Thoughts?

I always enjoy our engaging and mutual respectful conversations.

Just a quick reply… I would need a full blog post or a book chapter, at least, to respond to your 7 points. And I would need footnotes to see which people you are referencing and then see if, in context, I agreed with your perception of their emphasis. For, as you point out, it is not only what people write, but how a reader’s previous perceptions influence their “take” on what someone says.

For those interested in how 55 leading biblical counselors, pastors who uphold biblical counseling, and educators who uphold biblical counseling nuance this both/and perspective with compassion/garce/love/truth I would encourage your readers to visit the Biblical Counseling Coalition’s Confessional Statement so they can make their own informed decision on how the modern biblical counseling world approaches this vital issue:

http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/about/confessional-statement/

Bob

I think there are genuine reasons why many people do believe that some counselors refuse to accept physical causes:

1. Often there is a presuppositional limitation of physical cause to one or two glands (for some reason, the thyroid gland is usually the one mentioned). This reduces the number of depressions with accepted physical causes to a very small number.

2. The acceptance of physical causes is usually stated in very small print and very few words. The result is that what people hear is “no physical causes/contributors.”

3. The “small print” acceptance of physical causes is usually found alongside multiple presuppositions and assertions that rule out physical causes. People see the inconsistency and make their own conclusions about what message is really intended.

4. The massive emphasis/proportion of words spent on seeking and confessing sin in counseling books, blogs, speeches, about depression etc. (compared to next to nothing about physical/social causes) again lead people to conclude that people are really not serious about taking account of physical (and social) causes and contributing factors.

5. The constant broad brush lambasting of psychiatrists, psychologists, pharmacists, often by people who have little or no knowledge of the valuable work these professionals often do, again produces a fairly obvious conclusion in most objective readers/hearers.

6. The tendency of some biblical counselors to be very loudly against physical causes/contributors in public, yet when challenged in private will admit that there are exceptions to their rules.

7. On top of all that there is the painful experience of many, many people who have sought counseling from pastors/counselors who (despite their professed acceptance of physical contributors) focus their attention on sin alone, advise against involving medical professionals, speak harshly against any use of medication. etc.

All this to say, that while on paper it may be true that no biblical counselor rules out physical causes, the overall message received, especially by tender and sensitive souls, is that “it’s all sin and you must repent.” I don’t think they should be blamed for drawing these conclusions. I do think that we all need to give much more careful consideration to how we are heard, which you’ve taught me a lot about, Bob, and I’m grateful for that.