A Rose by Any Other Name

We received a recent letter from a subscriber saying the following:

It is with prayer and some reservation that I request to remain on your mailing list. . . . I have been concerned for some time about the manner in which you make your points. Surely you are aware that you often seem harsh and judgmental, even arrogant? I know believers have chosen to be removed from your mailing list because of this.

This woman is a biblical counselor in Arizona. As our readers are aware, we wrote a book titled Against Biblical Counseling: For the Bible in which we tell why we left the biblical counseling movement. Prior to publishing our book, the same woman wrote to us saying:

Thank you so much for your diligence in challenging Christians to be alert to false doctrines & prophets. I have read many of your books and have shared them with others, including some of my psychologist friends. Your work has helped me in elucidating to others why I no longer use my Master’s in Counseling and have chosen biblical counseling instead.

It is interesting how many biblical counselors have characterized us before our book Against Biblical Counseling: For the Bible and afterward, as if we had a personality change.

Prior to our writing Against Biblical Counseling: For the Bible, our books were recommended by numerous biblical counselors, including many in leadership. Now it would be difficult to find one biblical counselor in leadership that would recommend even one.

This is one of many dramatic examples of how one must not publicly question the biblical counseling movement or those in leadership.

(From PAL, V6N5)