“Without denying the importance of therapy, Loftus’s argument would have improved with a deeper examination of the role of biblical wisdom in evaluating therapeutic advice. Seeking help when distressed is good, but it matters whether that help is oriented toward truth.” - TGC
What Pastors Need to Recover About Mental Health – Review: ‘Seeking Sanctuary, Finding Shalom’
“Swinton, chair in divinity and religious studies at King’s College, University of Aberdeen, doesn’t merely critique therapeutic culture. He gives pastors something better—the biblical category of shalom. He offers a vision of mental health that exposes the poverty of our culture’s therapeutic assumptions and gives the church genuinely different categories for human flourishing.” - TGC
Supreme Court will take up state bans on conversion therapy for LGBTQ+ children, in a Colorado case
“Colorado is among roughly half the states that prohibit the practice of trying to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling.” - RNS
Christian counselors’ lawsuit challenges ordinances against ‘conversion therapy’
“Ordinances passed in 2019 and 2023 by Kansas City and Jackson County, respectively, prohibit ‘conversion therapy’ of minors. This a violation of free speech, the suit contends, by preventing the plaintiffs from offering biblical counsel regarding sexuality.” - Baptist Press
On Zombies, Heath Lambert, and Gatekeeping in the Biblical Counseling Movement
“When Lambert’s post was released, it was met with responses ranging from resounding approval to astounding appalment…. some biblical counselors appreciated Lambert putting into words the uneasiness they were feeling concerning different developments within the BCM. On the other hand…” - London Lyceum
Book Review: Heath Lambert’s “Biblical Counseling and Common Grace”
“While Lambert marks Bavinck and Kuyper out as being aberrations within the Reformed tradition (an assertion not supported by the literature), Bavinck actually points a way forward …to counseling that affirms the necessity and relevance of Scripture and the usefulness of common grace.” - London Lyceum
Is the Trauma Narrative Helpful?
“As a counselor, I’ve found value in the increasing awareness of how trauma can affect a person. But I’ve wondered if trauma-directed narratives can skew our understanding of ourselves and others.” - TGC
Get Guilt Out of the Way
Posted previously in 2010.
Men and women, young and old, rich and poor—they all gathered at the square by the water gate. They wanted to hear the Book of the Law read. Ezra was more than willing and read from dawn to noon while everyone stood with rapt attention. Teachers helped translate and explain words grown unfamiliar after decades of neglect.
Waterloo, Iowa repeals ban on 'conversion therapy' for minors
“The decision to repeal the ordinance came in response to a complaint letter from the Liberty Counsel, a national law firm dedicated to First Amendment rights. The legal group contacted the city after residents notified them of the ban.” - CPost
“Does Therapy Even Work?”
“There are some, many of them Christians, striving to rethink psychology and counsel others by looking outward as well as inward, to know themselves by first knowing what is true and good.” - Breakpoint