Biblical Counseling Series: General Thoughts

Every day, Counselees get miscounseled because the counseling does not have a biblical foundation instead counselees get counseled through a secular lens. A biblical foundation to counseling is essential. God should be the center of counseling sessions. Reason and faith need to be defined through a biblical worldview and a secular worldview. Noebel and Myers, in Understanding the Times, defines Christianity as “a theistic worldview centered on the person of Jesus Christ that derives its understanding of the world through the teachings of the Holy Bible,” (Meyers & Noebel, 2016, 28). Also, it is important to note that Human understanding of God only comes through Special (Divine) Revelation of God. Biblical faith is

“having confidence in something you have not experienced with your senses. Biblical faith is not ‘blind’; it’s not the act of ‘believing without a reason.’ Just the opposite; biblical faith is the act of believing in something unseen for which we do have good reason.” (Lisle, 2010, para. 11)

This definition helps know that maybe faith and reasoning intertwine in a different way. The different way is that reason supports faith. We have good reason to believe that God exist.

Biblical reasoning is the process by which we logically assess worldly arguments according to God’s code of ethics found in the Word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) states, “All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every Good work.” So, when a person uses biblical reasoning, the scriptures alone can be useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the person can be equipped to help others make biblical changes towards Christlikeness. Therefore, the Scripture alone is enough to answer any question that arises in a counseling session without interjecting secular reasoning.

However, a question arises, “Can a Counselor still interject Christian thought in the counseling session if the counselor counsel a non-Christian?” Absolutely, a counselor can still interject Christian thought into the counseling session though that counselor might want to start with the foundations which is the Gospel message. Also, the counselor would probably want to share evangelistic testimony about how the counselor radically changed into Christlikeness by accepting Jesus Christ as the Counselor’s Lord and Savior.

On the other hand, the Secular Worldview from the naturalistic worldview. Psychology Today notes “To be secular is to maintain a naturalistic worldview in which belief in anything is always proportioned to the evidence available. It is about engaging in a variety of activities that are understood as this-worldly, and to identify with, or be a member of, non-religious groupings or associations.” ( Zuckerman, 2014, para. 8). Basically, to be secular is to discount the Bible, believe that God and supernatural beings do not exist, and do not identify as religious. Secular psychologist put their faith in Freudian thought. Secular Psychology is a feel-good therapy session instead of fixing the heart towards Christlikeness. Biblical Counseling (discipleship) is helping another believer make biblical changes towards Christlikeness. So, when secular reasoning and biblical reasoning intertwine it does not work out quite right.

References

Adam, J. (2018). “What is ‘Nouthetic’ Counseling?” Nouthetic Studies. Accessed August 24, 2020. http://www.nouthetic.org/about-ins/what-is-nouthetic-counseling

Evans, L.(1982). Covenant to Care. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Shields, Harry and Gary Bredfeldt. (2001). Caring for Souls: Counseling under the Authority of Scripture. Chicago, IL: Moody Press.

Langham, Dr. R.Y. Ph.D. (April 19th, 2019). “Christian Counseling.” Therapy Tribe. Accessed August 24, 2020. https://www.therapytribe.com/therapy/christian-counseling/#:~:text=Christian%20counseling%2C%20also%20known%20as,you%20deal%20with%20life’s%20challenges.

Lisle, Dr. J. (October 1, 2010). “Faith vs. Reason.” Answers in Genesis. Accessed August 24th, 2020. https://answersingenesis.org/apologetics/faith-vs-reason/

Zuckerman, Ph.D. P. July 28th, 2014. “What Does ‘Secular Mean?” Pyschology Today. Accessed August 24, 2020. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-secular-life/201407/what-does-secular-mean#:~:text=To%20be%20secular%20is%20to,non%2Dreligious%20groupings%20or%20associations.

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