiselton, A. C. (1975). Flesh. In C. Brown (Ed.). The new international dictionary of New Testament theology, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, pp. 671-682.

Thomas, R. L. (1978). 1 and 2 Thessalonians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.) The expositor’s Bible commentary, Vol. 11, pp. 227-338. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Whiteley, D. E. H. (1964). The theology of St. Paul. Cited in Ladd (1974). A theology of the New Testament.

Williams, J. R. (1988, 1990). Renewal theology, Vols. 1 and 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

By Charles Colson, 2005, Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers

Summary by Henry Virkler, Palm Beach Atlantic University, now retired

I. Various Reviewer’s Comments

A. “I read everything Chuck Colson writes. He is one of the most brilliant thinkers and cultural analysts of our time. Today many people make the mistake of thinking the good life is all about looking good, feeling good, and having the goods. But the true good life comes from being and doing good. Read this and be changed!” Rick Warren

B. “Drawing on his own experience and that of others, Chuck Colson makes a compelling case for the good life in a way that will seize the attention of believers, nonbelievers, and readers who don’t know what to believe.” Richard John Neuhaus

C. Chuck Colson’s own summary of why he wrote The Good Life: “In one sense this is a thematic memoir—the rest of the story after Born Again. In includes reflections on my own life, some joyful, some painful. It recounts some of the crucial moments in my life and the lessons I’ve learned from them. I hope it also reflects my personal pursuit of what we all want—to live a life that matters, a life of significance..... This book is for seekers—seekers of any kind, of any or no religious faith” (p. xv).

D. My personal recommendation: This is a life-changing book. Chuck Colson shares deeply what he has learned from his own life, but also analyzes the culture with important insights that every person, Christian or non-Christian, can benefit from. The book is absorbingly written, with anecdotes from real life and literature that make it very readable, and that illustrate principles as only a well-chosen story can. I would encourage every Christian of average reading ability and above to read it. The summary of some of the important points below cannot capture the tremendous power and beauty of the chapters themselves.

II. Summary of Some of the Ideas from The Good Life

A. While no summary can come close to doing justice to this book, I decided to try to summarize in tabular form the major ideas from the book, both so I could absorb them better, but also because I think these ideas can be excellent components in thinking about what a Christian counseling theory should include. [Note: the tabular form would not convert to substack format, so I’ve changed the handout so it first presents what the world often believes, and then compares this with what Chuck Colson believes the Bible teaches.]

B. I’m going to present the ideas as a series of 22 antitheses. The ideas are all from Colson’s book, paraphrased to capture the ideas succinctly.

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Human beings feel best when they can maximize pleasure and minimize pain

What the Bible Teaches

Human beings greatest need is for their lives to feel significant. The need for meaning is more important than the need for pleasure

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

The good life occurs when all the circumstances of our lives are working out well

What the Bible Teaches

God often uses the difficulties in our lives to help us grow the most, and sometimes, to help us make our greatest contributions

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

To live the good life you must focus on Number 1

What the Bible Teaches

“Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it:” Jesus

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Possessions and money will lead to happiness

What the Bible Teaches

The classical Greek definition of happiness—the virtuous life—based on righteous living, decency, honor, and doing good, is closer to biblical truth

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

To have the good life one must be respected by others and be popular

What the Bible Teaches

Trying to live up to others’ expectations is a prison of its own. We only experience true freedom when we answer God’s call on our lives

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

It is important to nurture our own, and our children’s, positive self-esteem. Negative feelings about oneself are unhealthy

What the Bible Teaches

The foundation of a healthy self-concept requires that we recognize the evil as well as the good that lies within us

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

We can live life for and by ourselves

What the Bible Teaches

We only experience the good life when we live in community, and invest our life in living for others

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

The smart person focuses on himself or herself

What the Bible Teaches

Hyperindividualism eventually leads to loneliness, isolation, and despair

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Each person has the right to pursue his or her own happiness, to release one’s own inhibitions, and be true to oneself. We create our own happiness by choosing how we want to live

What the Bible Teaches

We are “God’s creatures living in a world that an all-powerful, intelligent, personal God designed and created. Finding the good life [is] a matter of correctly understanding and responding to [His] instructions” (p. 109).

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

I am independent of the need for others

What the Bible Teaches

Believing we are independent of the need for others is a fiction. We need to be connected to others (see Hardwired to Connect). “We cannot be authentic selves without being embedded in community” Ken Boa, p 117. “We do not experience [the good life] in the loneliness of today’s fads of self-expression and self-gratification. The good life is found only in loving relationships and community” (p. 120).

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Our legacy is in the trophies we collect as we go through life

What the Bible Teaches

Our legacy is in the lives of those persons who have been touched in a positive way by what we have done

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

The good life lies in the pursuit of pleasure, power, and personal autonomy

What the Bible Teaches

The good life lies in the surrender of the self in service to others

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Truth is subjective: it’s whatever seems true to you

What the Bible Teaches

Truth is not subjective: it’s what conforms to reality. There are moral laws which God has instituted. No one can lead a truly good life without recognizing, and attempting to live, within those laws. If we commit our lives to living by something that is false, even though we think it is true, our lives will end up in destruction

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Sometimes the expedient thing is to accept the culture’s philosophy, even when one disagrees. Tolerance is god. Diversity must rule at all costs (p. 185)

What the Bible Teaches

Living the good life means living within the truth: recognizing the moral truths that God has created and being faithful to that reality in one’s actions

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Existentialism, relativism, postmodernism and deconstructionism have combined to teach people in our culture that there is no absolute truth: “truth” is only what a person chooses to believe is true

What the Bible Teaches

When every belief is to be tolerated as equally valid, there is no way to distinguish good from evil, or even to say that something is evil. The belief that there is no absolute truth has left many people confused, and ultimately despairing of the possibility that there can be any meaning to their lives. “Much of postmodernism has abandoned reason and in the process left its adherents with ‘both feet planted firmly in midair’ ..... You cannot keep a solid footing unless you see through the big lie of postmodernism” (p. 195).

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

When we abandon a theistic moral basis for life and substitute it with a Darwinian view, a natural corollary is utilitarianism, such as that of Dr. Peter Singer. Singer argues that we should do what is best for the greatest number of people. Therefore fetuses known to have birth defects should be aborted, and children who are born with such defects (e.g., children with autism, spina bifida, etc.) should be killed. The hundreds of thousands of dollars that will need to be spent to care for one of these children could better be spent feeding hundreds of children in Africa. If we pursue the utilitarian philosophy, eventually it could be applied to every person with a disability, and every older person once they lose their ability to make a financial contribution to society.

What the Bible Teaches

Disabilities are not a good thing. They are one manifestation of the brokenness of our world. But dealing with persons with disabilities gives us an opportunity to enlarge our capacities to love. It also helps us realize that the worth of persons should not be tied to a person’s ability to make a financial contribution to society. People are important because they are created in the image of God (and therefore deserve dignity and respect) and because God says every person is important.

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

The universe arose by chance, the cosmos is all there is or ever will be, and life is the result of “an unsupervised, impersonal, unpredictable, and natural process.” There are no serious scientific investigators who credibly challenge Darwinian evolution.

What the Bible Teaches

Many serious scientists and other professionals are challenging the assertions of Darwinism. Just a small representative sample include Michael Denton (Evolution: A Theory in Crisis), Philip Johnson (Darwin on Trial), William Dembski (The Design Inference), and Michael Behe (Darwin’s Black Box)

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Everyone has a right to their own lifestyle choices (sexual and other), and every lifestyle is equally valid and good

What the Bible Teaches

God has designed a natural moral order in the universe, and when people violate it, they end up harming themselves and others. The good life cannot be found when violating that moral order.

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

There are no absolute moral truths

What the Bible Teaches

Every culture, even though it has some variation, agrees on certain moral truths. It is wrong to lie, steal, kill, rape, or torture others. We cannot live the good life without a conscience that convicts and guides us (p. 252)

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

We exist in an impersonal universe. There is no higher power.

What the Bible Teaches

Almost every human being has a sense that their life has some purpose, that there is some guiding force in their lives. Some call this force “fate.” Christians believe it is God and the name for his working in our lives is called Providence.

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Death is to be avoided and postponed at all costs, because it is the absolute end of one’s existence.

What the Bible Teaches

Living in God’s truth results not only in a good life, but also a good death. Here are some of Bill Bright’s last words to his staff: “By faith, walk in His light, enjoy His presence, love with His love, and rejoice that you are never alone; He is always with you, always to bless!” (p. 337)

What the World Often Believes (consciously or unconsciously)

Human reason is the only thing that can unlock the mysteries of the universe

What the Bible Teaches

God gives us reasoning faculties so that we can understand that the universe points to him and that Christianity makes more sense than any of the competing worldviews. But a prideful reliance on reason alone can prevent us from coming to God. That can only come when we set aside our pride and ask Him to come into our lives and ask Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord.

and Their Relevance for Christian Counseling

Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D.

Professor of Counseling Emeritus (Now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

I. Introduction

A. One of the most important issues in Christian counseling, both from a theological standpoint and from a psychological one, is whether human beings are determined or whether they are able to make voluntary choices.

B. In theological circles within Protestantism, this has often been framed as the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism. Within Roman Catholic circles there has also been the debate about these issues, but it has not been framed around two specific individuals. For example, all of the church fathers up to and including Augustine in his early years, espoused a position moderately similar to the ideas of Arminius (i.e., some variation of theological voluntarism). Later Augustine, following a logical inference that came out of a theological argument he was having with a heretical group of his day, moved to a position closer to the one espoused by Calvin. Roman Catholic theologians since that time have taken a variety of views on these issues.

C. Psychology during the first half of the twentieth century was dominated by two views, Freudianism and behaviorism. Both of these were deterministic views, although the mechanism by which humans were believed to be determined was different in these two theories. Freud believed that conscious thoughts and actions were determined by unconscious processes and drives. Skinner and other behaviorists believed actions were determined by our reinforcement history.

D. In contrast, humanistic psychology, which developed in the 1960s and ncompassed several different psychological theories, asserted that human beings could make choices. Those choices did not occur in a vacuum–people were influenced by unconscious processes and their reinforcement history–but humans could choose to behave in ways that were not determined by either of these forces. For humanistic psychologists, the ability to choose was one of the things that make us uniquely human, and the ability to choose and live with the results of our choices is what gives meaning to life.

E. Thus these two sets of controversies are both important for us as Christian counselors, for they influence a number of issues:

1. Are people responsible for their behavior? (If human behavior is determined, people should not be held responsible for what they do.)

2. What is the process of change in human behavior? (This should be different depending on whether human behavior is determined or voluntarily chosen. If behavior is determined, then the process of change will depend on the factors that cause it to be determined.)

3. Our answers to the above should logically affect how we conduct therapy. Interestingly, even for people who are theological or psychological determinists, the way they conduct therapy is often more compatible with voluntarism (that assertion will be explained more fully later in this paper).

F. The purpose of this handout is to acquaint you with various theories of theological and psychological determinism versus voluntarism, to discuss some of the data supporting these various views, and then to encourage you to make some decisions regarding the stance you will take.

II. Theological Determinism versus Voluntarism

A. Introduction: Some History and Basic Definitions

1. John Calvin published Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. The fifth revision, which is usually considered the definitive version, was published in 1559.

2. Around 1600 Jacob Arminius, a Reformed pastor, began to publicly ask that some of Calvin’s teachings be reconsidered in the light of Scripture. Arminius died in 1609, but approximately 40 Dutch Reformed pastors who agreed with his views developed a theological paper called the Remonstrance. Those who sided with Arminius’ position were initially called Remonstrants.

3. Eventually a conference was scheduled to consider these two views at a town called Dordrecht (pronounced “Dort”). The conference was called the Synod of Dort. The Remonstrants wanted the conference to consider whether Calvin’s original teaching or Arminius’ suggestions were closer to Scripture. Instead, the leaders of the conference decided that the question to be considered was whether Arminius’ views differed from Calvin’s. (The Remonstrants could have easily answered that question: the reason they asked for the conference was to discuss those differences.) The leader’s preferences prevailed: the conference decided that Arminius’ views differed from Calvin’s, and the results of those deliberations were published as the Canons of Dort.

4. The differences between Calvinism and Arminianism will be discussed in more detail later, but probably the foundational difference between Calvinists and Arminians is the definition and understanding of what divine sovereignty means. Calvinists believe that since God is truly sovereign, everything that happens must occur because He wills it or determines it, either directly or indirectly. Arminians also believe that God is totally sovereign over the universe, but that He causes some things to happen, and He allows some things to occur.

5. Both Calvinists and Arminians believe there is biblical support for their definitions of what God’s sovereignty means. Passages that Calvinists draw from that support their idea that God controls, either directly or indirectly, everything that happens include verses such as:

a. He “has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalms 103:19).

b. The book of Daniel affirms that as the “Most High,” God is “sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes (4:17, 25,34; 5:21; 7:14).

c. God is the “only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15) and many other verses.

6. Arminians define God’s sovereignty as meaning that everything that happens does so because God either causes it or permits it. Three of the arguments that support this definition are:

a. The Hebrew idiomatic use of the verb

(1) Every language has idioms, i.e., ways of using words that are unique to that language. One of these in Hebrew is called the idiomatic use of the verb. Bullinger describes it this way: “Active verbs were used by the Hebrews to express, not the doing of the thing, but the permission of the thing which the agent is said to do” (1898/1968, p. 823). And although the New Testament was written in Greek, it was written by Hebrews, and abounds in Hebraisms (p. 820).

(2) Many Bible expositors believe that an idiomatic use of the verb occurs whenever the literal translation would imply that God is doing something that contradicts his character. God says he cannot sin (Hebrews 6:18); He cannot even look with approval at sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Further, he says that he cannot be tempted with evil, nor does he tempt any man to sin (James 1:13).

(3) On that basis many Bible expositors understand the following verses to be examples of an idiomatic use of the verb, and revise the literal interpretation in the following ways:

(a) Exodus 4:21: “I will harden [Pharaoh’s] heart (idiomatic translation, “I will allow him to harden his heart”), so that he will not let the people go.”

(b) Exodus 5:22: [Moses had asked Pharaoh to let the Israelites go into the wilderness to offer a sacrifice to God. Pharaoh responded to increasing their workload dramatically, and the Israelites vented their anger on Moses.] Moses said to God: “O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people (Idiomatic translation: “Why have you permitted Pharaoh to mistreat them so badly”)?

(c) Jeremiah 4:10: [Jeremiah to God]: “Then I said, ‘Ah, Sovereign Lord, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying’” (Idiomatic translation, “You have allowed your people to be greatly deceived by the false prophets”).

(d) Matthew 6:13: “And lead us not into temptation” (Idiomatic translation, “Don’t allow us to be lead into temptation”).

(e) Bullinger discusses several hundred examples of idioms found in the Bible (see pp. 819-860)

(f) So Calvinists are likely to interpret passages that speak of God sovereignly controlling everything that happens on earth literally. Arminians are likely to believe that those passages, because of the Hebrew idiomatic use of the verb, teach that God’s sovereignty means that God either causes or permits everything that happens.

b. God says in his Word that he allows humans to resist him. The second major reason Arminians believe that God, in his sovereignty, chooses to allow humans a certain amount of freedom, is the fact that the Bible speaks repeatedly of humans having the freedom to resist him (at least for a temporary period of time on this earth). Section VI below (on Irresistible Grace) lists some 15 biblical passages that affirm that God allows humans to resist his call and his will, and this is but a small sampling of such verses. You are encouraged to scan those verses now, then read that section more carefully when you get to it.

c. Evil things happen in the world. This is another reason Arminians use to argue against the idea that God controls all things. Arminians explain the presence of evil as the result of the fact that Satan, and then humanity, rebelled against God and continue to do so. Calvinists often argue that God is not the direct cause of sin and evil, but he has sovereign control over all the factors that shape our personalities, so while he does not directly cause anyone to sin, he still is in control of all things. Arminians respond that pushing determinism one step back and saying God controls all the factors that make us who we are, still makes him responsible for the actions we take. It also doesn’t explain how a sovereign and totally good God could have created an angel who rebelled and lead the world in rebellion against him. Arminians say that Satan’s rebellion against God and the Fall are better explained by the definition of sovereignty that says God allows his creatures, both angels and humans, a certain amount of freedom to make self-caused decisions, and that those decisions are sometimes good and sometimes evil.

7. Therefore the issue of the biblical definition of divine sovereignty can be summarized this way:

a. The use of the word sovereignty can be understood literally to refer to complete control, which supports the Calvinistic interpretation of Scripture, or it can be understood as an example of the Hebrew idiomatic use of the verb, in which case divine sovereignty means that everything that happens occurs because God either controls it or that he permits it. Thus this issue results in a draw: neither side can claim that their definition is the only one possible.

b. The fact that many passages of Scripture do talk about God allowing humans to resist him to a certain degree is a stronger argument in favor of the Arminian definition of sovereignty.

c. The fact of Satan’s rebellion, the Fall, and the presence of evil in the world also causes many believers to say that this argues against the idea that God controls and determines, directly or indirectly, everything that happens, since James 1 says that he cannot be tempted by sin, nor does he cause any being to sin.

8. Calvinists have sometimes been divided conceptually into those who believe in cosmic determinism and those who believe in soteriological determinism.

a. Cosmic determinism: the belief that everything that happens in the universe is caused by God.

b. Soteriological determinism (a more limited form of determinism): the belief that God determines who will be saved, but allows humans free-will in some areas of human living.

9. As biblical Christians and as Christian counselors we need to ask, "Which of these three definitions and theories of divine sovereignty and human freedom (cosmic determinism, soteriological determinism, or Arminianism) are most consistent with what Scripture teaches?"

B. Issues that Calvin and Arminius (and their followers) agree on:

1. From the time of the Synod of Dordrecht to the present time there have been vigorous debates between Calvinists and Arminians. If you put the words “Calvinism” and “Arminianism” in any search engine you can see evidence of very strong accusations from both sides. Some Calvinists continue to call Arminianism a heresy, and one famous televangelist recently called Calvinism the “worst heresy in the history of Christianity.” Such language does little to help us understand or find common ground with each other.

2. When we look at the writings of Calvin and Arminius themselves, we find that they agree on most of the foundational issues of the Christian faith. For example, they both agree on:

a. The Bible’s supernatural inspiration and the supreme authority of Scripture in determining what Christians should believe and how they should live

b. The Trinity

c. The deity and humanity of Christ

d. The depravity of man as a result of the Fall

e. Salvation by grace through faith alone: no part of salvation is based on human merit

f. The priesthood of all believers

g. Believers are justified (declared righteous) because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to them

h. Both groups believe in the penal-substitution theory of the atonement (Points a through h from Olson, 2006, pp. 14, 31)

3. Therefore let’s put to rest the allegations that either Calvinism or Arminianism are heresies: they are alternative theological belief systems, but both are fully within the domain of orthodox Christianity.

4. For an overview of the differences, review the table containing the TULIP acronym now (see page five).

III. Some Basic Issues Regarding Total Depravity

A. Calvin believed, as indicated in the table, that human beings after the Fall cannot choose to come to God. Because they are spiritually dead, they cannot respond. God himself must give them eternal life before they can believe.

B. Arminius agreed that human beings, after the Fall, are spiritually dead, and cannot come to God by their own choice. However, Arminius taught that God extends his prevenient grace to all human beings. That grace enables human beings to either come to God or to resist his invitation.

C. Calvinists have often accused Arminius and his followers of being Pelagians or semi-Pelagians, both of which are considered heresies by orthodox Christians.

1. Pelagianism is the belief that humans have the natural ability to do God’s will without a special operation of God’s grace. It was condemned by an ecumenical council in Ephesus in A.D. 431.

2. Semi-Pelagianism, a related belief, is the idea that humans can exercise good will toward God apart from the assistance of divine grace. It was condemned as a heresy by the Second Council of Orange in A.D.529.

D. Arminius explicitly repudiated Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism as heresies. He believed that humans are unable to come to God unless God extends his grace to them, enabling them to come to him. Prevenient grace is the term for grace that comes before (prevenient) salvation, enabling a person to come to God (Olson, 2006, p. 81).

Acronym Calvinist Understanding Arminian Understanding

T: Total Depravity

Calvinist Understanding: Human beings, after the Fall, cannot choose to come to God. Because they are dead in sin, they cannot respond. God must give them eternal life before they can believe. Regeneration (God's work in giving eternal life) must precede conversion (human's response).

Arminian Understanding: Human beings, after the Fall, cannot choose to come to God. The Holy Spirit gives prevenient grace, grace that enables them to respond to God’s invitation. Conversion (human response) and regeneration (God's work in giving eternal life) occur simultaneously.

U: Unconditional Election

Calvinist Understanding: God, in eternity past, made His choice of whom He would elect to be saved based entirely on His sovereign pleasure. There were no conditions (nothing good or bad) in human beings upon which His choice was based.

Arminian Understanding: Conditional Election: God predestined persons to heaven or hell based on His foreknowledge of how they would respond to His grace and offer of salvation. The condition of election is nothing meritorious on our part, but simply God's foreknowledge of the choice we will make if He offers salvation to us and extends the grace which makes it possible for us to choose Him.

L: Limited Atonement

Calvinist Understanding: God's sovereignty demands that anything He wills, will be 100% successful. Since everyone is not saved, this logically demands that Christ's atoning death was intended only for those whom God elected from eternity past.

Arminian Understanding: Unlimited Atonement: Sovereignty does not necessitate totalitarian control. God can decide to allow humans to accept or reject the atonement He has provided. Therefore the fact that some reject His atonement does not mean that it is not genuinely offered to them. The Bible teaches that "Whosoever will may come."

I: Irresistible Grace

Calvinist Understanding: God's sovereignty demands that those whom He elects will be irresistibly drawn to Him.

Arminian Understanding: Resistible Grace: God allows humans to accept or reject Him. He may set some limits on how far our rebellion may go, but within those limits He gives people freedom to choose.

P: Perseverance of the saints

Calvinist Understanding: Eternal Security of the Elect: Because God is totally sovereign, those whom He elects will inevitably persevere. He teaches that no one or no situation can snatch them out of His hand.

Eternal Security: Arminius did not take a position on this question: he left it for other believers to continue to study. Thus some Arminians (especially Baptist Arminians) believe in eternal security. Other Arminians, such as Nazarenes and Wesleyan Methodists, often take the position that if people who at one point in their lives claim to be believers later harden their hearts to such a degree that they repudiate Christ as their Savior (this is not a common occurrence), they can lose the benefits that came from trusting Him. While nothing else can snatch them from the Father's hand, they can remove themselves.

IV. Some Basic Issues Regarding Unconditional versus Conditional Election

A. The term "election" is used in Scripture to refer to different kinds of election. An individual, group, or nation may be selected by God for a specific purpose, as when the Babylonian empire was elected by God to be His hand of punishment on faithless Israel. To be elected by God does not necessarily mean that the one who is elected will be saved. However, the kind of election discussed in the TULIP doctrine is soteriological election, that is, election to salvation. On what basis does God elect (choose) some people to become recipients of salvation and not choose others?

B. Calvinists view the possibility that humans might choose to accept or reject God as destroying God's sovereignty.

Arminian position: This destroys God's sovereignty only if he were forced into this arrangement. For God to allow man a measure of self-determination is something which only a great and omnipotent God would do (Clark Pinnock, 1975, p. 64).

C. Calvinists believe that conditional election makes God contingent on man, a responder rather than an omnipotent God.

Arminian position: This ignores the fact that almost all of God's recorded actions since Genesis 3 are God's loving responses to our sin. God responds to the cries of his people for deliverance repeatedly throughout the OT, he responds to prayer (e.g. James 5:16b). If he responds to these, why could he not also choose to respond to the plea of a sinner for forgiveness?

D. Calvinists object that hinging man's salvation on whether or not he has faith violates the idea that salvation is by grace, not by works.

Arminian position: Faith is not a work–it is simply a sinner raising empty hands to God and saying "Father, forgive me." It is similar to when a judge offers a pardon to a criminal. For the criminal to accept the pardon is not an act of merit on his part.

Arminians would go on to argue that Scripture teaches that faith is compatible with grace, and is not a kind of work. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:8-9)."

E. Arminian position: Unconditional election is the Calvinistic belief that God elects people based totally on his own sovereign pleasure. Arminius and Arminians since him argue that unconditional election contradicts two things that Scripture clearly teaches: (1) God’s omnibenevolence (God loves every human being) and (2) God’s justice: He is just in all he does. If God elects people in eternity past to either heaven or hell based totally on his sovereign pleasure, this means that He predetermines billions and billions of people to an eternity of suffering in Hell without them having any opportunity to respond to him. This seems to contradict the biblical teaching that God so loved all the people in the world (not just the elect), and that God is just.

Calvinist position: Romans 9: 14-24 teaches that God has the right, as the sovereign creator, to do with His creatures what He wills.

Arminian response: (1) Several parts of this passage are talking about election to play a special role in history (e.g., Pharaoh), not about soteriological election (election to salvation). (2) Also, the passage contains two very important "Ifs" (vs. 22 and 23). It does not say that God unconditionally elects persons to be saved or damned, but that if He did, he would have the right, as their creator, to do so.

F. Almost all the biblical writers (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) speak as if individuals had both the opportunity and the responsibility to choose for God or against him. For just a few examples:

1. Moses: (Deut. 30:19): "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live . . ."

2. Jesus: (John 5:40): "You refuse to come to me that you might have life."

3. Jesus: (Matt. 7:13-14): "Enter [implies choice] through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

4. Paul: (Ga. 6:7-9): "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good. . . .[the exhortation to choose eternal life versus destruction makes little sense if all this was predetermined.]

5. Would the Holy Spirit inspire these writers to give human beings the belief that they had a choice in whether to obey God or rebel against him if that choice was only an illusion and God had already decided who was going to be saved and who was going to be damned?

G. Logical analysis of unconditional election: If the Calvinist definition of God’s sovereignty is true, then the following syllogism would be true (adapted from Geisler, 2001, pp. 23-24):

1. Premise 1: God cannot give anyone the desire to sin.

2. Premise 2: Originally, neither Lucifer nor Adam had a sinful nature, since God could not have created a creature with a sinful nature

3. Premise 3: No angelic or human action occurs unless God sovereignly causes it, either directly or indirectly

4. Premise 4: Both Satan and Adam sinned.

5. Conclusion: Therefore if both Satan and Adam sinned, God must have caused them to sin, either directly or indirectly.

6. The problem with this argument is that the Conclusion contradicts Premise 1.

7. If we agree that Premises 1, 2, and 4 are solidly biblical (something that both Calvinists and Arminians agree on), then the only way to avoid coming to the conclusion that God must have caused Satan and Adam to sin is by modifying Premise 3. If we change the definition of God’s sovereignty to be that God is ultimately sovereign in that everything that happens occurs either because he causes it or he allows it, and that he does allow his creation a certain amount of freedom to make choices, then we can account for the fact that God created totally sinless creatures, but that they chose to sin, and God is in no way responsible for that choice.

H. C.S. Lewis: Why did God give man free-will which makes sin and evil possible? “Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is the only thing which makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automatons–of creatures that worked like machines–would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to him and to each other . . . . . And for that they must be free” Mere Christianity, 1952, p. 49.

Lewis’ point: The only way in which our relationship to God can be meaningful (or for any relationship to be meaningful) is if we are in some sense free to choose that relationship.

I. You will hear other terms related to this specific issue, including the following:

1. Predestination: Both Calvinists and Arminians believe that God, because he foreknows what will happen from eternity past, predestines people to heaven or hell. Calvinists believe in unconditional predestination (God predestines people based on no conditions in them, but on his own sovereign pleasure). Arminians believe in conditional predestination (God predestines people based on his foreknowledge of what they will do when offered his prevenient grace, e.g., Romans 8:29: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son...” 1 Peter 1: 1a-2: “Who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father” (NASB).

2. Monergism vs. synergism: Monergism (the Calvinist belief) teaches that the decision about who will and will not be elect is totally up to God. Synergism (in this context), is the Arminian belief that God extends salvation by grace to all people, but he relies on their response to his offer. Calvinists often believe that synergism implies that salvation is no longer totally by grace, but depends in part on human action. Arminians would argue that they agree with Calvinists that salvation is totally the result of God’s grace. God’s grace (Jesus dying on the cross in our place) was totally an act of God’s grace. Prevenient grace, that arouses humans from their spiritual deadness and enables them to respond to God’s call, is also totally by grace. [Synergism is often used in chemistry to refer to two elements that combine to cause a reaction or new compound. In this case both elements may contribute relatively equally to the process. Theological synergism does not mean that Arminians believe that God and humans contribute equally to the process of salvation: it is totally a gift of God’s grace, but God allows humans to make the decision whether or not they will accept that gift.]

3. Middle knowledge: Middle knowledge” is the idea that God has knowledge of future free events. This knowledge is said to be dependent on the human free choices that would later be made. Geisler (2001, pp. 52) argues that such a view is theologically unacceptable because it makes God dependent on man and it also contradicts the theological belief that God foreknows everything from eternity past (his omniscience). However, if God chooses of his own free will to allow humans the freedom to either come to him or reject him, he still remains sovereign. And if he knows precisely what humans will do with their free will, then the idea that he allows humans to make free choices enabled by his grace in no way detracts from his omniscience and his ability to perfectly foreknow what will happen in the future.

V. Regarding Limited Atonement

Calvinists believe that Christ's atoning death is effective only for the elect. Arminians believe that Christ's atoning death means that a genuine offer can be made to all people. Christ’s death was sufficient to atone for the sins of the entire human race, but is efficacious only for those who receive him. This is analogous to the way in which a vaccine might potentially save an entire population, but will only be effective in saving those who accept it.

It is of interest that Calvin himself probably did not believe in limited atonement. This doctrine was developed by second-generation Calvinists, primarily as a logical deduction from their definition of divine sovereignty (see Table), rather than on the basis of biblical references.

Arminians believe the following Scriptures teach that Christ's death provides a genuine offer of salvation to everyone (emphasis has been added to some of these verses to clarify how they relate to the present discussion):

A. John 1:29 "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world [not just the elect]."

B. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world [not just the elect] that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes on him [again not just the elect] shall not perish but have eternal life."

C. Romans 5:18 "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass [Adam's] was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." [The parallelism in this passage shows that the effects of Christ's atonement are as wide as the effects of Adam's sin: if Adam's sin affected all men universally, so also does Christ's atonement.]

D. II Cor. 5:14-15 "We are convinced that [Christ] died for all [men]." Again this verse does not say all the elect, but all human beings.

E. II Cor. 5:19 "God was reconciling the world [not just the elect] to himself in Christ. . ."

F. I Tim. 2:6 "Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all men."

G. I Tim. 4:10 "We have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.”

H. Heb. 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

I. I John 2:2 "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

VI. Regarding Irresistible Grace

Calvinists, following Augustine, believe that those whom God elects are overwhelmed by his grace, and are irresistibly drawn to him. This belief is based less on specific Scriptures than on the premise of Calvinism that for humans to be able to reject God’s grace destroys God’s sovereignty. Arminians believe that God makes his grace available to all, and then allows men the freedom to either respond to or resist that grace. Arminians believe that the following Scriptures teach that God allows freedom to respond to or resist his grace, and that therefore he does not cause all things.

A. Gen. 3:1-6 The Fall refutes the idea that God's will is always done.

B. Gen. 6:5-6 "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." [God was grieved by the way man was exercising his free will.]

C. Deut. 30:19 Moses (used before): "This day . . . I have set before you life and death, blessing and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live." [This exhortation wouldn't make sense if God's election was irresistible.]

D. Matt. 18:14 "Your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones should be lost." [But some are, indicating that some resist his grace.]

E. Matt. 22:3 Parable of the Wedding Banquet: those who had been invited refused to come, not because the King decreed they would not come, but because they chose not to do so–vs. 5, cf. Luke 14:16-24.

F. Luke 7:30 "But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves . . ."

G. Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (italics added in this and the following verses).

H. John 5:39-40 "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life . . . yet you refuse to come to me to have life."

I. Acts 7:51 (Stephen speaking) "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit!"

J. Eph. 2:8 and 9 does not read "By force you were saved" [Irresistible grace = force.] Grace that cannot be resisted is not grace, but coercion. Geisler (2001) has said: “God is love (1 John 4:16), and true love is persuasive but never coercive” (p.48).

K. Heb. 4:2 "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they [the OT Israelites] did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith."

L. I Tim. 2:4 "God our Savior . . . wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" [but obviously not all do].

M. II Pet. 3:9 "The Lord . . . is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" [again, everyone does not repent].

VII. Perseverance

Calvinists believe in the eternal security of the elect. Since humans have nothing to do with their selection as elect persons, they have nothing to do with keeping their elect status. In the ensuing discussion I will refer to those who hold this position as “the first group.”

Arminius did not take a stand on eternal security in either direction, but believed the topic deserved further study. As a result some Arminians believe in eternal security (e.g., most Baptists). Alternatively, some Arminians believe in the eternal security of the believer. As long as one remains in Christ they have salvation and are eternally secure. If they repudiate Christ, then they also repudiate the benefits that came from being in him.

Verses that primarily support the eternal security of the elect position will be discussed first, then those that seem more supportive of the eternal security of the believer position. In the following discussion I will refer to those who hold this position as “the second group.” Many conservative Methodists and Nazarenes would identify themselves with this group.

A. John 3:16 “...whosoever believes on him [Christ] shall not perish but have eternal life.” The first group above would argue that if it can be lost it is not eternal life. The second group would argue that as long as the person continues to believe, he also continues to have eternal life.

B. John 10:27-28 “I [Christ] give them [my sheep] eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand...” The first group believe that the phrases “eternal life,” “never perish,” and “no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” clearly teach that believers can never lose their salvation. The second group understand these verses to mean that God protects us and holds us eternally secure from attacks by Satan and evil human beings, but that these verses do not rule out a situation where the believer himself chooses to remove himself from Christ.

C. Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Both groups would make similar arguments about these verses as they do about John 10:27-28.

D. Other verses often used by advocates of the first position include John 3:18, 5:24, 6:37; Romans 4:5, 8:15-16, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, and Ephesians 1:3-5.

Following are some of the verses that the second group believes show that a believer who repudiates their faith in God can repudiate the benefits of that faith:

E. Ezekiel 18:21-24 “But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 22 None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign LORD. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? 24 But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

F. Ezekiel 33:12-18 [Similar teaching to the above.]

G. I Timothy 4:1 “The Holy Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” [This passage seems to be saying that some who once held the faith will abandon it.]

H. II Peter 2:1-22. The whole passage is not repeated here because of its length. Peter is prophesying that false prophets will come into the church and introduce destructive heresies. For the present discussion notice especially verse 1 “denying the sovereign Lord who bought them”, verse 15 “they have left the straight way” and especially verses 20-21 “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.”

I. II Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this [that some people will distort Paul’s teachings to their own destruction] be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” [The Greek word “fall” is ekpiptein, which means “to apostasize.”]

J. Hebrews 6:4-6 [Numbers inserted for later reference] “It is impossible for those (1) who have once been enlightened, (2) who have tasted of the heavenly gift (3) who have shared in the Holy Spirit, (4) who have tasted the goodness of the word of God (5) and [have tasted] of the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” Those who are part of the second group described above believe that there is no place in Scripture where people who meet all of those five criteria are unbelievers.

K. Hebrews 10:26-39 [Summary] The passage is an exhortation to second generation Hebrew Christians to not recant their faith in Christ because of the persecution they were undergoing. See especially verses 28-29 “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him . . .”

See also verse 39: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe [in context this refers to those who hold fast to their affirmation of Christ] and are saved.”

L. Jesus appeared to be speaking of a similar situation when he prophesied: “Then [referring to a future time of persecution for believers] you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. . .”

M. The majority of Arminians who are part of the second group do not believe, as some have characterized them, that Christians can repeatedly gain and lose their salvation for minor sins. Carnal believers, or spiritual believers who have momentary lapses, do not lose their salvation. However, adherents in the second group above do believe, based on the above verses and others, that Scripture teaches that a person who once believed may harden their heart against the Lord, either through continued sin or theological compromise, and can eventually reach a point where they repudiate their trust in Christ as Lord and Savior. If they do this, they also repudiate the benefits of their earlier profession of faith. Obviously few people ever get to this point of extreme hardness, but Arminians believe that Scripture teaches it is theoretically possible.

N. There is at least one possible way of reconciling these two viewpoints. A difficulty for the view that those who are saved will definitely persevere is the fact that several verses (e.g., Mt. 24:9-10, 1 Tim. 4:1, 2 Pet. 2:1-22, esp. vss. 15, 20-21, and Hebrews 6 and 10) refer to brothers who have either fallen away from the faith or are in danger of doing so.

O. One way of reconciling the view that true believers will not fall away from the faith with the fact that people who are called “brothers” are sometimes described as having fallen away (or being in danger of falling away) is based on the way the word “brother” is used in the New Testament. John Stott (in the Tyndale NT Commentary series on the Epistles of John), and Duane Carson (personal communication) suggest that the word “brother” is sometimes used in the broader senses of either neighbor, nominal Christian, or of a church member who professes to be a Christian but who, as his or her subsequent behavior or teaching eventually shows, was never truly a believer (1 Jn. 2:19). Examples of these broader connotations of the use of the word “brother” may be found in Matthew 5:21-24, 7:3-5; James 5:19-20; 1 John 2:9, 11, 19, 22, 23; and 2 John 9.

P. This approach may be applied to an understanding of chapters 6 and 10 of the book of Hebrews. The group of persons to whom the author wrote was probably composed of some who had made a deep, life-changing commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord, others who were carnal believers (cf. 1 Cor. 3:1-4), and others who may have only nominally affiliated themselves with the group of believers.

Even as nominal believers they would have had an opportunity to observe the Holy Spirit’s work and experienced (at least at a minimal if not a full level) the goodness of God. They had come to the very threshold of the household of faith, had looked inside, and seen what was potentially there for them to enjoy. The writer of Hebrews, according to this interpretation, is urging these nominal believers, as they face future persecutions, to come all the way into the household of faith. They had a choice though; having experienced the reality of God’s grace, they could harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit and fail to come in.

Q. Thus as we can see there is biblical support for believing in the eternal security of the elect, but also biblical support for believing in the eternal security of the believer, and there may be a way of reconciling these two views.

VIII. Two Other Important Issues in the Calvinist-Arminian Controversy

A. Compatibilist versus Incompatibilist Free Will

1. Calvinists often identify themselves with compatibilist free will, by which they mean that it is possible to believe in both God’s determination of all things and the fact that human beings have free will to choose. They describe this in the following way: “Free will is simply doing what someone wants to do even if that is determined by some force internal or external to the person willing” (Olson, 2006, p. 20). Calvinists sometimes say that God does not force anyone through external coercion: however, he controls the final outcome because he determines all the events that cause them to internally choose what they ultimately decide to do. Thus they say, through the theory of compatibilist free will, that humans freely choose what they are going to do, but that God is also ultimately in control of those choices.

2. Arminians would argue that if God controls what a person chooses to do, whether through external forces or internal ones, then this is incompatible with the idea that humans have free choice (this is the reason their view is called the incompatibilist free will view). They ask why would God implore his creation to come to him if he has already determined what they will do already? They would also ask why God punishes those who rebel against him and his laws if he has already determined that they would do so?

B. The Impossibility of Being a “Calminian”

1. Because there are respected believers and theologians on both sides of the issue, some Christians have chosen to reduce this conflict by identifying themselves as believers who accept some ideas from both sides of this debate.

2. Olson (2006) says that this is not a theological possibility. One must take a position on each of the following issues one way or the other: it is impossible to “straddle the fence” on them:

a. Unconditional election versus conditional election: Either God predestines who will be saved and who will not totally based on his own sovereign pleasure (the Calvinist view), or he predestines them based on his foreknowledge of what they will do if he extends his grace to them, grace that allows them either to come to him or reject him (the Arminian view).

b. Limited atonement versus unlimited atonement: Christ’s atoning death is intended only for those whom God elected from eternity past (the Calvinist view), versus Christ’s atoning death allows a genuine offer of salvation to every human being (the Arminian view).

c. Irresistible versus resistible grace: God’s sovereignty requires that those whom He elects will be irresistibly drawn to him (the Calvinist view) or God in his sovereignty chooses to allow humans a certain amount of self-determination, allowing them to either accept him or reject him.

3. I believe Olson is correct: there is no middle ground on these three issues: One must study the Scriptures, pray, and make a decision one way or the other. If you wish to study further, there are several books on both sides of this issue listed in the References.

IX. Questions and Discussion on the Theological Determinism/Voluntarism Debate

A. Is there anything about the preceding discussion that you would wish to have clarified? (Write down questions and bring to class).

B. Discussion

X. Other Theological Issues Relevant to the Discussion of Determinism and Free Will

A. The issue of omnipresent sin, even in the believer’s life

1. Gen 4:3-7 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

2. Rom 7:7-25 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. 14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

3. There have been significant debates about whether this passage is referring to a preconversion struggle, a present struggle in Paul’s life, or a hypothetical situation that would arise if a Christian tried to live the Christian life without the power of the Holy Spirit. If one looks at the context, it strongly supports the idea that this is a present struggle in Paul’s life. From Romans 5:1 through 8:39 Paul is speaking of the believer’s life in Christ in the present. In 7:7-13 he temporarily changes to the past tense to speak about the role the Law played in bringing him to an awareness of sin. In verses 14-25 he returns to the present tense, speaking of the conflict that continues with him through the present time. And he goes on in verse 8:1 to say, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.” Thus the context strongly suggests that the struggle against sin which God told Cain about in the early chapters of Genesis, is a struggle that continues in the life of believers even after they have been living for Christ for many years.

B. The Cognitive Effects of Sin and Satan

1. Scripture talks about the fact that when we yield to sin, we become progressively more and more blind to spiritual truth. It is possible for unbelievers, believers, and even theological experts to become blind to spiritual realities. For examples:

2. Unbelievers: 2 Cor 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

3. Believers: I Jn 2:11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

4. Theological experts: Matt 15:12-14 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" 13 He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit." Matt 23:16-19 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

C. The Enslaving Effects of Regularly Yielding to Sin

1. Scripture teaches that if we regularly yield to sin, we not only become blinded by that action, but we gradually become more and more enslaved by it. For example:

2. John 8:34 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

3. 2 Pet 2:19 They [People who are urging believers to become involved in sin] promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity-- for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

4. Rom 6:19-20 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.

D. The Effects of Demonic Involvement in our Lives

1. Scripture teaches that not only do Satan and his demons exist, but that they are actively involved in our lives. For examples:

2. Eph 6:12-13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

3. Rom 8:38-39 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

4. There seem to be at least three levels at which demons can become involved in our lives--demonic temptation, oppression, and possession.

5. Demonic temptation may be occurring when Satan or a demon (probably none of us are important enough to warrant Satan’s personal attention) whispers a tempting thought in our ear (e.g., Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4). He is likely to disguise his voice so that we actually believe these are our own thoughts.

6. Demonic oppression may occur when a person yields to sin (e.g., harboring anger (Eph. 4:26-27), failing to resist temptation, etc.), and finds themselves increasing enslaved to it.

7. Demonic possession is the most serious situation, and there are questions about whether believers can be possessed. In this situation one or more demons appear to invade and take over the body of a person episodically or constantly (usually the former).

E. Discussion Question: How do the previous four truths affect our theological understanding of whether human behavior is determined or voluntary?

Psychological Determinism Versus Voluntarism

I. Four Major Theories of Psychological Determinism

A. The two primary schools of thought in psychology and psychotherapy at the beginning of the 20th century (psychoanalysis and behaviorism) were both deterministic, but for different reasons conceptually.

B. Psychoanalysis believed that the primary forces that propelled human beings to action lay below the level of conscious awareness, either because the processes happened at an unconscious level or because they were kept out of conscious awareness by ego defense mechanisms. Thus people do not choose their behavior: their attempts to later explain why they did what they did are attempts to find logical reasons to justify their behavior, but probably are not the true reasons.

C. The goal of having a patient undergo several years of psychoanalysis was to make these unconscious processes conscious, thereby increasing the person’s degree of self-control. It is unlikely that psychoanalysts believe that people ever achieve this goal completely, but they move in that direction if they have a successful analysis. Clearly the behavior of the average person on the street who had not undergone psychoanalysis would be considered by psychoanalysts to be a determined rather than voluntarily chosen.

D. Early behaviorists, including Pavlov and J. B. Watson, and continuing through the work of B. F. Skinner, believed that behavior was determined by the reinforcement history that a person had received. People who believed they were making free choices were simply unaware of all the conditioning experiences that produced their behavior.

E. A third kind of deterministic theory is biological determinism: the belief that all behavior is a result of biochemical activity in the body, and especially the brain. The biochemical activity is a result of genetic factors, disease, injury, and life experiences that affect the functioning of the brain.

F. A fourth kind of deterministic theory is sociocultural determinism: the belief that all behavior is a result of the social, cultural, family, and economic events that an individual has experienced.

II. Theories of Voluntarism

A. Theories of voluntarism do not believe that behavior is uncaused. These theories affirm that a variety of factors influence (or cause) us to behave the way that we do, but that human beings have the capacity to focus our attention and make choices, weighing the various influences we have experienced, deciding how we are going to respond.

B. One of the earliest well-known psychological theorists in the twentieth century to espouse a voluntaristic view was Alfred Adler. His approach has come to be called “soft-determinism.”

C. Adler believed that children at a very young age make decisions (usually below the level of conscious awareness, or ones that they do not remember because they happened so early) about how to best meet their need to belong. These decisions may be through positive behavior, negative behavior, or a combination of both. Those decisions become the basis of a “life-style,” or what we would now call a personality style.

D. This approach was called “soft-deterministic” because it was a personal choice, but once made, it motivated the child to certain kinds of behavior, often without the person’s conscious awareness of why they were behaving the way they were.

E. In the 1950s in Europe there was a major reaction to the deterministic theories, and the development of several existential theories ensued. Here in the United States this came about a decade later, where they were more frequently called humanistic theories.

F. The central issue that these various theories had in common was the idea that humans were influenced, but not determined, by various factors, but that the most important defining characteristic for human beings was their ability to make choices about their lives. Every person has the ability, and the responsibility, to choose the kind of person they will become.

G. Most cognitive behaviorists today, many of whom have their historical roots in the hard determinism found in traditional behaviorism, have had difficulty moving too far away from determinism. Many are accepting some form of soft-determinism, suggesting that the ability to selectively attend to certain stimuli, the ability to interpret (and readjust our interpretations) of events, gives humans the ability to be responders and not simply reactors to that which goes on around us. One might argue that when we react to stimuli without thinking, our behavior is determined. When we pause to consider how we are going to respond, then our behavior is influenced but not determined by unconscious processes or our reinforcement history.

III. Discussion Questions

A. Which of these theological views do you most agree with? Why? (For this and the following questions, use the back of this page or additional sheets to write your complete answer.)

B. Which of these psychological views do you most agree with? Why?

C. If determinism is true, then is our legal system (and the legal systems of most civilized societies), which punish people for breaking the law, just?

D. It is possible to argue most psychotherapists, even those who subscribe to deterministic theories, actually behave in their own lives and expect their clients to make voluntary choices (e.g., to come to sessions on time, to pay their bill, to not attack their therapist, to be willing to share what is going on within them, etc.). Comment on this fact.

E. If you subscribe to one of the deterministic theories above, explain how this would alter your therapy (if you were to do therapy in a way that was consistent with your theory)? If you are a voluntarist, what would be some of the ways this would affect how you counsel?

F. You have a Christian client who has just had a family member die who had never accepted Christ. He or she has been raised in a denomination that teaches that God determined in eternity past who was going to be saved based on God’s own decision. This person comes to you with anger toward God (and is considering leaving the church) because he believes that it is unfair that his loved one will spend an eternity in torment if God decided beforehand that they would not be one of the elect.

How would you respond as a counselor?

G. You have a Christian client who has just had a family member die who had never accepted Christ. They believe that God allows human beings to choose to reject him or come to him. Nevertheless they are broken-hearted at the thought that their loved one never came to Christ. How would you respond as a counselor?

References and Suggestions for Further Reading

Bullinger, E.W. (1898/1968). Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker.

Erickson, Millard (1983) Christian Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker. A modern and very well-written systematic theology. Erickson describes his model as “moderately Calvinistic.”

Forster, R. T., & Marston, V.P. (1973). God's Strategy in Human History. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale. Well-written book from an Arminian perspective.

Geisler, N. (2001). Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House. Geisler is trained both as a theologian and a philosopher, and gives what probably is the most thorough exegetical and logical analyses of the arguments related to this debate that have been written. This is a worthwhile book for all Christians interested in this debate to read (although I think he misunderstands Arminianism on a few points).

Among other things, he concludes that humans are capable of self-caused decisions, that Christ’s atonement extends to the entire human family, that God allows us to resist his grace, and he agrees with the concept of synergism. My major question after reading this book (in which his arguments seem to generally align with classic Arminianism), is that he ends up calling himself a “moderate Calvinist.” I would encourage you to read his book, and then decide which position seems most biblical and logically sustainable to you.

Grudem, Wayne (1994). Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Well-written and contemporary systematic theology text written from a “compatibilist” perspective, that is, Grudem both affirms that humans make personal choices and that God determined those choices from eternity past.

Olson, Roger (2006). Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. There are many mis-statements circulating about what Arminians believe. Olson does a very careful reading of Arminius’ own works, as well as classic Arminians since that time. I recommend that every Christian, whether they consider themselves a Calvinist or an Arminian or undecided, read this book for a careful and accurate explanation of the differences between these two views. Highly recommended.

Pinnock Clark (Ed.) (1975). Grace Unlimited. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Fellowship. This is a series of chapters on the issues that separate Calvinists and Arminians by some of the foremost theologians of the 20th century, including Vernon Grounds, Donald Lake, Jack Cottrell, William MacDonald, D. J. A. Clines, I Howard Marshall, Grant Osborne, and A. Skevington Wood. Highly worthwhile reading.

Shank, Robert (1970). Elect in the Son: A Study of the Doctrine of Election. Springfield, Missouri: Westcott Publishers. A worthwhile discussion of election, which is one of the foundational issues in the above debate.

Williams, J. Rodman (1988, 1990, 1992). Renewal Theology: Systematic Theology from a Charismatic Perspective (Vols 1, 2, and 3). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. These three volumes make remarkable reading for three reasons: (1) Most Systematic Theologies make for difficult reading: this is the first one that I have found to be easy and enjoyable to read, (2) It approaches Systematic Theology from a charismatic perspective, i.e., the belief that the spiritual gifts are still available for believers today, so makes for interesting reading on that account, and (3) J. Rodman Williams started his professional career by teaching at a Calvinist institution and considering himself a Calvinist, and during his career became an Arminian, so he speaks to both sides of this debate from a very informed perspective.

Summary by Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling

Emeritus (now retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

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I. Introductory Notes

A. The following is a selective introduction to Christian doctrine. It is selective in that it emphasizes those doctrines that are of particular importance to Christian counselors, with less emphasis on those doctrines which often are discussed in depth by theologians but which have less relevance to Christian counselors and their clients.

B. This summary is drawn primarily from the book Introducing Christian Doctrine: Second Edition by Millard J. Erickson, edited by L. Arnold Hustad (2001, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House). When statements are drawn from other sources or represent my personal views, they will be identified with the phrase “Additional Notes” and will be placed in block parentheses [ ]. Thus all page numbers represent quotations from the above volume unless otherwise noted. Since this is essentially a summary of Erickson’s book almost every statement will be a paraphrase of Erickson, so every paraphrase will not be indicated in text, even though one should ordinarily signify paraphrasing of someone else’s material.

C. This summary follows the organization of Erickson’s book. Thus if you are interested in more information about any particular topic, you can easily find the expanded coverage by consulting Erickson’s Table of Contents (pp. 7-10). As your time allows, I would encourage you to read the entire book, since a good understanding of Christian theology can benefit all Christians and Christian counselors. This summary is provided only to keep the workload of this course manageable.

D. Also consult Erickson’s book if you want additional information on the biblical basis for a particular doctrine. The book often contains the full biblical text and sometimes additional biblical references that are not included in this summary.

E. Occasionally in this summary there will be questions to encourage the reader to discuss how a given doctrine might impact Christian counseling (see for example Section II immediately below). These are my questions as an instructor and are not usually from Erickson. Please answer these questions on your own before going further.

II. Introductory Questions

A. Why might it be important for a Christian counselor to understand Christian doctrine?

1. Probably for many of us as Christians, one of the most important things for us as we meet God the Father for the first time, will be to hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” In order for us to hear those words, our counseling will need to be in line with His word.

2. For many of us as Christian counselors, one of our most important sources of counseling referrals may be evangelical pastors from various denominations. To build their trust, it is important that they know we have a solid theological foundation for our counseling and that we respect individual differences between denominational beliefs.

3. Although theology may not be a large part of our counseling, if Christian clients ask us about theological issues, it will enhance our credibility with them if we can intelligently address their questions.

B. Why is it important for a Christian counselor to understand the diversity of Christian doctrines within orthodox Christianity?

1. Even though there is agreement among evangelicals on many issues, there are some issues about which there are a variety of beliefs.

2. It is important, then, to know the issues about which there is general agreement and those issues about which there are a variety of understandings.

3. If you are uncertain of your client’s beliefs on a certain issue, you can always ask, and then as long as their belief is an orthodox and healthy one, help them build their life around that understanding.

C. What might be some of the dangers of a Christian counselor not understanding the basic doctrines of the Christian faith?

1. As mentioned in Part A above, one of the ways we can build the trust of area pastors is for them to know that we understand the Christian faith, and that we help Christian clients grow in their Christian lives through our counseling.

2. There are several beliefs about Christianity that are circulating today that are untrue. If we have a good understanding of Christian doctrine we will be able to discuss those issues intelligently with Christian clients if they do come up.

III. What Is Theology?

A. Theology is the study of Christian doctrine. Christian doctrine includes those beliefs Christians have about the nature of God, his actions, the nature of human beings, and what God has done to bring us into relationship with him.

B. What is the starting point for the study of Christian doctrine? Several answers have been given, including:

1. Natural theology: studying the natural universe to identify truths about God and human beings

2. Tradition: studying the way individuals and churches have understood doctrine in the past

3. The Scriptures (i.e., the Bible)

4. Experience

C. Erickson’s emphasis (and also that of most conservative evangelicals) will be on Scripture as the primary foundation for developing doctrine

D. The method of theology (the steps in doing theology)

1. Collect the biblical material from various books of the Bible that relates to a particular topic

2. Find the common meaning found in the various texts

3. Analyze that meaning

4. Examine how the church has interpreted that doctrine throughout history

5. Since the passages were written to specific people in specific situations, identify the essence of the doctrine that continues to have relevance in our present generation and situation

6. Study other extra-biblical written sources from Bible times that may shed light on the meaning of the biblical passages

7. Express the doctrine in words and concepts that are understandable to the people of today

8. Develop a central interpretive motif. It is hard to understand every piece of data in the Bible without identifying some central doctrines that help us put those individual pieces of data in context.

9. Decide which data are major points and which are subpoints.

IV. Contemporizing the Christian Message

A. When reviewing church history we see an interesting change. Augustine’s theology lasted approximately 8 centuries, Thomas Acquinas’ theological formulations held sway for about two-and-one-half centuries, John Calvin for approximately three centuries, Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal theological system for approximately one century, Karl Barth’s neo-orthodox system for 25 years, and Rudolph Bultmann’s demythologization for only about a dozen years.

B. Besides the pattern of theologies having significant impact for shorter and shorter periods of time, the percentage of Christians who identify themselves with each particular system is smaller and smaller.

C. Lessons Erickson believes we should draw from this:

1. When developing a theological system, be cautious about identifying too closely with today’s culture, for then one’s theology can rapidly become obsolete when the culture changes

2. It is often wise to be eclectic in one’s theology: one theological system is unlikely to have an exclusive corner on the truth

3. Maintain a certain degree of independence in evaluating any particular theologian’s ideas.

D. Three approaches to contemporizing the Christian message

1. Present biblical truths in biblical language (even though this may make it difficult for contemporary readers to understand and apply it)

2. Transform the biblical message by removing those parts of it that are unacceptable to contemporary culture (e.g., belief in the supernatural, angels, demons, hell, etc.)

3. Translate the biblical message so as to retain its original content, but use words and concepts that are understood by the contemporary audience (the approach advocated by Erickson)

E. The important steps in being a translator

1. Understand the original biblical command and what it meant in its historical context

2. Identify the abiding permanent truth that continues to apply to us today

3. Recognize that some biblical commands may have been temporary or that they may only apply to a specific situation [e.g., Paul’s prohibition of having a fellowship supper before taking communion is probably only intended for the Corinthians because they were abusing the practice, and probably should not be considered a universal prohibition]. Sometimes specific biblical commands should be changed so that our behaviors reflect the same principle that the original command was intended to give [Additional Note: Example: J. B. Phillips transformed “Greet one another with a holy kiss” to “Greet one another with a hearty handshake.”]

V. Postmodernity and Theology: This description of premodernism, modernism, postmodernism and radical postmodernism is so important to understanding our present culture, and so concisely written, that I would recommend that you read pages 31-37 yourself. No attempt to summarize them will be made.

VI. God’s Universal Revelation: General revelation

A. God has revealed himself in two major ways, often referred to as general revelation and special revelation. General revelation is sometimes called God’s universal revelation because it is available to all human beings.

B. General revelation is often found in one of three areas—nature, history, and humanity.

C. Natural theology is that branch of theology that focuses on the things we may know about God by studying general revelation

D. The basis for saying that God reveals himself (at least to some extent) through nature are verses such as Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20

E. It is also asserted that God has revealed himself throughout history, particularly through the history of the nation of Israel

F. A third way in which God is thought to have revealed himself is through humans, who were created in his image, and also through man’s religious nature (i.e., human’s almost universal desire to find a god to worship).

G. Some proponents of natural theology believe that it is possible, without a prior commitment of faith in Christianity or in some institution such as the church or in some document such as the Bible, to come to accurate knowledge of God through reason alone.

H. Thomas Aquinas is one example of a philosopher who believed it is possible to prove certain things about God simply based on nature and reason.

I. The cosmological argument: everything is caused by something prior. However, there cannot be an infinite regress of causal actions—there must be some uncaused cause, and that is God.

J. Teleological argument: there is clear evidence of design and purpose in the universe. Therefore there must have been a designer, and that is God.

K. Kant: Anthropological argument: Human beings have a moral sense, even though being moral is not always rewarded in this life. Therefore there must be a God who gives humans a moral nature.

L. Anselm: the Ontological Argument: “God is the greatest of all conceivable beings. Now a being which does not exist cannot be the greatest of all conceivable beings (for the nonexistent being of our conceptions would be greater if it had the attribute of existence). Therefore, by definition, God must exist” (p. 45).

M. Though these arguments have been widely used, there are philosophers and even some theologians have raised criticisms of them.

N. Erickson’s thoughts: General revelation, but without natural theology

1. Erickson does believe that there are several passages that teach that God reveals himself through general revelation—Psalm 19, Romans 1-2, Acts 14:15-17, Acts 17:22-31.

2. However, there are several reasons why this information may not be adequate to build a natural theology from it:

a. Sin marred the beauty of the original creation

b. Sin and Satan blind men to the revelation that is there

c. Nowhere does Scripture affirm that general revelation is enough to prove the existence of God or to build a natural theology upon it

3. However, all humans have some awareness of God, even though they may suppress that awareness. This awareness probably explains both the existence of religion in almost every culture and the fact that most people have an innate sense that certain actions are morally wrong.

VII. God’s Particular Revelation: Special Revelation

A. The Bible teaches us that God has provided specific revelation of himself in at least three ways:

1. Through historical events recorded in the Bible

2. Through divine speech, and

3. Through the incarnation of Christ

B. One debate among theologians is whether special revelation is propositional (God reveals truth about himself through words) or whether it is personal (the Bible gives us an opportunity to experience God personally, but one should not take each verbal assertion in the Bible as true).

C. Special revelation is necessary because humans have lost the personal relationship with God that was once enjoyed by Adam and Eve.

D. The purpose of special revelation is not primarily to increase our store of information. Its primary purpose is to help us develop a relationship with God again.

E. Special revelation: Propositional or Personal?

1. Orthodox Christianity has usually asserted that God reveals truth through propositional statements in his Word. Faith means giving assent to those propositions.

2. Neoorthodoxy distinguished itself from orthodoxy by asserting that God does not tell us anything about himself through the propositions in Scripture, but rather offers us a relationship with himself.

F. Two problems with neoorthodoxy according to Erickson:

1. In order to put faith in someone, we must know something about him. How can we know that God is trustworthy (or that the person in whom we are trusting is God) unless we accept the validity of the propositions in Scripture?

2. Even neoorthodox theologians believe that it is important to state correct doctrinal understandings. But how does one recognize the difference between correct and incorrect doctrine unless one accepts the validity of propositional truth?

VIII. Inspiration

A. Definition: the biblical view of inspiration is that the Holy Spirit so guided the biblical writers as they wrote Scripture that the result was exactly the meaning God had intended. Scripture is “God-breathed.”

B. Thus while revelation affirms that God has revealed himself both through general and special revelation, inspiration has to do with the process involved in producing special revelation

C. Throughout Scripture there is the assumption that the Bible is the very words of God (II Peter 1:20-21, II Timothy 3:15-17).

D. The fact that Jesus accepted the words of the Old Testament (OT) as the words of God is an important confirmation to those who believe Jesus is the Son of God.

E. Theories of inspiration:

1. Intuition theory: (this theory might be found among liberal Christians, but would not be considered an orthodox Christian theory of inspiration): the biblical authors were inspired in a way similar to how great authors poets and religious writers such as Plato, Buddha, etc. were inspired when they wrote. They were great religious thinkers for their time, but this was not God guiding their every choice of words.

2. Illumination theory: the Holy Spirit heightened the normal powers of individual men as they wrote Scripture. This theory is also less than an orthodox Christian theory of inspiration.

3. Verbal dictation theory: the Holy Spirit essentially dictated the words of Scripture to the human authors. This theory is not widely held, even among conservative Christians. One reason is the wide variety of writing styles found among the 66 books of the Bible.

4. Dynamic theory: this theory suggests that God so guided the biblical authors that, without over-riding their personalities and their personal writing styles, the end result of what was written communicated the meaning he had intended. This is the most widely-accepted option among evangelical theologians.

F. The extent of inspiration (are all Scriptures inspired?): For a discussion of the fact that the Bible asserts that the entire OT and NT books are God-breathed, see Erickson, pp. 64-65).

G. If inspiration only applied to the writer, it might be possible to attribute human error to Scripture, because, even though the author was inspired, as the thoughts from God passed through his mind, they might become contaminated by his own human understanding. If the final product is inspired, then it means that even though the ideas passed through the fallible mind of a human being, God so guided the process that the words they wrote were guided by Him. Inspiration in II Peter 1:20-21 refers to the authors, while in II Timothy 3:16 it refers to what was written. Inspiration, then, applies to both the authors and the writings that proceeded from their hands.

IX. Inerrancy: Is the Bible a Dependable Source of Revelation?

A. Absolute inerrancy: This is the belief that every detail of the Bible is precisely accurate. Thus if the description of the molten sea in 2 Chronicles 4:2 says that the diameter was 10 cubits and the circumference was 30 cubits, some way of explaining this discrepancy must be found, since the circumference of a circle is the diameter multiplied by pi (3.14159).

B. Full inerrancy: this position also holds that the Bible is completely true in everything it affirms, but also affirms that it was written in the popular language of the time, and not intended as a scientifically precise document (thus in the above example, those numbers are approximations of the dimensions). The perspective of the writers was phenomenal (how the events appeared to humans) rather than noumenal (how they appeared to God). Phenomenal language is widely present in language today: for example, we say that the sun will rise at 6:15 a.m. tomorrow, rather than the more accurate description that the earth will rotate so that the sun will start to appear at 6:15 tomorrow. [Additional note: full inerrancy uses the concept of “level of intended precision.” Whenever we write, the author and audience usually unconsciously recognize the level of intended precision of the statements, and do not expect scientific precision when articles are written for a general audience. For example, a writer might say that the United States has 325 million people. No one would call his statement an error, even though that statement might actually be erroneous by a few million people. Scripture likewise contains statements written with the level of precision intended by the author and expected by his audience.]

C. Limited inerrancy: this position asserts that when Scripture speaks about salvation matters, it is without error. When it speaks about matters of science or history it may contain errors.

D. [Additional note: No inerrancy: this would be a position taken by liberal Christendom and atheism, which does not believe in divine inspiration, and assumes that the biblical authors wrote out of their human understanding of religion at the time. As such, the Bible may contain many errors in scientific, historical, and religious areas.]

E. The importance of inerrancy: Erickson argues that a belief in inerrancy (probably he would say “full inerrancy” is important for several reasons:

1. People need to know the answer to the question: “If the Bible says it, can I believe it?”

2. If God is omniscient he must know all things truthfully. If God is omnipotent, he could inspire human beings to present his ideas in the way he desired. If God is fully truthful, then he will not mislead humans by telling them erroneous information. Thus our view of the nature of God and the doctrine of inspiration logically entails believing in inerrancy.

3. Jesus affirmed that the Bible was without error. He cannot be our sinless sacrifice if he affirmed a lie.

4. When various denominations have affirmed limited inerrancy in the past (i.e. that peripheral teachings contain errors in them), it has only been a short time before they were asserting there were errors in more central Christian doctrines.

5. Erickson’s conclusion: The only way we can maintain our beliefs in God’s omniscience, omnipotence and truthfulness, and the sinlessness of Christ, is to affirm the inerrancy of Scriptures in all they affirm.

F. What belief in inerrancy does not mean:

1. Belief in inerrancy does not mean that everything written in the Bible is true. The Bible sometimes quotes statements from Satan or human beings who lied. What inerrancy means in these cases is that the Bible accurately reports what these persons said, but it does not mean that what they said was true.

2. Belief in inerrancy does not mean that the Bible does not include approximations

3. Belief in inerrancy does not mean that there are not occasional passages in Scripture that are difficult to reconcile. However, even as biblical research has resolved many of these seeming discrepancies in the past, inerrantists believe that as we continue to study we will find plausible resolutions to the remaining issues.

X. The Authority of God’s Word

A. Definition: Authority is the right to command belief and/or action (p. 77). Within today’s culture is a belief that one should follow one’s own inclinations and preferences rather than some external authority, such as the Bible or some religious figure.

B. The Bible’s authority for the Christian is derived from our view of God as well as the doctrines of revelation, inspiration and inerrancy.

1. God is our Creator and the Creator of all things. Therefore He knows best how humans can live their lives healthily.

2. God has revealed himself both through general revelation and special revelation, especially the latter.

3. God has “breathed out” the Scriptures, working through the minds of the biblical writers so that what they wrote expressed the ideas He wanted them to write

4. Because God is omniscient He knows all things: because He is omnipotent He could inspire the biblical writers to write what He wanted them to write: because He is truthful, what He inspired them to write is accurate.

5. God generally does not convey his words directly to us, but indirectly through the words of Scripture, the Bible. Therefore the Bible carries the same weight (authority) for believers as if God conveyed his words directly to us.

C. Illumination: this term refers to a special working of the Holy Spirit that allows believers to understand the meaning God has implanted in the words of Scripture and apply it to our lives (John 14:26, 15:26-27, 16:8, 16:14). It is possible to read the Bible and reject its message: it is possible to read the Bible and accept its message, but not allow it to change us at a deep intellectual and emotional level. Illumination is the work of God that allows this (understanding God’s intended meaning and allowing God’s Word to transform our lives) to happen.

D. The relationship between the Bible and Human Reason

1. [Additional note: I’m including a concept from Martin Luther because I think its more helpful than Erickson on this point:

2. Luther distinguished between two ways that human reason can be used with regard to Scripture:

a. The magisterial use: using our reason as a magistrate (judge) to decide which parts of Scripture we will accept and which parts we won’t

b. The ministerial use: using our reason to help us understand the meaning of Scripture and apply it to our lives. (The Bible is a ruler (magistrate) over us, not we over it.)

3. As is probably obvious, Luther strongly supported the ministerial use of reason and strongly disagreed with the magisterial use.

E. Historical and normative authoritativeness

1. Since Erickson believes in full inerrancy, he believes that whatever the Bible tells us about history is historically accurate. This would include both human actions and God’s commands.

2. However, some of God’s commands may have been intended for specific persons at specific points in time, and not intended by God to be applied to every Christian in every situation (i.e., they are not normatively authoritative).

3. We must study the context and reason for the command to determine whether a command applied only to specific people at specific points in time, whether it has abiding significance and should be applied the same way in all times and cultures, or whether it has abiding significance but should be applied in a different form in today’s time and culture [Remember J. B. Phillips’ modification of “Greet one another with the holy kiss” to “Greet one another with a hearty handshake.”]

XI. Discussion Questions

A. Which theory of inspiration (section VIII) do you most agree with? Why?

B. Which of the views of inerrancy (section IX) do you most agree with? Why?

C. What are the implications of the above for how you will use Scriptural principles in your counseling?

XII. The Doctrine of God

A. God is both immanent and transcendent

1. Immanence: God is present and active within the world, even among those who do not have a relationship with him (Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:27b-28) (in contrast to contemporary deism, which asserts that God created the world, wound it up like a clockmaker would wind a clock, and now is not immanently involved with the world). He works both through natural processes and occasionally through miracles.

2. Transcendence: God is superior to and independent of anything he has created (Isaiah 6:1-5, 55:8-9).

3. To overemphasize either God’s immanence or his transcendence can lead to misunderstanding his role in the world: both must be held in balance.

B. The attributes of God: God’s attributes are those qualities which are qualities of his nature. They are permanent and intrinsic to his nature. They are not various fragments of his personality, but characteristics that together represent a unified picture of him.

C. There are multiple ways of describing or categorizing God’s attributes. Erickson chooses to divide them into attributes of greatness and attributes of goodness.

D. Attributes of Greatness

1. God is spirit: he is not composed of physical matter nor does he have a physical body. He is indestructible and does not have the limitations of a physical body (John 4:24, 1:18; 1 Timothy 1:17, 6:15-16). (Mormons believe that God does have a physical body.) When the Bible speaks about God’s hands and feet, these are considered (in orthodox Christianity) as anthropomorphisms—attempts to express some truth about God through human analogies.

2. God is life: Unlike pagan gods who are dead, God is alive. He has a kind of life that is different from every other living being in that his life is not derived from any other external source. God’s continued existence does not depend on anything outside himself. God is the “uncaused one:” it is his very nature to exist.

3. God is personal: He is an individual (unlike the beliefs of pantheism) with self-consciousness, will, and is capable of feeling, choosing, and having relationships with other living beings. He responds to the actions of others. He wants to have a positive relationship with human beings.

4. Omnipresence: God is not limited to being at one place at a time. Nowhere in the universe is God inaccessible. God is not bound by time: he is aware of everything that has happened and will happen.

5. Omniscience: God knows all things. There is nothing he does not completely understand. He not only has knowledge, but he has a wisdom that comes from understanding all things and all of history. His wisdom is due to the fact that when he acts, he takes all the facts and correct values into consideration (p. 95).

6. Omnipotence: God is able to do all things which are proper objects of his power. By this we mean that: “He cannot do the logically absurd or contradictory. He cannot make square circles or triangles with four corners..... He cannot be cruel or unconcerned. He cannot fail to do what he has promised.

7. Freedom: God is not limited by other living beings or factors. He can do anything consistent with his character that he chooses to do.

8. Constancy: God’s character does not change. He can always be counted on to manifest the same attributes and characteristics that he always has.

E. Attributes of Goodness (see Erickson text for Bible passages supporting each definition)

1. Erickson describes God’s attributes of goodness under three categories—moral purity, integrity, and love, each with subcategories. Following is a summary of his discussion.

2. Moral purity: this includes:

a. Holiness: God is “free from any moral wickedness or evil. He is unable to tolerate the presence of evil” (p. 99)

b. Righteousness: This refers to the holiness of God applied to his relationships with others. Humans often make laws that benefit themselves. The law of God is a perfect expression of God’s purity.

c. Justice: Human justice can be tainted. God administers his justice in perfect conformity to his law.

3. Integrity: this includes:

a. Genuineness: all idols are false gods: they are not who they claim to be. God is alive and is exactly who he claims to be.

b. Veracity: God represents things as they really are. He likewise calls us to be honest in all we say and do.

c. Faithfulness: God keeps all his promises.

4. Love: this includes

a. Benevolence: “the concern of God for the welfare of those whom he loves. He unselfishly seeks our ultimate welfare” (p. 102).

b. Grace: “God deals with his people not on the basis of their merit or worthiness, what they deserve, but simply according to their need...he deals with them on the basis of his goodness and generosity” (p. 103).

c. Mercy: God’s tenderhearted compassion for his people.

d. Persistence: God withholds judgment and continues to offer salvation and grace over long periods of time.

F. What do we do with the seeming conflicts between some of God’s attributes?

1. For example, God’s justice seems to conflict with his love.

2. Erickson points out that God is an integrated being. Each attribute needs to be understood in the context of all the other attributes.

3. Thus God is both holy and just, but he is also loving and gracious.

G. The Trinity

1. The Bible does not explicitly teach the Trinity: however, the three persons of the Godhead are clearly described numerous places in Scripture (see pp. 107-111 for a discussion of specific passages)

2. The Christian faith is unique among all world religions in claiming that there is one God, but that there are three persons in the Godhead.

3. Throughout history Christian writers have attempted to solve this puzzle of how God could be one and three at the same time. Often these attempts have been ruled to not be orthodox.

4. Views later judged to be unorthodox

a. Dynamic monarchianism: “prior to baptism, Jesus was an ordinary, though completely virtuous man. At the baptism, the Spirit, or Christ, descended upon him, and from that time on he performed miraculous works of God” (p. 111).

b. Modalistic monarchianism: this theory tries to resolve the tension of three in one by saying there is one God who reveals himself throughout history in one of three modes, either as Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. There are not three persons in the Godhead, but one. [Additional note: there are a small group of Christians today who continue to believe in modalism.]

5. The orthodox formulation of the Trinity

a. There is only one God, not three

b. Each person in the Godhead has existed from eternity past and is a co-equal part of the Godhead. They have different roles, but they are co-equal persons in the Godhead.

c. Three and one seems to be a contradiction. Erickson, following Kantzer, says that God is one in a different way than he is three, and God is three in a different way than he is one.

d. Various analogies have been offered, but each is less than perfect.

e. Augustus Strong said that the doctrine of the Trinity is “inscrutable” (not totally understandable). Tertullian said that the doctrine of the Trinity must be of divine origin, since it is so difficult to totally comprehend that no human being would have created it. Most orthodox Christians throughout history have decided, since Scripture clearly teaches that there is one God, but three persons in the Godhead, that they will believe it even though they do not fully understand it.

H. Discussion Questions: Think about the various attributes of God.

1. Which ones most personally affect your life and thinking and emotional state?

2. Which ones do you believe could most effectively be used in counseling with Christians?

3. How would you bring those truths into the counseling setting with a client?

XIII. The Work of God

A. God’s Plan

1. Various Understandings of History

a. Doomsday philosophies usually teach that history will soon come to a disastrous end through an ecological disaster, financial collapse, or nuclear war.

b. Several religions, e.g., Hinduism, are cyclical, and believe that there are repeating cycles of death and rebirth, with one’s rebirth contingent on the kind of life one lived in a previous life.

c. Existentialism is a pessimistic theory that teaches that most of the events that occur are random, that there is no god or no afterlife, that there is no discernible pattern to human history, and if people are going to have any purpose in life, they must create it as a free act of their will.

d. Herbert Spencer attempted to expand Darwinism into the human social sphere, believing that society could continue to improve using methods of Darwinian selection applied to the world of ideas.

e. A number of other writers (e.g., B.F. Skinner, Beyond Freedom and Dignity) have attempted to predict utopias based on concepts from the behavioral sciences.

f. Karl Marx, adapting his theory from the work of Hegel, believed that the world would continue to improve through dialectical materialism (see page 128 for a description of this theory).

g. In contrast, Christianity believes that God has a divine plan, in which he is working with his creation to draw people to himself and comes alongside them to assist them in the difficulties they experience.

2. [Additional note: Although I agree with the vast majority of Erickson’s summary of Christian doctrine in general, I disagree strongly with his teaching in this chapter because I believe it conflicts with Scripture in a number of ways. I will first summarize what he says (without necessarily agreeing with it), and then discuss why I disagree with it.]

3. Many theologians use the terms predestinate and foreordain as synonyms. Erickson chooses to define them as related, but not synonymous terms. He uses foreordain to refer to decisions made by God that encompass all of the universe and that determine what will happen. He uses predestinate as a more specific term to refer to God’s choice for individuals either to eternal salvation or condemnation. Within the concept of predestination he uses election to refer to God’s positive choice of individuals, nations or groups to salvation or fellowship with him, and reprobation to refer to God’s choice of some to suffer eternal damnation (p. 120).

4. In the Old Testament, Erickson says that the repeated teaching is that God is in control of everything that happens, from whether and when it rains to the actions of pagan kings (p. 121)

5. Likewise in the New Testament, Erickson lists multiple passages that says that God planned each detail, from the betrayal by Judas to the destruction of Jerusalem. He believes that passages like Romans 9-11 and other places indicate that God chooses what will happen in the lives of nations and individuals.

6. The nature of God’s plan: God’s plan:

a. Is from eternity past

b. Is completely freely chosen by God

c. Is for the purpose of furthering God’s glory

d. Is all-inclusive, i.e., it involves everything that happens

e. Is efficacious (what God has planned will undoubtedly come to pass)

f. Is related to his actions, not his nature or attributes

g. Is related primarily to God’s actions and only secondarily, to human’s actions. “The plan of God does not force us to act in particular ways, but renders it certain that we will freely act in those ways” (p. 123).

h. Includes human actions, both good actions as well as evil ones

i. Is unchangeable: what God has foreordained will inevitably come to pass.

7. Logical priority: God’s Plan or Human Action?

a. Calvinists believe that God decided what would happen in eternity past, and human actions are a result of his foreordination

b. Arminians believe that God foreknew what decisions human beings would make if he extended his grace to them, and on the basis of his foreknowledge of what humans would do, he predestined them to either heaven or hell. They base this on Romans 8:29: “Whom he foreknew he also predestined...”

8. Erickson’s Position: “A Moderately Calvinistic Model”

a. Erickson recognizes that the Bible on more than one occasion says that God chose who he would elect based on his foreknowledge (Romans 8:29, 1 Peter 1:2, 20). However, he says that this doesn’t really mean that God elected people based on his foreknowledge of how they would respond to his grace, because he says that the Greek word for foreknowledge used here (prognosis) is based on the Hebrew word yada, which includes the concept of having intimate knowledge of someone, and he claims this association means these verses do not really support the idea of God choosing people for election based on his foreknowledge of how they will respond to his grace.

b. His second argument for Calvinism is based on a quotation from Romans 9:11-13 where the text says: “As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Because God hated Esau even before Esau was born, Erickson argues that God’s selection of some and not of others is based on God’s sovereign choice of who will and will not be saved.

c. Likewise, he quotes John 15:16 (“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide”) to indicate that we do not choose to come to God, but he chooses us of his sovereign will.

d. He says that it is possible to believe in both God’s sovereignty and human freedom., something Antony Flew has called “compatiblistic freedom”: Since God has rendered everything certain (including those events that determine our genetic makeup and our life experiences), we may “freely choose” what we do at a given juncture, but what we “choose” was already rendered certain because God controlled all of those other events (p. 125).

e. He uses a hypothetical example to illustrate his point. If two people are born who are essentially identical twins (i.e., their genetic makeup differs only in infinitesimal ways), but at some point one twin moves his finger to the left and the other twin moves his finger to the right, Erickson says that God had already rendered certain who was going to move their finger to the right and to the left by his control over all the variables that shaped each twin.

B. [Additional Note: Response to Erickson’s “Moderate Calvinism”

1. People who discuss theology sometimes make a distinction between Calvinists and “Thoroughly Reformed Calvinists.” A roughly parallel distinction is made between those Calvinists who believe in soteriological determinism and those who believe in cosmic determinism.

2. Calvinists who agree with soteriological determinism believe that God determined who was going to be saved and who was not, but in other matters he allows people to have a measure of freedom in the decisions they make. Cosmic determinists would be those who believe that God has determined not only who will be saved and who will not, but also every other incident that occurs in the universe.

3. By the use of his example of two identical twins who at one point in their lives moved their finger in opposite directions and that God had already rendered certain what they were going to do in that situation, it would seem that Erickson is closer to the thinking of cosmic determinists than of soteriological determinists, so therefore he would be closer to those who are called “thoroughly Reformed Calvinists” than those who are considered “moderate Calvinists.”

4. Although Erickson accepts the fact that God says “whom he foreknew, those he did predestinate” in more than one place, he says that these verses don’t really mean what they seem to mean. He argues that the Greek word prognosis should be understood in the context of the Hebrew word yada, which includes the idea of having an intimate knowledge of someone. I believe there are several weaknesses in Erickson’s argument here including:

a. What is the basis of saying prognosis must be understood in the context of yada? There is nothing in Scripture (in the immediate context or other places in Scripture) that says that prognosis needs to be understood as the Greek equivalent of yada.

b. Even if there were some linkage, linguists tell us that each word has a semantic range, and that two words, especially in different languages, rarely have identical semantic dispersions of meaning. (To understand this, think of a graph with a bell-shaped curve on it which represents the semantic range of Word A. On that same graph is a second bell-shaped curve, which represents Word B. These two bell-shaped curves overlap approximately in 30% of their surface area. This means that 30% of their meaning is shared between them. However, the areas where the two curves do not overlap represents the places where each word has meanings that are not shared by the other word. Thus even though prognosis and yada have some meaning in common, they are not complete synonyms, so therefore it is invalid to say (especially when there is no biblical support for this) that one word must be interpreted in the context of the other.

c. Further, even if God told us that prognosis and yada were exact synonyms and the former should be interpreted in the light of the latter, the fact that God had an intimate knowledge of those who would be saved even before the world was created does not mean that the Calvinistic theory is more biblical than Arminian theory. Because God is outside time, he could have already developed an intimate knowledge of those whom he foreknew would come to him, even before those people had been created.

5. Erickson’s second argument for the Calvinistic position is the quotation from Romans 9:11-13 where the text says: “As it is written, ‘Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.’” Because God hated Esau even before Esau was born, Erickson argues that God’s selection of some and not of others is based on God’s sovereign choice of who will and will not be saved. However, several arguments can be made against the validity of using this passage as an argument that supports Calvinism versus Arminianism:

a. This passage uses a Hebrew idiom where a comparison is used when a contrast is meant. This idiom probably means “I loved Jacob more than I loved Esau” rather than that God loved one and not the other.

b. Secondly, when we study the OT passage from which this sentence is quoted, it is clear that this is not a reference to the individuals Jacob and Esau, but to the nations which descended from them, namely Israel and Edom. Thus understood more properly, it means that God loved the nation of Israel more than he did the nation of Edom.

c. And since, as noted above, God could have foreknown how the two nations would develop long before they even existed, he would have known which of the two nations would seek (however imperfectly) to follow him, and which nation would have been very sinful.

d. Therefore it would be invalid to argue that God chose to love Jacob and hate Esau based only on his sovereign decision, and that his decision had nothing to do with these two nation’s contrasting relationships with him.

6. Thirdly, Erickson argues that since Jesus says in John 15:16: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide,” this indicates that we do not choose to come to God, but he chooses us of his sovereign will. However, Jesus was talking with his disciples (soon to become apostles) in this passage, not to believers in general. Therefore it is very possible that what he meant was: “I chose you specifically to become my disciples and eventually my apostles.” God frequently does choose specific individuals to do certain tasks for him (e.g., Noah, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, etc.). This does not mean that it is valid to generalize from this specific kind of choosing to make the statement that God makes the choice for everyone in the world to either be saved or to spend eternity in hell.

7. There is additional support for why I believe the Arminian theory is more compatible with Scripture’s teach than does Calvinistic theory in the article “Theological Determinism versus Voluntarism: Some Biblical Arguments Bearing on the Calvinism-Arminianism Debate.” To just recapitulate a few of the arguments made there:

a. The Bible teaches both God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. Calvinism promotes God’s sovereignty, but at the expense of human freedom and responsibility. If God determines every detail of our lives to the extent of even being able to render certain which way a person will point his or her finger at a given point in time, it seems that human freedom no longer exists (despite the use of words like “compatibilistic freedom”). Arminianism teaches both that God is sovereign (nothing happens without him allowing it), but that human beings have the freedom to make choices (within some limits defined by God), and therefore are responsible for the choices they make.

b. If God has already determined beforehand who is going to be saved and who will not, then the many passages that appear to give the impression that God is inviting people to come to him are not genuine invitations, because no one can come unless God has already foreordained it.

c. If God has already determined every action that humans will take (as asserted in cosmic determinism), then the many passages that warn people to turn from evil and come to God are not genuine invitations, because every action that humans will take has already been determined for them by God.

d. Calvinists and Arminians agree that God is fair and just. Yet how could it be fair and just to send billions of people to spend eternity in the torments of Hell if they really didn’t have a choice to turn to God—if that decision had been made for them in eternity past by God?

e. The justice system taught by God in the Old Testament is predicated on fairness—e.g., the penalty should be comparable to the offense. However, if determinism is true, then people are not really responsible for either their good actions or their bad actions, and shouldn’t be punished for their bad actions (cf. that same argument made by B.F. Skinner in Beyond Freedom and Dignity, where he argued that everyone’s behavior is determined by the reinforcement history to which they had been exposed, so therefore they shouldn’t be commended for “good” behavior, nor punished for bad behavior).

f. A loving relationship is only possible if the persons involved choose to be in that relationship and act lovingly toward each other. A seemingly positive relationship that is dictated or predetermined by one of the parties is closer to coercion than to the loving relationship God describes in Scripture.

g. Irresistible grace is a corollary of the view of sovereignty proposed by Calvinism. Yet the Scripture is full of passages that teach that God wanted his children to come to him (or return to him), and yet they wouldn’t. A totally sovereign God could force them to come to him, yet Scripture shows repeatedly that he does not. These passages certainly teach implicitly that God does want everyone to repent and no one to be lost, but the fact that he does not force people to come to him indicates that he, of his own free will, does allow humans a measure of freedom to either come to him or rebel against him. End of Additional Notes]

C. God’s Originating Work: Creation

1. Creation ex nihilo (creation out of nothing)

a. The OT does not teach creation ex nihilo conclusively, but this doctrine comes from many NT passages that bear indirectly on the topic (see p. 131 for a complete listing). [Additional note: This teaching compares well with the big-bang theory, which says that all matter as we know it came into existence at a specific point in time approximately 13 billion years ago.]

b. The story of Genesis also says that God was also involved in secondary creation, in which he took some of the matter which he had originally created, and used it to create plants, fish and land animals.

c. Scripture teaches that all three persons in the Trinity were involved in the process of creation.

d. Erickson disagrees with two assertions about the relationship between the Bible and science:

(1) The belief that the Bible has a great deal to say about scientific matters, and it discusses them in a fairly technical fashion

(2) The belief that what the Bible is a purely religious book and what it has to say about creation and scientific matters is irrelevant

e. He says that the Bible does make a number of important assertions about science and creation, and that it is impossible to disregard the validity of these statements without harming the validity of all the Bible teaches

f. There are two major apparent conflicts between the Bible and science: the age of the earth and development within Creation

2. Age of the earth

a. Based on the calculations of Archbishop Ussher, many Christians believe that the earth was created in 4004 B.C., whereas most scientists place the age of the earth at about 4.5 billion years old. (According to the estimates of secular scientists, all the mass and energy in the universe came into being about 13 billion years ago. There was a significant time period where hot gasses were consolidating into stars and planets, and the earth came into being as a distinct object about 4.5 billion years ago.)

b. Ussher’s date was based on two assumptions—that the word “day” (yom) in Genesis refers to a 24 hour day, and that the geneologies in the OT are complete.

c. We now know that the Hebrew word yom can refer to long periods of indefinite duration, so that the earth could have been formed over a long period of time, rather than in six 24-hour days, and that God did not create Adam within six days of the time he created the earth.

d. We also now know that the geneologies given in the OT are not composed the way genealogies are today: they often only included the most important persons in the genealogy.

e. Putting these two facts together, it is possible to affirm that the biblical language does allow for creation of the universe and the earth that occurred in the very distant past, and that God created human beings earlier than 4004 B.C.

3. Development within Creation

a. Evolutionists assert that organisms developed through a process of random chance and natural selection, and there was no need for any supernatural being to be involved in the process.

b. Fiat creationists assert that God created each species directly, and there has been no evolution.

c. Theistic evolutionists say that God created the first organisms, and then allowed natural selection to result in the evolutionary development of the various species, perhaps with occasional intervention by God.

d. Progressive creationists (the group with which Erickson agrees) say that God created the first “kinds” of each species (e.g., the first horse, the first dog, etc.), and then allowed some micro-evolution to occur since that time, resulting in the various kinds of horses and dogs we have today.

D. God’s Continuing Work: Providence

1. “While creation is God’s originating work with respect to the universe, providence is his continuing relationship to it” (p. 138).

2. Providence is generally thought of as two activities:

a. God’s continuing action in maintaining and sustaining his creation

b. God’s continuing action in guiding and directing the course of events to fulfil his purposes

3. The doctrine of preservation is based on passages such as Nehemiah 9:6, Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 1:3, and Psalm 104, the preservation of the nation of Israel, the preservation of Daniel in the lion’s den, and the preservation of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.

4. The Bible does not teach that believers will never suffer dangers or trials, but that we will be preserved within them (either through preservation while here on earth, or by transport to a better place).

5. Providence and preservation rules out the current theory called deism. Deism teaches that God made the world and set in motion natural processes, and then allowed the world to go on its way. The orthodox Christian doctrine teaches that God remains actively involved in creation to this very day. His providence includes the activity of nature, the animal world, human history and the destiny of nations.

6. God’s relationship to sin: God is not the cause of sin. He can and sometimes does:

a. Prevent sin

b. Permit sin to occur

c. Direct sin (he can direct sin so that even though it occurs, he can bring good out of it (e.g., the crucifixion)

d. Limit sin

7. We need to be cautious as to what we identify as God’s providence. Some German Christians endorsed Adolf Hitler actions as God’s working in history (p. 143).

8. The relationship between God’s providence and prayer: Some Christians believe that God’s plan is eternally fixed in heaven, and so ask why there is any purpose in praying. Erickson responds by saying that prayer often brings us into a right relationship with God, and that right attitude prepares us to receive the gifts he had intended for us.

9. Praying does not mean that we will always receive what we ask for. Paul asked for removal of his thorn in the flesh three times, and Jesus asked that he not have to experience crucifixion. In both cases God the Father allowed something to happen that was more needful. Thus we can pray to God with the confidence that he will answer our prayers in the way that is ultimately best.

10. Providence and miracles: miracles are those “special supernatural works of God’s providence which are not explicable on the basis of usual patterns of nature” (p. 145).

11. Three possible hypothetical explanations of the relationships between miracles and natural laws

a. Some miracles may actually be manifestations of little-known or virtually unknown natural laws (e.g., a possible explanation for the miraculous catch of fish that Christ guided the disciples to make)

b. Sometimes God over-rides the natural laws he has created (e.g., causing an axhead to float)

c. A third theory is that God counters a natural force with a supernatural force.

E. Evil and God’s World: A Special Problem

1. Statement of the problem: If God is all-powerful and all-loving, how can evil be present in the world?

2. “David Hume put it succinctly when he wrote of God: ‘Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then is he impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent? Is he both able and willing: whence then is evil’” (p. 148).

3. Two types of evil:

a. Natural evil: destructive forces such as hurricanes, earthquakes, diseases.

b. Moral evil: evils which can be traced to moral choices, such as wars, crime, cruelty, slavery, etc.

4. Two ways in which evil impacts people psychologically:

a. When some traumatic personal experience causes a person to question either God’s goodness or his power

b. When a person struggles with the philosophical question of why evil exists in the universe

5. As counselors, its important for us to realize which of these questions a person is struggling with: for the first question, they need pastoral care, for the second question, they need a theological/philosophical explanation. Giving the opposite kind of response to what a person needs will likely be frustrating to the client.

6. Attempts to resolve the problem

a. Finitism, Zoroastrianism or Manichaeism: All three of these approaches say that there are two competing forces in the universe, and that God would like to extinguish evil, but he is unable to do so (this approach reduces God’s power as a way of resolving the conflict).

b. Redefining what is meant by God’s goodness: These approaches redefine God’s goodness so that what seems like wrong to us is no longer considered an evil.

c. Rejecting the reality of evil: Some approaches, such as Christian Science (Mary Baker Eddy), teach that evil in general and disease in particular is an illusion: it is not real.

F. A Christian Attempt to Deal with the Problem of Evil: This attempt includes the following concepts:

1. Evil is a necessary complement of the fact that God created human beings with free wills [Additional note: Erickson claims in this chapter that he is not a determinist, although he still claims that God has rendered every human behavior certain to happen. He does not explain clearly, at least to me, how God can have rendered human behavior certain to happen and not be a determinist. Nevertheless, he does affirm that human beings have free will, and this free will is what makes evil a possibility.]

2. What human beings consider good and bad may not be good and bad in God’s sight. In God’s sight whatever helps us become more like Christ is good, even though it sometimes is pain that helps us move in that direction.

3. Good and evil must be thought of in the long term, and not at each moment. For example the pain after surgery may be thought of as evil, but the surgery that produced that pain may ultimately be for our good.

4. Sometimes we define good and evil from our own perspective only, rather than from the perspective of the world at large. The rain that spoils our plans for a picnic may allow the farmers’ crops to grow and many people to be fed as a result.

G. More Discussion of Evil

1. Evil in General as the Result of Sin in General (Sin of the whole human race): Because of the entrance of sin into the world through the Fall (the whole human race has been affected by sin), certain negative results occurred:

a. Pain in childbirth (Genesis 3:16)

b. Male domination over his wife (vs. 16)

c. Toilsome labor (vs. 17)

d. Thorns and thistles (vs. 18) (these may be only a representative sample of the effects of sin, rather than a complete list)

e. The whole creation has been affected by the sin of humanity, and moves toward decay (Romans 8)

2. Specific Evil as the Result of Specific Sins

a. Murder, child abuse, theft, rape, etc., are all examples of this

b. Jesus indicated that misfortune is not always the result of a person’s own sin (John 9:2-3)

c. However, sometimes evil comes as the result of a person’s own sin

(1) Example: David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba and then setting up a military situation where her husband was murdered

(2) Paul: “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8)

3. God As the Victim of Evil: One of the unique things about Christianity is the fact that God himself took the penalty of evil upon himself, and paid the price for our redemption

4. The Final Judgment: The Bible teaches that even though evildoers may seem to thrive for a short time in this life, there will be a Final Judgment where evil will be judged.

H. God’s Special Agents: Angels

1. Definition: Angels are spiritual being that God created higher than humankind. Some have remained obedient to God and carry out his will. Others have disobeyed, lost their holy condition and now oppose or hinder his work (p. 155).

2. Malak (Hebrew word) or angelos (Greek word) both mean “messenger.”

3. The most extended biblical passage on angels is Hebrews 1:5-2:9.

4. They are personal, can be interacted with, have intelligence and will. They have more knowledge than human beings but are not omniscient. They have supernatural power, but are not omnipotent. They are limited to acting within God’s parameters. They have a moral sense, but some have rebelled against God.

5. Good angels’ activities include:

a. Praising and glorifying God in heaven

b. Revealing and communicating God’s messages to humans

c. Sometimes protecting believers and executing God’s judgment on God’s enemies

d. At least at times, guardian angels are spoken of, and even multiple guardian angels, although it is unclear whether these guardian angels are constantly with us or sent at specific times (see page 157).

6. Evil Angels: Demons (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6)

a. These passages have led some to speculate that there are two classes of evil angels, one group who are imprisoned and a second group who carry on their evil activities in the world.

b. Another way of understanding these passages is that fallen angels are presently cast into a gloomy existence even now, but are able to carry on limited evil activities nevertheless.

c. The chief of these fallen angels is given various names:

(1) diabolos (devil, adversary, accuser)

(2) tempter

(3) Beelzebub

(4) enemy

(5) the evil one, Belial

(6) deceiver

(7) the great dragon

(8) father of lies

d. Satan frequently disguises himself as an angel of light, and deceives humans by this.

e. Demons are described as causing physical illnesses (however, not all physical illnesses are of demonic origin), and opposing the spiritual progress of God’s people.

f. Demon possession (technically “to have a demon” or to be “demonized.”). Sometimes referred to as a person having an “unclean spirit” or having an “evil spirit.” Symptoms include:

(1) Certain physical illnesses

(2) Unusual strength

(3) Bizarre activity and self-destructive behavior

(4) Can speak, using the human being’s vocal cords

g. Jesus cast out demons without using an elaborate formula, but did say that prayer and faith was necessary. He sometimes cast a demon out of someone who had expressed no request to be healed.

h. Erickson believes that there is nothing in Scripture to indicate that demonization was restricted to the past. However, he also says that we should not be too quick to attribute every aberrant behavior to demons.

I. Discussion Questions

1. After reading the above section (you are encouraged to read Erickson’s Chapter 13 directly in addition to the summary) and the article “Theological Determinism versus Voluntarism” discuss whether you believe Calvinism or Arminianism better accounts for all the data of Scripture. Why?

2. What implications does your answer to the above have for the counseling you will do with clients (e.g):

a. If you were a cosmic determinist and something painful or traumatic happened to a client, how would you explain the reason that bad thing happened to your client?

b. If you were a soteriological determinist and a client’s friend died without becoming a believer, what would you say to the client?

c. If you believed in theological voluntarism (i.e., Arminianism) and something bad happened to a client, how would you explain the reason that something bad happened to your client?

d. If you were an Arminian and a client’s friend died without becoming a believer, what would you say to the client?

e. What are some of the other implications of taking a Calvinist or Arminian position as you counsel?

3. What are some of the implications of divine creation for us as human beings and as Christian counselors?

4. Which of the following theories—evolution, fiat creation, theistic evolution, or progressive creationism do you most agree with? Why?

5. What are some of the implications of the doctrines of providence and preservation that are relevant in Christian counseling?

6. How might you use the two activities of Providence (Section D, 2, a and b) in Christian counseling?

7. Section XIII E, 4, a and b says that it is important to recognize which of these two questions about Providence a client is asking, and respond accordingly. Explain why.

8. Do you believe angels, Satan, and demons exist? Why or why not?

9. If you believe they do exist, what differences might this make when you counsel with Christian clients?

XIV. The Doctrine of Humanity

A. Various images (conceptions) of humankind

1. Humans as machines, whose skills, strength and energy can be used to accomplish things

2. Humans as highly developed animals, who are motivated by biological drives

3. Humans as pawns of the universe—humans are “at the mercy of forces in the world which control their destiny but have no real concern for them” (p. 165), e.g., the view of existentialists such as Albert Camus (remember the legend of Sisyphus repeatedly pushing a large rock up a hill, only to have it roll down and he had to push it back up again).

B. The Christian view of humanity

1. We are creations of God, made in his image

2. We do share some characteristics with the animal kingdom

3. Our value has been conferred on us by a higher source

4. Our happiness comes, not from pursuing happiness directly, but from loving and serving that higher being

C. The Biblical Account of Human Creation

1. “The biblical picture is that an all-wise, all-powerful, and good God created the human race to love and serve him, and to enjoy a relationship with him” (p. 166)

2. Two accounts of Creation:

a. Genesis 1:26-27 focuses on the purposes of Creation. It recounts God’s decision to make human beings in his image and his action implementing that decision. Humans were given the responsibility to have dominion over the creation and be fruitful and multiply.

b. Genesis 2 focuses more on the process God took in the creation of human beings.

3. Theistic evolution or direct creation?

a. Erickson presents several arguments about why he believes the Scriptural account is more consistent with the idea that God directly created each of several kinds of species and humans (progressive creationism), rather than the idea that he created the original primitive living organism, and then guided the process of evolution (theistic evolution). See pp. 166-167 for the hermeneutical arguments he uses.

b. Reconciling biblical creation with the fossil record: Erickson believes that the creation of Adam occurred approximately 30,000 to 40,000 years ago, when there was a great explosion of cultural artifacts in the fossil record (remember that biblical genealogies were not intended to be a complete listing of all descendants, but only included the most significant members in a family line, so that Ussher’s suggested date of Creation occurring in 4004 B.C. are based on the mistaken assumption that they are complete genealogies).

4. Some theological implications of the doctrine of Creation

a. We cannot find the meaning of our existence unless we recognize the place of God in our lives.

b. We don’t have value because we proclaim we have value: We have value because our Creator said we are valuable.

c. We share some similarities with other living beings, but we also have differences. We are the only living creatures who are made in the image and likeness of God.

d. All human beings, regardless of their race, are likewise creatures made in the image of God (therefore there are no valid grounds for discrimination)

e. We are limited by our finiteness. Finiteness does not mean we will inevitably make errors, but that we will sometimes make errors because we do not see all of reality clearly.

f. Sin is not a carryover from evolutionary descent from more primitive animals, but a result of a decision to rebel against God’s laws. As we become more educated and sophisticated we are not becoming less sinful: we actually are becoming more ingenious in the ways we sin.

g. Humans, because they are directly created by a loving Creator and imbued with purpose and worth, are something wonderful.

D. What Does It Mean to Be Made in the Image of God?

1. We presently do not experience humans as they were created by God. All the humans we meet today are distorted representations of what God created because of the entrance of sin onto the human race. Only Adam and Eve before the Fall and Jesus Christ are examples of human beings as God intended them to be.

2. The primary passages related to being created in God’s image include Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2, 9:6, 1 Corinthians 11:7, and James 3:9, and somewhat less directly in Acts 17:28, Romans 8:29, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 4:23-24 and Colossians 3:10.

3. Different views of what the image refers to

a. Substantive View: the idea that humans resemble God in some way

(1) There is some sort of physical resemblance: This view, taken by Mormons, is not accepted as an orthodox Christian view

(2) There is some sort of psychological or spiritual resemblance: the most common candidate for a psychological resemblance is the ability to reason, but many other psychological characteristics have been proposed by one or another authors.

b. Relational View: The ability to be in relationship is what constitutes the image (Brunner, Barth)

c. Functional View: humans resemble God in their functioning in some way. The most common theory about this is that God gave humans the authority and responsibility to exercise dominion (stewardship) over Creation. “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth...”

4. Erickson’s debate about which of these views is most accurate: pp. 175-176.

5. Some implications of the doctrine that we are created in the image of God:

a. We belong to God

b. We should pattern our lives after Jesus

c. We experience our full humanity when we are rightly related to God

d. There is goodness in learning and work—the right and responsibility to exercise dominion

e. Every human being has dignity and should be treated with respect

f. Since every human being (including the unborn) are created in God’s image, their lives should not be snuffed out because they are inconvenient for the mother to raise at a given point in time

E. The Constitutional Nature of Human Beings

1. There are three competing theological views about the constitutional nature of human beings

a. Trichotomism:

(1) humans are composed of three different elements—(a) a body, (b) a soul (reason, emotion and capacity for relatedness: personality: animals are considered to have a rudimentary soul), and ( c ) spirit (our capacity to relate to spiritual matters).

(2) Historically trichotomism came from the ancient Greek culture

(3) Biblical texts often believed to support trichotomism: 1Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4

(4) Additional Note: Some Christians draw a correspondence between the Trinity and a trichotomous view (i.e, that there is a correspondence between the three persons in the Trinity and the three parts of human beings). This is considered heretical. There are three complete persons in the Trinity. In the trichotomous view there is only one person, divided into three constituent parts.

b. Dichotomism:

(1) The most widely held view through most of Christian history.

(2) Dichotomists generally believe that soul and spirit are synonyms, and that there are only two kinds of substances, a material substance and an immaterial substance

(3) Many of the arguments for dichotomism are actually arguments against trichotomism.

(4) Many modern forms of dichotomism suggest that the OT represents a unitary view of human beings (holism or monism), whereas the NT suggests a dichotomous view.

c. Monism:

(1) The idea that humans are composed of one substance, we are a psychophysiological unity.

(2) [Additional note: I prefer the term “holism” to the term “monism.” Monism usually refers to the theory that the universe is composed of only one substance, a view that most Christians reject because we believe there are at least three kinds of substances in the universe—the substance that composes the physical universe, the substance of the three persons of the Godhead, and the substance of which angels are composed. Holism relates more to the controversy of whether human beings are made up of three separate substances, two substances, or one substance. Thus someone can be believe there are multiple kinds of creatures in the universe (i.e., they disagree with monism) and still believe that humans are a psychophysiological unity (i.e., they agree with holism).]

d. Erickson’s View: Conditional Unity

(1) Erickson agrees that the Bible normally represents living human beings as psychophysiological unities (i.e., a holistic or monistic view).

(2) However, he argues that at the point of death that unity separates into two, and that the immaterial aspect continues to live on, until at some point it will be joined by a new body. Thus he calls his view “conditional unity.”

e. See the article “The Holism, Dichotomy, Trichotomy Controversy: Towards a Biblical View of Personality” for further discussion of this issue.

XV. Sin

A. The Nature and Source of Sin

1. Biblical Perspectives on the Nature of Sin

a. Sin is not merely wrong acts, but also sinfulness—an inward inclination, an inner disposition inclining us to wrong acts (pp. 188-189). Jesus teaches that inner feelings, such as hatred or lust, are sins, not just external actions.

b. Sin is rebelliousness and disobedience to the truths of God, which is written on men’s hearts, even though they may not have read the Bible (Romans 2:14-15)

c. Sin also distorts our thinking, and the end result is that we can develop a depraved mindset.

d. Another manifestation of sin is incomplete fulfilment of God’s standards. It can include doing the right thing, but doing it for the wrong motive

e. Sin also includes displacing God with anything or anyone else, and making them the center of our thinking. Whenever we place something or someone in the place of God it is idolatry.

2. Various Theories About The Source of Sin

a. Frederick Tennant’s theory: the source of sin is our inner animal natures. We have to free ourselves from these older instincts. He believes that through evolutionary progress we can eventually be freed of these earlier residual influences.

b. Reinhold Neibuhr’s view was that sin’s origination comes from the anxiety caused by our human finiteness. Our attempts to overcome our human finiteness is what causes sin.

c. Paul Tillich taught that sin is the result of our estrangement from the ground of all being (i.e., Tillich’s description of God), estrangement from others and from ourselves.

d. Liberation theology asserts that sin is caused by economic struggle. We have to eliminate oppression and inequities through political action in order to eliminate sin.

e. Harrison Elliot believes that individual competitiveness, learned through education and social conditioning, is what causes sin.

f. None of the above believe that biblical conversion is what is needed to overcome our sin nature.

3. The Biblical Teaching (according to Erickson)

a. “From the evangelical perspective, the problem lies in the fact that humans are sinful by nature and live in a world in which powerful forces seek to induce them to sin” (p. 190)

b. We all have legitimate desires, which, when satisfied in ways approved by God, are not sinful. Sin becomes a factor in one of the following areas (1 John 2:16):

(1) “The lust of the flesh” occurs when pleasurable experiences are satisfied outside the parameters God has ordained for them (e.g., when food and drink are consumed to excess—gluttony, or when the desire for sex is satisfied outside of marriage—fornication or adultery)

(2) The “lust of the eyes” occurs when the legitimate command to exercise dominion over the earth becomes contaminated by the desire to acquire worldly goods so that they become an end in themselves, and one is willing to exploit or steal from others to acquire more.

(3) The “pride of life” occurs when the legitimate command to exercise dominion becomes distorted so that a person attempts to acquire power or influence or publicity in ways that transgress proper limitations.

c. The flesh (when spoken of in this context) does not refer to our physical nature, but to a self-centered way of life that includes denial or rejection of God.

B. The Results of Sin

1. Results Affecting the Relationship with God

a. Divine disfavor: Before the entrance of sin into the world, Adam and Eve apparently had a very close and friendly relationship with God. Since the entrance of sin into the humans have lost that close relationship. With the entrance of sin into the world, many humans have developed hostility toward God. Although there are a few places in Scripture where it says that God hates sinners, the much more common references are that sinners hate God and that God hates sin and what it does to people. The primary change has been on our part, not on God’s part.

b. Guilt: counselors often talk about guilt in subjective terms (humans feeling that they have done something wrong or feeling bad about themselves as a result). When the Bible talks about guilt it is primarily talking about objective guilt, i.e., “the objective state of having violated God’s intention for humankind and thus being liable for punishment” (p. 195).

c. Punishment: today’s society (including Christians) often prefers to think of punishment as remedial (intended to correct the sinner), or as a warning to others to avoid the same fate. There is a resistance to accepting the idea of punishment as retributive. However, while punishment in Scripture is sometimes portrayed as either remedial or a warning to others, there are at least some instances in Scripture where punishment is definitely portrayed as retributive and concerned with the maintenance of justice (see examples on p. 197).

d. Death:

(1) Physical death: with the entrance of sin into the world, our bodies began the process of decay, and physical death became a reality

(2) Spiritual death: As a result of the entrance of sin, humans became separated from the close relationship to God they previously had

(3) Eternal death: Because of spiritual death mentioned above, if people are not reconciled to God sometimes during their lifetime, they will ultimately be separated from God for eternity, which is sometimes described as the “second death” (Revelation 20).

2. Sin’s effects on the Sinner

a. Enslavement: sin becomes a habit or even an addiction. While non-believers often view their unbelief as freedom, the Bible sees it as enslavement

b. Flight from reality: Sin often causes people to repress the recognition that what they are doing is wrong, that eventually their misdeeds will catch up with them, and that eventually they will die and face God.

c. Denial of sin: Sometimes people attempt to deny sin by relabeling it (e.g., saying it is caused by sickness, deprivation, ignorance or social maladjustment), or by declining to take responsibility for it (blameshifting).

d. Self-deceit: We attempt to convince ourselves that we have done nothing wrong before attempting to convince others.

e. Insensitivity: We become less and less responsive to the prompting of conscience.

f. Self-centeredness: we become more and more focused on our own needs, and less and less focused on the needs of others.

g. Restlessness: Sin gradually loses its ability to satisfy, so we never achieve complete satisfaction of our “needs.”

3. Sin’s Effects on the Relationship to Other Humans

a. Inability to empathize: We become more and more concerned about our personal desires, and less and less likely to see things from other’s perspectives.

b. Competition: As we become more and more self-centered, our “needs” and desires become increasingly in conflict with the needs and desires of others. This results in conflict at a personal level or war at a national level.

c. Rejection of authority: Since outside authority often restricts what we want to do, we often increasingly reject it.

d. Inability to love: If our ultimate goal is self-satisfaction, we become less and less able to truly love others.

C. The Magnitude of Sin

1. The Extent of Sin

a. The OT proclaims the universality of sin within humanity (1 Kings 8:26; Isaiah 53:6). Statements of people being perfect or blameless need to be understood within the context that even these people are sinners, although they may have been considerably more godly than those around them.

b. The NT confirms even more clearly that all human beings are sinners and subject to the penalty of sin, namely, death (Romans 3, 6)

2. The Intensiveness of Sin

a. The OT primarily speaks of sins rather than sinfulness, i.e., sin as an act rather than a disposition, but Jeremiah 17:9 does speak about how sin has penetrated our entire personality (“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt: who can understand it?”)

b. The NT, particularly the writings of the Apostle Paul, is clearer that it is the corruption of our human nature (our mindset) that produces individual sins (e.g., Romans 7:5, 23).

3. What Does “Total Depravity” Mean?

a. It does not mean that the unsaved human is totally insensitive to the distinction between right and wrong (Romans 2:15)

b. It does not mean that humans are as sinful as they can possibly be.

c. It does not mean that there are not unsaved people who do altruistic deeds

d. It does not mean that the unsaved person engages in every possible form of sin

e. It does mean that our entire personality is affected by sin—our body, mind (reason), emotions and will. The unsaved person is enslaved by the effects of sin.

f. It does mean that if an unsaved person is altruistic, even that altruism is tainted with aspects of an improper motive, i.e., that even good acts are not done out of perfect love for God or other human beings

g. It does mean that unsaved human beings are unable to extricate themselves from their sinful condition on their own.

4. Theories of Original Sin

a. Definition: Original sin refers to the sin with which we begin life, the sin with which we enter life as a result of the sin of Adam (Romans 5:12, 15-19).

(1) Pelagianism: Pelagius was a British monk who taught that human beings are not tainted by any corruption or guilt from the sin of Adam, and that by their own efforts they could live a life without sin. Pelagianism was eventually judged to be a heresy.

(2) Arminianism: Jacob Arminius was a Reformed pastor who agreed with much that Calvin had written, but believed that a few elements of Calvinism needed to be reconsidered. He taught that we do receive from Adam a corrupted nature and all of us need God’s grace in order to respond to God. He believes that God extends his grace to everyone, allowing them to choose either to respond positively to God or to reject him.

(3) Calvinism: whereas Arminianism teaches that all humans receive a corrupted nature from Adam, God does not impute guilt on them based on the sin that Adam committed. Calvinism asserts that God imputes both a corrupted nature and guilt on human beings because of Adam’s sin. “Bound by the covenant between God and Adam, we are treated as if we have actually and personally done what he as our representative did” (p. 208).

(4) Erickson’s view: “We are all involved in Adam’s sin, and thus receive both the corrupted nature that was his after the fall, and the guilt and condemnation that attach to his sin. With this matter of guilt, however, just as with the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, there must be some conscious and voluntary decision on our part. Until this is the case, there is only a conditional imputation of guilt. Thus, there is no condemnation until one reaches the age of responsibility. If a child dies before he or she is capable of making genuine moral decisions, there is only innocence, and the child will experience the same type of future existence with the Lord as will those who have reached the age of moral responsibility and had their sins forgiven as a result of accepting the offer of salvation based on Christ’s atoning death.....We become responsible and guilty when we accept or approve of our corrupt nature. There is a time in the life of each one of us when we become aware of our own tendency toward sin. At that point we may abhor the sinful nature that has been there all the time. We would in that case repent of it and might even, if there is an awareness of the gospel, ask God for forgiveness and cleaning. At the very least there would be a rejection of our sinful makeup. But if we acquiesce in that sinful nature, we are in effect saying that it is good. In placing our tacit approval upon the corruption, we are also approving or concurring in the action in the Garden of Eden so long ago. We become guilty of that sin without having to commit a sin of our own” (pp. 210-211).

D. Discussion Questions: Some Christian counselors and pastors assert that all problems that come into the counseling office (other than those that spring from medical problems) are due to sin. Other Christian counselors disagree with this position.

1. What position do you take on the above debate? Why?

2. Do you agree with the theologian’s description of the various results of sin (Sections B and C above)? Are there any results that you would delete or add? Why?

3. When a client is experiencing problems that are related to sin (either fully or partially), what do you think is the best way to approach this?

4. In light of the above, what summary statement would you make about the relationship between the problems that clients bring into the counseling office and sin?

XVI. The Person of Christ

A. The Deity of Christ

1. Importance of the doctrine: The deity of Christ (i.e., the belief that Christ is God) is one of the most controversial topics of our time, but also one of the most crucial. It lies at the very heart of the Christian faith, “for our faith rests on Jesus actually being God in human flesh, and not simply an extraordinary human” (p. 216).

2. The Biblical teaching

a. Jesus Self-Consciousness (what did Jesus think and believe about himself?)

(1) Jesus never made an overt claim to deity, saying “I am God.” However, we do see that he made claims that would not be appropriate if he were not God.

(2) He said he would send his angels (Matthew 13:41), whereas at other places angels are spoken of as the angels of God (Luke 12:8-9)

(3) He claimed to be able to forgive sins (Mark 2:5), and some of his opponents immediately charged him with blasphemy, because this was considered a prerogative that only God possessed.

(4) He spoke of judging the world (Matthew 25:31-46) which again was a prerogative that only God could exercise.

(5) He claimed the authority to modify the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28). Since the Sabbath was ordained by God (Exodus 20:8-11), only God had the authority to modify this regulation.

(6) “He claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30), and that to see and know him was to see and know the Father (John 14:7-9) (p. 217). He claimed to have existed before Abraham and used a term to describe himself that before that time had only been used to describe God (he claimed to be the “I am”) (John 8:58).

(7) At his trial he made one of his clearest declarations of his deity as he said “But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:63).

(8) He accepted the attributions of Thomas when he said “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) and did not correct him.

(9) He assumed the authority to place his words on the same level as the OT Scriptures (“You have heard it said,...but I say to you...” Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28).

(10) He proclaimed that he has the power over life and death (John 5:21).

(11) He repeatedly used terms (e.g., “Son of God’) that to the people of his time meant that he was claiming to be equal with God (John 5:18).

b. The book of Hebrews regularly refers to Jesus’ divinity (see Hebrews 1-4).

c. The Apostle Paul repeatedly refers to the deity of Christ (e.g., Colossians 1:15-20; Philippians 2:5-11, etc.)

d. The NT writers frequently use the term “Lord” to refer to Jesus, especially after his resurrection.

e. His resurrection from the dead was an indication to the people of that time that he was divine.

3. Historical Departures from Belief in the Full Deity of Christ

a. Ebionism: a group of heretical Jewish Christians who taught that Jesus was an ordinary man who possessed unusual but not supernatural gifts of righteousness and wisdom. This teaching attempted to resolve the tension between a monotheistic God and the Trinity by denying that Christ was also a person in the Godhead.

b. Arianism: Only God the Father is an eternal and uncreated being. Jesus (the Word) is a created being. Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to teach this belief today.

4. Implications of the Deity of Christ

a. We can have accurate knowledge of God (“He who has seen me has seen the Father” John 14:9)

b. Because Jesus (God) died for our sins, he can provide reconciliation between God and ourselves

c. God and humanity have been reunited

d. It is appropriate to worship Christ because he is God.

B. The Humanity of Christ

1. Why is this doctrine important? Erickson says that for humanity to have fellowship with God, we have to be united with him in some way. The incarnation is the event that unites God with humanity.

2. Biblical evidence for the humanity of Christ (John 1:14, 1 John 1:1)

a. He was conceived in the womb of a human mother and nourished prenatally like other children

b. He grew physically, nourished by bread and water. He experienced hunger, thirst, and fatigue.

c. He suffered physically and died.

d. He had the full range of human emotions and human reasoning capacity

3. Early Heresies Regarding the Humanity of Jesus

a. Docetism: means to seem or appear. Docetists believed that Jesus was fully divine, but his humanity was only an appearance, not reality.

b. Apollinarianism: Jesus was a compound unity: his body was human, but psychologically he was God.

4. The Virgin Birth

a. The Virgin Birth is attested to in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38.

b. Some have argued that the Virgin Birth is necessary to maintain the incarnation.

c. Some have argued that the Virgin Birth is necessary in order for Jesus to be sinless.

d. Erickson believes that neither of these arguments have validity, i.e., that the Incarnation could have occurred without the virgin birth and that Christ could have remained sinless even if he was conceived by human parents (pp. 229-230).

e. A third argument about the virgin birth is that “While the virgin birth was not essential to the incarnation or the sinlessness of Christ, it has great value in terms of symbolizing the reality of the incarnation” (p. 230). Erickson supports this view.

f. Erickson believes that the virgin birth teaches us:

(1) Our salvation is supernatural

(2) God’s salvation is fully by grace

(3) Jesus is unique among human beings

(4) It is another evidence of the power of God over nature.

5. The Sinlessness of Jesus: There are two theological questions sometimes debated regarding this issue:

a. Did Jesus sin? The Bible says clearly that he did not (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26, 9:14; 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

b. Could Jesus have sinned? Erickson takes the position that, though Jesus could have sinned, it was certain he would not. He quotes with approval from Leon Morris who says that the person who resists temptation knows the full force of temptation (thus Jesus could have been tempted in all points like we are, yet did not sin).

6. Implications of Jesus’ Humanity

a. Jesus was fully human, therefore he could offer a vicarious sacrifice for us

b. Jesus can fully empathize with our struggles and intercede for us because he knows what it is like to be human

c. Jesus demonstrates what humanity should look like

d. Human nature is not innately bad

e. God is not totally transcendent, but even as in the incarnation, he continues to act within the human realm today.

C. The Unity of the Person of Christ

1. [Additional note: this is an extremely good chapter about a complicated issue. If you have the time to read the chapter (pp. 233-240) I recommend that you do so.]

2. Statement of the problem: “As deity, Christ is infinite in knowledge, power, presence. If he is God, he must know all things. If he is God, he can do all things which are proper objects of his power. If he is God, he can be everywhere at once. But, on the other hand, if he was human, he was limited in knowledge. He could not do everything. And he certainly was limited to being in one place at a time. For one person to be both infinite and finite simultaneously seems impossible” (p. 234).

3. The Biblical Material: There was no duality in Jesus’ thinking, action and purpose. He is always referred to as having a single nature (personality), even though he is also referred to as fully God and fully human.

4. Early Misunderstandings (each was eventually ruled to be a heresy)

a. The initial misunderstandings revolved around the genuineness and completeness of the two natures. Once the church had resolved this issue at the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople, then the second question became the relationship between these two natures. What is really meant when we say Jesus was fully God and fully man? (p. 235). A brief summary of these heresies follows:

b. Docetism: Jesus only appeared to be human, but he was actually totally divine

c. Ebionism: Jesus was not God

d. Arianism: Jesus was not fully God

e. Apollinarianism: Jesus was not fully human

f. Nestorianism: Jesus was two distinct persons

g. Eutychianism: “the humanity of Jesus was so absorbed into the deity that his humanity was virtually eliminated” (p. 236).

5. Basic Tenets of the Doctrine of Two Natures in One Person [I believe this is one of the best sections of Erickson’s book—pages 237-240]

a. The Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) is considered the authoritative pronouncement on this subject. However, it is essentially a negative statement: it tells us what “two natures in one person does not mean. Erickson’s attempt to make a positive statement follows.

b. “The incarnation was more a gaining of human attributes than a giving up of divine attributes” (p. 238). Erickson interprets Philippians 2:6-7 (Where it says Jesus emptied himself) as a reference to the fact that in the incarnation Jesus emptied himself of his equality with God and took upon himself the form of a servant, not that he emptied himself of his divine nature.

c. Jesus’ human and divine natures did not function independently, nor did they function sequentially (either one or the other). They both functioned together. However, because Jesus was contained in a human body, he experienced some “situation-induced limitations.” Consider the analogy of the world’s fastest runner being in a three-legged race, where one of his legs was strapped to the leg of another runner. While in this condition he could not run as fast as he could otherwise, yet he never gives up his ability to run faster than anyone else, but while in the three-legged race he will experience some situation-induced limitations.

d. In thinking about Jesus being fully divine and fully human at the same time, we should not think of humans as they are today, but humans as they were designed by God before the fall.

e. The incarnation was initiated from above, not from below. God (in the form of Jesus) voluntarily took on a human nature, rather than a human being attempting to become God.

f. People differ in the complexity of their personalities. It is best to think of Jesus of Nazareth as a very complex person. “He was a personality that in addition to the characteristics of divine nature had all the qualities or attributes of perfect, sinless human nature as well” (p. 240).

XVII. The Work of Christ: An Introduction

A. The Stages of Christ’s Work: This is usually divided into two stages, his humiliation and his exaltation, each of which have substages

1. The Humiliation: this refers to Christ humbling himself, not the denotation we usually think of when we use the word humiliation

a. The incarnation: Christ humbled himself when he left the presence of God the Father and the Holy Spirit and the constant worship of the heavenly host and took on himself the form of a human being. Even to come to earth in a royal family with unmeasurable wealth would be a humbling experience, but instead he came to a very poor family in an obscure little town and was born in a barn among cattle.

b. His death: The ultimate step in his humiliation was his death. But his death was not a normal death. His death was by torture, one of the most painful forms of death ever devised by humans. In addition to the physical pain, he died being mocked and ridiculed by the very humans he came to save.

2. The Exaltation:

a. The Resurrection: “The resurrection is particularly significant, for inflicting death was the worst thing that sin and the powers of sin could do to Christ. In the inability of death to hold him is symbolized the totality of his victory” (p. 246).

b. Ascension and Session at the Father’s Right Hand

(1) This first step in Christ’s ascension reverses the first step in the humiliation: Christ reassumes his place in heaven with his Father and the heavenly hosts. There are many biblical passages affirming Christ’s ascension (see p. 247).

(2) In premodern times heaven was thought of as an actual place in the natural universe, someplace that one could travel to if one had an incredibly fast spaceship. It is now believed that multiple universes composed of different kinds of matter can occupy the same space, so Christ’s ascension was not necessarily to a place far away.

(3) The Bible says that Christ needed to go to heaven for a number of reasons:

(a) To prepare an abode for us to live with him eternally

(b) So that the Holy Spirit could come

i) Christ worked through external means to change his disciples: the Holy Spirit could work inside of them

ii) Christ in his physical body could only work with those with whom he could have physical contact: the Holy Spirit could work throughout the world in millions of lives simultaneously

(4) Christ is now seated at the right hand of the Father (a symbol of authority and active rule).

(5) The final stage is the Second Coming, when Christ will return to the earth and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord (Philippians 2: 10-11).

B. The Functions of Christ

1. Historically, Christ’s work has been often described in terms of the roles of prophet, priest and king. As prophet, Jesus reveals the Father and heavenly truth; as priest he makes our salvation possible, and as king, Jesus rules over all the universe (p. 248)

2. However, Erickson chooses to speak of three functions of Christ—the revelatory role of Christ, the rule of Christ, and the reconciling work of Christ.

3. The Revelatory Role of Christ

a. Jesus saw himself as a prophet (Matthew 13:57) as did Peter (Acts 3:22) and the crowds (Matthew 21:11) continuing the tradition of the OT prophets, prophesying judgment upon the wicked and good news and salvation to those who followed God

b. Phases in Christ’s revelatory role:

(1) As the Logos, he was the revealer of truth throughout all of human history. In a sense, all knowledge has come as a result of his work.

(2) During his earthly life he revealed to us what God is like, as well as his truth

(3) Jesus continues to reveal himself to the world through the work of the church

(4) In the future, Christ will return and produce a final revelation.

4. The Rule of Christ

a. Both the Old and NT present Jesus as the ruler of the world.

b. Even though it seems that many today are not obeying Jesus’ rule, Erickson comments that the natural laws of the universe are examples of Christ’s rule

c. Also, through the church, Christ rules (although his servants sometimes carry out his commands rather badly)

d. At the end of time, God the Father will put everything under Christ’s rule

5. The Reconciling Work of Christ: this continues in two ways

a. The atonement: Christ’s death is what allows us to be reconciled to a holy God.

b. Intercession: Christ continues his intercessory work for believers even now (Romans 8:33-34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24). In his intercessory work he presents his righteousness to the Father for our justification, he presents his finished work on behalf of Christians who continue to sin, and he asks the Father that believers could grow in grace and be kept from the power of the tempter.

C. The Many Theories of the Atonement

1. The Socinian Theory: Based on 1 Peter 2:21, this theory argues that Christ’s death serves as a model for our lives in two ways: (1) It models the love which we are to display if we wish to have salvation, and (2) it should inspire us to love similarly. The Socinian theory is found today among Unitarians.

2. The Moral Influence Theory: This theory sees Christ’s death as a demonstration of God’s love, which has the potential to heal our ignorance and fear of God (p. 251).

3. The Governmental Theory: Developed by a lawyer (Grotius), this theory says that a ruler cannot simply ignore of overlook violations of God’s moral law. Therefore it was necessary that an atonement be made that would provide the grounds for forgiveness, but also maintain the moral structure of the universe (p. 252).

4. The Ransom Theory: This theory has been widely affirmed throughout Church history. It’s basis is found biblically in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45. Historically it has often been thought that Christ paid a ransom to Satan so that we could be free. However, Erickson says this statement is biblically unsound. Instead, Christ’s atonement freed us from the just requirements of the law.

5. The Satisfaction Theory: Because we sin, we violate God’s honor. One option would be that we be punished. Christ’s atonement allows us to be reconciled with God without suffering the punishment ourselves.

6. Erickson’s comment: Each of these theories contains an element of truth, although some of them contain ideas that are objectionable.

D. The Central Theme of the Atonement

1. Background Factors in Understanding the Atonement

a. By his very nature God is perfect and complete holiness. He is compelled to turn away from sin.

b. The moral law is an expression of God’s character. The law is a means of relating to a personal God. Breaking the law carries liability to punishment (Romans 6:23; Galatians 6:8)

c. Human beings are totally unable to save themselves.

d. Jesus’ death, as a human being, is able to be applied to us as humans. As God, he did not have to die. His death is of infinite worth, and therefore could atone for the sins of the whole world.

e. The OT sacrifices pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice for sins, the sacrifice that would put an end to the need for continued sacrifices.

2. The Basic Meaning of the Atonement: Christ’s atonement encompasses several concepts:

a. Sacrifice: Jesus’ death was a once-for-all atonement for the sins of all humanity (Hebrews 9: 28)

b. Propitiation: Christ’s sacrifice appeased the wrath of a holy God against sin. (This is contrasted with the theory of expiation, which says that Christ’s death cleansed sinners of their sin and covered their sin and uncleanness. Erickson asserts that Christ’s atonement accomplishes propitiation rather than expiation.)

c. Substitution: Christ became our substitute, dying so we do not have to.

d. Reconciliation: Christ’s death brings to an end the estrangement that would have by necessity to exist between a holy God and sinful human beings.

XVIII. The Holy Spirit

A. The Person of the Holy Spirit

1. The work of God the Father is highlighted in the work of Creation and in the OT: the work of God the Son is highlighted in the Gospels as he walked among humanity and provided redemption for all of us: the work of the Holy Spirit is highlighted in this present age, as he applies the redemptive work of Christ in the lives of believers.

2. There are certain difficulties in understanding the person of the Holy Spirit, perhaps because of the following reasons:

a. The role of the Holy Spirit is not to draw attention to himself, but to declare and glorify the Son (John 16:14).

b. We can conceptualize what a Heavenly Father is, and we have a concrete record of what Christ was like,

c. The King James translation of the third person of the Trinity as the “Holy Ghost.”

d. The significant controversies of the Holy Spirit in the twentieth century cause people to be reluctant to discuss him and his role.

3. The nature of the Holy Spirit

a. He is fully God (see page 272 for various arguments that point strongly in the direction that the Holy Spirit is truly and fully God).

b. Unlike the pantheism of Eastern religions and the New Age movement, the Bible clearly describes the Holy Spirit as a distinct person, with intelligence, thoughts, feelings, and will who can be resisted and grieved.

B. The Work of the Holy Spirit

1. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the OT (he is usually referred to as “the Spirit of God” rather than the “Holy Spirit” in the OT). Some of his activities included:

a. He played a role in Creation (Genesis 1:2).

b. He inspired the OT prophets and biblical writers (Ezekiel 2:2)

c. He gave humans their special talents (Exodus 31:3-5)

d. He produced the moral and spiritual qualities of holiness and goodness within human beings.

2. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of Jesus

a. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she became pregnant with the baby Jesus

b. All of Jesus’ ministry (both his teaching and his miracles) were carried on through the power and direction of the Holy Spirit

3. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Life of the Christian

a. The Holy Spirit is involved in conversion and regeneration (John 3: 5-6, 16:8-11)

b. The Holy Spirit indwells and empowers believers in their Christian lives (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:4-5)

c. The Holy Spirit illumines our minds, helping us to understand the meaning of what God has said in his Word (John 14:26)

d. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, for often we do not know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26-27)

e. The Holy Spirit works in the sanctification process in believers’ lives, helping believers be transformed morally and spiritually so that they become more like Christ (Romans 8:1-17). Paul contrasts life in the flesh with life in the Spirit, and discusses the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-23)

f. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to believers. There are three lists of spiritual gifts. Erickson characterizes them the following way:

(1) He believes that Ephesians 4:11 is actually a listing of offices in the church, of people who are God’s gifts to the church

(2) He believes Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Peter 4:11 are a list of several basic functions that are performed in the church.

(3) 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 are lists of special enablements given to certain people for the edification of the whole body

(4) See page 280 for a chart listing the gifts identified in each of these passages

4. Are Spiritual Gifts for Today?

a. [Additional Notes: A primary question for Christians today is whether the charismatic gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 are for today or whether they ceased at the time of the closing of the canon. Cessationists believe they ended at that time.

b. These gifts were found at some level for the first three centuries of the Christian church, and then only occasionally between that time and 1900.

c. Since 1900, C. Peter Wagner (a world-respected missiologist and professor of theology at Fuller Theological Seminary) says there have been three distinct groups who believe these supernatural gifts are available to the church today (The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit, 1988, Vine Books, Ann Arbor, Michigan).

d. Classic Pentecostals: Starting in Topeka, Kansas and Azusa Street California around 1900 there were outbreaks of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) and other supernatural gifts. Classic Pentecostals (there are now several denominations that identify themselves as Pentecostal), believe that there are two major works of grace—conversion and baptism in the Spirit. They believe that baptism in the Spirit will always be manifested with speaking in tongues.

e. Charismatics: Beginning in the middle of the 20th century, charismatic manifestations began in several non-Pentecostal denominations—the Episcopal, Lutheran, and Catholic churches, etc. Charismatics have a variety of theological beliefs regarding the gifts of the Spirit, but in general they believe that the baptism of the Spirit happens at the time of conversion (and isn’t necessarily manifested through speaking in tongues). People can be “filled with the Spirit” at various times in their Christian life, and this infilling can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including one or more of the spiritual gifts.

f. “The Third Wave:” Starting in approximately 1980, Peter Wagner identifies a third group of non-cessationists. These believers do not necessarily identify themselves as Pentecostals or charismatics, but they do believe the gifts of the Spirit are still available to the church today.

g. Wagner makes the point that the most rapid growth in the church during its early years was when preaching was accompanied by miraculous gifts, and that today, the same is true of the church world-wide. Liberal denominations are declining in the percentage of the population they represent. Conservative cessationist denominations (i.e., denominations that believe the charismatic gifts have ceased) are for the most part maintaining memberships that are relatively level. The churches and movements within Christianity that are significantly growing are those three groups mentioned above, where gifts of the Spirit are often manifest in evangelistic crusades and in established churches. This is particularly true in movements found in South America, Africa and Asia. Thus most American Christians are less aware of this trend. End of Additional Notes]

h. Erickson provides a very balanced discussion of this issue, and I strongly encourage you to read this section (The Miraculous Gifts Today, pp. 281-285)

C. Discussion Questions

1. What position do you take on the controversy between cessationists and non-cessationists?

2. What are your biblical and other reasons for the position you take?

XIX. Salvation

A. Conceptions of Salvation:

1. Salvation is viewed differently by different groups. There are at least five categories that can be used to summarize these differences

a. The time dimension:

(1) Many evangelicals view salvation as occurring at a specific point in time, e.g., the time they went forward in a service and responded to an altar call.

(2) Other believers view salvation as a process that occurs over time.

(3) And still others view salvation as something occurring in the future.

(4) [Additional note: Important for counselors: Some who have been raised with Conception 1 may believe that if a person hasn’t had a experience at some specific point in time when he or she accepted Christ, that person isn’t really saved. It’s important to recognize that some denominations believe that one gradually accepts these truths about salvation over time, and that a person doesn’t need to have a specific altar call experience in order to be one of God’s children.]

b. Nature and locus of need:

(1) The traditional Christian view is that our sin separates us from God and that in salvation we are restored to a right relationship with him

(2) A second view is that people are alienated from others and they need to be reconciled (e.g., relational theology, liberation theology)

(3) A third view is that people are alienated from themselves by guilt feelings, feelings of inferiority, and insecurity, and that salvation refers to growth in self-acceptance and self-esteem.

c. The medium of salvation:

(1) Some sacramental groups teach that salvation or grace is conferred by some physical action, such as receiving the bread of communion into one’s body

(2) Others, such as those in the social-gospel or liberation theology movements believe that salvation is conveyed by the individual engaging in moral action

(3) Evangelical theologies believe that salvation is a gift of God, which is bestowed on the individual when he or she responds to God’s invitation in faith.

d. The direction of movement in salvation

(1) Some groups believe that culture and society is at fault, and that salvation will come when those perverted societal structures are change.

(2) Evangelicals believe that society is perverted as the cumulative result of individual men and women’s sinfulness. The individual needs conversion, and eventually that will affect the culture.

e. The extent of salvation

(1) The particularist position: only those who respond to God in faith will be saved. Some will be lost

(2) The universalist position: God will accept all persons into eternal fellowship with himself. No one will be lost.

2. Current Conceptions of Salvation

a. Liberation Theologies

(1) This encompasses multiple groups—feminist theology, black theology and Third World theologies (the last is the one most often associated with liberation theology)

(2) The common emphasis by all three movements is the idea that the powerful exploit and oppress the less powerful. “Salvation consists in deliverance (or liberation) from such oppression” (p. 292).

(3) Part of the biblical basis these theologies use is the fact that throughout the Bible God identifies with the oppressed.

(4) Salvation is not primarily thought of as what happens to the individual after death, but freeing individuals from oppression in this life.

b. Existential Theology

(1) This term likewise includes all theologies that are based on existential philosophy.

(2) The best-known of these is Rudolph Bultmann’s theology, which is described briefly below.

(3) Bultmann, basing his theology on the work of Heidegger, emphasized the difference between authentic and inauthentic existence. Inauthentic existence is when we fail to exercise our ability to act freely (e.g., conforming to the expectations of those around us) and fail to take responsibility for the actions we take. Authenticity is when we choose to act in ways that fulfil our potential and take full responsibility for our choices.

(4) Bultmann believed there are two human tendencies that we must guard against:

(a) The tendency to be guided by a selfish outlook that considers neither the needs of others or God’s claim on our lives

(b) The tendency to believe that we can gain lasting security by our own efforts rather than trusting God for one’s security

(5) Thus salvation for existential theologians means living a life of authentic existence that considers the needs of others and God’s claim on our lives, and that grounds our sense of security in God. Salvation is not the process of conversion and regeneration (as in traditional theology) but an alteration in our outlook and way of life.

c. Secular Theology

(1) While in the past the majority of people have believed in God, many people today have become secular, i.e., “they have ...come to follow a lifestyle which in practice has no place for God” (p. 293).

(2) Traditional theologians have historically seen secularism as a competitor to Christianity. However, some theologians (e.g., the Death of God theologians) have conceptualized secularism as a mature expression of Christianity, i.e., that “God has educated his highest creature to be independent of him” (p. 294).

(3) In this way of thinking, salvation means becoming independent of God, affirming oneself, and getting involved in the world.

d. Roman Catholic Theology

(1) “Whereas at one time there was a uniform, official position within Roman Catholicism on most issues, now there appears to be only great diversity” (p. 294).

(2) While official doctrinal standards remain, they have been supplemented and in some cases seemingly contradicted, by later statements such as the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council (p. 294).

(3) The traditional Catholic position was that the only way to be saved was to be a part of the Roman Catholic church and partake of the sacraments of the church.

(4) The traditional position has now been modified. For example, Yves Congar has argued for degrees of membership in the church:

(a) “Catholics, who are ‘incorporated’ into the church

(b) Non-Catholic Christians, who ‘linked’ to the church. While their situation is not as secure as that of Roman Catholics, they have genuine churches and are not completely separated from God

(c) Non-Christians, who are ‘related’ to the church” (p. 294)

(5) In the past, Roman Catholic theology merged what Protestants call justification (where God declares us righteous because of Christ’s atoning death) with sanctification (Christian growth following conversion). Now there is acceptance within some Roman Catholic circles that these two concepts can be separated conceptually and practically.

(6) [Additional note: Since the time of Erickson’s writing there has been even a greater rapprochement between Protestant and Roman Catholic theology [described in The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters by Charles W. Colson and Harold Fickett (2008). For writing from a Roman Catholic perspective that shows how much agreement there presently is, read Father Jonathan Morris’ book The Promise: God’s Purpose and Plan For When Life Hurts (2009).]

e. Evangelical Theology: Humans begin with a broken relationship to God, both by sins of commission (we have done things to transgress God’s law) and by sins of omission (we have not done some things that we should have). As a result we are guilty, liable to punishment, and we have a predisposition to sin.

(1) The effects of sin:

(a) This sin not only harms our relationship to God, but also to our fellow human beings.

(b) The collective result of a world of sinful human beings is that society inflicts hardships and wrongs and temptations on the entire culture (culture has become corrupted).

(2) Evangelical theology has traditionally understood that salvation occurs through the following steps:

(a) Justification: God declares us fully righteous in his sight when we accept Jesus atoning death to take away our sins. Our legal status is changed from “Guilty” to “Not guilty.”

(b) Adoption: we are restored to favor with God and given the opportunity to be part of his family

(c) Regeneration: literally meaning “the new birth:” this refers to a “change in the direction of one’s life from an inclination toward sin to a positive desire to live righteously” (p. 296)

(d) Sanctification: literally meaning “to make holy;” the progressive change which happens throughout our lifetime to become more righteous in our thinking and behavior

(e) Perseverance: maintaining one’s faith and commitment to God to the very end of life

(f) Glorification: at death our spiritual nature will be perfected (since nothing sinful can enter heaven)

(3) The basis for salvation

(a) Evangelicals believe that the vehicle of salvation is believing what is taught in Scripture and asking that Jesus atoning work be applied to us

(b) The relationship of good works to salvation in evangelical theology: “Works, then, are not a means of receiving salvation. Rather, they are the natural result and evidence of genuine faith. Faith that does not produce works is not real faith” (p. 296).

(4) Universality versus particularism: Evangelical Protestants do not believe that the Bible teaches that everyone will be saved, but only those who respond to Christ in faith

B. The Antecedent to Salvation: Predestination

1. This chapter is essentially a repetition of what Erickson said in Chapter 13, with little if any new material. (See Section XIV, sections A and B to refresh yourself on this doctrine.) In it he teaches a Calvinist view of predestination, asserting that God makes a decision whom he will elect to salvation totally based on God’s pleasure

2. The Arminian view is that Predestination is a fact, but that it is based on God’s foreknowledge of what humans would do if his grace were extended to them, making it possible for them to respond to his offer (Romans 8:29, 1 Peter 1:1-2)

3. See my article “Theological Determinism versus Voluntarism: Some Biblical Arguments Bearing on the Calvinism-Arminianism Debate” (given to you as a separate handout in this course) for my response to the Calvinism-Arminianism controversy.

C. The Beginning of Salvation: Subjective Aspects

1. “Salvation begins with three steps: effectual calling, conversion, and regeneration. Through the Holy Spirit, God calls the unbeliever to salvation. The human response to that call involves turning from sin to faith in Christ. Faith also includes belief. God responds by regenerating the person to new life in Christ” (p. 305). The following outline gives further information on those three processes.

2. Calvinist view of Effectual Calling: Because humans are lost in sin, spiritually blind and unable to believe, they can only come to God if he specially calls them. “Special or effectual calling, then, involves an extraordinary presentation of the message of salvation. It is sufficiently powerful to counteract the effects of sin and enable the person to believe.....It is bestowed on the elect, not upon all humans, and it leads infallibly or efficaciously to a positive response by the recipient” (p. 307). It renders it certain that they will respond positively to God’s call (p. 306, 307).

3. [Additional Note: Arminian View of Calling: In contrast to the Calvinist view of calling, the Armininian view of calling is that God showers his grace on all humans, which, even though they are spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, allows them to choose to either come to him or reject him. He in his sovereignty allows them to decide whether or not they wish to come to him. If he were forced into this situation he would no longer be fully sovereign over the universe. If he chooses to give humans a measure of self-determination, he still remains sovereign.]

4. Conversion

a. Conversion contains two steps: (1) Repentance is the unbeliever’s turning away from sin, (2) Faith is his or her turning to Christ.

b. Conversion sometimes happens in a single moment as a cataclysmic decision (e.g., the day of Pentecost), or it may be more of a process (e.g., Nicodemus in John 19:39). It may be a calm experience (e.g., Lydia’s conversion in Acts 16:14), or it may be more emotional (the Philippian jailer in Acts 16:30).

c. There is a single Conversion (when a person comes to Christ), but there may be multiple smaller conversions, as a believer turns over other aspects of their lives to the Holy Spirit’s control.

d. Repentance: the act of abandoning or repudiating sin. Includes regret or remorse for having done wrong, but the concept of godly sorrow also includes the concept of changing one’s behavior as well. Worldly sorrow includes remorse (e.g., Judas’ regret after having betrayed Jesus), but does not include the idea of changing one’s behavior.

e. Erickson says that repentance is an indispensable action if one is to be converted (Matthew 3:2, 4:17; Acts 17:30). This repentance is an argument against what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” or “easy believism.” To become a Christian requires more than just believing Jesus is the son of God. It must include repentance—a regret for one’s previous sins and a commitment to turn away from them (Luke 9:23). Even demons believe Jesus is God’s Son, but they are not saved.

f. Faith: “Faith is at the very heart of the gospel, for it is the vehicle by which we are enabled to receive the grace of God” (p. 310). Biblical faith has two basic components:

(1) To accept a statement is true

(2) To trust in the person of Christ to take away one’s sins.

g. Both repentance and faith are gracious works of God in the lives of believers.

5. Regeneration [Note: there are several really excellent statements in this section, so much of what follows are direct quotes]

a. “Conversion refers to our response to God’s offer of salvation...Regeneration is the other side of conversion. It is God’s doing. It is God’s transformation of individual believers, his giving a new spiritual vitality and direction to their lives when they accept Christ.....The human being is spiritually dead and therefore needs new birth or spiritual birth (p. 311)

b. Biblical references to regeneration occur in Ezekiel 11:19-20; John 1:12-13, 3:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:3, 23; 1 John 2:29, 5:1, 4, etc.)

c. “The new birth is the restoration of human nature to what it originally was intended to be and what it in fact was before sin entered the human race at the time of the fall” (p. 312)

d. “It is instantaneous. There is nothing in the descriptions of the new birth to suggest that it is a process rather than a single action” (p. 312)

e. “Although regeneration is instantaneously complete, it is not an end in itself. As a change of spiritual impulses, regeneration is the beginning of a process of growth which continues throughout one’s lifetime. This process of spiritual maturation is sanctification” (p. 312).

6. Practical and psychological implications of conversion and regeneration

a. “Human nature cannot be altered by social reforms or education. It must be transformed by a supernatural work of the Triune God” (p. 313).

b. [Discussion question: In light of the fact that 85% of those who go to secular counselors say that they experience significant improvements in their lives, do you agree with Erickson’s statement? If you do agree, how do you understand the change these clients report? If you do not agree, how would you modify his statement?]

c. Saving faith includes at least three things:

(1) Affirming correct beliefs about Christ’s atoning death

(2) Establishing a personal relationship with Christ by asking him to come into our lives and be our Savior and Lord (our boss)

(3) Transforming our behavior in light of God’s call on our lives (the book of James)

d. One person’s experience of conversion may be quite different than another persons. For some people it is a definite, single point in time experience. For others it is a gradual growth in acceptance of the above truths.

e. Regeneration, or the new birth, will “establish its presence by producing a new sensitivity to spiritual things, a new direction of life, and an increasing ability to obey God” (p. 313).

D. The Beginning of Salvation: Objective Aspects

1. Erickson discusses three topics under objective aspects of salvation—union with Christ, justification, and adoption.

2. Union with Christ

a. The term “union with Christ” is used in two ways in Scripture: the broader denotation refers to all of salvation: the denotation discussed below if the more specific one of referring to our moment by moment relationship with him.

b. There are many references to the oneness between Christ and the believer (e.g., 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:3-4, 2:10; 1 Corinthians 1:4-5, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, etc.)

c. We are said to be in Christ, but also Christ is said to be in us.

d. Inadequate Models for Understanding Our Union with Christ

(1) The pantheistic model that says we are one in essence with God

(2) The belief that we are so absorbed by Christ that we virtually lose our own personality

(3) The view that union with Christ is similar to the relationship between two friends or between a teacher and pupil (it is deeper than this)

(4) The sacramental view: According to Erickson this view is based on a literal interpretation of Matthew 26:26-28, when Jesus said about the wine and bread as he instituted Communion “this is my body.....this is my blood.” Persons who adopt this view believe that Christ’s body and blood are actually present in the Eucharist, and it is through partaking in the Eucharist (Communion) we are united with Christ. [Additional note: Apologies to Roman Catholic students: these are Erickson’s thoughts, not mine.]

e. Characteristics of the Union with Christ

(1) We must realize that this is a mystery (Ephesians 5:32) and we will not fully understand it in this life

(2) One aspect: When God looks at us, he sees us “in Christ” and sees us as righteous in him, rather than as sinful human beings.

(3) A second aspect: Being in Christ means there is a union of two spirits—that of Christ (mediated through the Holy Spirit) and our own. This union does not extinguish either one, but produces a new spiritual vitality within us.

(4) A third aspect: This union, symbolized in the metaphor of the vine and the branches (John 15:1-8) produces ongoing spiritual energy that allows us to bear spiritual fruit. We cannot produce spiritual fruit in our own strength, but only when we are abiding in Christ (John 15:4).

f. Implications of Our Union with Christ

(1) God sees us as righteous

(2) We live in Christ’s strength

(3) We should expect to suffer for our belief in Christ (Mark 10:39; John 15:20; Philippians 3:8-10)

(4) We will ultimately reign with Christ (Mark 10:35-39; Luke 22:30; 2 Timothy 2:12).

3. Justification

a. There are two basic problems in the relationship between God and humans that come as a result of sin and the Fall. The first of these is our corrupted human nature: this is remedied through regeneration. The second of these is our guilt and liability to punishment because of our sins: this is addressed through justification.

b. The problem: it would be impossible for a righteous God to declare someone righteous who is not righteous. A judge who justifies or acquits the unrighteous would be acting unrighteously himself.

c. Biblical justification: “Justification is the declarative act of God by which, on the basis of the sufficiency of Christ’s atoning death, he pronounces believers to have fulfilled all of the requirements of the law which pertain to them. Justification is a forensic act [i.e., an act related to our legal standing before God] imputing the righteousness of Christ to the believer; it is not an actual infusing of holiness into the individual.....It is not a matter of making the person righteous or altering his or her actual spiritual condition” (p. 319).

d. Thus in justification God attributes Christ’s righteousness to us, even though we still continue to sin in our daily lives.

e. Objections to the Doctrine of Forensic Justification

(1) Objection 1: If God declares human beings righteous when we are not, isn’t he guilty of being untruthful or deceiving himself?

(2) Response: There are two ways in which a person can be declared righteous. One is if they have never sinned. The other is if they have sinned, but the penalty has been paid. In that case a judge can pronounce them free to go. This latter situation is the basis for why God declares us righteous.

(3) Objection 2: Virtue cannot simply be transferred from one person to another.

(4) Response: When a person accepts Christ as his or her Lord and Savior (i.e., is “in Christ”) God sees them as a unity. It is analogous to when a man and wife marry and combine their assets. If one owed a substantial amount of money but the other had more than enough money to cover those debts (and does so), then as society looks at the couple, there is no remaining indebtedness.

f. Erickson asserts that justification is not achieved through our behavior: it is a free gift from God, completely undeserved (Ephesians 2:8-9).

g. The relationship between faith and works

(1) Our works do not produce salvation: accepting Christ’s work on the Cross is what provides our salvation

(2) Genuine saving faith that leads to salvation becomes apparent in the results that issue from it. “If there are no good works, there has been no real faith or justification, there has been no real faith or justification” (p. 321) (Ephesians 3:10; James 2:17, 26).

h. The lingering consequences of sin

(1) Sometimes people experience negative after-effects of their sins, even after they’ve asked God to forgive them. Doesn’t that indicate that God is still punishing them?

(2) Erickson’s answer: If people are saved and ask forgiveness for their sins, then God totally forgives them. However, there may be natural consequences that remain, even though God has forgiven them. For example, a man who shoots his family in a fit of drunken rage. If he genuinely asks forgiveness God will forgive him. However, this does not bring his family back to life.

4. Adoption

a. Justification means that the negative relationship between God and ourselves because of our sin has been removed. However, it is possible for someone to say: “I no longer hold anything against you for the wrong you did to me, but I want nothing more to do with you.”

b. In adoption God goes beyond removing our negative standing and gives us positive standing—he invites us to be part of his family—he affirms that we have a favored relationship with him (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:5; Galatians 4:4-5)

c. Adoption occurs at the same time as does conversion, regeneration, justification and union with Christ.

d. In adoption we are restored to the relationship humans had with God before the Fall.

e. The non-believer has a very different relationship with God than does the believer.

f. Benefits of Adoption

(1) God delights in being forgiving, merciful, tenderhearted and kind (Psalm 103:8-14)

(2) We can obey God out of a heart of love and gratitude, not out of fear ((Romans 8:14-16; John 14:15, 21; 15:114-15)

(3) We become heirs with all the resources of our heavenly Father’s unlimited resources.

(4) If we are disobedient and God disciplines us, we should recognize that he disciplines us out of love, and not because he no longer loves us.

E. The Continuation and Completion of Salvation

1. Sanctification

a. Definition: Sanctification is a lifelong process by which a person’s character becomes more and more like the character of Jesus Christ

b. Two biblical concepts related to sanctification

(1) The word sanctify sometimes means to set apart (from the ordinary or mundane) for a specific purpose. In this sense places, objects and persons can be set apart. This sense also carries with it the concept of “belonging to the Lord.”

(2) The word also has the denotation of moral goodness or spiritual worth. This is the sense that gradually came to predominate.

c. Comparison with justification

(1) Justification occurs at a single point in time: sanctification is a lifelong process

(2) Justification is a dichotomous situation—one either is or is not justified. Sanctification is a process and is a continuous rather than dichotomous variable—there are different degrees of sanctification.

d. Characteristics of sanctification

(1) Sanctification is something done by God, not by ourselves (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 13:20-21)

(2) It is a progressive matter (the form of the verb in Philippians 1:6 and 1 Corinthians 1:18 indicates it is an ongoing activity)

(3) The aim of this divine working is likeness to Christ himself (Romans 8:29)

(4) Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 8:4-27)

(5) It is not a passive matter on the believer’s part, but we are to cooperate with God (Philippians 2:12-13; Romans 8:13, 12:1-2, 9, 16-17)

(6) [Additional note: If both (1) and (5) are true, it doesn’t seem accurate to me to say sanctification is something done completely by God. It seems more accurate to consider it an example of the biblical word sunergo, which refers to God and human beings working together to accomplish the process.]

(7) Sanctification: Complete or Incomplete?

(a) There has been strong debate between the majority of evangelicals and some Wesleyan Methodists and Nazarenes about whether it is possible to become completely sanctified in this life.

(b) Verses sometimes used to support the idea that complete sanctification can occur include Matthew 5:48, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Ephesians 4:13, and Hebrews 13:20-21.

(c) Verses used to support the belief that sanctification is not complete in this life are 1 John 1:8-10 and Romans 7:18-19.

(d) Erickson takes the position that, while complete sanctification is an important goal to strive for, none of us obtains it here in this life. (See his fuller discussion on pp. 327-328 for more details.)

2. Perseverance

a. Within Christendom there remains an ongoing debate about whether Christians can lose their salvation or not.

b. Erickson includes a balanced discussion of the arguments by both Calvinists and Arminians on this issue. If you don’t believe you understand the arguments on both sides of this issue fully, you are encouraged to read his discussion (pp. 328-333). His conclusion to the matter is that “While Hebrews 6 indicates that genuine believers can fall away, John 10 teaches that they will not” (p. 332).

c. [Additional note: A discussion of some of the biblical passages related to perseverance can also be found in the class handout “Theological Determinism versus Voluntarism: Some Biblical Arguments Bearing on the Calvinism-Arminianism Debate.”]

3. Glorification: There are three aspects of future glorification, which occur at three different times

a. The moral and spiritual perfecting of the individual: this occurs at the death of the individual, before he or she enters heaven ( Colossians 1:22; Ephesians 1:4; Philippians 1:9-11; Jude 24).

b. Receiving a glorified body: This will occur at the resurrection of all believers (Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Corinthians 15:38-50)

c. Renewal of creation: provision of a perfect environment in which to dwell after the final judgement of all human beings and as believers enter a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1-2)

F. Discussion Questions

1. With which of the views of salvation do you identify with (Section A 2)? Why?

2. Identify ways that you could use these biblical concepts related to salvation—conversion, justification, union with Christ, and adoption in Christian counseling.

3. Identify ways that you could use the concepts of sanctification, perseverance and glorification in Christian counseling.

4. Sometimes people who have accepted Christ have a hard time accepting their acceptance in Christ. What are some counseling approaches that you might use with them?

5. If you had a client with Generalized Anxiety Disorder who was constantly worrying that they had lost their salvation, how might you use your counseling skills and the biblical concept of perseverance to help assuage their anxiety?

XX. The Church

A. The Nature of the Church

1. Basic meaning of the term “church”

a. The Greek word translated “church” is ekklesia (Hebrew term qahal).

b. These words refer to the act of assembling, or to an assembly of the citizens of a city

c. From this the church is considered an assembly of believers called out by God

2. The Unity of the Church: It is clearly spoken in Scripture that the church is to have unity. Various people and groups have conceptualized this unity differently:

a. Unity is spiritual in nature: We serve and love the same Lord, even though we have differences in some beliefs and in our church organization

b. Unity as mutual recognition: groups who believe in this type of unity often engage in pulpit exchanges, easy transfers of membership when needed and cooperation in service whenever possible

c. Conciliar unity: these denominations join formal associations or councils made up of various denominations, but retain their own traditions and convictions

d. Organic unity: various denominations unite to form one large denomination (e.g., the United Church of Canada, which combined Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists into one fellowship).

e. Erickson says that drives toward conciliar unity and organic unity have diminished considerably in recent years (p. 341).

3. Biblical Images of the Church: The Bible contains multiple metaphors for the church. Erickson says there are three predominant ones:

a. The people of God (pp. 341-342)

(1) Even as the Israelites were called by God his chosen people in the OT, in the NT the church is called his people (2 Corinthians 6:16)

(2) God takes pride in them and provides special protection

(3) God expects loyalty from his people

(4) Circumcision was proof of divine ownership in the OT, and circumcision of the heart was the NT equivalent (Romans 2:29)

(5) In the OT the formal agreement between God and his people was the Abrahamic covenant. In the NT it is the “new covenant” established by Christ

(6) In both Old and New Testaments God calls his people to a life of holiness

b. The body of Christ (pp. 342-344)

(1) Even as Christ’s earthly body was the focal point of his activity while here on earth, the church is the focal point of his activity now. We carry on the Great Commission, the last command Christ gave to us

(2) Christ is the head of the body

(3) The body metaphor emphasizes the interconnectedness of church members—we all need each other. We are to complement, care for and serve one another

(4) We are to be a unified body

(5) Unlike the OT people of God, the body of Christ knows no national, gender or economic divisions

c. The temple of the Holy Spirit (pp. 344-345)

(1) The Holy Spirit brought the church into being through his work at Pentecost

(2) The Holy Spirit indwells individual believers as well as the church collectively

(3) The Holy Spirit imparts his qualities to those whom he indwells—the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control)

(4) The Holy Spirit empowers believers to carry on the ministry of Christ

(5) The Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment

(6) The Spirit produces unity within the body

(7) The Holy Spirit creates a sensitivity to the Lord’s leading

(8) The Holy Spirit brought back to the disciples a remembrance of the Lord’s teaching after he had ascended

(9) The Holy Spirit guides us toward holiness and purity

d. “The church is the continuation of the Lord’s presence and ministry in the world” (p. 345)

e. “While the church is a divine creation, it is made up of imperfect human beings. It will not reach perfect sanctification or glorification until its Lord’s return” (p. 345)

B. The Role and Government of the Church

1. The four functions of the church

a. Evangelism: Jesus’ last words to his disciples were to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and his prophecy that after the Holy Spirit had come upon them they would receive power to carry out that ministry (Acts 1:8). This command is all-inclusive—we are to take the Gospel to “all nations.”

b. Edification: The second major function of the church is to edify believers. We are not to let anything come out of our mouths but what will build each other up spiritually (Ephesians 4:29). The spiritual gifts are given, not for personal satisfaction, but for the edification of other believers (1 Corinthians 14:4-5). There are several means by which church members are to be edified:

(1) Fellowship

(2) Weeping with those who weep; rejoicing with those who rejoice

(3) Instruction or teaching

c. Worship: We are to come together regularly for worship. While worship focuses on God, it also benefits the worshipers. [Erickson says that for churches to be healthy spiritually they must have a balance of evangelism, edification and worship, just as physically we need a balanced diet.]

d. Social concern: We are to care for the needy and suffering. We are to condemn unrighteousness and mistreatment of the poor or weak.

2. The heart of the ministry of the church is to bring the Gospel (the Good News that Christ came to pay the penalty for our sins, and that he will come into our lives if we ask him and will empower us to make the changes we need to make)

3. Forms of Church Government: The Bible does not contain any didactic material about how churches should govern themselves. There are some descriptive passages that talk about church leaders, but these are quite short. As a result churches over time have emphasized one or another of these passages when forming their church governments, and there is a fairly wide dissimilarity among these types. There are four basic forms of church government—the episcopal, the presbyterian, the congregational and the non-governmental form. Erickson’s summary is very clear and concise, so you are encouraged to read pages 352-355 directly.

C. The Ordinances of the Church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

1. Baptism: Virtually all denominations practice baptism based on Christ’s command in Matthew 28:19. However, there are at least three ways that various denominations understand and practice it. Erickson says there are three basic questions that must be addressed: (1) What is the meaning of baptism? (2) Who are the proper subjects of baptism (infants, children or adults)? And (3) What is the proper mode of baptism (immersion, sprinkling, or some other method)?

a. Baptism as a Means of Saving Grace

(1) This belief is found in Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches

(2) Meaning: These groups speak of baptismal regeneration, i.e., that baptism causes a transformation which brings the person from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is a means of saving grace: it imparts saving grace and results in the remission of sins. It objectively unites the believer with Christ once and for all (pp. 358-359).

(3) Subjects: Baptism is offered to adults who have become believers, but also to children and even infants.

(4) However, there is a theoretical conflict for Lutherans between infant baptism and justification by faith alone. They usually resolve this in one of two ways:

(a) “By asserting that infants who are baptized may possess an unconscious faith” (p. 359)

(b) “By asserting that it is the faith of the parents (or even of the church) that is involved when a child is baptized” (p. 359)

(5) Mode: there is not one mode of baptism that must be universally followed.

b. Baptism as a Sign and Seal of the Covenant

(1) This is the view held by Reformed and Presbyterian denominations

(2) Meaning: Baptism is the act of faith by which we are brought into the covenant of grace. As circumcision was a sign in the OT that one had entered the covenant, so in the NT baptism is the sign that one has done so.

(3) Subjects: Covenantalists believe that both believing adults and children of believing parents may be baptized.

(4) Mode: The mode of baptism is relatively inconsequential.

c. Baptism as a Symbol of Salvation

(1) This is found in Baptist and other churches (e.g., Mennonites)

(2) Meaning: Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change that has taken place. It does not impart any spiritual benefit or blessing, other than bringing us into a formal relationship with a church.

(3) Subjects: It is believer’s baptism. Therefore it should only be engaged in by an adult or child who has professed faith in Christ.

(4) Mode: Most churches within this group use immersion, because it symbolizes dying to sin and arising to a new way of life. However, some groups (e.g., Mennonites) use other methods than immersion such as sprinkling.

d. In a section called “Resolving the Issues” Erickson looks at the biblical passages on which each of these three approaches to baptism are based, and discusses which of these approaches he believes is most biblically sound (pp. 361-363).

2. The Lord’s Supper: As with baptism, there are several views of what the Lord’s Supper means

a. The Traditional Roman Catholic View (Catholics usually call this the Eucharist)

(1) The traditional Catholic view was clarified at the Council of Trent (1545-63). While many Catholics, particularly in Western countries, no longer accept all of this view, it is still the traditional view accepted by many

(2) Transubstantiation: the belief that when the Eucharist is administered by a properly ordained priest the bread and wine are literally turned into Christ’s flesh and blood respectively

(3) A continuing sacrifice: The belief that each time the mass is offered a real sacrifice is offered by Christ

(4) Sacerdotalism: the belief that, in order for transubstantiation to occur, the Eucharist must be offered by a properly ordained priest. Otherwise the bread and wine remain bread and wine.

(5) Elements only offered to clergy: In order to avoid the possibility that Christ’s blood would be spilled and trampled underfoot, the elements were only offered to the priests on behalf of the laity.

b. The Lutheran View: Luther agreed with some parts of the Catholic view and disagreed with other parts

(1) Consubstantiation: Luther didn’t believe that the bread and wine actually became Christ’s body and blood. He did believe that when Holy Communion was celebrated, the body and blood of Christ was in, around and among the bread and wine.

(2) Not a repeated sacrifice: Luther believed that the Crucifixion was a one-time event, and so there is no need for repeated sacrifices.

(3) Rejected sacerdotalism: The presence of Christ’s body and blood was not the result of a properly-ordained priest administering communion.

c. The Calvinistic or Reformed View:

(1) Christ is present spiritually in the Lord’s Supper, but not physically.

(2) Believers benefit by partaking in communion because the Holy Spirit brings them into closer connection with Christ

(3) Participating in the Lord’s Supper “seals the love of Christ to believers, giving them the assurance that all the promises of the covenant and the riches of the gospel are theirs by a divine donation” (p. 365). Believers are strengthened in their relationship to Christ, if they participate in faith.

d. The Zwinglian View: The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s death, bringing to mind his crucifixion and our salvation that has resulted.

e. In a concluding section called “Dealing with the Issues” Erickson discusses some of the biblical passages dealing with Holy Communion and states what he thinks is the most biblically sound (pp. 365-368).

XXI. The Last Things

A. Introduction to Eschatology

1. Eschatology refers to the “study of last things” (i.e., the study of death, the intermediate state, Christ’s return, judgment and the ushering in of eternity)

2. Erickson cautions against several things with regard to the study of eschatology

3. “Eschatomania,” where we become so preoccupied with the study of eschatology that it becomes an unbalanced focus of our lives

4. “Eschatophobia,” where, because of all the controversies surrounding it, we avoid discussing it, even though it has an important place in Scripture

5. Becoming dogmatic about ideas which are often based on biblical passages which are sometimes unclear

6. Being unwilling, as some are, to admit that God’s Word has, in the past, made accurate predictive prophecies (this is more common among liberal Christians who do not believe that God divinely inspired the Scriptures)

7. Not becoming brash in identifying a particular event that is happening today with a specific biblical prophecy

8. Becoming so focused on the controversies and details of eschatology that we fail to understand their spiritual significance for us and make practical application in our own lives (pp. 374-375)

B. Death

1. Eschatology can be divided into two categories: individual eschatology, which talks about the future of individuals, and cosmic eschatology, which deals the future of the human race and the entire creation. Death is part of that first category.

2. The reality of death:

a. Even though we all know, at some level, that we will die, we often avoid recognizing this fact by a variety of psychological and linguistic maneuvers. [Additional note: Several years ago my wife and I lead a Bible study on a “Christian Approach to Death and Dying” at an evangelical church. The first night I raised the question: “Is there anyone in this class who is dying?” Not one person raised their hand, even though the reality is that everyone in the class, including ourselves, were in the process of dying.]

b. Scripture says that we die once, and after that face judgment (Hebrews 9:27), in contrast to the belief in reincarnation, which believes we get a series of “do-overs”

c. Paul reminds us that all of us will die, but that Christ’s death and resurrection has removed the sting of death (1 Corinthians 15:54-56)

3. The Nature of Death

a. Scripture talks about more than one kind of death: there is physical death, spiritual death, and eternal death, or “the second death.”

b. “Life and death [physical death] according to Scripture, are not to be thought of as existence and nonexistence, but as two different states of existence. Death is simply a transition to a different mode of existence; it is not, as some tend to think, extinction” (p. 376)

c. Spiritual death refers to the state of the unbeliever, who has no place for God in his or her life, and so is spiritually dead regarding God and spiritual matters.

d. Eternal death refers to a person who rejects God throughout his or her entire lifetime, and then dies physically while in that state. In the Book of Revelation this is referred to as “the second death” (Revelation 21:8)

4. Physical Death: Natural or Unnatural?

a. There has been a long debate amongst theologians about whether physical death was part of God’s original intention

b. Erickson argues from 1 Corinthians 15:21 that death was not part of God’s original creation, but came because of Adam and Eve’s sin. If they had not sinned they could have eaten of the tree of life and received everlasting life (p. 377).

5. The Effects of Death

a. Death is considered a curse by the non-believer.

b. For the believer, the curse is gone from death. It is a conquered enemy because it brings us into the presence of the Lord (Philippians 1:20-23).

C. The Intermediate State

1. The Difficulty of the Doctrine

a. The intermediate state refers to “the condition of humans between their death and the resurrection” (p. 378).

b. In order to minister to the bereaved we need to have some answer to the question of where their loved ones are immediately after death.

c. This is a difficult question to answer decisively because there are very few passages in Scripture on this topic, and significant debates have developed.

2. Current Views

a. Soul Sleep

(1) Based on a few passages which refer to people falling asleep (used as a metaphor for death), some have taken these words literally to mean that people in the intermediate state are in a state of unconsciousness.

(2) Others use the term as a synonym for soul-extinction (becoming non-existent). Hoekema asserts that modern day Seventh-Day Adventists believe this.

(3) Erickson points out that a problem for this view is that there are several biblical references to personal, conscious existence between death and resurrection (Luke 16:19-31, 23:43)

b. Purgatory

(1) This is essentially a Roman Catholic doctrine which is not found within Protestant churches.

(2) According to this doctrine the wicked who die go immediately to hell. Those who are godly go immediately to heaven. Those who are believers but who are not spiritually perfect go to purgatory.

(3) Roman Catholic theology teaches that there are three ways that souls in purgatory can be hastened in their progress toward heaven—by those here on earth celebrating a mass for them, by prayers, and by doing good deeds in their name.

(4) The primary basis for this belief come from church tradition, from 2 Maccabees 12:43-45 (a book not included as part of the canon by Protestant churches), and from Matthew 12:32.

(5) Erickson asserts that Galatians 3:1-14 and Ephesians 2:8-9 present arguments against the concept of purgatory.

c. Instantaneous Resurrection

(1) W.D. Davies claims that at the moment of death we will immediately receive our resurrection body.

(2) Erickson cites several passages which he believes indicate that we will not receive our new bodies until the resurrection when Christ returns a second time (see passages listed on page 381).

d. Erickson’s Proposed Resolution

(1) Immediately at death the unsaved go to Hades, where they stay between the time of their death and the Resurrection. Hades is a place of misery and punishment.

(2) The righteous, in some form, go immediately to Paradise, where they are in the Lord’s presence (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26). The exact nature of our bodies is unclear, but believers will be in a state of blessedness immediately after death.

D. The Second Coming and Its Consequents

1. The Second Coming

a. The definiteness of the event: Scriptures in many places clearly state that Christ will one day return to earth in bodily form (Matthew 24-25, 26:64; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 10; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28; James 5:7-8; 1 Peter 1:7, 13; 2 Peter 1:16, 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28)

b. The indefiniteness of the timing: However, there are many theories about when this will happen (see discussion below)

c. Personal and actual physical coming: It is taught in Scripture that this will be a personal physical coming, not just a spiritual one (“I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” John 14:3) (See also 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Acts 1:11.) Erickson also argues that the three Greek words that are used to describe his Second Coming— parousia, apokalypsis, and epiphaneia—all provide evidence for an actual physical coming to earth.

d. Visible: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Christ began his reign on October 1, 1914, but it was not a visible return. However, several passages state that Christ’s second return will be a visible one (Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:9-11)

e. Unexpected: There are a number of passages that say the world will not be expecting Christ when he returns (Matthew 25:1-13; 2 Peter 3:3-4).

f. Triumphant and Glorious: Jesus first coming was to lowly, humble circumstances. His second coming will be with great power and glory (Matthew 24:30, Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27).

g. The Unity of the Second Coming: There are three Greek words that refer to Christ’s second coming—parousia, apokalypsis, and epiphaneia. Some evangelical believers, called pre-tribulationists, believe that one of these words refers to a secret coming (the Rapture), when Christ returns and takes all believers to be with him during a seven-year period, called the Tribulation. At the end of the Tribulation Christ will come publicly with his Church and set up a Millennial (thousand-year) reign on earth. The other two words refer to Christ’s coming at the end of the Tribulation. Thus according to pre-tribulationists there will be a second and a third coming. Erickson says that these three terms only supports a single future coming, not a second and a third coming (see pp. 386-387 for the specific arguments he makes to substantiate this conclusion). This issue (the debate about when the Rapture will come) will be discussed in more detail on pages 48 and 49).

h. The Imminence of the Second Coming: Pretribulationists often assert that the Rapture could happen at any time, based on texts such as Matthew 24-25, Romans 8:19-25, 1 Corinthians 1:7, etc. Erickson believes that these passages command us to always be prepared for Christ’s return, but that imminence refers to the entire complex of events that surrounds the Second Coming, but not specifically to one event in the Second Coming.

2. The Resurrection

a. The Certainty of the Resurrection: The Bible clearly promises that believers will be resurrected. These promises were found in several OT passages (Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; Ezekiel 37:12-14), but much more explicitly and clearly in the NT (Mark 12:24, 26-27; Acts 2:24-32, 13:32-37; Hebrews 11:19; John 5:25, 28-29; John 6:39-40, 44, 54, etc.)

b. All three persons of the Godhead are involved in the Resurrection (p. 389)

c. Our physical bodies will be restored to life: (Romans 8:11; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:44, etc.). Christ’s physical resurrection is the first example of the bodily resurrection which we will all take part in (p. 390).

d. While the majority of texts that speak of the resurrection refer to believers, there are several passages that indicate that non-believers will also be resurrected ( Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:14-15).

3. The Final Judgment

a. A Future Event: While some have argued that God’s judgment occurs during this lifetime, the Bible also speaks of a future judgment which will occur after the Second Coming of Christ (Matthew 11:24; John 5:27-29; Matthew 25:32-46, etc.).

b. Jesus Will Be the Judge: Jesus will sit on a glorious throne and will judge the world (Matthew 25:31-33; John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:4, etc.). Apparently believers will share in the judging, but the exact nature of this is not spelled out (1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 3:21, 20:4).

c. The Subjects of the Judgment: All humans will be judged (Matthew 25:32, 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27). Berkhof says: “Scripture leads us to believe that [the sins of believers] will be [revealed], though they will, of course, be revealed as pardoned sins” (cited on p. 391). Evil angels will be judged at this time (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). The good angels will be involved in the judgment by bringing all those who will be judged to Christ’s judgment throne (Matthew 13:41, 24:31).

d. The Basis of the Judgment: Everyone will be judged on the basis of their conformity or deviation from the revealed will of God (2 Corinthians 5:10; John 5:29, etc.). However, as noted above, those who are in Christ will be pardoned of their sins.

e. The Finality of the Judgment: Unlike some religions were people can be reincarnated and live a better life in their next incarnation, the Bible says that the judgment Christ renders will be permanent and irrevocable (Matthew 25:46).

E. Millennial and Tribulational Views: In this portion of eschatology there are two significant questions. One question has to do with the nature of the millennium. The other has to do with the timing of the Rapture.

1. Millennial Views

a. Postmillennialism: In this view it is believed that through evangelism and conversion a larger and larger portion of the world becomes converted to Christ. Christ is not physically present during the millennium, but he rules indirectly through the activities of the church. The millennium is an extended period of time, but not necessarily a literal 1,000 years. The millennium is a present reality, rather than a future prediction. Postmillennialism has been more popular during periods when the church was experiencing powerful and successful missionary enterprises (e.g., the fourth and nineteenth centuries). With the multiple wars during the twentieth century believers became less positive that the world was being won for Christ, and so the popularity of postmillennialism has waned.

b. Premillennialism: Premillennialism is based on a more literal interpretation of end-time prophecies. Premillennialists believe that during the millennium (which will last approximately 1,000 years), Christ will return to earth and physically reign over the world during this period. Unlike postmillennialism, which says the world will get better and better due to the world being converted, premillennialism says that the world will experience horrendous wars and famine and disruption during a seven-year period (the Tribulation) just before Jesus returns. However, during the Millennium itself there will be worldwide peace, nature will be freed from the curse of the fall, even wild animals will live in harmony, and the destructive forces of nature will be calmed (pp.396-397). The saints will reign with Christ during this period. Dispensationalism, which is one form of premillennialism, believes that the promises and predictions for the nation of Israel will be literally fulfilled during this time. Amillennialists (see below) believe that the church has replaced the nation of Israel, and that the physical promises to Israel should be spiritualized and applied to the church. Premillennialists disagree, saying that the church and Israel should be kept separate and that the physical promises to Israel will be literally fulfilled during the Millennium. Premillennialism was the predominant view during the early centuries of the Christian era, and is popular among Baptists, Pentecostal Christians, and other evangelical Christians.

c. Amillennialism: As a prefix, “a” frequently means “no,” so amillennialism means there is no millennium as in the two above theories. Instead amillennialists typically believe that the book of Revelation is primarily a book of symbols, so that Christ will not reign indirectly (as with postmillennialism), or directly here on earth (as in premillennialism). Rather the struggle between good and evil will continue until God determines, and then Christ will return to judge the world and then usher in eternity. One of the most difficult passages for amillennialists to explain is Revelation 20, which talks about two resurrections, one at the beginning of the millennium, and another at the end of the millennium. Amillennialism has many points of similarity with postmillennialism: one important difference is that it does not have the optimism that the world will eventually be won for Christ and will enter a period of peace and prosperity before Christ comes back. Amillennialists are more likely to believe that the struggle between good and evil will continue up until the time Christ returns. Amillennialism is more often found among Roman Catholic, Anglican and many Reformed denominations.

d. Erickson’s resolution:

(1) Postmillennialism: Erickson believes that arguments against postmillennialism include (a) the fact that Jesus predicted there would be a time of great wickedness before He comes back, (b) that there is no depiction of Christ reigning on earth without him actually being here, and (c) the practical reality that there are many sections of the globe that are closed to Christianity or, even if Christianity is allowed, there are very few Christians, so the world is not being successfully evangelized for Christ.

(2) Ammillennialism and premillennialism: Erickson believes that amillennialism and premillennialism can both explain most eschatological passages. However, he believes that premillennialism can explain the two resurrections found in Revelation 20, and which are implicit in passages such as Luke 14:14, 20:35, 1 Corinthians 15:23, Philippians 3:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Daniel 12:2 and John 5:29 better than does amillennialism. For that reason he concludes that premillennism has the stronger biblical support.

2. Tribulational Views [All of the following views are variations within premillennialism. Premillennialists generally believe that before the Second Coming there will be a seven year period of tribulation on the earth unparalleled in human history. The various theories have to do with whether the Church will be raptured before the Tribulation (Pretribulationism), sometime during the middle of it (Midtribulationism), or at the end of it (Posttribulationism).

a. Pretribulationism

(1) This view believes that there will be a secret coming of Christ (called the Rapture) for his church prior to, or at the very beginning of the tribulation. No unbelievers will see it.

(2) Biblical support for Pretribulationism view is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and the belief that the Tribulation is a time when God’s wrath is visited upon human wickedness, and that believers will not experience God’s wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9)

(3) Advocates of this view argue that Matthew 24 and 25 (which speaks of believers being present during the Tribulation) is a reference to Jewish believers and not the church at large.

(4) Another argument for pretribulationism is that Christ’s coming is the “blessed hope” of the Church (Titus 2:13). They argue that his Coming would only be a blessed hope if it means He will rapture us before the Tribulation.

(5) Pretribulationism maintains that there will be two comings of Christ, one for believers before or at the beginning of the Tribulation, and another at the end of the Tribulation when Christ comes to set up the millennial kingdom. There will be three resurrections: one for the righteous dead at the Rapture, a second for the saints who have died during the Tribulation, and then a third at the end of the millennium where unbelievers will be resurrected. There will be at least two judgments. The first is for believers who will be judged after they are raptured, and the second will be a separation of believers from unbelievers at the end of the millennium.

b. Posttribulationism

(1) Posttribulationists avoid the use of the word “Rapture” because it is not a biblical expression.

(2) They tend to be less literal than premillennialists, believing that the Tribulation will last for a period of time, but not necessarily exactly seven years, and the Millennium for an extended period of time, but not necessarily 1,000 literal years.

(3) “Posttribulationists draw a distinction between the wrath of God and the tribulation” (p. 403). The wrath of God will be visited upon the wicked (see many verses listed by Erickson on page 403): the Church will go through the Tribulation, but be sheltered from God’s wrath (similarly to how the ark sheltered Noah and his family during the Flood, or how the Israelites were sheltered from God’s wrath when He brought the plagues on the rest of Egypt). They say that throughout church history believers have experienced difficult times—tribulation. God has promised to help them through such times, not remove them from every problem. Jesus in John 16:33 prophesied that “In the world you will have tribulation” (emphasis added).

(4) Posttribulationists point to the word apantesis as support for their theory. [Additional note: In the Greek culture it was used when a victorious general was returning from a battle. The townspeople went out of the town to meet him, then immediately returned to the town with him to celebrate.] Similarly, the two times in the Bible where apantesis is used also support this. One place is Matthew 25:6 where Jesus is telling the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. When the announcement is made that the bridegroom is coming, the wise virgins go out to meet him and then immediately return with him to the wedding ceremony. Similarly, in Acts 28:15 we read the story of Paul coming to Rome. The believers at Rome come out to meet him and then immediately return with Paul to the city. From this posttribulationists argue that the church will not meet Christ in the air and go to heaven with him for the next seven years, but that the church will be caught up to meet him in the air and then return immediately to the earth to reign with him during the millennium.

(5) Posttribulationists also argue that the three words used for Christ’s coming (parousia, apokalypsis, and epiphaneia only support a single future coming, not a second and a third coming (see pp. 386-387 for the specific arguments Erickson makes to substantiate this conclusion). The Bible only talks about a Second Coming of Christ, not a Second and a Third Coming.

(6) As for the “blessed hope” spoken of in Titus 2:13, posttribulationists say that God defines exactly what that hope is. The full verse says: “... we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Therefore the blessed hope is not a promise that God will remove us from all difficulty, but the promise that at the end of it we can look forward to Christ’s return and the initiation of his millennial rule. “The Bible does not promise removal from adversities, but ability to endure and overcome them” (p. 404).

(7) [Additional note: for two excellent books that provide more in-depth explanations of the theological arguments supporting posttribulationism, see the following: (1) George Eldon Ladd, 1956, The Blessed Hope. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, (2) Robert Gundry (1973) The Church and the Tribulation. Grand Rapids, MI: 1973.]

c. Midtribulationism

(1) There are three views that can be placed somewhere between pretribulationism and posttribulationism. None have large numbers of adherents, so will only be summarized briefly.

(2) One view: Believers will experience the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation, but will be raptured before the “Great Tribulation” (i.e., when God’s wrath is poured upon the earth in full measure)

(3) A second view (sometimes called a “partial rapture” view): “There will be a series of raptures. Whenever a portion of believers are ready, they will be removed from the earth” (p. 404).

(4) A third view: Imminent postribulationism: The return of Christ will not occur until after the Tribulation. However, the Tribulation may be occurring right now, so therefore his Second Coming could occur anytime.

d. Erickson’s resolution: Erickson believes that the posttribulation view has the most biblical support for the following reasons:

(1) The pretribulationists position rests on several distinctions that are hard to support biblically (e.g., the belief that there is a Second and a Third Coming)

(2) Several of the eschatological passages (such as Matthew 24:29-31) indicate that believers will be present during the Tribulation, but that they will be protected from God’s wrath (Revelation 3:10)

(3) The use of the word apantesis strongly suggests that when we meet Christ in the air, we will return immediately to the earth with him, not go to heaven for seven years.

(4) The general teaching of Scripture is that believers will suffer persecution and tribulation, but that God will be with us and enable us to persevere through it.

F. Final States

1. The Final State of the Righteous—Heaven

a. The Nature of Heaven

(1) The most important aspect of heaven is the presence of God

(2) We shall understand things much more clearly than we do on this earth (1 Corinthians 13:9-12)

(3) Removal of all evil and evil tempters (Revelation 20:10)

(4) Removal of all tears and regret and mourning (Revelation 21;4)

(5) A place of unsurpassed glory and beauty (Revelation 21:18-23)

b. Our life in heaven: While we have little information about what our life in heaven will be like, Erickson believes it will include:

(1) Rest: our pilgrimage will be complete

(2) Worship

(3) Service

(4) Fellowship with other believers

c. Issues Regarding Heaven about which there are still questions

(1) Is it a state or a place? Erickson believes it will be both, but primarily a state of blessedness, sinlessness, joy and peace

(2) Will there be physical pleasures? While we may not have some of the physical pleasures we have here on earth (e.g., sex), Erickson believes that the pleasures we experience in heaven will far surpass any pleasures we have here on earth.

(3) If we are perfect and complete in heaven, won’t it become a boring place (since often we experience fulfilment here on earth through growth)? Erickson, quoting John Baillie, speaks of “development in fruition” rather than “development towards fruition” that we have here on earth.

(4) Will we remember and recognize other believers? Based on some limited data (e.g. Matthew 17:1-8), Erickson believes we will recognize one another in heaven.

(5) Will there be varying rewards in heaven? Erickson believes there will be (Luke 19:11-27). He speculates that the difference may be internal rather than external—those who were more faithful on this earth may enjoy the joys of heaven more completely, similar to how some people might enjoy a classical music concert more than others.

d. [Additional Note: For some fascinating reading about heaven, consider the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn (2004), Wheaton, IL: Tyndale.]

2. Final State of the Wicked

a. Although the doctrine of eternal punishment in hell is a very uncomfortable one to consider, Scripture clearly teaches that this is a reality (e.g., Matthew 25:41, 46; 8:12; Revelation 9:1-2, 11; 14:10-11; 21:8; Romans 2:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:9, etc.)

b. Hell will be characterized by the absence of God and the realization that this separation is permanent. “As C.S. Lewis has put it, sin is a person’s saying to God throughout life, ‘Go away and leave me alone.’ Hell is God finally saying to that individual, ‘You may have your wish’” (p. 414).

c. Universalism: There are some verses that seem to imply that in the end everyone will come to know Christ and be saved (e.g., Philippians 2:10-11; Colossians 1:19-20; Romans 5:18, 11:32; 1 Corinthians 15:22, etc.) However, when interpreted in context, Erickson says that these verses indicate that God’s offer of salvation is offered to all people, but is effective only to those who believe, i.e., “God’s mercy is shown to all humans, but only those who accept it will experience and profit from it” (p. 412). Another argument against universalism is the fact that Scripture clearly teaches that some humans will not be saved (Matthew 25:41; Luke 16:19-31).

d. The Eternality of Future Punishment

(1) Erickson believes that unbelievers will experience punishment for eternity, and does not agree that annihilationism is a viable biblical alternative. (Annihilationism is the belief that unbelievers will immediately or gradually suffer extinction rather than suffer eternally).

(2) He says there are two versions of annihilationism:

(a) One version believes that unbelievers no longer continue to exist once they die.

(b) A second version believes that unbelievers will undergo a period of punishment and then eventually be consumed in the fires of hell and will cease to exist.

(3) Erickson says that either of these versions are incompatible with Scripture because of multiple Scriptures that use the adjectives “eternal” or “everlasting” or “forever” with regard to the punishment in Hell.

e. [Additional Note: Although the vast majority of conservative theologians believe in unending punishment, there are at least a few (e.g., John Stott, Clark Pinnock, etc.) who do believe that the second version of annihilationism deserves further discussion (i.e., the belief that after a period of punishment, unbelievers will eventually be consumed by the fires of Hell and cease to exist). Here are some of their reasons:

(1) All of the words used to describe burning in Hell use words that refer to something which is burned and eventually consumed by the fire

(2) The descriptions of Hell say that the fires of Hell will continue to burn forever: They do not say that the inhabitants of Hell will be there forever.

(3) Unbelievers will suffer eternal punishment. However, punishment in Hell followed by ceasing to exist could also be considered to be eternal punishment.

(4) Unending punishment in Hell for eternity seems disproportional to justice. Persons consigned to Hell usually only lived on earth between 20 and 70 years. For 20 to 70 years of unbelief, would it be just to punish them for an eternity? Even though God would have the right to do so, a period of punishment followed by an ending of that punishment seems more consistent with his character as a loving and just God. End of Additional Note]

XXII. Discussion Questions

A. Probably the majority of conservative Christians believe in pretribulationism. In light of the fact that Erickson and a growing number evangelical theologians believe that posttribulationism has more biblical support:

1. How should we prepare ourselves spiritually and cognitively for such a possibility?

2. There are several Scriptures that say that, during the Tribulation some who profess Christ will be threatened with execution if they do not recant. If that were the case in your life, what would you do? Why?

3. How would you prepare your children for the possibility that post-tribulationisn might be true?

4. How would you prepare your fellow Christians (especially if they were sure pretribulationism is true), for the possibility that we may have to experience the tribulation?

B. With which of the views of eternal punishment do you agree with? Why?

C. Many people come to counselors for temporal issues only (how to get over depression or a phobia, or PTSD, etc.) Based on the fact that God says that everyone will eventually experience heaven or hell for eternity, how should that affect our counseling, if at all?

Henry Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling Emeritus (Retired)

Palm Beach Atlantic University

hvirkler@aol.com

2020

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I. Sources: Many of the points in this presentation are drawn from one or more of the following eight books: others were drawn from scientific articles.

A. Learn to Grow Old by Paul Tournier, (1972), London: SCM Press. Christian psychiatrist from Switzerland. Although written 50 years ago, still has helpful insights.

B. Eighty Somethings: A Practical Guide to Letting Go, Aging Well, and Finding Unexpected Happiness by Katherine Esty, (2019), New York: Skyhorse Publishing. Retired counselor, also in her 80s. Interviewed 128 people who were in their eighties from all over the U.S., from a variety of vocations.

C. Retirement: Different by Design, by Rick Steiner (2015), Hobart, New York: Hatherleigh Press.

D. Winning at Retirement: A Guide to Health, Wealth and Purpose in the Best Years of Your Life, by Patrick Foley and Kristin Hillsley (2018), self-published. Both are full-time financial planners, but they also have good insights for a balanced view of retirement, not just finances.

E. Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimaging Life, by Louise Aronson (2019), New York: Bloomsberry Publishing. Physician who specializes in geriatrics. Contains excellent medical and psychological insights.

F. Stupid Things I Won’t Do When I Get Old : A Highly Judgmental, Unapologetically Honest Accounting of All the Things Our Elders Are Doing Wrong by Steven Petrow (2021). A bit raw in places, but he has some excellent points which you will hear throughout the presentation.

G. Choose Your Place: Rethinking Home as You Age by Amanda Lambert and Leslie Eckford (2020), self-published. Contains an objective view of the pros and cons of five different housing options for you to consider when you retire.

H. Make the Pool Your Gym by Karl Knopf (2012). Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press. Some people experience arthritis as they get older. This book talks about a good way to use a pool to get exercise if land-based exercise is no longer comfortable.

I. I’ll tell you a little bit about most of these books as we go through this seminar. You may decide you want to purchase and read through one or more of these books yourself.

II. Introduction

A. The effect of our self-talk on retirement and old age

1. Here in the U.S. and in many western cultures we often have assimilated negative thoughts about old age. Some of those thoughts (taken from the Senior Citizen Times) include:

a. Old people are unproductive

b. Old people cannot learn

c. Older people have no interest in or capacity for sexual activity

d. Old people are boring and forgetful

e. Old people are grouchy and cantankerous

f. Old people are set in their ways and can’t change

g. Old people are usually sick, weak, and helpless

h. Most older people usually live in institutions

2. Results of negative attitudes about age and retirement: A research study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that people who hold the above negative views of aging die, on average, 7½ years earlier than those who hold more positive views about retirement and old age.

3. “Another study, this one on people from sixty-one to ninety-nine, showed more improved physical function from an intervention that strengthened positive age stereotypes than from an exercise intervention” (Aronson, 2019, p. 351).

4. Throughout this presentation I think that you will find that many of the above negative statements about old age are not true, and I will suggest some alternative self-talk which I believe is both true and is healthier for all of us to say to ourselves.

5. Dr Aronson, that physician who specializes in working with older people, says: “Beliefs about aging are self-fulfilling prophesies; our health and well-being in old age often become what we imagine they will be, whether what we imagine is good or bad. Biology matters, but it’s only one part of a far more complex equation that includes attitude, behaviors, relationships, and culture” (Aronson, 2019, p. 351).

B. What other cultures say about old age and retirement: People in Japan were asked what were their greatest treasures. Many of them replied that their aging relatives were.

C. And even some people in our culture have similar views. H. Jackson Brown Jr. has said: "Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends."

D. The surprising results of what the research says about age: We quote from Dr. Aronson: “Depending on the measure, by their later sixties or early seventies, older adults surpass younger adults on all measures, showing less stress, depression, worry, and anger, and more enjoyment, happiness, and satisfaction. In these and similar studies, people between sixty-five and seventy-nine years old report the highest average levels of personal well-being, followed by those over eighty, and then those who are eighteen to twenty-one years old. Such findings are equally remarkable for their near universality and how they confound common lore. Ironically, it’s the in-betweens, those generally thought to have the most power and influence in society, who are actually the unhappiest and least satisfied among us” (from the book Elderhood by Louise Aronson, M.D., pp. 255-256).

E. Katherine Esty is a retired counselor and coach who is in her eighties herself, and who interviewed 128 eighty-year-old people for her book Eighty Somethings. Here is a direct quote from her: “Most of the eightysomethings whom I interviewed reported that they were happy, some of them happier than they have ever been in their entire lives” (pp. 6-8).

F. However, the above findings are not true for every retiree: “Studies show an increased risk of death in the two years after retirement for men in their sixties” (Aronson, p. 288).

G. Why might that be? When people retire, there is often:

1. an abrupt loss of structure (we don’t have any required time we have to get up, no required work hours, etc.),

2. there is an immediate loss of all the roles we had when we were employed,

3. an immediate loss of the purpose we once had, and

4. an abrupt ending to many of the relationships we had at our place of employment.

H. As a result many people find themselves adrift psychologically for the first several months after retirement. If we haven’t thought about how we want to give purpose and meaning to our retirement years, we may experience what Steiner calls a “rookie retirement slump.”

I. So retirement can either be a very fulfilling time for people, or it can be a time where we abruptly lose our sense of structure, roles, relationships and purpose and face an increased risk of early death. Fortunately we now have a lot of research that can help us make our retirement years one of the most fulfilling phases of our lives.

J. What I’d like to share with you today is what that research says so you can incorporate the parts of that research that make sense to you into your own plans about how you want to spend your retirement years.

K. Rick Steiner in his book on retirement says: “Why not enjoy your retirement? You earned it. Think of retirement as the gift that keeps on giving, and it will, as long as you are willing to embrace and nurture it. Treat retirement as your best and last opportunity to conceive, craft and create your personal life-affirming narrative ..... IT’S YOUR LIFE SCRIPT, SO WRITE A HAPPY ENDING” (pp. 31-32). For us as Christians we might want to add the following: “God, how do you want me to invest the remaining years of my life?”

L. Building blocks for a successful retirement: Lets look at seven important building blocks to use so we can prepare for a fulfilling retirement:

III. Physical health and well-being:

A. The importance of exercise: Edward Smith-Stanley has said: “Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.” So let’s talk about the benefits of exercise as we get older:

1. Even if we don’t start exercising until we’re in our 80s, we can still benefit from exercise. However, if you’re starting a new exercise regimen in later life, check with your doctor first.

2. You don’t have to run marathons or even half-marathons to benefit from exercise: moderate exercise, like walking, can benefit your physical and brain health in a variety of ways. Research has found that even starting with minimal amounts (e.g., walking for 10 minutes per day) can have measurable health benefits. A recent study concluded that only walking for 10 minutes per day would result in decrease of 111,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year.

3. Some people, as they age, find that they have developed arthritis or other illnesses that prevent them from engaging in traditional exercise programs. For those people consider reading a book such as Make the Pool Your Gym by Karl Knopf. (There are several similar books at Amazon, so you have choices.)

a. Exercising in water has several advantages over land-based exercises; for one thing, it has less jarring impact than land-based exercises.

b. Warm water is often beneficial for people with joint stiffness and pain. It can be beneficial for those with chronic back pain.

c. Movement through water applies up to 12 times greater resistance than movement through air, and you can vary the amount of resistance by the speed you try to move through the water.

d. You can burn the same amount of calories as you would through land-based exercises, and you can get the same cardiovascular conditioning benefits.

B. The Impact of Exercise on Brain Health: Many of these points are taken from a New York Times article: “How Staying Physically Active May Protect the Aging Brain.” [Note: All of the statements I make in this presentation are from documented sources. If you want to see the documentation source, just send me an email and I’ll send you my complete teaching notes which have the documentation included.] (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/01/well/move/exercise-brain-health-alzheimers.html?campaign_id=34&emc=edit_sc_20211207&instance_id=47166&nl=science-times&regi_id=15935683&segment_id=76291&te=1&user_id=dfc08d532ad136fa683e284b2b2d1a57)

1. We have known for some time that physical exercise, especially as we age, improves three mental abilities: our memory, our thinking ability, and reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s by 50%.

2. Most of the previous research has been correlational, showing that exercise has these effects, but not being able to explain why these benefits appeared.

3. Due to the willingness of a large group of octagenarians (80-year-olds) who agreed to wear activity monitors and allowed their brains to be autopsied when they died, and due to new technology developed in the last few years we have been able to discover some of the changes in the brain that are actually occurring. Following is a brief summary of three of those changes:

4. Modest exercise, such as walking for an hour per day most days, causes new cells to develop in the hippocampus, which is where memories are stored. Normally the hippocampus shrinks as we get older, which is probably why we have more trouble remembering things. By bulking up the hippocampus, we slow this tendency to have more memory problems.

5. We didn’t know much about microglia until recently. Apparently, microglia monitor cell health, and when they become aware that some brain cells are dying, they produce inflammation around that cell, which tends to remove the dying cells (they’re kind of like janitors for our brain). They remove the dying cells, then they stop the inflammation, and things continue on as before. But as people get older, the microglia do not stop the inflammation, causing a less-than-healthy situation. However, if people stay more active, their microglia act as they did in earlier life, going back to their quiescent state after the damaged cell or cells have been removed.

6. Researchers found that even when older people developed some of the tangles and plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease, physical activity caused the tangles not to produce the amount of memory problems one would expect from the tangles and plaques. A recent research study (https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/alzheimersdisease/96936?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2022-02-01&eun=g337876d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Top%20Cat%20HeC%20%202022-02-01&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition) found that by age 50, about 20% of people were starting to have amyloid tangles in their brains even though they showed no signs of Alzheimer’s disease. So this is another encouragement to people in their 50s to be exercising daily, even if they have not been doing so before.

7. These are only three of the ways exercise appears to encourage brain health: we will certainly learn more in the coming years. But the evidence is certainly all pointing in one direction: remain as physically active as you are able. Your brain will thank you!

C. Other ways to promote brain health (Source: Brain Regeneration: Why It’s Real and How to Do It:https://www.theepochtimes.com/brain-regeneration-why-its-real-and-how-to-do-it_ 3135537.html?utm_source=Health&utm_campaign=health-2022-03-17&utm_medium=email&est=eWB2GfYgE%2F2M2dZlbw4K5PUI4kDOVHDGq8IkPX%2FpR7dYqxPMPNVUYs5PsB4%3D)

1. For many years doctors believed, and we were told, that once brain cells died, there was no replacing them. But cognitive neuroscientists in the last 30 years have shown that neurogenesis (developing new brain cells) can occur.

2. Seven practical things we can do to encourage new cell development in our brains:

a. Get lots of physical exercise (discussed above)

b. Engage in activities that reduce stress but activate the brain such as playing games, reading books, crafts like quilting and knitting, making music or creating art (appreciating art doesn’t make any noticeable cognitive difference: its when we actively create something that spurs new brain cell development)

c. Take supplements such as turmeric (remyelinates nerve cells)

d. Drink green tea (catechins)

e. Gingko biloba (stimulate levels of a critical brain protein called BDNF: brain-derived neurotrophic factor)

f. Eat vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, horseradish, kale, kohlrabi, mustard leaves, radish, turnips, watercress, and bok choy.

g. Do things that help you continue to learn (e.g., reading, working on computers, problem-solving). Passive activities (like watching TV) produced no cognitive improvement.

D. If you smoke, stop if at all possible: Five reasons:

1. Smoking increases the formation of fatty deposits (plaque) on your arteries.

2. It raises your triglycerides.

3. It lowers good cholesterol and makes your blood more sticky and likely to form clots.

4. It raises the likelihood of developing all kinds of cancer, not just lung cancer.

5. It increases your likelihood of developing diabetes.

E. Love, Sex, and Affection

1. Esty, who wrote the book on eighty-year olds, said: “The desire for love and intimacy does not diminish with age. Most eightysomethings, like most other people, yearn for a relationship with emotional closeness, physical touching, and sometimes sex” (Esty, 2019, p. 58).

2. There is a growing acceptance that older people can continue to be interested in physical touch and sex, and there is research that sexual activity can improve health and self-esteem. About 25% of men and women in their eighties are still sexually active, although the frequency of sex usually declines. Both men and women take longer to become sexually aroused than when they were younger.

3. For people who are married, regular sex provides the following eight health benefits (Source: Gary Greenberg, Sex is Good for You, Health Radar, February, 2022, p. 14):

a. Improves heart health,

b. Reduces stress,

c. Relieves pain (through the release of endorphins),

d. Improves memory and cognitive function

e. Boosts immunity (by spurring the production of antibodies capable of fighting viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens)

f. Lowers blood pressure,

g. Improves bladder control in women

h. Cuts risk of prostate cancer in men

4. Besides being enjoyable and medically beneficial, for those of us who are married we have God’s command in 1 Corinthians 7:5 to “Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.”

5. Some older people are not interested in sex. Others are interested but have no partner. And others report they are sexually satisfied. For those who have no partner, gentle physical touch from friends and family may become especially important (Esty, p. 59-60). (When my (Henry’s)mother was in an assisted living facility in Bradenton during the last few years of her life I would try to visit her every several weeks. One of her complaints is that my hugs were the only physical touch she would receive for weeks at a time. You can believe I made it a priority to give her a long hug every time I visited her and every time I left.)

F. Adventure

1. Adventure can include any sport, travel, or activity that interests and challenges you.

2. It can be wild and wooly, or it can be tamer, depending on your interests and physical abilities. So it can be as active as:

a. Day hiking

b. Cross country skiing

c. Canoeing, kayaking, biking

3. Or as tame as:

a. Joining a book group

b. Taking a cooking class

c. Taking a painting class

4. The goal: do things that you enjoy, that pushes you just a little bit, that gives you something to look forward to.

G. Dealing with ageism in the doctor’s office

1. Ageism is defined as “dismissing health concerns and other needs of older adults because they are old.” Several of the following ideas come from the article “Eight strategies for dealing with ageism in the doctor’s office” by Fran Kritz, Health Radar, Vol. 11, Issue 12, December, 2021.

2. Although there have been several studies about ageism among healthcare providers, about 20% of older patients have said they’ve felt discriminated against in the doctor’s office because of their age.

3. If you experience ageism in your doctor’s office, I recommend that you speak to your healthcare provider, and if he or she is unwilling to change the way they treat you, consider transferring to a doctor who specializes in geriatric medicine.

4. An important difference: Most doctors are trained to prescribe the treatment that will treat the medical problem. A geriatrician may instead ask: What do I need to do so the patient can be happy and safe in their home? Even if we can’t restore the body, we can often fix a problem so that a person can do what they need to do (Aronson, 2019, p. 145).

5. If you have found a doctor whom you trust, it’s important to be honest with them about what’s going on with you and to comply with their recommendations. It’s estimated that 125,000 people die each year and 10% of hospitalizations are caused by people not following their doctor’s advice.

H. Medications:

1. Another important medical point to consider: Many of the medications that are perfectly safe for younger people can be toxic for older people. Most drugs are not tested for safety in older people: they may be tested in average-aged men and women, children, and pregnant women, but not in older people. Therefore if you are older, make sure you are going to a physician who tries to stay current on what medications can be toxic for older people even though they may be safe for younger populations (Aronson, 2019, p. 19). Example: aspirin, which is very safe in younger people, in older people can lead to bleeding, hospitalization, and even in extreme cases, death (p. 94).

2. Prescribing cascade: Example: a physician prescribes a medication for one illness. It works for that problem but then produces another medical problem. That doctor, or another one, prescribes a medication for the second problem. The situation continues, as medication after medication is prescribed for medication-induced problems. As a result, the cascade of different medications start to have a cumulative negative effect, especially in the elderly (Aronson, 2019, pp. 45-48). When older people are taking four or more prescription medications their likelihood of falling significantly increases. Dr. Aronson’s recommended solution: have one doctor who oversees everything a patient is taking, and can recognize when there are “prescribing cascades.”

3. Advocate: Sometimes discussions happen very rapidly in a doctor’s office and you may have difficulty remembering exactly what your doctor said or how to take medications. If that becomes true, it is helpful to take a spouse or an advocate with you.

4. Child resistant medication containers: Child resistant medication containers can often be opened by children as young as 2 or 3, but frequently cannot be opened by the elderly. Sometimes the elderly don’t take prescribed medications because they can’t open the bottles. Or they leave the bottles open all the time. Solution: manufacturers are allowed to make easy-opening products with labels specifying “for households without young children” and pharmacies are allowed to dispense medications without child resistant packaging if requested by the prescriber or patient; many people, however, don’t know about these options (Aronson, 2019, p. 266). Some pharmacies use caps that are both regular and child-resistant so you can choose which side to use.

5. You can also ask the pharmacy to split pills if that is needed and if that is difficult for you to do yourself, or you can purchase a pill-splitter very inexpensively.

I. The importance of treating hearing loss: older people with mild, moderate and severe hearing loss are two, three, and five times more likely to develop dementia (Aronson, 2019, p. 135). Many people are unwilling to use hearing aids, even when they need them, believing that wearing a hearing aid will mark them as “deaf, daffy, and old.” David Petrow (2021, pp. 135-136) says: “I’m keenly aware that not being able to hear what’s going on around me shouts ‘I’m old’ way more than sporting a hearing device does.”

J. The importance of treating vision loss: recent studies have shown a similar importance in treating vision loss. Research has shown that removal of cataracts reduces the likelihood of older patients developing dementia.

K. Question: Shouldn’t we continue to try to eliminate illnesses? We certainly all are beneficiaries of all the medical advances that are available to us today. And these advances are certainly beneficial to young people, for whom they may extend life for years or even decades. But Aronson puts this attempt to live longer and longer into perspective when she says: “Even if we cured all of today’s big killers–cancer, heart disease, dementia, and diabetes, to name just a few–we would only gain a few extra years of life. Our parts would still wear down and out” (2019, p. 87).

L. Attitudes toward health issues:

1. Esty says there are five ways that people deal with health issues (Esty, 2019, pp. 22-26):

a. Deniers: refuse to acknowledge health problems even when they are obvious to everyone.

b. Stoics: largest group, good-spirited, even when experiencing pain or life-altering situations.

c. Complainers: small minority, but they will tell anyone who will listen about all their problems.

d. Worriers: spend a good deal of time worrying.

(1) Worry is usually counterproductive.

(2) But there is one realistic worry: falling. About 40% of older people fall each year, and some do not recover.

(3) Take precautions or build safety measures into your home [and be aware that taking multiple medications increases the chances of falls].

e. Realists: Acknowledge health problems. Go to doctors and dentists and follow their advice.

2. Esty found that attitude and usual coping styles has more impact on people’s behavior than their actual health status (p. 26). So again we see that our attitudes and self-talk make a huge difference in how happy and healthy our retirement years will be.

3. Steven Petrow said: When someone asks “How are you doing?” this is a form of greeting, not an invitation to give an “organ recital.” Petrow (2021, p. 51): He recommends making a strong correlation between the severity of a disease and the amount of time spent talking about it.

4. Another story that illustrates the importance of our self-talk. Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a crippling and irreversible disease for which there was no known cure at the time. As his condition deteriorated he discovered that looking for the humor in life was the best medicine. He wrote a book that has become a best-seller, Anatomy of an Illness.

5. While we clearly should try to live as healthily as we can, we should always keep in mind that when we exit this life, as Christians, we’re heading into a life that is so much better that we’ll have no regrets about leaving this one. Revelations from Heaven: Randy Kay. [First break]

IV. Second Important Building Block for Retirement: Financial Security and Continuity:

A. Disclaimer: I am not a financial planner. I will share some ideas from those who have expertise in that area. Based on that, you may wish to read one or more of the books mentioned at the beginning of the seminar or consult with a financial planner personally. Be cautious: some financial planners say you should retire with 1½ to 2 million dollars so you can travel the world in style. Not necessary. Remember the Bible passage: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

B. Two books that have good sections on assessing your financial readiness to retire are:

1. Retirement: Different by Design, by Rick Steiner (2015)

2. Winning at Retirement: A Guide to Health, Wealth and Purpose in the Best Years of Your Life (2018), by Patrick Foley and Kristin Hillsley (both are financial planners)

C. Here are some suggestions from those who have expertise in that area.

1. 40% of Americans spend more than they make each month. If that is your situation consider something like taking Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University program or go to a financial advisor whom you trust. Rick Steiner has said: “Don’t live beyond your means, unless you are prepared for a failed retirement.”

2. It is best if you retire with no mortgage debt. However, almost 1 in 3 people who retired in 2010 had mortgage debt, and 1 in 5 75-year olds still had mortgage debt (Steiner, 2015). Recommendation: If you can, begin planning now so that you will have your mortgage and all your significant debts paid off by the time you retire.

3. Very important: If you retire before Medicare coverage begins, make sure to have some kind of medical insurance. Hospital costs can quickly bankrupt a family.

D. Important basic information on finances and retirement

1. Full retirement age (often abbreviated FRA) used to be 65. It is now 67.

2. The earliest you can retire and receive Social Security is 62 (unless you become disabled). However, if you stop working and begin receiving Social Security before your Full Retirement Age your monthly payments will be lower for the rest of your life.

3. Each year you work and delay starting Social Security payments up until the age 70 will add between 7 and 8% to your monthly payment. After the age of 70 you can continue to work if you choose, but delaying starting Social Security will not add anything to your Social Security payments.

4. Payments are made based on your highest 35 years of income.

5. If you stop working and begin receiving Social Security payments before your Full Retirement Age you cannot change your mind and defer your Social Security payments again, so do not make this decision lightly, since it is irrevocable. Your monthly payments will always remain at the level based on your initial retirement.

6. Payments can be made to your bank via direct deposit or by direct express, where the payments go to a prepaid debit account. This second type of payment (direct express) can be used by those who do not have bank accounts.

7. How to maximize Social Security benefits

a. If you are single, in good health, and think that there is a good chance that you will live to 80 or longer, you will maximize benefits by working until 70 and starting benefits then (the average lifespan for women in the U.S. is now 81).

b. If you are married, then you will sometimes maximize benefits as a couple by having the lower earning spouse begin taking Social Security at 62 and the higher earning spouse wait until 70.

c. When you start taking benefits you can choose between two options: either 50% of your spouse’s benefit at FRA, or your own earnings.

d. If one spouse dies, the survivor has the option of either continuing to receive their own benefit or switching to their spouse’s, whichever is higher. 97% of survivor benefits are paid to women (Foley and Hillsley, 2018, p 36).

e. Rules for divorced couples are quite complex: In general, if someone has been married for at least 10 years, they are eligible for spousal and survivor benefits based on the earnings of their spouse if they haven’t remarried (Foley and Hillsley, p. 40).

f. You may wish to consult with a specialist before making a final decision about a claiming strategy.

8. Regardless of when you plan to start taking Social Security benefits, make sure you contact Social Security three months before you turn 65 to enroll in Medicare.

V. Third component as you plan for retirement: Where will I (or we) live?

A. I recommend that all couples and individuals approaching retirement read the book Choosing Your Place: Rethinking Home as You Age by Amanda Lambert and Leslie Eckford (2020). This book will give you an objective view of five different options, the pros and cons of each option, and the personality characteristics that could help you decide which one is best for you. Discuss the options with your spouse, family members, or close friends.

1. This book is a pleasure to read because it illustrates many of its important points by telling stories of people who have tried these different options, and what they have liked or disliked about that option. It is very up-to-date, for it talks about how the COVID pandemic has affected those who have chosen each option.

2. The average cost of assisted living in the U.S. is $3,700.00 per month (about $45,000.00 per year) and the cost rises as more care is needed (2020 figures), so it is wise to consider other options when one of those options is feasible. Let’s look at each of the five options discussed by Lambert and Eckford. This will just be a brief summary, so if you want to consider thinking seriously about this issue I recommend you purchase the book and discuss each chapter with your spouse or whoever you may be considering living with.

B. The Allure of Cohousing:

1. Cohousing started in Europe, but now is available in the United States in several different configurations. Those who opt to engage in cohousing have their own private apartment or town house and share common spaces like kitchen, dining, laundry, and entertainment areas. Charles Durrett, an architect who has cowritten The Senior Cohousing Handbook, explained that community participation among residents is fundamental to cohousing. One self-described “happy resident” made a point to say “It’s an excellent choice for seniors to house themselves with dignity, independence, safety, mutual concern—and fun” (Petrow, p. 148).

2. In cohousing communities “There’s no hierarchy among the residents,” Durrett said, adding that the facilities are designed to foster community and connection. “It’s not just about independence and care—it’s about the all-important emotional well-being of each and every one.” In many of these communities, the residents do much of the day-to-day caregiving for each other when needed” (Petrow, pp. 148-149).

3. Many times family has moved away, friends have moved away or died. Cohousing allows you to develop a new set of friends.

4. Benefits include caring for each other, especially as some residents age and lose the ability to drive safely. Other members of the co-housing community can drive them to doctors’ appointments and other things. Emphasis on sharing, helping each other.

5. Eradicates the experience of some seniors, who say they feel useless

6. Overcomes the danger of becoming isolated.

7. In the U.S. there are now 160 established cohousing communities and 140 in development. Only one nearby, in Boynton Beach, which is in development. It will be small: only 2 acres.

8. Website for cohousing in the U.S.: https://www.cohousing.org

C. The Golden Girls Inspired Home

1. This option was popularized by the television show, but has been around for centuries.

2. It can be a good option for some people. The book describes a number of people who have been using it successfully.

D. Moving in with the Kids

1. Having a multigenerational household has also been around for centuries.

2. With the emphasis on individuality and personal freedom, it has become less popular, but for some seniors and families it has been a very good option, with benefits both for the senior as well as benefits for their children.

3. Clear expectations and boundaries should be discussed before moving in.

E. New Options in Senior Housing

1. There are many options within this category, many of which you probably have not heard of unless you read this book.

2. Two non-traditional options that do work for some people include:

a. living on a cruise ship, meeting people from all over the world, as well as visiting all sorts of interesting places.

b. Another non-traditional option includes long-term rentals at places like the Holiday Inn.

3. Microapartments: one option that is more popular than the above are microapartments, which are tiny private spaces with large community spaces. These often have a Murphy bed and may come furnished. The largest challenge with these is the downsizing required. Even though the process of downsizing may be difficult, many people find that once its done, that living with fewer things to take care of is actually quite liberating. Sometimes people try these and then eventually move to a condominium that is smaller than their original home but larger than a microapartment.

4. Tiny Houses, the Small House Movement, and Accessory Dwelling Units:

a. The Tiny House Movement, sometimes known as the Small House Movement, is for those who prefer to live simply in small homes. Sometimes these are designed with aging-in-place features built in.

b. Some people, depending on whether zoning allows this, opt to have an accessory dwelling unit built on the same property as a larger home. That way they can be close to family but also allows both groups some added privacy.

5. Condominiums: can be a step down from single-family homes. One caution: these can require homeowners association fees which can be increased each year.

6. Senior residences on college campuses: These are sometimes called University-Based Retirement Communities. There are, as of 2020, some 100 such communities in the United States. Seniors are allowed to take classes on the campuses and mingle with the younger generation. It provides an additional revenue stream for universities. The downside is that buy-in fees and monthly fees can be quite high (e.g., one million dollars or more for buy-in and $9,000.00 or more for monthly fees.

7. Multi-use and intergeneration use facilities:

a. Multi-use facilities: these buildings often include residences, stores, and multiple restaurants, all in the same building. Unlike an assisted living facility which has to prepare balanced meals each day, this arrangement means that one facility does not have to provide meals each day and gives residents opportunities to make choices for meals.

b. Intergenerational facilities: Allows multiple generations to live together in various configurations, including cohousing and multiple generations sharing the same house. Sometimes done for cost-sharing, sometimes for having easier access to family members, or easier ways to care for children or seniors. This is growing in popularity: according to the Pew Research Center, 64 million Americans are living in multigenerational households in 2020.

F. Becoming an Expat An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person residing in a country other than their native country

1. Sometimes people choose to retire and live in another country. They may do so for a variety of reasons: adventure, a warmer climate, less expensive living expenses, less expensive medical care.

2. There is a really good chapter that answers lots of questions about living in another country during retirement, including several stories of those who are doing it successfully, the challenges and benefits.

3. For more information, consider going to https://www.expat.com

G. Having a Plan B

1. Lambert and Eckford’s book makes the point that we can maintain much more control of our lives if we proactively plan for retirement.

2. However, they make the point that regardless of how well we plan, unexpected medical challenges may require that we modify or totally change that initial plan.

3. Therefore they suggest that we all consider what our Plan B might look like.

4. And also, they tell stories of those who have had to change their plans more than once, and what the personality traits are that help persons adapt to changing circumstances.

5. Therefore while I think the descriptions of the five options for senior living (in additions to assisted living arrangements) are excellent, I think the concluding chapters on having a Plan B and having the mindset that allows seniors to adapt successfully to unexpected changes are a gold mine of good ideas.

6. I recommend that everyone who is approaching their senior years purchase, read, and discuss this book (Choose Your Place) with your loved ones.

[Recap: The first three items to consider in preparing for a healthy retirement were: (1) continuing to exercise to the degree you are able, (2) having a financial plan, and (3) deciding on a housing plan. Now let’s look at a fourth (and very important) component.]

VI. Fourth component: Emotional and Interpersonal Health:

A. Having friends is crucial to emotional health. As people get older, sometimes adult children are located in different states or are busy with their own careers and children, so in those situations friendships with peers becomes more important than family relationships in determining happiness.

B. Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad is a professor of psychology at Brigham Young University. She says we are in the middle of a loneliness epidemic and it is getting worse. Her research indicates that loneliness is a predictor of premature death. Those who are lonely are twice as likely to die from all causes than those who are not lonely, even when controlling for age, income and smoking. Lonely people have less restful sleep, higher blood pressure, and weaker immune systems than others (Esty, pp. 208-209). In Genesis 2 God said, for the first time, “It is not good.” It is not good that man be alone. I will make a companion for him.”

C. TED Talk by Robert Waldinger titled “What Makes a Good Life? Lessons from the longest study on Happiness” An 80-year study of 724 men from all walks of life found that loneliness is toxic, and that remaining socially connected is a key factor in happiness. Relationships are the key to happier, healthier lives, though not just any relationship. Quality matters more than quantity, and the happiest among us have one or a handful of close relationships and stable, satisfying marriages (Aronson, 2019, 293-295). The health impact of social isolation is equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day (p. 295).

D. Friendship often is different for men than for women. Men may do some activities with other men, but they often do not share anything personal with them. Therefore for them they sometimes do not have any close friends, or the only person that they share personal things with is their wife. If their wife dies before they do, they may feel completely alone.

E. Sometimes men join a grief group or a support group. It is not uncommon for them to find another companion, sometimes within weeks.

F. Women often have had other women with whom they shared personal things throughout their lives. While some of these women have died or moved away, they usually have some friends who are still available. Women usually are more adept than men at making new friends. Therefore even though women generally live five years longer than men (81 versus 76), it is usually easier for them to adapt to the loss of a spouse than it is for men.

G. Both men and women sometimes use a pet (generally a dog or cat) to provide some of the companionship formerly provided by a spouse.

H. But for both men and women in their 70s and 80s, dealing with losses is an important part of maintaining good emotional health. While this may be different for each person, finding some way to develop friendships with others remains an important emotional need.

I. And what Dr. Holt-Lunstad’s research and that of many others has shown us is that men, long before they retire, could benefit from giving more attention to developing friendships (not just doing activities together, but actually sharing with other men) not just at retirement, but throughout their lifetimes.

J. Armistead Maupin titled his memoir Logical Family. Sometimes our own family members have passed away or live far away and are busy with their own lives. He suggests that as we grow older we may have to form our own circle of friends and loved ones who are logical for us. (For Christians our logical family is often our brothers and sisters in Christ, usually those within our church.)

K. Petrow encourages us not to only think of developing friendships with others who are retired, but to consider developing relationship with those who are younger than us. He suggests several advantages of having some younger friends (Petrow, 2021, (pp. 38-41)

1. Opens your world up, broadens your perspective

2. Gives a sense of energy and excitement

3. Helps us to stay curious

4. Allows us to mentor

5. Helps us to stay collaborative

L. Intergenerational Life Engagement:

1. Sometimes that engagement with younger people can include relationships with children and grandchildren.

2. The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren varies widely. On the positive end of the spectrum, grandchildren have been called the “romance of old age.” These grandchildren view their grandparents as very warm and nurturing.

3. Grandparents provide a wide variety of roles in the lives of their grandchildren. In some families they are caregivers, especially if there has been a divorce or if one of the parents has a problem that interferes with their ability to parent their children.

4. At the other end of the spectrum are grandchildren who rarely interact with their grandparents. Some grandparents say they only see their grandchildren when their grandchildren need money.

5. Sometimes the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is affected by the attitudes grandparents have about growing older. If grandparents accept some of the negative stereotypes about aging that we mentioned at the beginning of this seminar they may believe that their grandchildren wouldn’t be interested in having a relationship with them.

M. “Cultivating resilience doesn’t mean never feeling sad or angry. It’s about contentment and the happiness born of connection, meaning and purpose. With aging and in old age, resilience requires accepting you are still yourself despite changes, losses, and limitations and recognizing your ongoing personal and spiritual development. It means finding a purpose that may differ from prior goals and inspires learning or helping someone else or going somewhere new” (Aronson, 2019, p. 347).

VII. Intellectual Pursuits: A fifth important component of a healthy retirement are our intellectual pursuits.

A. In our early adult years we often needed to narrow our intellectual pursuits in order to prepare for our careers. Sometimes we found that there are many things that we’d like to do that we couldn’t do because we didn’t have time. In middle adulthood, Tournier suggests we start developing some of those interests that we’ve had to say “no” to, and begin bringing those things back into our lives.

B. If you’re a workaholic like I was, you may not start developing those hobbies until you actually retire. However, even if you wait until retirement to start, you can begin to think about the things you’d like to do when you retire, and then you can begin them when you actually retire.

C. Volunteering

1. A successful retirement requires us to find something that gives us a sense of purpose. For some people, an important component of that sense of purpose is caring for a loved one.

2. If caregiving is not necessary, then volunteering can provide a sense of purpose.

3. A University of Michigan study found that being engaged in some sort of volunteering was correlated with a significantly lower risk of dying over a seven-year period (Foley and Hillsley, 2018, p. 17). A second research study found the same thing–that volunteering was associated with a lower risk of mortality.

4. A third study (published in 2010) found that having a purpose in life in life was associated with lower risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment (Foley and Hillsley, 2018, p. 20).

5. Opportunities for volunteering in Palm Beach County:

a. churches,

b. Florida Literacy Coalition,

c. Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County,

d. hospitals,

e. schools

D. Retirement for men and women: Retirement for men usually means retirement from a job. For some women this is also true, but for some women, retirement can come at an earlier time, often in one of two forms.

1. For women who have invested their lives in raising their children, one form of retirement for them is when the youngest child leaves home.

2. Many times women have looked forward to the time when their child or children all leave home. They may be surprised with the emptiness they feel.

3. Some women may attempt to continue mothering their children even after their adult children have left home. For them they may need to develop some plans so they can retire their mothering role and invest their lives in other things.

4. A second form of retirement for women is widowhood. Often a wife has sacrificed her own interests in order to adapt to her husband’s preferences. He does not like music, and so she gives it up also. He does not like some of her friends, so she drops them. While grieving the loss of her husband, she may be helped by rediscovering some of the interests she gave up in accommodating to her husband. (Tournier, 1972, pp. 16-17).

E. Some things you can do to keep yourself intellectually stimulated:

1. Recreational reading: many books are now available very affordably as e-books (e.g., Bookbub.com). Also, most communities have libraries with much good reading available through a free library card for county residents. Many libraries have both standard books available or e-books.

a. For many years as a counseling professor, I never read anything except professional books related to counseling.

b. Now my wife and I have gone both gone back to recreational reading. There are a tremendous number of writers who compose fascinating books, both fiction and nonfiction. Often in the evening my wife and I don’t even turn on the television, but just prefer to read the fiction books that we currently working on because they are so interesting.

2. Becoming reinvolved in music. We both have gone back to playing music again: both of us play piano and the flute and enjoy making music as our time allows.

3. Woodworking, baking, pottery, painting, or any other creative endeavor

4. Volunteering in church or in the community: We both volunteer at a local hospital two half-days per week, and I volunteer at our church one half-day per week.

5. Becoming part of a prayer community. This is something that anyone can do, even those who cannot leave their residences.

6. Taking lifelong learning courses at a nearby university or on-line or reading in areas that interest you.

7. Find something you miss from your job and modify it for retirement.

a. Probably the most fun thing I do is something I call the “Friday mailing.” I did this for several years before retiring and continue to do it now. Each day I look on the Internet for new articles related to counseling, and then I compile the ones I think will be most interesting to others and once a week post them on a website so counseling students and counselors can review brief summaries I provide and then read the entire articles they are interested in. This keeps me intellectually stimulated, and allows me to provide a service to counselors and students who don’t have the luxury of spending as much time researching new things coming out in the field of counseling as I do. If you’re interested, can go to the SFACC website and look for the tab “Friday News.”

b. Mary used to teach Chemistry and Physics as a high school teacher. Now she tutors students who are struggling with chemistry and physics and earns some “fun money” that she can spend on whatever she wants.

8. Hobbies can be as diverse as the interests a person has

9. The important thing is that it be an activity that you actually enjoy–something that gives you innate satisfaction. Something you do freely: not just something you do because you need to have something to do. [Second break]

VIII. Sixth component: Spirituality, Meaning, Family and Legacy:

A. Spirituality:

1. Spirituality often becomes more important to people as they grow older. Sometimes people who believed that social position or money would bring them satisfaction find that those things haven’t brought the fulfillment they hoped for and they begin searching for an answer in spirituality.

2. And some of the world’s most famous atheists, as they entered old age, found that atheism was no longer satisfying, and they became believers in their old age. Although many people are unaware of this, the following world-famous atheists all became believers in their last years:

a. Jean-Paul Sartre

b. Anthony Flew, and

c. Albert Camus (Source: Atheists Who Found God: Chapter 21: Is Atheism Dead? By Eric Metaxas, Salem Books, 2021).

3. For those who have been spiritual most of their lives, knowing that they will soon leave this life and be reunited with loved ones who’ve gone on before can give a wonderful hope.

B. Family

1. Sometimes an elderly parent may move in with one of their children. However, sometimes none of the children live close, or their lives are too busy to care for a parent, or sometimes there are personality issues that interfere with this being a workable solution.

2. Sometimes children unilaterally make a decision for an elderly parent. This usually creates resistance. It’s better, when possible, to make such decisions collaboratively.

3. Something to consider: if an elderly person needs to move to a residential facility, sometimes families wait too long to encourage a parent to consider such a move. It sometimes is wiser to have a person move into a residential facility when they are still more socially active and can make new friends in their new residence.

4. One option that works for one family, none of whom lives close to the parent. On Thursdays they have one conference call with each other in which they share anything about their lives or their mother. Then they have a second call that includes their mother. One sister takes care of paperwork and one brother, whom the mother is most willing to listen to is in charge of convincing her to do things she needs to do.

C. Legacy

1. Our legacies may be left in various ways.

a. For some of us, seeing our children and grandchildren develop spiritually and become leaders in their churches or other organizations can be very fulfilling.

b. For others, our legacies may be through students or through others we have mentored throughout life. For others, it may be through spouses or friends we have supported throughout life.

2. A few ideas relating to leaving legacies:

a. Legacy letters: writing one or more letters to be given to children or grandchildren at various points in their lives (e.g., graduation from college, marriage, birth of first child, etc. (See Esty, Appendix II for examples). Some people choose to do this through videos they record for children or grandchildren instead.

b. www.storyworth.com Someone, usually an adult child or in-law, chooses a set of questions. One question is sent to you each week, and you are free to ignore it or write a reply and add pictures if you wish. At the end of the year the questions and answers are bound into books for yourself, your children and grandchildren to read. One of our daughters-in-law arranged this for us, and we, along with our two children’s families, each have a bound volume to keep and read when we wish to. Show book.

IX. Seventh component: Life Transitions and Acceptance:

A. One of the things that is important as we grow older is simply the willingness to accept the fact that we are aging. Our culture prizes youth and tries to avoid the appearance of aging. Some people spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars on surgery to try to look younger than they really are. Probably a healthier approach is to accept the fact that we are aging and make peace with that.

B. “When we do things like [a 50-year-old dermatologist who suddenly changed his hair color from salt and pepper gray to jet black], we often don’t look younger. We just look like someone who is desperately trying to look younger” (Petrow, 2021, p. 11).

C. Although millions of dollars are spent each year on anti-aging potions and procedures, most anti-aging remedies do not have solid evidence to support their effectiveness (Aronson, 2019, p. 92). The one research finding that has plenty of animal research support is that limiting our calorie intake does lengthen life, but most of us are not willing to use this method consistently (Aronson, p. 90).

D. Upside-down parenting (Esty, 2019, pp. 32-36).

1. In the 60s through the 80s there is generally a gradual shift as adult children take over more of the activities that were previously done by parents. This can be things like preparing the holiday meals, helping set up a new computer, sometimes taking parents to doctor’s appointments, etc.

2. It is best if decisions can be made collaboratively between parents and adult children. Our culture prizes independence, and it is sometimes hard for any of us to realize we need help. It’s important to listen to those who care for us, and let them help us when it would be safer for us to let them do things for us.

E. Holding on and letting go: As we get older, we tend to do things more slowly. If we try to continue doing all the things we did while younger, we can start to feel overwhelmed. An important part of healthy aging is to recognize that we need to gradually let go of some of the things we formerly did and then hold onto the things that we can still do comfortably.

F. Caregiving: sometimes one partner in a marriage or family becomes disabled, either temporarily or long-term, and another member in the family is thrust into the role of caregiver.

1. Because we prize our independence, it is sometimes hard for the disabled person to accept help. If that person is used to being the leader in the relationship, it may also be hard for them to accept the role of being cared for. Thus caregiving often requires changes by both persons–the caregiver and the one receiving care. There may be a period of initial frustration and annoyance as people adjust to these new roles. Its important to talk about these frustrations and work towards solutions for both people

2. One thing that sometimes helps is if the person receiving care can do certain things in the family, so that each person is sharing the responsibilities in the family. Or if the illness is temporary, sometimes they can take turns being caregiver for each other.

3. Caregiving is hard, and may require people learning to do things they had never known how to do before. On the other hand, caregiving can provide some positive benefits, for it gives the caregiver meaning and purpose that they may not have had before.

4. The importance of letting people make choices about their lives and help them have experiences where they still feel useful:

a. An experiment was done in the 1970s by Judith Rodin and Ellen Langer. They compared two groups of people in two wings of a nursing home, judged to have equivalent health statuses. The control group had most decisions made by the nursing staff. The experimental group was allowed to make some choices, such as which movies they wished to watch and where they could entertain visitors. Each was also given a plant to care for.

b. The experimental groups was more alert and more satisfied with their lives. Also, during the study only ½ as many died in the experimental group as in the control group.

c. These results have been replicated in several studies since that time.

d. The conclusions: having more choices and something to care for increases life satisfaction and longevity.

e. Application: When caring for someone, do what you can to allow them to make choices and to allow them to feel useful.

5. Some suggestions related to the above:

a. Have people complete and discuss an Advanced Care Directive so that their families know what treatment they would prefer if they become unable to speak for themselves.

b. Choosing a health care surrogate who can make decisions for you if you are unable to do so.

c. Considering whether to have a DNR:

(1) What is in a DNR: A DNR stands for Do Not Resuscitate. It is composed in a doctor’s office after discussion with the doctor. It is written on a unique color paper and cannot be photocopied.

(2) Why is it important: It serves as a very specific Advanced Care Directive. It can be revoked if a situation warrants it: Story of an aging mother who had a DNR but who was struggling with breathing. Nurse called son in Georgia who revoked it at the suggestion of the EMT. Aging person lived another day or two and son had a chance to travel to Florida and say goodbye.

6. There are some agencies and services that can help with caregiving:

a. Medicare and Medicaid can provide some services if you request them.

b. Visiting Nurses and Meals on Wheels can also provide services.

c. Gold Violin has supplies for the elderly–incontinence supplies, supplies for the disabled that may be helpful in caregiving. Other online stores have similar products available.

7. Another service the caregiver can provide is being an assertive advocate for their partner or family member. Government agencies sometimes will not respond to a need unless there is an assertive advocate who politely but repeatedly asks for a service.

G. Dementia

1. Older people have great fear of developing dementia. Only the fear of getting cancer is higher than the fear of dementia. But the truth is that just 14% of adults in the seventies and older have dementia (Aronson, 2019, p. 52). That means that 86% of adults in their seventies and older do not have dementia.

2. Dementia rates are decreasing because of four factors: (a) people are getting more exercise, (b) people are eating better, ( c) people are receiving better medical care, and (d) fewer people are smoking.

3. Most common cause of dementia–Alzheimers–about 60% of cases. Other causes of dementia–vascular dementia, temporal lobe dementia, Lewy Body dementia and dementia caused by Parkinson’s disease.

4. Everyone experiences normal forgetting, e.g., where they forgot their keys. This is not an inevitable sign that dementia is approaching. Even young people sometimes forget where they put their keys. If you or your loved one finds themselves putting their keys in the freezer, then it may be time to talk to your doctor.

5. Typical responses when a family member shows signs of dementia:

a. at first denial that there is a problem,

b. secondly there may be trouble setting limits on the formerly independent person, knowing how to control and protect the loved one.

c. Gradually acceptance of limits comes.

6. Most common error in caring for people with dementia–too much overprotection, too many commands.

7. There are a growing number of arts programs for people with dementia. Many people, especially in the middle stages of dementia, continue to express happiness with their lives. Often their long-term memory is intact, and they enjoy talking about those experiences.

8. “My father said he’d never want to live if he had dementia, but then he had dementia and was happy to be alive. “I’ve had a good life,” he’d say, proud and self-satisfied, holding forth from his position as center of attention in his hospital bed and, in his usual good-natured way, forgetting all the bad parts, “but I wouldn’t mind more.....” (Aronson, 2019, pp. 246-247).

9. If you are caring for a loved one with dementia, consider buying the latest edition of The 36-Hour Day (a book for caregivers of those with dementia).

H. Shakespeare suggested that praying, singing, storytelling and laughing are good activities to continue to do as we get older. His advice is probably still correct (Esty, p. 45).

I. Cary’s anecdote: His maternal grandmother lived to be 100. The last several years of her life she lived in a memory care facility. She was blind and no longer remembered who his mother was. But when his mother and her husband ended their visit they would pray with her and then would sing some hymns from their church. This 100-year-old mother would always join in and sing with them. This happened every time they visited.

J. We now understand the medical reason why this occurred. Apparently musical memories are stored in a part of the brain that is rarely affected by Alzheimer’s disease. This is why loved ones with Alzheimer’s will often “come alive” when songs are sung that they remember from their earlier years (https://www.brainandlife.org/articles/how-music-affects-memory-in-dementia).

K. This is why Tony Bennett could sing his last concert with Lady Gaga in 2020, even though his memory problems were first diagnosed in 2014.

X. Some Final Thoughts

A. Response to Some of The Negative Beliefs About Old Age and Retirement in our Culture:

1. Old people are unproductive: Response: it is true that many older people no longer work full-time. However, some do continue to work part-time or as volunteers. Although their pace may be slower, often by virtue of their experience and wisdom they often continue to add important insights. Think of some of the retired experts who are often interviewed on television news–politicians, economists, military leaders. Often these people are very sharp, and because of the wisdom they have gained through life, we appreciate hearing their comments about situations.

2. Old people cannot learn: Response: the growth of lifelong learning courses at universities shows that many older people continue to retain an interest in understanding more about the world.

3. Older people have no interest in or capacity for sexual activity: Response: as we have seen, there is growing acceptance of the idea that we are sexual beings and that the desire for sex or physical affection continues for many people throughout their lifetime. For some without a partner or for other reasons, the presence of loving, gentle touch (hugs) remains a desire throughout life.

4. Old people are boring and forgetful: Response: forgetfulness is common in old age, and many older people depend more on notes to help them remember important things. However, by keeping involved people can continue to have interesting conversations with others who are interested in those same things.

a. Another helpful tip: habit-stacking. B.F. Skinner is one of the first persons I remember talking about this, although he didn’t call it by this name.

b. Another benefit of forgetting: Being able to enjoy a movie again after a year or two because we’ve forgotten some of the details.

5. Old people are grouchy and cantankerous: Response: it is true that some people become grouchy and cantankerous, especially if they believe they are no longer valued and their thoughts and preferences are being dismissed. But it is also true that older people can refine their personalities and become nicer in their old age.

6. Old people are set in their ways and can’t change: Response: that is not true. If we desire to, we can continue to pay attention to our interactions and can continue to change as long as we live.

7. Old people are usually sick, weak, and helpless, and most older people live in institutions: Response: Our physical abilities do change as we grow older, and we often experience more aches and pains. However, with modern medicines those difficulties and pains still allow us to become somewhat active. And with some of the modern technology older people are more and more likely to live in their homes their entire lives. Only 3-4% of the elderly live in nursing homes (Etsy, 2019, p. 89: Aronson, 2019, p. 71).

B. Why Do Older People (Ages 65-79) Have The Highest Life Satisfaction of Any Age Group, Even Though They Typically Have More Health Challenges?

1. We don’t have definite studies to answer this question, because those studies would require us to demonstrate causation. Our present studies simply indicate the fact that retirees (ages 65-79) do have the highest life satisfaction of any group, and people in their eighties had the second highest life satisfaction. (Only 9% of people of people in their eighties rated themselves as unhappy, Esty, p. 189).

2. So why do people 65 through 89 receive such high scores on life satisfaction? Here are some hypotheses:

a. The practice of caring for someone (caretaking) appears to bring happiness, gives people an important sense of purpose.

b. Retirees often have the freedom to do things they enjoy, and no longer have to do things they don’t enjoy.

c. Older people remember positive experiences more than negative ones.

d. Retired people no longer experience the pressures of deadlines that they often had to deal with when they were working.

e. Retired people no longer have to experience the pressures of competition that they experienced when working.

f. Older people often have developed resilience in dealing with problems through their years of experience. These coping strategies help them deal with the health challenges of old age.

3. Louise Aronson, a physician who specializes in working with older adults, says: “Part of what makes old age hard is that we fight it, rather than embracing it as one stage in a universal trajectory. We also fail to properly acknowledge its upsides: the decreases in family and work stress or the increases in contentment, wisdom, and agency that accompany most years of old age” (p. 74).

C. My Recommendations for A Meaningful Retirement:

1. If you aren’t already exercising on a regular basis, find one or more types of exercises that you enjoy doing, and begin to exercise five or more days per week. The earlier you begin an exercise program, the greater the benefits.

2. If you are married or have a long time friend or relative you are living with:

a. Spend some time in middle adulthood developing recreational activities that you enjoy. If married, preferably find some activities that you both can enjoy together.

b. Realize that a healthy relationship includes things that you both enjoy doing together, but also gives freedom so that each of you can do some things on your own.

c. Spend some time talking with each other about saving adequate money for retirement. Develop a plan so that by the time you have retired you can stop working with all bills (mortgage, automobiles, any other debt) paid off.

d. Be aware that Social Security alone will not be enough to have a comfortable retirement. Develop a plan, either with your spouse or an investment counselor, so that you are saving enough money so that you can have a comfortable retirement.

e. Look at locations and states and decide whether you will stay in your present location or move to a smaller home or even a different state. There are articles that give information about the relative friendliness towards retirees of one state versus another.

f. Decisions about staying in the same residence or downsizing: Questions to consider:

(1) Is your current home adaptable to your changing physical abilities, or can it be made compatible?

(2) There are new technological innovations coming out each month (e.g., voice-recognition technology, health monitoring systems, virtual assistants like Alexa and Siri, robotic devices that can assist in various tasks, smart homes, etc.) that may enable us to stay in our own homes when in previous generations we might have had to move to more age-friendly homes.

(3) If you do decide to downsize, develop a plan for how you will do it

(4) If you are going to downsize, realize it will take some time to decide what to keep, what you will offer to your children, what you will give away, and what you will discard. Be aware that you may experience some feelings of grief as you give away those things you will not be keeping. Give yourself time to grieve those losses.

(5) Make a plan for how you will organize that process (e.g, decide to clean out one room at a time).

(6) If you decide to stay in your present home, look at whether you need to make changes to make it aging friendly. Consider installing grabrails in bathroom, grabrails and shower seats in shower, etc. and stronger lighting in places where needed (older eyes admit only 30% of the light that younger eyes do, which is why you often need stronger lighting as you age).

(7) Are there steps that need to be redesigned?

(8) Recognize that its always wise to have a Plan B in case medical or other challenges require you to change your original plan. Practice developing the flexibility of mind that allows you to adapt to changes in your plans.

3. One option: consider a gradual retirement plan (i.e., retiring gradually over a few years: for counselors, this could involve gradually reducing your client load). Benefits:

a. Gives your company or agency a chance to have other individuals gradually trained to take over the responsibilities you used to fulfil.

b. Even though your pace is slower than your younger colleagues, the quality of your work is often higher.

c. Gives you a chance to mentor younger workers.

d. It gives you social interaction and intellectual stimulation.

e. It can provide some extra income if that is needed.

4. An intentional gradual retirement plan is generally wiser than retiring completely and then attempting to try to get rehired several years later. Many have found that if they stay out of the workforce for five years that technology has changed so much that they are no longer comfortable doing the job they once did.

5. This can be an ideal time to develop new friendships. Often childhood friends are in different states or have passed away. Our work friends are engaged in their work activities. New friendships can provide variety, social and intellectual stimulation and introduce us to new recreational activities.

6. Finding recreational or volunteer activities that give you a sense of purpose. For us as Christians, the meaning of life remains the same, even in retirement–to allow oneself to be used by God to bless others (Tournier, 1972, p. 190)

7. In our work life we often derived our power from our professional competence. In retirement we often obtain our power through being warm-hearted, gracious, and kind (Tournier, 1972, p. 201).

8. If you are single or widowed or divorced, finding someone whom you have similar interests with complementary skills (for example, someone who drives if you no longer can, someone who enjoys cooking if you don’t, etc.) and see if they would like to share some parts of life together:

a. This way you could enjoy some of the benefits of cohousing, even if there are no senior cohousing projects available in this area.

b. You can help the other person out in areas where you have strengths or abilities they don’t have, and they can do the same for you.

c. You may be able to save money on some tasks by going together

d. Most things, like going to church, or going out for an occasional meal at a restaurant, are often more enjoyable if you can do them with someone else

9. Accepting the fact that we are growing older, and the infirmities that come with it.

10. Recognizing that, as believers we have a wonderful future in heaven to look forward to.

XI. Questions and discussion

A. Willingness to come to the senior adult group in your church to offer this seminar there.

B. No cost

C. If the church is near to WPB, would come in person. If considerable distance, could do a seminar through Zoom.

XII. What Lies Beyond Retirement?

A. The Bible teaches clearly that Heaven exists, and that believers will have an eternal home there after our earthly life is ended.

B. There are many excellent books that summarize the biblical data on heaven. If you need a suggestion to start reading, I recommend the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. He has also written a book on heaven for children.

C. Since the 1970s publication of Life after Life by Raymond Moody there have been a number of books recounting evidence from Near Death Experiences (NDEs) that provide support for the idea that immediately after we leave this earth, thousands of people have experienced glimpses into the afterlife that confirm the reality of heaven. Among them are:

D. Imagine Heaven by John Burke: John is an evangelical pastor who has been collecting stories for more than 30 years and discusses them from the perspective of both Christian theology and science.

E. God and the Afterlife and Evidence of the Afterlife by Jeffrey Long, M.D. Dr. Long is a radiation oncologist who happened to hear a story from one of his patients who had “died” and then been resuscitated, and so for the last two decades has been collecting stories and evaluating them from the standpoint of a medical professional. He does a good job of explaining why these NDEs cannot be explained by just brain-induced hallucinations caused by firings of nerve cells in brains that are dying.

F. Website that has been compiling NDEs worldwide: https://nderf.org This site was started by Dr. Long and has, at this time, collected more than 4,900 experiences of people from all over the world.

G. Revelations from Heaven by Randy Kay. Randy had medical challenges throughout his life, and then “flatlined” from a MRSA infection acquired in the hospital. He has, in some ways, a more detailed description of heaven and of the relationship he experienced with Jesus than other books that I have read, although everything he said is compatible with Scripture and his testimony is vouched for by Pastor John Burke, who has heard his testimony multiple times.

H. There are undoubtedly many other excellent books on heaven and NDEs: these are only the ones that I have been able to review.

I. My purpose in including this material is simply to encourage you that retirement can be a wonderful experience, and then as believers, we have an even more wonderful experience awaiting us.

J. Why do we hear few recollections of Hell? Dr. Maurice Rawlings, a cardiologist was doing a stress test on a patient when he had a major heart attack. He applied chest compressions while his nurse gave CPR. Man revived momentarily and yelled “I’m in Hell.” Then heart stopped again several times, and each time he was revived he yelled in terror “I’m in Hell.” On one time he cried “Pray for me.” Dr. Rawlings wasn’t a believer at the time but remembered something from his child Sunday School lessons, so he led the patient in a prayer from what he remembered. The next time the patient was revived he said: “It’s okay. I’ve been to heaven.” A few days later Dr. Rawlings met with him for followup and asked him about his experience. He had no recollections of being in Hell. Dr. Rawlings hypothesized that that experience was so traumatic that he repressed it.

K. Dr. Rawlings said that about one-half of his patients who had NDEs had negative experiences.

L. Many people with NDEs talk about a life review. They sometimes do remember mistakes they have made, but they mention in the atmosphere of Christ’s love, all guilt and shame are taken away.

M. As we close this time together, for those of us as believers, as we approach retirement and the life to come, we can be encouraged as we realize “the best is yet to come!”

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                       An Introduction to Healing of Memories

                          Henry A. Virkler, Ph.D., Professor of Counseling (Retired)

                                              Palm Beach Atlantic University

                                                         Revised 2013, 2023

I.          INTRODUCTION

A.   What is healing of memories?

B.   There are a wide variety of opinions about inner healing.

C.   At one extreme are Hunt and McMahon, who suggest in The Seduction of Christianity, that it is a form of sorcery, a "seductive deception" that is part of the great delusion that the Bible warns will sweep the world in the last days (p.7).

D.   On the other hand, there are a number of Christian counselors who believe God has used it to bring deep healing to people who are troubled by traumas from their past or apprehension of the future.

E.   Probably the majority of Christian mental health counselors are unsure of how to answer that question because they haven’t had an opportunity to study it.

F.   Today I'd like to discuss several important aspects of this topic. You may or may not agree with all of the suggestions I make or all of the conclusions I come to. What I hope this will be will be a place for us to compare ideas, to ask searching questions of each other, and hopefully to come away from this time together with a clearer idea of what healing of memories is and whether or not we want to use it in the particular ministry to which God has called us.

G.   I hope that, even if you disagree with me on a point from time to time, that you’ll keep an open mind throughout today, and then ask the Lord how he would have you use this, or modify parts of it, so that you could use portions of this method in your counseling ministry.

H.   The questions we'll focus on tonight are:

1.   What is healing of memories?

2.   Why do we need this method of counseling?     

3.   What are some of the various kinds of healing of memory experiences people have?

4.   What are some of the variations in method found among those who use healing of memories in counseling?

5.   What are the active ingredients in inner healing?

a.    Natural (psychological) elements

b.   Supernatural elements (Can arguments be given to show that God really works through this method, or can all the effects be explained on the basis of natural psychological processes alone?)

6.   What are some criticisms of or concerns about the inner healing movement, and some possible answers to those criticisms or concerns?

7.   If you decide you want to try it, what are some practical guidelines for use of healing of memories?

8.   Hopefully we’ll have time for questions, comments and personal integration by students

9.   Annotated Bibliography if you should wish to read further

I.    Procedural Suggestion

1.   As we go along, feel free to ask clarification questions if something is not clear. If it is unclear to you it is probably unclear to others as well. So feel free to ask clarification questions at any time.

2.   If you have discussion questions (i.e., question about something that hasn’t been discussed yet) or if you would like to add comments of your own, please jot these in the margin of your notes and hold them until the discussion times we will have at the end of each hour. I think if we use that distinction we will be able to get over maximum material and hopefully also get to most, if not all, of the most important discussion questions.

II.        WHY DO WE NEED HEALING OF MEMORIES?

A.   David Seamands, in his book Healing for Damaged Emotions, gave his own thoughtful answer to this question. He said that in his own pastoral experience he saw that there was a group of people to whom he was failing to minister.

B.   These Christians often read their Bibles and prayed daily. They attended church services regularly.  They were involved in Sunday School teaching or other ministries. They memorized Scripture, and may even have fasted from time to time.

C.   Yet they had problems that weren't being resolved by their involvement in all these good activities.

D.   This group of people were those who carried with them significant scars because of traumas that happened in their past. Sometimes the trauma was a rape or physical abuse, or a terrifying event.  Sometimes it was an extended series of events, such as lack of love or affirmation by parents, or psychological abuse, or abandonment. The impact of that event or series of events was so significant that it carried through to the present day. It also prevented the person from being able to utilize the means of grace that the church offered to bring healing and wholeness to their lives.

E.   From this pastoral experience David Seamands began his own exploration of inner healing, and his highly respected books Healing for Damaged Emotions and Healing of Memories are the result.

F.   Let's talk for a few moments about the theory behind what we're attempting to do in inner healing.

G.   For at least the last century, there has been a growing acceptance that events that have happened to us in the past continue to affect us in the present.

H.   The neurologist Dr. Wilder Penfield found that memories of the past are stored in our brain and continue to reside there along with the feelings and other sensations that we had when we experienced an event. Dr. Penfield found that these memories could be activated when a small amount of electrical current was passed through the brain cells that store that particular memory.

I.    We now know that not all memories are stored in the brain--some less significant memories only remain in short-term memory and are never biochemically encoded into long-term memory.

J.    We also now know that memories are not an exact replica of what happened, but rather are a memory of that individual’s perception of what happened. We also know that early memories can be contaminated by events that have happened since that time.

K.   Nevertheless, despite these caveats, there is general agreement that a child’s perception of psychologically traumatic events is often recorded in long-term memory, and may continue to affect them for years afterward.

L.   If those events happened very early in our childhood, we may have no conscious recollection of those memories; they are stored below the level of conscious awareness.

M.  Similarly, sometimes events happen to us that are too painful or frightening for the person to deal with.  In that case ego defense mechanisms repress the frightening memories into our unconscious. In some cases there was a single very traumatic incident that was repressed. In other cases there were a series of troubling incidents that happened in one form or another over a period of time (e.g. a parent who showed favoritism to another sibling, or a parent who was constantly criticizing a child).

N.   These repressed, painful memories often cause us to develop what Adlerians call convictions.

O.   Cognitive behaviorists now call these convictions schemas or core beliefs. These convictions or schemas include beliefs about the world which may be unconscious or conscious, which influence how we perceive ourselves, others, how we interpret events and the behavior of others, our expectancies and expectations, and our beliefs about how we can best meet our needs. These convictions or schemas continue to influence our feelings and behavior years after they were formed, and oftentimes long after the relationship that caused them has changed or no longer exists.

P.   These convictions or schemas often cause us to behave in unhealthy ways towards those around us:  we may have trouble trusting others, we may have anxiety about letting others get close to us, we may have trouble expressing frustrations in healthy ways.

Q.   Unhealthy convictions or maladaptive schema are usually developed because of pain. One goal of the behavior that results from such schema is to prevent ourselves from experiencing that pain again. We generally attempt to do that by controlling others, either through active control--aggressiveness, assertiveness, bossiness, overinvolvement in activities, etc. or through passive means--dependency, fear, passive-aggressiveness, etc.

R.   The common denominator is that hurt people attempt to control others in order to prevent retraumatization, but such attempts to control often carries with it a price tag--it prevents healthy, authentic relationships.

S.   Usually in counseling we work from the "top down", starting with the conscious mind and helping the person develop new ways of thinking and behaving. However, sometimes it seems that people are unable to change their programming by working from the "top down". The repressed memories, convictions, or maladaptive schema are so powerful that they overcome the person's ability to change their conscious thoughts or feelings. They may say, "I agree with what you're saying, but I just can't get my mind to think that way".

T.   This is a time when healing of memories may be helpful. Healing of memories allows a person to go back to the traumatic event or events, identify the pain that caused that powerful conviction to become lodged in their unconscious mind, and then let the healing grace of Christ begin to replace that conviction or maladaptive schema with a new, health-giving one.

U.   Therefore healing of memories is important, not only because it can rid us of some of the frightening or angry memories we carry around within us, but because it also provides the means to begin to change the convictions or maladaptive schema upon which some of our incorrect and unhealthy present behavior is built on.

V.   Once the unhealthy UCS conviction has been replaced, then the person is often able to make use of the normal means of growth that work from the top down, such as prayer, Bible reading, involvement in church activities, cognitive self-talk, and behavioral change techniques in a much more beneficial way.

III.       VARIOUS WAYS OF DEALING WITH TRAUMA FROM THE PAST: There are a number of ways that people and therapists have developed to try to deal with painful or traumatic events in the past:

A.   Denial:

1.   This can often be seen in one of three ways. Some people deny the effects of past traumas by refusing to think about them. A second way is to assert that the past does not significantly affect the present. A third way is to assert that one has experienced no significant traumas.

2.   This approach may work for some people who have a very strong ability to suppress unpleasant things out of their awareness, or who have had few if any severely traumatic events happen to them. 

3.   However, it does not work for everyone, especially for those who have experienced several traumatic incidents in their lives. And even for those who claim to be able to deal with all of their past hurts in this way, those around them often detect areas of rigidity and insensitivity in them that likely are a result of repressed events. Especially in intimate relationships--relationships with spouse, children, close friends--these unresolved issues are likely to manifest themselves and cause problems.

For those who turn to secular therapy for help in dealing with past traumas there are at least six kinds of approaches that have been used:

B.   Abreaction or catharsis:  This is a method, originally popularized by Freud, of re-experiencing the traumatic event in one's mind, and allowing the repressed emotions, whether they be fear or anger or whatever, to come forth in the presence of a reassuring and accepting therapist. Freud eventually abandoned the idea that ventilation or catharsis by itself would bring healing, but primal therapy continues today to make use of this approach. The idea is that the ventilation of the emotionally-charged feelings in a caring environment will bring healing.

C.   Psychodrama, Gestalt therapy:  These methods attempt to have the client re-experience the difficult situation, but then with the help of the therapist work through the place where they feel stuck. Rather than having an emotional catharsis be the primary focus of healing, these approaches would help the client gain a sense of mastery over the situation rather than feel trapped by it by responding in a different way than he or she originally did.

D.   Systematic desensitization: Systematic desensitization helps a person learn to relax, then gradually imagine scenes that evoke little discomfort while remaining relaxed. Gradually more and more anxiety-producing scenes are imagined while remaining relaxed, until the person can imagine even the most anxiety-producing scene and still remain comfortable.

E.   In vivo desensitization: In vivo desensitization does not require the emphasis on relaxation instructions. With the help of a therapist, clients construct a hierarchy of scenes about which they feel fearful. They then gradually work their way up the hierarchy, doing the things in real life rather than in imagination.

F.   Cognitive therapies:  These approaches try to change one's perception of an event by changing the way one views that situation (reframing). For example, if a person had viewed a certain action by their parent as rejection (and therefore traumatic), and after discussion were to come to the conclusion that the parent was not intending to reject them but was doing the best they knew how to take care of the family, this new perception could take away much of the trauma the person had associated with that memory.

G.   Combining graduated ventilation experiences and cognitive therapy:

1.   One of the more common approaches to treating PTSD, which is one of the common residual effects of psychological trauma, is a combination of graduated ventilation (or catharsis) experiences and cognitive therapy (now called Cognitive Processing Therapy).

2.   For example, a sexual assault victims may be encouraged to tell their story, when they feel ready, initially in a brief format, and then gradually in more depth. Each time they are encouraged to get in touch with and process more of the thoughts and feelings that are associated with their trauma.  With each repeated ventilation and processing, if done with a trained counselor, more of the traumatic affect can be drained away (i.e., desensitization). Often healthy core beliefs have been disrupted by the traumatic event, so by cognitively processing what has occurred, the therapist attempts to help the client replace unhealthy beliefs with more healthy ones (this is the cognitive processing part of CPT).

H.   Inner healing or healing of memories

1.   Starting in the 1950s a new approach to dealing with traumatic memories was developed by a small and relatively unknown group of Christians. During the 60s this method became somewhat better known, and during the 70s and 80s there has been continued interest in this approach. This method is known as healing of memories.

2.   In healing of memories some of the elements that produce healing through secular methods are evident. However, in the secular therapies the healing agent is believed to be one of the following:

a.    either the counselor,

b.   the client themselves,

c.    the relationship between the counselor and client, or

d.   the relaxation techniques and guided imagery the counselor uses. 

3.   There is no need for any supernatural involvement.

4.   In healing of memories the belief is that the agent of healing is the Lord himself, or the new perspective He brings to the situation.

IV.       Definition: Healing of memories: a therapeutic method in which Jesus is invited to enter a previously-painful or traumatic memory and bring healing as He wills.

A.   In some cases the memory may have painful because of what did happen--abuse, active rejection, rape, abortion.

B.   In other cases the memory may be painful because of something the person wanted to have happen which did not happen, e.g. wanting to be held, comforted, praised, loved, etc.

C.   In most cases Jesus actively does something within the memory the person has which changes their memory experience of that event.

D.   Description of the Usual practice: (four steps)

1.   Counselor or pastor has the person relax. 

2.   Then they're asked to remember the events of the traumatic event, i.e. their thoughts about the experience.

3.   Next they're asked to remember the feelings they have related to that experience, and

4.   They're asked to allow the Lord to come into that experience and minister to them as He wills.

E.   Terminology:  Inner healing versus healing of memories:  

1.   Usually these words are used as synonyms.  However, sometimes they are used to refer to different concepts.

2.   Inner healing can be used as a general term that refers to all the different ways that we receive spiritual and psychological healing. This could include the healing we receive by being loved and accepted by other Christians, through understanding more of God's love and grace toward us, through worship, Bible study, prayer, personal therapy, etc. We receive healing of our inner person through all of these ways.

3.   Healing of memories could be considered as one specific method by which we receive inner healing, which occurs when we receive healing of the effects of traumatic memories.

4.   Some may go through their entire Christian life receiving substantial inner healing without ever participating in a healing of memories experience. Healing of memories is one of the ways but by far not the only way that people receive inner healing.

5.   However, although this technical distinction could be made, in everyday usage the words are almost always used as synonyms, so therefore I will continue to use them in the customary ways.

V.         SEVEN KINDS OF HEALING OF MEMORIES EXPERIENCES: John Sterner, in an article entitled Inner Healing:  Toward an Integration, lists six ways in which healing of memories can be used.

A.   First type: Historical (or whole life): the leader takes a person through the various stages of their life, working to bring healing for events that occurred at each stage. Often a two-to-five-day process.

B.   Second type: Incident-focused: either the counselor or the person seeking healing chooses an event that remains in their memory as a very traumatic one and focuses on bring healing for that event (this is probably the most common way that healing of memories is used). Give examples (these stories and the ones in the following categories of healing of memories will be told in the seminar or class session).

C.   Third type: Emotional: Another type of healing of memories occurs when God changes the emotions a person feels by bringing a new perspective to the situation.

1.   Emotional inner healing focuses on the emotions connected with a memory, in order to clarify or work through them.

2.   Sometimes people have never been able to resolve traumatic events because they’ve never been fully and accurately perceiving the emotions they have associated with the event.

3.   At other times emotional inner healing is needed because the interpretation a person is making of an event causes unhealthy emotional results. Give illustration.

D.   Fourth type of inner healing: Symbolic:

1.   From a theoretical perspective a person’s inner beliefs about themselves and their relationship to the world can often be captured in a metaphor or symbol.

2.   Symbols or metaphors are often related to the schema (core beliefs) we hold about ourselves.

3.   For example, the person who believes the safest thing for him to do when situations become difficult is to run away may find himself repeating this pattern over and over, even when other kinds of responses might be healthier.

4.   It often takes long term counseling to change a person’s basic convictions about himself through normal verbal therapies because these metaphors and the schemas that produce them lie at such a deep level of personality. However, often inner healing can change these metaphors in a single session, sometimes producing immediate changes as well as initiating more long-term changes that may continue to produce growth for several weeks or months to come.  Give example.

E.   Non-directive:  allows the Holy Spirit to direct the person's attention to something that needs to be attended to, e.g. "Just close your eyes, relax for a few moments, and see what the Holy Spirit shows you."

1.   Occasionally a person will come to a counseling session and not be aware of anything that they need or want to work on.  In a situation like this, Sterner recommends that the counselor allow the Holy Spirit to direct the person's attention to something that needs to be attended to. A sample non-directive statement might be, "Just close your eyes, relax for a few moments, and see what the Holy Spirit shows you."

2.   In a situation like this, the counselor should also remain alert to possible directions that the Holy Spirit might give him or her.  Give example.

F.   Semi-nondirective: example: When a person is having difficulty letting go of some powerful emotion (such as anger or resentment), the counselor asks him to share those feelings directly with the Lord.

1.   "Instead of talking to me about that, Jim, why don't you close your eyes and talk to Jesus about it?"

2.   Discuss the benefit of this instead of telling the client they should let go of those emotions.

G.  Addition to Sterner's typology: Healing of a present impasse: having the client invite Jesus to give them understanding and direction regarding a present impasse or feared future event.

1.   The person may feel unable to let go of some feeling or emotional response that does not seem to have anything to do with the past. The present response blocks them from experiencing victory in their Christian life.

2.   The person may have some unrealistic fear of something in the future. They realize the fear is unrealistic, and they've tried to talk themselves out of it, yet they find themselves unable to shake it.

3.   Many of the same methods that are used in healing of memories can be applied to present and future problems as well, so that a discussion of one can be applied to the other group as well.  Give example.

VI.       Experiential Exercise and Followup Discussion

A.   Beforehand do two things

1.   Have the client identify a place where he or she feels very secure and safe. This can be a place from their childhood or the past, or a place in their present life where they feel very safe, where they can relax deeply.

2.   Have them pray about and ask the Lord to help them identify a situation from the past where they felt very afraid, or hurt, or where they were abused by someone.

3.   If God does not bring anything from the past to their mind, pray about the possibility of something with which they are struggling in the present.

B.   When teaching this method in a class setting tell the class members that whether or not they take part in this inner healing experience is totally voluntary. If they prefer not to take part they can simply close their eyes and listen. They need not be any more involved in this experience than they choose to be. (Obviously when doing this with a client they would be wanting to experience the healing experience rather than simply listening.)

C.   Lay aside your pens and books. Make yourself as comfortable as you can in your chair.

D.   Close your eyes. Take three very deep breaths.  As you breathe out, let some of the tension in your body flow out.

E.   Let other sounds fade into the background. Only be aware of the sound of my voice and your own inner experience.

F.   Focus your awareness on your feet. Become aware of the various sensations in your feet . . . . The textures they pick up . . . Enjoy each of those sensations. If you become aware of any tensions in your feet, allow those tensions to relax away . . .

G.   [Go through rest of body from feet to head the same way.]

H.   Now while you are in that very relaxed state, go in your imagination to that place where you feel very safe and secure . . . .

I.    Become aware of the sights around you in that place . . . . Become aware of the sounds . . . .   Become aware of the fragrances you smell . . .  Become aware of the textures of things you can touch . . . .

J.    Enjoy each of those sensations, and as you enjoy them, allow your state of relaxation, your sense of peace, to deepen even further. . . .

K.   Now, while staying in that safe place, would you remember the situation for which you desire some healing.  Remember how old you were . . . .  Remember the people who were involved. . . Remember what happened . . . .  Remember the feelings you experienced. . . .

L.   Now would you invite the Lord Jesus to come to you. As you see him, become aware of the love and acceptance in his face as his eyes meet yours. . . . Become aware of the gentle sound of his voice as he speaks your name . . . . Sense his deep compassion as his heart reaches out to your . . .

M.  Spend the next few moments allowing Him to minister to you as He wills. Ask Him any questions you would like.

N.   When you finish talking to him, continue to enjoy His presence until we close in prayer together in a few moments.

O.   [Quiet time.  Pray for God’s healing, and that He would bar any forces, natural or supernatural, from interfering in the healing process.]

P.   Close in prayer that God would seal any healing that He has done, so that Satan could not steal it away. Pray that those who have experienced the Lord’s presence would continue to experience changes as a result of that healing in the days and weeks ahead.

Q.   End the prayer. Invite people to open their eyes and come back to the present gradually.

R.   In a class setting where you are teaching others to do inner healing, invite those who wish to share their experience with the class to do so. If you are working with an individual client, ask if they would like to share what the Lord did or said (they usually will). In a class setting perhaps begin by sharing one of your own inner healing experiences.

VII.      VARIATIONS AMONG THE APPROACHES TO HEALING OF MEMORIES.

A.   There is no one standard way to do healing of memories, but rather a wide variety of ways. Each of these ways seems to be used of God to bring healing to people. 

B.   The next section will acquaint you with some of the diversity you will find if you read the books by David Seamands, Dennis and Matthew Linn, Rita Bennett, Francis MacNutt, Betty Tappscott, Michael Scanlon, Ruth Carter Stapleton, Leanne Payne and Ed Smith. Each of these people have, I believe, some very important insights to offer us.  Each has things with which we will occasionally disagree.

C.   This diversity can actually be good. Rather than being frustrated because there isn't one right way to do inner healing, we can be thankful because it seems that God uses a variety of ways. This allows us to choose the particular method or combination of methods that best fits our particular personality and style of ministry. Let's look at some of that diversity now:

D.   Length of the inner healing session

1.   Healing for a specific incident: Often can be accomplished within a single session. Probably the most common way that inner healing is done in counseling.

2.   Healing for a series of incidents: Often abuse, as in the form of favoritism, constant criticism, rejection, came repeatedly over a long period of time. David Seamands will often have a person identify a series of situations all centered around the same theme by reading books that spur a person's memory, by keeping a journal, and through discussions with the counselor. After all or many of these events have surfaced, then he will have a two-hour prayer session with the counselee to deal with several of them altogether.

3.   Whole life seminars: these are extended workshops that may last anywhere from one day to an entire week. During this time a person's entire life is covered, and prayer made for events that occurred during each time period.

E.   Whether prayer, prayer plus biblical imagery, or prayer plus biblical imagery plus other psychological methods are used in the inner healing process.

1.   Some counselors use prayer almost totally as the means of inner healing.

2.   For example, David Seamands will have the person begin talking with the Lord in prayer about the events that need healing, with no relaxation exercises or guided imagery at the beginning.  Then he will have the person listen to what the Lord wants to say back to them. He may occasionally ask the person a question or ask them to talk with the Lord about a specific aspect of the event. The primary emphasis is on a prayer dialogue between the person and the Lord.

3.   Others will begin in prayer, then introduce some Biblical imagery about the Lord which is related to the event needing to be healed. The imagery as well as the dialogue that happens between the person and the Lord is part of the healing process (e.g., Christ as a loving Shepherd).

4.   Other counselors add a third element to the above two--one or more psychological methods.  One of the most common consists of relaxing each part of the body before going into the prayer and imagery experience.

5.   The relaxation is not viewed as part of the inner healing itself.  Rather, the relaxation allows the person to put other things aside mentally, center or focus on the prayer and imagery experience.  This is particularly helpful when the person has difficulty focusing on visualizing the Lord or is very afraid of the incidents that caused the trauma. Without relaxation exercises some people will say that they couldn't imagine the Lord being there.

F.   Is conversion and total commitment to the Lord necessary before inner healing can be effective?

1.   Some people believe that inner healing should never be attempted unless the person has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and is fully committed to living out the Christian life.

2.   Probably the majority of those who have been involved in the inner healing movement for some time are not so dogmatic on this point.

3.   It seems that frequently when a nominal believer experiences God's love in a very powerful way, this transforms them into a much more committed believer in a short period of time.

4.   Probably none of us would encourage the use of inner healing for someone who was only dabbling in religion, seeing what they could find in this religion and in the next. However, for the earnest seeker, inner healing may be a very appropriate way for him to find that Christianity has something very unique and powerful to offer them.

5.   But I don’t think we should limit God. I recently did inner healing in a group setting which included one person who called themselves an atheist and another who identified as a Buddhist, and both stated that they had significant encounters with God.

G.   To what extent is deliverance used in conjunction with inner healing?

1.   Some groups believe that people are frequently oppressed by demonic forces, and use deliverance regularly before prayers for inner healing. They may also use deliverance if they seem to strike an impasse in dealing with an issue using inner healing.

2.   Others are more reluctant to look to demonic oppression or possession whenever an impasse is encountered. While not denying that Satan exists and that he or his demons can oppress people, these folks would often look at other possibilities (usually psychological processes such as fear, etc.) that might explain the impasse before immediately moving to a deliverance ministry.

H.   To what extent are the events that occur within the inner healing experience structured by the counselor?

1.   Some of those in the charismatic inner healing movement seem to be gifted with what charismatics call a "word of knowledge"--God seems to give them images of what memories need to be healed in a person's life, and of exactly how the Lord wants to bring healing for those memories. Two example are Betty Tapscott and Ruth Carter Stapleton, both charismatic Southern Baptists.

2.   The things that happen in their inner healing ministries seem nothing less than phenomenal.  People experience very rapid yet gentle healing of memories that were deeply repressed and which they never even knew about. Later relatives or friends often confirm the validity of the memory that was revealed to Mrs. Stapleton or Mrs. Tapscott.

3.   Probably most of those who are involved in inner healing do not receive a "word of knowledge" regularly in their inner healing work, and so have to depend on God bringing those memories to the mind of the counselee which need to be healed. It also means that often we need to be content to set up the scene where the Lord comes in to minister to the person, and then pray quietly while the Lord ministers to the person within their own mind.

I.    To what extent is the healing of a memory considered a one-time occurrence versus a process that sometimes has to be repeated before it is fully complete?

1.   Many think of healing of memories as a one-time occurrence. You pray for inner healing for an event, and it should be resolved completely.

2.   Dennis and Matthew Linn, among others, have suggested that even as physical healing is a process rather than a one-time occurrence, so spiritual healing is often also a process. People will let go of some of the hurt or anger or fear in one healing session, then may be able to let go of some more of it in a later session, and it may be several sessions before the event is totally healed.

3.   They, along with Francis MacNutt, have spoken of "soaking prayer," that is, soaking a need in prayer repeatedly until the healing is complete.

            A last dimension on which there is some diversity is:

J.    The extent to which other counseling methods are used afterwards to consolidate the changes that occurred in inner healing.

1.   Obviously when a person leaves after a weekend seminar and never sees the seminar leader again, it is hard to have follow-up. Therefore in some books on inner healing there is little emphasis on what steps should be taken after an inner healing experience.

2.   However, in many of the books on inner healing this subject is addressed. For example, the woman who was abused by her father as a little girl and learned to be aggressive when men get too close, may receive inner healing for those injuries, but her aggressiveness may have become a habit by this time. In follow-up counseling it will be important to help her learn new ways of thinking about men and responding to them.

3.   If our hypothesis is correct, i.e., that inner healing can begin the process of changing a maladaptive schema into something more adaptive in a single encounter, it would seem to make sense that it would be wise to provide support for the person in the coming weeks, as they seek to adjust to the new schema and the changes it is producing in their lives as well as the lives of the significant others around them.

VIII.    Six Examples of Actual Healing of Memory Approaches: We've taken a look at the diversity of approaches used in inner healing, but not looked at any of the methods from start to finish.  Let's take a brief look at six approaches as they would occur from start to finish:      

A.   Rita Bennett

1.   Rita Bennett's approach to healing of memories (How to Pray for Inner Healing for Yourself and Others), emphasizes prayer therapy, where the main focus is on the person recognizing the feelings that are there, and then giving them to the Lord in prayer.

2.   Her approach does not involve having the person try to identify all the elements of the repressed memory beforehand, or having counselors work with the person afterward to develop a new set of attitudes or behaviors as a result of the inner healing experience.

3.   She is aiming more at training people to be prayer counselors rather than to do more extended counseling with a person.

B.   Dennis and Matthew Linn

1.   Dennis and Matthew Linn's approach to healing of memories (Healing Life's Hurts) sees a parallel between the five stages that Kubler-Ross believed many people go through when they realize they are dying--denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, and the stages we go through when we forgive a wound that we have received from someone else.

2.   They would see forgiveness as a process, one that we can either cooperate with and with God's help allow to happen, or one in which we can get stuck if we refuse to allow God's grace to help us through.

3.   Inner healing, for them, then involves helping a person get in touch with the pain caused by the incident, then becoming willing to let the Lord help them give that pain to him and help them forgive whoever produced that pain.

4.   Cf. Lewis Smedes’ four-step model of forgiveness

a.    We hurt

b.   We hate

c.    We heal (as we seek to develop empathy for the person who harmed us)

d.   We reach out the hand of friendship to the person who hurt us.

C.   David Seamands

1.   David Seamands will usually spend one or two counseling sessions helping a person identify a situation or series of related situations that need healing. He may assign books for the person to read, or have them try to remember the events and keep a journal of the things they remember.  The purpose of these activities is to bring to the person's conscious awareness as much of the repressed material as possible so that it can be dealt with in prayer therapy.

2.   He then schedules a two-hour prayer session. During this time he has the person talk with the Lord about the memories and feelings that have surfaced. If he believes that the person is still repressing feelings or thoughts that need to be dealt with, he will gently ask questions or make suggestions in order to make the person confront whatever is there. The goal is to help the person get in touch with all that has been repressed, and have the person be willing to give all negative feelings to the Lord for the Lord to transform as He wills. 

3.   He often uses what Sterner calls a “semi-nondirective approach” at times during these prayer times.

4.   He will then schedule follow-up sessions to help the person work towards new thought patterns and behavior patterns that are consistent with the changed attitudes that resulted from the healing of memories.

D.   Ruth Carter Stapleton, Betty Tapscott

1.   These were two gifted charismatic Southern Baptist women who were active in the healing of memories movement. 

2.   They often integrated “words of knowledge” in identifying what needed healing as well as how the Lord would heal it.

3.   Reading their books gives tremendously-moving examples of God working powerfully in people’s lives.

4.   It is true that Ruth Carter Stapleton at times asserted some very simplistic theories of human development and toward the end of her life made some undiscriminating comments about integrating New Age concepts into her theology. However, this was never true of Betty Tapscott, and the fact that a person may be undiscerning in some area of their psychology or theology does not mean that they may not have discovered valid truths in other areas.

E.   Leanne Payne

1.   Leanne Payne is a Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School, and in some ways may have the most comprehensive theory of how inner healing may be part of the Christian counseling process.

2.   She believes that in order to grow up healthily, we all need to feel loved and validated within our families (cf. Glasser, Crabb, Satir, etc.)

3.   If we do not feel loved, the person grows up with a deep need to be loved and may be overly-vulnerable to those who would exploit that need in order to accomplish their own goals.

4.   If our gifts and strengths are not validated by our parents, we may fail to see our own gifts and strengths and see only deficits. Those positive traits, even though they are there, are not part of our personal identity.

5.   According to Payne, in order to be healthy we

a.    must be healed of the traumas of our past, and

b.   must also accept ourselves as loved, lovable, gifted, and significant.

6.   There are at least three barriers to wholeness which inner healing can help us deal with. They include:

a.    Failure to forgive others.

b.   Failure to receive forgiveness for ourselves,

c.    Failure to accept and love ourselves rightly (Broken Image, p. 48).

7.   She sees healthy self-love as the ability to experience God’s love and validation of us rightly.  This is what can heal us from the self-loathing or ego-centric self-love in which many people live.

8.   She has written extensively about how this failure to be loved and validated can lead to rejection of our God-given sexual identity, and thereby can lead to either homosexuality or lesbianism but she wants her work to be understood more broadly, for she says: “To write about the healing of the homosexual is to write about the healing of all men, for every one of us has been stuck in some diseased form of self-love (The Broken Image, p. 55).

9.   Her method is to use discussion (the exploratory phase of counseling) to identify where the person has failed to receive love and validation or experienced traumas, and then use inner healing to bring healing to those areas of his or her life.

10.  Putting her theory into contemporary cognitive-behavioral language, one might say that failure to receive love and validation (or the experience of traumatic events) causes people to develop maladaptive core beliefs about themselves, others, and their relationship to the world. Inviting Jesus to do an inner healing work is an invitation to let him supernaturally replace those maladaptive schemas (or core beliefs) with healthier ones. The secular counselor (or the Christian counselor who is not using inner healing methods) would attempt to change those core beliefs through natural methods, i.e., Socratic questions, discussion, experiments, etc. In inner healing those core beliefs (if healing of memory advocates are correct), are supernaturally transformed through an experiential encounter with Jesus.

F.   Ed Smith: TheoPhostic Prayer Ministry (TPM): He believes the memory becomes unhealthy because (1) Satan plants a damaging lie into the memory or (2) we ourselves do (e.g., you are shameful, you are guilty, you are unacceptable, etc.). TPM consists of re-experiencing the memory, identifying the lie implanted in it, then asking the Lord to replace that lie with his truth. Smith believes that in TPM the important healing comes, not from changing the memory of what happened, but by replacing the lie that is embedded in the memory. Therefore he prefers not to call what he does “healing of memories” even though his method seems to have much in common with traditional healing of memories. Training to do TPM the way that Ed Smith recommends takes several months and so will not be discussed further here, although I do believe there is much of value in his work. A summary and discussion of his methods is the subject of one other handout that may be requested from this author (HVirkler@aol.com).

G.   Siang-Yang Tan: The highly respected psychologist, pastor, and professor at Fuller Graduate School of Psychology has described his approach to healing of memories in his article “Use of Prayer and Scripture in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy” published in the Journal of Psychology and Christianity (2007), Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 101-111. A full description of my approach is given later in this handout.  Although the two approaches were developed independently, they show remarkable similarities.

IX.       THE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS IN INNER HEALING

A.   Natural Elements: What are some of the psychological processes (occurring at the natural level) that seem to be involved in inner healing?

1.   Catharsis or abreaction: Re-experiencing the traumatic incident in the presence of a reassuring and accepting person

2.   Working through an incident where a person feels stuck (as in psychodrama or Gestalt Therapy),

3.   Desensitization:  accomplished through pairing a traumatic event with a positive stimulus

4.   Reframing:  Gaining a new perspective on the situation that formerly produced pain or fear (as in the cognitive therapies).

5.   Forgiveness:  Fritz Perls said that the most common unclosed gestalt binding someone to the past (i.e., keeping the person from being to experience the present fully) is the failure to forgive one's parents for not being perfect

6.   Freeing people to be able to choose again: (related to the above)

7.   Healing that comes from experiencing unconditional positive regard (in this case God's)

[Important Note:  While these elements are also found in the secular therapies, the way they occur in healing of memories is often different.]

B.   Supernatural Elements: Do you believe there are supernatural elements involved in inner healing (i.e., phenomena not explainable in terms of natural elements only)? Why or why not?

Eight reasons why I believe healing of memories is more than using one's own subconscious to bring healing to oneself:

1.   The extremely creative therapeutic events seem to be the work of a master therapist.

a.    Many of the people who experience inner healing have very average intellectual abilities and very average creativity.

b.   The therapeutic transactions that occur between them and the Lord do not seem explainable in terms of them creating the events in their imagination.

c.    The therapist does not create them, since he often does not know what transpired until the event is all over and the client tells him.

d.   I think the most reasonable explanation is that these powerful therapeutic experiences are designed by the Master Therapist himself.

2.   Subjective experience of the client

a.    Systematic desensitization: boring (for both therapist and client)

b.   Psychodrama: the therapist helped me extricate myself

c.    Healing of memories: God did something wonderful for me.

3.   Subjective experience of the counselor: almost always these experiences are extremely moving for the counselor as well.

4.   Rapidity of change: often something will happen in healing of memories that will cause more change in a person instantly than you would expect to happen in several sessions of regular counseling. 

5.   Healing of memories often takes a client through an impasse that neither he nor the therapist could work through with rational problem-solving. There is often an element of surprise.

6.   Excellence of the therapeutic timing: In regular therapy, the counselor sometimes proposes something the client is not ready to do--the client believes they are unable to do it at that time. In inner healing, whatever the Lord proposes, he also gives the person a supernatural ability to make the change--whether it be to forgive, or to let go of a fear, or whatever.

7.   In inner healing the counselor sometimes receives accurate knowledge that he had no way of obtaining through natural means, e.g., "broken heart" incident.

8.   Significant change in one's personal relationship to God.

X.         CRITICISMS OF HEALING OF MEMORIES

If there is time, let the class identify criticisms they have heard or questions they have about inner healing as a counseling method.

A.   Healing of memories is sorcery (i.e., it is using psychological techniques to make people think things are true that are not in fact true).

1.   Hunt and McMahon: Sorcery is "any attempt to manipulate reality (internal, external, past, present or future) by various mind-over-matter techniques that run the gamut from alchemy and astrology to positive/possibility thinking." Based on this definition they identify healing of memories as sorcery.

2.   Response: In healing of memories the healing result usually comes from one of several things happening, all of which are consistent with Scriptural reality: 3 points

a.    The person is able to experience some theological truth as an experiential reality in their life, e.g.

(1)  the woman who thought of God as an angry, irritable old man, who as a result of inner healing experienced Him as a gentle, loving Shepherd.

(2)  the woman (who probably would have been diagnosed as dependent personality disorder and was terribly afraid to do things on her own) who visualized Jesus being with her as she left the psychiatric hospital and drove across the state to her home alone.

(3)  In inner healing a biblical doctrine becomes experientially real. Often this is a doctrine that all orthodox Christians affirm, but which often would stay as a cognitive part of their theological catechism were it not for healing of memories or guided imagery.

b.   Healing of memories often brings healing because it enables a person to forgive someone against whom they had a long-standing grudge--as opposed to only denial that there’s a problem.

(1)  Sometimes this happens because during the healing of memories Jesus helps the person see the event in a new light, and as a result the hurt and feelings of being taken advantage of dissipate.

(2)  Sometimes it happens because when the person senses God's love and forgiveness for them, they no longer desire to carry around unforgiveness towards others.               

c.    Healing of memories sometimes brings healing because we become aware that God was there even though we thought we were all alone.

(1)  Sometimes a great deal of the hurt of an old trauma came because we thought that there was no one that we could share it with, or that there was no one who cared. In healing of memories a person often becomes aware that God was there, and that he wanted to help them bear that hurt.

(2)  Song: He was there all the time.

d.   Healing of memories, then, is not playing mind-games with ourselves or trying to convince ourselves that something is true that was not really true. Healing of memories involves helping the truths of Scripture to become experientially real for a person.

B.   Healing of memories should not be used because there is no biblical support for this method.   Several points:

1.   There is no Biblical support for many of the things we Christians use in ministry:

a.    Use of radio or television or recording of our services for those who cannot be there.

b.   Use of sound-amplifying equipment to enhance the worship experience of those who attend our churches.

c.    Sunday School, special children's church programs, none of these are mentioned in the Bible. (Sunday Schools were not established until the 1800s.)

d.   Would anyone want to argue that we should abolish the use of these ministry aids because they are not found in Scripture?                              

2.   There is no Biblical support for most of the means that we use to help those who are sick in some way:

a.    Root canal work or fillings in dentistry.

b.   Insulin for diabetes

c.    Surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy for those with malignancies.

d.   Corrective lenses for those who are nearsighted, farsighted or have astigmatism.

e.    Penicillin for children with serious infections.

f.    Would anyone want to argue that Christians should not use these means because they are not explicitly mentioned in Scripture?

3.   There is no explicit Biblical support for systematic desensitization, in vivo desensitization, psychoanalysis, empty-chair technique, assertiveness training, etc.

4.   Seamands excellent words: "The real question is not whether a practice appears in the Bible in the specific form or language we use today. Rather, the question is whether [the practice] is contradictory to or consistent with principles stated in Scripture” (Seamands, 1986, pp.61-62.).

5.   Visualizing God, using images of his power and love to encourage and strengthen believers is very Biblical, in contrast to Hunt and McMahon’s statements: e.g.

I cried out to God for help;

      I cried out to God to hear me.

When I was in distress, I sought the Lord. . . . .

Then I thought. . . . .

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

      yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

I will meditate on all your works

      and consider all your might deeds.

Your ways, O God, are holy.

      What god is so great as our God?

You are the God who performs miracles;

      you display your power among the peoples.

With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

      the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

The waters saw you, O God,

      the waters saw you and writhed;

      the very depths were convulsed.

The clouds poured down water,

      the skies resounded with thunder;

      your arrows flashed back and forth.

Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

      your lightning lit up the world;

      the earth trembled and quaked.

Your path led through the sea,

      your way through the mighty waters,

      though your footprints were not seen.

You led your people like a flock

      by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (selected verses from Ps. 77).

a.    (Clearly the vivid word picture here indicates that the Psalmist was visualizing God in his greatness and his loving-kindness.)

b.   Many other Psalms could be given as examples of the Psalmist drawing strength and healing and peace from visualizing images of God's great works and love on behalf of his children (e.g. Psalm 46, Psalm 23).

c.    Visualizing in Scripture is not limited to the Psalmist. See each of the following references for other examples of biblical visualizing in faith.

d.   John 4:35-38 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. ³⁶ Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. ³⁷ Thus the saying 'One sows and another reaps' is true. ³⁸ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor." [Jesus was telling his hearers to visualize the spiritual harvest that was around them in the people who were willing to come to him.]

e.    Acts 2:25-26 David said about him: "'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. ²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope. [Again, David drew hope from visualizing the presence of the Lord with him.]

f.    II Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

g.   Ephesians 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

h.   Hebrews 2:9, 11:13, 11:27, and 12:2

(1)  Heb 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

(2)  Heb 11:13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

(3)  Heb 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

(4)  Heb 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

C.   Healing of memories is sometimes promoted as a cure-all.  Response: Most thoughtful people involved in healing of memories regard it as a set of methods that are helpful in dealing with negative emotions such as anxiety and unforgiveness associated with past events. It is not a cure-all, but one method among others.

D.   Examination of emotionally-traumatic events by unskilled persons is potentially dangerous

1.   There seem to be no more reported psychiatric casualties from healing of memories than from any other psychiatric technique. E.g. How many of you know someone who seems to have been damaged by psychiatric hospitalization? How many of you know someone who has been hurt by healing of memories?

2.   Usually if someone is not skilled enough to use healing of memories the worst that will happen is that the person will not be able to visualize the memory, so nothing will happen.

3.   Healing of memory proponents claim that Jesus is the therapist in inner healing anyway. They simply set the stage that allows Him to do His healing work.

4.   The above argument is only valid against the use of healing of memories by unskilled or insensitive persons. Any good method or procedure in medicine or dentistry or counseling is dangerous if used by unskilled or insensitive people. It is not a valid argument against the use of healing of memories by trained, sensitive persons.

E.         You need to be charismatic in order to use healing of memories

1.   It is true that several of the people who were pioneers in developing healing of memory methods were charismatic.

2.   However, it is also true that some of the finest work in healing of memories and some of the finest books on healing of memories have been by non-charismatics (e.g. David Seamands)

3.   Healing of memories is a method that can be used by charismatics and non-charismatics alike, just as prayer, Bible reading, regular participation in the activities of the church are all means of spiritual growth that can be used by charismatics and non-charismatics alike.

F.   Healing of memories might open the door to Satan. Two Scriptures:

1.   Ask and it will be given to you: seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  (Mt. 7: 7-11)

2.   Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?  Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. (Lu. 11:11-13)

3.   In healing of memories we are asking in prayer for the Holy Spirit to come into a person's memory of an event and reveal how Jesus would change that memory.  I believe we have God's promise here in these Scriptures that if we ask for the Holy Spirit to come into a situation, God will not send nor will he allow Satan to come in instead.

G.   Other Scriptures that Support the Concept that God Desires Inner Healing for His Children

1.   Introduction

a.    In this compilation of verses, inner healing is being used in the broad sense of healing of the inner person (i.e., psychological healing, or in biblical terms, healing of the soul).  In contrast to secular psychology, which rarely talks about dealing with personal sin as an element in psychological healing, the majority of verses that talk about psychotherapy (soul healing) in the Bible talk about the healing that comes with confession and repentance from sin. 

b.   However, there are also many verses that talk about the fact that God also brings healing for those who are brokenhearted, who have been broken by the sins of others, the weight of poverty or adversity, etc. (i.e., the kinds of healing that Christian counselors often try to foster today). In several of these Old Testament passages the situation that was causing broken hearts was the Exile. Even though that specific situation may differ from the situations of individual believers today, the common theme is that God desires to heal the broken hearts of his children, whether their situations are caused by our personal sin, the sinfulness of others, the adversities of human life, or some combination of all of the above.

c.    We have been influenced by a model of human beings that came out of secular Greek philosophy, one which divided human beings into two or three parts. The three part division believed that humans were composed of three separable substances--body, soul (or personality), and spirit. According to this model it would be theoretically possible for a person to be psychologically ill and spiritually whole, or psychologically well and spiritually sick.  However, this model was not the mindset of the biblical writers. For them, who we are as psychological beings and who we are as spiritual beings is inescapably interwoven. Thus when the Bible talks about healing of the inner person, it is talking about an integrated psychological/spiritual healing.

2.   Old Testament Passages[1]

a.    Exod 15:26 He said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you" [see fuller discussion of Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, in the following section].

b.   Ps 23:1-3 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

c.    Ps 34:18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

d.   Ps 41:1-4 Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the LORD delivers him in times of trouble. ²The LORD will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. ³The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness. ⁴ I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you."

e.    Ps 103:1-6 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. ²Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--³who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. ⁶The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

f.    Ps 119:27-28 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders. ²⁸My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

g.   Ps 147:2-3 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. ³He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

h.   Isa 11:1-4 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. ²The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--³ and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

i.    Isa 40:29-31 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. ³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; ³¹but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

j.    Isa 42:1-4 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. ²He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. ³A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; ⁴he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."

k.   Isa 53:4-6 Surely he [Jesus] took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

l.    Isa 61:1-4 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ²to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. ⁴They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

m.  Jer 17:13-14 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water. ¹⁴Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.

n.   Jer 31:23-25 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: 'The LORD bless you, O righteous dwelling, O sacred mountain.' ²⁴People will live together in Judah and all its towns-- farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

3.   A Brief Excursus on the Hebrew Word Rapha

a.    rapha: (from Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 1980, Chicago: Moody) “to heal, make healthful.” This word occurs over 60 times in the OT. 

b.   Rapha has a number of denotations. It can refer to (a) repairing an altar (1 Ki. 18:30), or to making unfit water fit for drinking or for life (2 Ki. 2:21, Jer. 19:11), and (c) healing and forgiveness of Gentile nations (Isaiah 19:22, 57:18).

c.    When referring to humans it can refer to (a) physical healing (the most common usage, e.g., Gen. 20:7), (b) healing from difficulties that had come because of one’s sin (2 Chron. 7:14), (c) healing from God’s judgments that had come because of sin (Job 5:18), (d) healing from the estrangement that our sin caused between God and ourselves (Isaiah 53:5-6), (e) physically saving one from the hands of enemies (Ps. 30:2), (f) healing of physical wounds received in battle (2 Ki 9:15), and (g) healing from fear for those who have been saved from their enemies (Ps 147:3).  The underlying theme of the word rapha in reference to God and human beings is that God desires to heal us physically, psychologically, and spiritually.

4.   New Testament Passages

a.    Matt 11:28-30 [Jesus speaking] "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

b.   Matt 12:9-21 Going on from that place, [Jesus] went into their synagogue, ¹⁰and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, they asked him, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" ¹¹He said to them, "If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹²How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." ¹³Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. ¹⁵Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, ¹⁶warning them not to tell who he was. ¹⁷This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁸"Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. ¹⁹He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. ²⁰A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. ²¹In his name the nations will put their hope."

c.    Luke 4:14-22 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. ¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." ²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.

d.   John 21:15-17, 19b [Historical setting: This event follows Peter’s three-fold denial of Christ, and Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  This was one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances to his disciples.]  When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." ¹⁶Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." ¹⁷The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep” . . . .  19 . . . . Then he said to him, "Follow me!" [Note: Peter had denied Jesus three times.  Jesus lovingly give Peter an opportunity to reaffirm his commitment three times.  With each commitment Jesus reaffirms that He wants Peter to re-enter his place of service and ministry in the kingdom.

e.    Romans 5:3-5 We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

f.    Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [“Good” refers in this context to becoming more and more like Christ in our personality.]

g.   1 Pet 2:21-25 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. ²²"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." ²³When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

h.   3 Jn 1:2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.

5.   The Significance of the Narrative Portions of Scripture for the Issue of Inner Healing

a.    In addition to these (primarily doctrinal) passages, there is another important reason for believing that God wants to heal human beings psychologically.  These are the hundreds of stories found throughout the entire Bible.  The stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, David, Peter, Paul, the rest of the apostles, etc.  all teach us one thing--that God is working in our lives to bring us to wholeness--if only we will let him.

b.   Max Lucado (1993), in He Still Moves Stones, (Dallas: Word) says this powerfully:

            Why did God leave us one tale after another of wounded lives being restored?  So we could be grateful for the past?  So we could look back with amazement at what Jesus did?

            No.  No.  No.  A thousand times no.  The purpose of these stories is not to tell us what Jesus did.  Their purpose is to tell us what Jesus does. 

            “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,” Paul penned.  “The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope” (Rom. 15:4).

            These are not just Sunday school stories.  Not romantic fables.  Not somewhere-over-the-rainbow illusions.  They are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question, “Where is God when I hurt?”

            He’s not doing it just for them.  He is doing it for me.  He’s doing it for you (p. 200).

H.   There are no Type 1 studies to show that healing of memories is effective

1.   That is true. Healing of memories, as with most of the psychotherapies developed in the 1940s through 1980s, was developed before we even knew the term “Type 1 studies” or empirically-validated therapies.

2.   All these therapies were used and adopted by therapists based on their sense of whether or not they seemed to help people get better, the same way that most medicines up until recently were developed and adopted. Pragmatism (using what worked) was the primary criteria for use.

3.   The vast majority of therapy techniques continue to be used without support from Type 1 studies, including most psychodynamic techniques, Adlerian techniques, Jungian techniques, Gestalt therapy techniques, techniques from most of the humanistic psychologists, techniques from the systemic therapies, and techniques from the postmodern therapies.  Psychotherapeutic techniques that don’t have Type 1 studies to validate their efficacy are used by the vast majority of therapists today. Therapists continue to use them because they know that they work.

4.   The same is true for healing of memories. Therapists who use healing of memories are often convinced that God does some amazing healing when they use this method at the appropriate times.

5.   Certainly it would be useful to have Type 1 studies done on healing of memories. The reality is that psychotherapy research is expensive and complicated, and usually can only be done by psychology professors in doctoral programs who know how to get research grants funded and who have doctoral students to help them carry out such research. I personally would welcome such research. Ed Smith is conducting research on Theophostic Prayer Ministry (a related inner healing method), and is having some promising results.  However, his studies are probably in the category of Type 3 studies, but they represent movement in the effort to show that this kind of approach does bring significant healing to people.

XI.       Suggested Guidelines for Use with Healing of Memories

A.  As mentioned earlier, there are many ways to do healing of memories. Below is one suggested method for doing so, and one that has significant similarities to the one developed by Siang-Yang Tan mentioned earlier.

B.  Suggested times when healing of memories may be useful in counseling: (six areas)

1.    When clients have vivid recurring traumatic memories (e.g., PTSD),

2.    When clients have recurring negative thoughts about their own worth, ability, acceptability, or lovableness,

3.    When clients have a fear or phobia that seems to come from a specific historical situation,

4.    When clients have resentment or bitterness in their life,

5.    When clients have difficulty experiencing God as the loving heavenly father of Scripture, or have difficulty experiencing themselves as his beloved children (they may be able to intellectually agree that God is a loving heavenly father, but they cannot experience this in their own personal life), or

6.    When clients have developed unhealthy lifestyles (in the Adlerian sense) because they have not experienced healthy love or validation.

C.  If the person is dealing with a fear-producing memory, usually you will not experience any resistance from them about helping them be free of that memory.

D.  If the person is dealing with anger or resentment, you may experience some resistance to letting go of his anger.  Help the person recognize that hate is a relationship, an imprisoning one. Help him see, preferably through questioning that helps him recognize these facts himself, that when he continues to resent someone he is not free to enjoy the present (psychologically) or to experience the fullness of God's grace (spiritually). Try to help him move to a point where he is willing to ask for God's help in forgiving whoever hurt him.

E.  I will separate each step with a blank line to make it easier to read if you are doing one of your first healing of memories. After you have done a few of them you will find the format is fairly easy to do from memory. (For ease of grammatical expression I will use the pronoun “he” below, but the pronoun “she” is equally appropriate.)

F.   Ask the person if he would be willing to try an experiment that you think would help him let go of the angry or anxious feelings.

G.  Together identify a situation or series of situations for which the person needs healing.  Discuss these extensively enough so that you both understand all important dimensions of the situation(s).

H.  Ask the counselee whether he usually remembers things visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically (by the internal feelings he experiences). During the inner healing experience describe the imagery primarily in terms of the dimension he imagines most vividly (this comes from the neuro-linguistic programming concept of using the client’s “preferred representational system”).

I.   Ask the person to identify a place where he feels very relaxed and comfortable, and to describe that place to you.

J.   Let the person take the most relaxing chair in your office. Alert your secretary so that there will be no interruptions during the inner healing time. If there are loud distracting noises outside your office try to stop them before proceeding with the healing of memories experience if possible. Suggestion: Turn off your cellphone (don’t just put it on vibrate mode) and ask your client to do the same.

K.  Begin with a prayer that the Lord will come into this experience and bring healing for the memories you have discussed.

L.  If you believe that the person could imagine the scene with no “warmup,” go immediately into describing the scene that needs healing. If the counselee has trouble imagining the scene or seems quite anxious, lead the person through some type of relaxation exercise to help him be able to more clearly visualize the scenes and memories for which they need healing.

M. A simple type of relaxation exercise is to have the person focus on each section of his body, starting with his feet. Have him focus on the sensations in that part of his body, take a moment to enjoy those sensations, then if there is any tension in that part of his body, allow that tension to relax away. Then go on through each part of his body until he is thoroughly relaxed.

N.  Spending five minutes going through this exercise will help most people become quite relaxed and enables them to focus on their own inner experience more easily. Relaxation does not produce healing but enables the person to let go of external distractions and focus more fully on their experience with the Lord. In most cases I believe you will find this will be a worthwhile investment of time.

O.  During the early part of this relaxation sequence you can also suggest that sounds other than your voice will fade into the background, so that they will be able to focus their attention fully on the sound of your voice and their own inner experience.

P.   If the counselee seems anxious, you can deepen their relaxation by having them go in their imagination to the very relaxing place they described a few moments before (Step I above).  You should describe the sensations they can pick up with each of their five senses when in that special place, and describe the person becoming more and more relaxed, more and more comfortable.

Q.  Have the person remember the situation as it happened--what events led up to it, who was there, what happened . . . . .

R.  Ask the person to remember the feelings he had during that event, and to re-experience those feelings now.

S.   Have the person allow Jesus to come into that scene and be with him through that event.

T.  Describe Jesus either visually, auditorily, or kinesthetically depending on which way the counselee says he or she best remembers events.

U.  Say something like: “Let Jesus come into that scene and minister to you as he wills. Spend as much time talking to him as you need to, then when you've finished keep your eyes closed but let me know that you're finished.”

V.  During the time of quietness you can be praying for the counselee. It is good to pray that God will prevent any ideas or visualizations from Satan, from the client’s own mind, or from any other source from interfering, so that everything the client experiences will be from the Holy Spirit. It is usually best to pray with your eyes open and be attentive to the counselee's non-verbal behavior. If his non-verbal behavior indicates that he is becoming distressed, you can ask: "Would you tell me what is happening?" Then intervene appropriately.

W. After the person says he has finished, close in a prayer of thankfulness for the Lord's caring and ask that whatever process of healing has been started during that time would continue over the coming days and weeks, and that the person might become aware of changes in his feelings, attitudes and behavior in the coming days.

X.  After the prayer is ended, ask the person if he would like to share his experience with you. If he does, you can affirm what he learned and the changes the Lord brought about in his understanding.

Y.  If the person reached an impasse (either was unable to imagine the Lord or were unable to imagine past a certain point in the guided imagery), make this into a learning experience. Perhaps there is a need for more time spent in the relaxation phase prior to the guided imagery. Perhaps his anxiety about meeting the Lord reveals something about his view of himself and God that needs to be discussed or even approached through guided imagery. 

Z.  If healing of memories does not work with a person, it almost always will teach you something about how to better prepare a person for healing of memories, or something about that person's comfort in their relationship with the Lord that needs to be addressed. Working through these issues will almost always be therapeutically helpful spiritually and will often pave the way for healing of memories to work in the future.

AA.      Remember that healing is often a process rather than a one-time event. At the next session ask the person if he has noticed any changes in himself or in the way he is relating to others as a result of the inner healing.

BB.      Sometimes people may benefit from further time with the Lord on the same issue. At other times it will be good to consolidate the changes by having him identify cognitive or behavioral changes that he will be willing to make as a result of the internal work the Lord has done.

CC.      If the person made a significant psychological advance in one session of inner healing, make sure to consolidate this through discussion before attempting to make further significant advances through inner healing (e.g. discuss story of rape victim).

DD.      This list of suggested steps may seem daunting. Remember the basic steps are very simple:

1.    Discuss with the person a memory that needs to be healed.

2.    Ask if they would like to try an experiment and invite the Lord to heal it directly.

3.    If they say yes, begin with prayer, then ask them to remember the event, invite the Lord into it, and invite him to minister to them as he wills.

4.    During this time be in silent prayer, asking the Lord to minister and commanding Satan not to interfere in any way.  Watch for any non-verbal behavior that indicate the person is experiencing distress.

5.    When the person indicates that they are done, close in prayer.

6.    Ask if the person would like to share with you what happened in their encounter with the Lord.

EE. Note: This is only one way of doing inner healing.  Authors such as Rita Bennett, Dennis and Matthew Linn, Francis MacNutt, David Seamands, Ruth Carter Stapleton, Betty Tapscott, Leanne Payne, and Ed Smith have developed alternatives methods. You might explore these others (using the bibliography in the next section) to learn more about these other approaches and see if one of them is more compatible with your thinking and counseling style. All of these various authors and approaches have been used to bring significant healing to many people. Ed Smith’s writings on  Theophostic Prayer Ministry are also worthwhile to consider.

XII.      For Further Reading

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A.  Books

1.    How to Pray for Inner Healing for Yourself and Others, Rita Bennett, Revell, Old Tappan, NJ, 1984. Mrs. Bennet has an active ministry conducting workshops which train laypersons to use prayer to bring inner healing to Christians.

2.    A Handbook for Inner Healing, William Gurney, n.d.  Unpublished manuscript by a pioneer and leader in the inner healing movement.

3.    Listening to Others, Joyce Huggett, IVP, Downers Grove, IL, 1988. Although not well-known in the U.S., this book has been a best-seller among Christians in Great Britain, and has relevance for the therapeutic listening needed as a prelude to healing of memories.

4.    Restoring the Foundations: Counseling By the Living Word, Chester and Betty Kylstra.  Proclaiming His Word, Inc.  Santa Rosa Beach, FL, 1996. While I don’t agree with everything in this book, it is a very thought-provoking counseling manual, taking psychological and theological insights and putting them back into primarily a spiritually-oriented model for counseling. The section on Soul/Spirit Hurts is most related to the concept of healing of memories, although the whole manual has relevance.

5.    Healing of Memories: Prayer and Confession--Steps to Inner Healing, Dennis and Matthew Linn.  Paulist Press, New York, 1974. A brief book describing how these two Catholic Fathers have integrated the sacrament of penance (reconciliation) with prayer for inner healing. Includes brief chapters with discussion questions and experiential exercises.

6.    Healing Life's Hurts: Healing Memories Through Five Stages of Forgiveness. Dennis and Matthew Linn. Paulist Press, New York, 1978. A more comprehensive discussion than the book above. It integrates concepts from Kubler-Ross (likening healing a memory to the concept of dying to a resentment) with Christian theology.

7.    Praying With One Another for Healing. Matthew and Dennis Linn. Paulist Press, New York, 1984. Healing the Eight Stages of Life. Paulist Press, New York, 1988. Further elaboration of their ideas on inner healing.

8.    Healing: Francis MacNutt. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1974. An extremely well-balanced biblical discussion of the topic of healing. Includes discussion of four basic kinds of healing, of which inner healing for emotional problems is one kind. Also has a very thoughtful chapter on reasons people are not always healed.

9.    The Power to Heal: Francis MacNutt. Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1977. A discussion of some of MacNutt's experiences and learnings after being actively involved in a healing ministry for several years. Primarily focused on physical healing, but many of the principles have an analogous relationship in the ministry of inner healing.

10.  How to Do Inner Healing: Francis MacNutt.  Christian Healing Ministries: Jacksonville, FL.  A series of ten tapes. Cost: approximately $30.00.

11.  Deliverance from Evil Spirits, Francis MacNutt. Chosen Books (Baker): Grand Rapids, MI, 1995.  One of the issues in healing of memories is the relationship between deliverance ministry and healing of memories.

12.  To Forgive is Human: How to Put Your Past in the Past. Michael McCullough, Steven Sandage, and Everett Worthington. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997.  Not a book on healing of memories per se, but a book on the process of forgiveness and its importance in psychological healing.

13.  Memory Healing: God Renewing the Mind. Robert McDonald. Atlanta: Cross Roads Books, n.d. (approx. 1979). An attempt by a Christian psychiatrist to give a more systematic explanation of the theory and process of inner healing from a psychodynamic perspective. There is a helpful section discussing the problems that result when charismatic Christians diagnose all problems as the result of demon possession.

14.  The Broken Image (Crossway, Wheaton, IL, 1981), Healing the Homosexual (Crossway, 1985), Listening Prayer: Learning to Hear God’s Voice and Keep a Prayer Journal (Baker, Grand Rapids, 1994), and The Healing Presence (Baker, Grand Rapids, 1994). Leanne Payne. The first two books are on the use of healing of memories for people who wish to leave homosexuality.  The latter two books are on journaling and healing of memories for all people. This author, a Research Fellow at Yale Divinity School, has probably done (along with the Kylstra’s and Ed Smith) the most extensive theorizing on how inner healing can produce significant personality change, and not just be a method to reduce phobic responses to traumatic memories.

15.  The Healing Gifts of the Spirit: Agnes Sanford. New York: Holman, 1966. A semi-autobiographical account of Mrs. Sanford's own emotional struggles and the experiences that she believes resulted in inner healing for herself and which can do the same for others.  Mrs. Sanford was considered a pioneer in the inner healing movement and was actively involved in developing the School of Pastoral Care which continues an active inner healing ministry today.

16.  The Transformation of the Inner Man: John and Paula Sandford. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge, 1982.  A very thorough explanation of the Sandford's approach to inner healing. The Sandford's are not to be confused with Agnes Sanford (see above).  This book is written primarily for laypersons who wish to do healing of memories.

17.  A Comprehensive Guide to Deliverance and Inner Healing: John and Mark Sandford. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1992. This book contains some good points about differences between deliverance and inner healing, and some valid points about mistakes made when pastors and evangelists employ deliverance methods in situations that probably should be treated with inner healing or other methods. However, there are other points, such as their tendency to view all psychopathology as having a demonic origin, about which I have some questions. I recommend that you not suggest this book to others until you have reviewed it yourself.

18.  Inner Healing, Michael Scanlon, New York, Paulist Press, 1974. Good early book on healing of memories by a respected rector and former president of St. Francis Seminary.

19.  Healing Prayer, Barbara Schlemon, Walker and Company, 1986. For the last few decades Ms. Schlemon has been actively involved in the ministries of physical and psychological healing through prayer.

20.  Healing for Damaged Emotions (1981) and Healing of Memories (1985) David Seamands, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL. Excellent books by a conservative evangelical pastor, former missionary, and seminary teacher (Asbury) on the approach to inner healing he has developed within his pastoral ministry.

21.  Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don’t Deserve, Lewis Smedes, Harper & Row, San Francisco, 1984. A book on Christian forgiveness that does not use a healing of memories approach. Interesting to compare the two approaches.

22.  Theophostic Prayer Ministry: Basic Seminar Manual, Ed Smith, New Creation Publishing, Campbellsville, Kentucky (2007) and Theophostic Prayer Ministry Student Workbook, Ed Smith, New Creation Publishing, Campbellsville, Kentucky (2007). Remember that Ed Smith prefers to use the term “mind renewal” rather than “healing of memories.” For many helpful resources related to TPM, go to

http://www.theophostic.com/

23.  The Gift of Inner Healing (1976) and The Experience of Inner Healing (1977). Ruth Carter Stapleton. Waco: Word Books. The first book is a semi-autobiographical account of Mrs. Stapleton's theoretical understanding and practical experiences with inner healing. The second is a more extensive treatment of inner healing as used by this author. Both are highly readable.  Mrs. Stapleton's psychology has been criticized as simplistic and her theology as unorthodox at certain points. Both criticisms are true, but I still believe there is value in reading these books.

24.  Inner Healing through Healing of Memories (privately published, 1975) and Set Free through Inner Healing (1978). Betty Tapscott. Houston, TX: Hunter Ministries. A discussion of this charismatic Southern Baptist couple's ministry. Includes a discussion of their views regarding the binding of oppressing spirits in conjunction with healing of memories.

25.  Counseling and Psychotherapy: A Christian Perspective (2011). Siang-Yang Tan. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, pp. 345-351.

B.  ARTICLES

1.    My Experience with Inner Healing, by Alice. Journal of Christian Healing, Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall, 1980, pp. 16-19. Thoughtful article by a woman who experienced various types of psychotherapy with little benefit, and then worked with a Christian therapist who used inner healing methods to help her.

2.    Ruth, by Brooks Alexander. Spiritual Counterfeits Project Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, April, 1980, pp. 2-10. Article extremely critical of Ruth Carter Stapleton and her endorsement of healing of memories.

3.    Guidelines for Leading Symbolic Visualizations, by Dick Busch.  Faith at Work, November, 1978, pp. 29-30.  Fifteen practical guidelines when using guided imagery.

C.  BOOKS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF HEALING OF MEMORIES [Note: I believe that many of the criticisms found in the following books are either psychologically or biblically unsound, but I include them in this reference list so you may read these critiques if you wish to do so.]

1.    The Seduction of Christianity: Spiritual Discernment in the Last Days, David Hunt and T. A. McMahon, Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House Publishers, 1985.

2.    Psychoheresy: The Psychological Seduction of Christianity, Martin and Deidre Bobgan, Santa Barbara, CA, Eastgate Publishers, 1987.

3.    Competent to Minister: The Biblical Care of Souls, Martin and Deidre Bobgan, Santa Barbara, CA, Eastgate Publishers, 1996.

4.    Inner Healing: Deliverance or Deception?, Don Matzat, Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House Publishers, 1987.

^[1] Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.