Having Standards
Everyone has some standard by which they measure all things. This is inescapable so the question is not whether one has such a standard, but rather which is the standard. The foundation of modern psychology was laid in the 1960s with people like Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, and B.F. Skinner – all of whom are the so-called “self-psychologists.” While there were variations among them, all were secular humanists whose standard of truth is the self. Their motto can be distilled down into “Truth is what is true for me.” Today, this same doctrine has metastasized into “Truth is what I feel to be true,”
For the Christian counselor, Scripture is the ultimate standard and this is because we believe it was written by the Creator who, as the Creator, alone has the right to define truth. Specifically, we believe that the Creator has the right to define 1.) What is a human person?, 2.) What has gone wrong?, and 3.) What is needed to restore us? Every system of thought gives an answer to these three questions. How we answer these questions profoundly affects every aspect of our lives. When we stand on Scripture to give us the answers to these questions, we believe that people truly flourish. Drawing from Psalm 119, we see at least 6 results of making Scripture the standard and is a compelling case for why we want to ground everything we do as Christian counselors in the Bible:
We are blessed (119:1)
We exercise good judgment and obtain knowledge (119:66)
We have lasting hope (119:81)
We are connected to that which is life-giving (119:93)
We obtain wisdom greater than our enemies and teachers (119:98-99)
We have with us a lamp to light our way (119:105)
For the Christian counselor, Scripture is the ultimate standard and this is because we believe it was written by the Creator who, as the Creator, alone has the right to define truth. Specifically, we believe that the Creator has the right to define 1.) What is a human person?, 2.) What has gone wrong?, and 3.) What is needed to restore us? Every system of thought gives an answer to these three questions. How we answer these questions profoundly affects every aspect of our lives. When we stand on Scripture to give us the answers to these questions, we believe that people truly flourish. Drawing from Psalm 119, we see at least 6 results of making Scripture the standard and is a compelling case for why we want to ground everything we do as Christian counselors in the Bible:
We are blessed (119:1)
We exercise good judgment and obtain knowledge (119:66)
We have lasting hope (119:81)
We are connected to that which is life-giving (119:93)
We obtain wisdom greater than our enemies and teachers (119:98-99)
We have with us a lamp to light our way (119:105)