By Keith Lamond Gardner, student at Ohio Christian University January 27, 2014
One of the primary dilemmas that Christians face when aspiring to practice in the field of counseling is whether to work under direction of the government or the church. Christians who practice counseling as a profession are referred to as "Christian counselors" or "Pastoral counselors" (although there are minor differences in the definitions between these two). What are Christian counselors, you ask? Christian counselors are servants of Christ who practice Christian counseling, a discipline of counseling that integrates both psychology and Christian teachings. Christian counseling is similar to the counseling that you would receive from any other counseling professional (i.e, psychotherapist, licensed social worker, psychologist), except that Christian counselors also have been well-trained in issues of spirituality, faith, and theology.
This fact alone, in my estimation, is a reason why Christian counseling is more effective than its secular counterpart.
I argue that counseling efforts to cure those suffering emotionally, spiritually, and mentally is ineffective without the work of the Holy Spirit. The origins of secular psychology are based on the teachings of psychoanalysts such as Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, and Carl Rogers. Although these three men exhibit a significant amount of knowledge and have been proven to be influential in the lives of others, they lacked the biblical skills to truly be effective in their work. Christian counseling, on the other hand is based on the Word of God which contains the saving power of Jesus Christ. God uses scripture to prepare and equip His chosen servants to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:17). The principal problem I have with secular psychological philosophy is that it offers no legitimate insight in the human condition. For instance, why is there so much evil and tragedy in the history of the earth? What is the source of evil? Secular counselors, psychologist, social workers, ect fail to provide the correct answer to this profound question. Only the Word of God has the answers the questions I just posed.
As opposed to secular counselors, Christian counselors teach that man’s basic problem is spiritual in nature; the Fall of Man as documented in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. Even our Lord Jesus Himself made a reputation for casting out demons that were possessing humans and therefore influencing their human hosts to behavior abnormally (see Matthew 14:17-20, Matthew 12:22, Mark 1:23-25, Mark 5:1-20). Secular psychology is based on the erroneous presupposition that man is basically good and that the answer to his dysfunction lies deep within himself. However, the Bible disproves that theory and paints a very contrasting picture of man’s condition. The secular counselors are incorrect in their assessment; man is not “basically good” nor "perfect"; he is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1), and the unregenerate heart is “deceitful and beyond all cure” (Jeremiah 17:9). Only God is good (Luke 18:19)! Secular psychology begins and ends with man and his ideas. True biblical counseling points clients to Christ and the Word of God. Christian counseling is a pastoral activity, a product of the spiritual gift of regeneration, and its main goal is not self-esteem, but rather sanctification. For these reasons alone, Christian counseling is a duty of all Christians that will always triumph supreme over its secular rival.
