I find Adam’s quote, “Psychology is just sinful human beings sinfully thinking about
other sinful human beings” to be to be needlessly antagonistic. Even at best, it
does not measure up to Paul’s standard in Colossians 4:5 to “Be wise in the way
you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your
conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know
how to answer everyone.” Adams’ statement serves to demean an entire
profession that he has never studied while also potentially alienating anyone who
may be searching for truth in Christ. The obvious rebuttal to the above statement is
that we are all sinners as Paul states in Romans 3:23, and you could make the
same statement about the pastoral counseling field as well. From that standpoint, I
disagree with Adams’ statement based upon the word “just”. Psychologists and
pastoral counselors are all sinners, but I believe both fields approach their work
with the intent of helping or healing the counselee.
c c c c c c c c c c Adams believes that “the psychiatrist has usurped the work of the
physician, but mostly the work of the preacher. And he engaged in this work
without warrant from God, without the aid of the Scriptures (in almost every case),
and without regard to the power of the Holy Spirt.”[1] c Adams has also stated that
“There are, in the Scriptures, only three specified sources of personal problems in
living: demonic activity (principally possession), personal sin, and organic illness.
These three are interrelated. All options are covered under these heads, leaving no
room for a fourth: non-organic mental illness.”[2] I agree with Adams in the context
of his warning or admonishing some of his fellow pastors of the dangers of
psychiatry and the effect that it could have on their parishioners if they are not
using biblical truths as part of the counseling practice. However, I think Adams
does a disservice to Christian psychiatrists that use their practice as an opportunity
to reach out to non-believers or even some Christians that may not be in the
evangelical camp. c c
c c c c c c c c c I believe in more of an integrational approach in that “all truth is God’s
truth”, and psychology is no different.[3] However, I am very new to the counseling
field and am just now learning about some of the different viewpoints and their
various nuances. My integrationist mindset comes from the standpoint of being
able to counsel people from across the faith spectrum. As an example, I think it
would be difficult for a Christian Combatant like Adams to counsel a non-believer
without first establishing a basis for a belief in Christ. Adams is known for his
confrontational approach where he challenges the counselee about the sin in their
lives, but I believer there are other, and sometimes better ways to go about helping
people and promoting Christian maturity.[4] c c c
c c c c c c c c c As of right now, I would place myself in the Rebuilders or Allies camps
because I believe they both have the greatest opportunity to reach out and bring
hurting people to Christ. There are obviously ethical, legal, and practical restrictions
on how counselors should share their faith or worldview with their clients, but there
are numerous ways to accommodate those issues.
c c c c c c c c c “Rebuilders want to rebuild psychology, recognizing the Lordship of Christ,
on a firm foundation of Christian assumptions about human beings…”[5] and they
are also deeply grounded in scripture and Christian tradition in an attempt to
recover the Christian psychology of the past…”. The Allies approach is similar in
that it affirms that psychology and Christian theology are both subject to God’s
sovereignty.[6] I believe this system provides for a better basis of understanding
and treatment with regards to many situations such as Alzheimer’s, marital conflict,
despair, racism, etc.[7] I would not be able to practice Christian neutrality as I do
not believe we are called to compartmentalize our Christian beliefs.
[1] David N. Entwistle, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity: An
Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations, and Models of
Integration, 3rd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2015) 200.
[2] Jay E. Adams, The Christian Counselor Manual, the Practice of Nouthetic
Counseling, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan 1973) 13.
[3] Entwistle, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, 14.
[4] Larry Crabb, Effective Biblical Counseling: A Model for Helping Caring
Christians Become Capable Counselors, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1977) 181-
182.
[5] Entwistle, Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity, 180.
[6] Ibid., 182.
[7] Ibid., 263.
