Comparison Paper 2

Comparison Paper 2 - Powlison

Daniel S. Tomlinson

Liberty University

08 September, 2013

Author Note

Daniel S. Tomlinson, Liberty University.

Daniel Tomlinson is currently a seminary student at Liberty University.

This research paper was conducted as a required writing for PACO – 507.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to dtomlinson2@liberty.edu.

Contact: dstomlinson2@liberty.edu

Summary

Dr. David Powlison, in his book The Biblical Counseling Movement: History and Context, depicts and overviews Pastor Jay Adam’s nouthetic counseling movement. Pastor Adams concluded that psychiatrics overstepped a boundary that should be occupied by the practice of pastoral counseling. In fact, Adam’s challenged the psychological system as well as the church counseling system by allowing that psychiatric and psychoanalytic dogmas to be paganistic and heretical (Powlison, 96). The nouthetic movement, according to Pastor Adams, separated the practice of psychiatrist and pastoral counseling (Powlison, 150).

Primary goal

In nouthetic counseling, the goal centers of three messages that God offers to those in need. These messages are the forgiveness for the sins identified in counseling, the power to make the requisite constructive changes and the hope that every miser and trial along the way would come to a happy end (Powlison, 124). It is these elements that Adams introduces as essential Bible teachings. More specifically, Adams believes that the Bible taught defined the truth about people, exemplified a methodology for the cure of souls and that the Bible prescribed a particular institutional and professional locus for helping people (Powlison, 97-98).

Development of problems and personal need

Adams found that the source of sin was found in the flesh. These referred to the remote, proximate and immediate existence of sin (Powlison, 102). In effect, he stood that there are 6 problem areas that pastoral counselors will counsel...