TOTALLYSUFFICIENT

THE BIBLE & CHRISTIAN COUNSELING

ED HINDSON & HOWARD EYRICH

GENERAL EDITORS

CHRISTIAN FOCUS

©Edward Hindson and Howard Eyrich 2004

ISBN 1-85792-960-8

Published in 2004

by

Christian Focus Publications

Geanies House, Fearn,

Ross-shire, IV20 1TW,

Great Britain

www.christianfocus.com

Cover design by Alister MacInnes

Printed and bound by

Mackay’s of Chatham

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher or a license permitting restricted copying. In the U.K. such licenses are issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE

Contents

Foreword by Dr D. James Kennedy

Preface

1. Is the Bible Really Enough?

Howard Eyrich, D.Min. and Ed Hindson, D.Phil

2. What is Biblical Counseling?

Wayne A. Mack, D.Min

3. Does Biblical Counseling Really Work?

David Powlison, Ph.D

4. True Confessions of a Professional Psychologist

Chris Thurman, Ph.D

5. Is There a Psychiatrist in the House?

Gary L. Almy, M.D

6. What’s the Brain Got to Do with It?

Edward T. Welch, Ph.D

7. What About Biomedical Research?

Paul Madtes, Jr., Ph.D. and Arnold Hyndman, Ph.D

8. Marriage and Family Counseling

Ronald E. Hawkins, Ed.D

9. The Bible and Family Practice

C. Dwayne Shafer, M.D

10. The Bible and the Mission of the Church

Edward G. Dobson, Ed.D

11. The Biblical Basis of Pastoral Ministry

W. Wilson Benton, Jr., Ph.D

12. Total Sufficiency and Biblical Truth

Howard Eyrich, D.Min. and Ed Hindson, D.Phil

Bibliography

To the

pastor, elders, and members

of the

Kirk of the Hills Church

in

St Louis, Missouri,

who enabled us to

minister together

the Sufficient Word.

Foreword

This remarkable book on Christian counseling vis-a-vis psychological counseling carries an admirably accurate title: Totally Sufficient. Not only is its subject – the Bible – totally sufficient as a clinical tool in skillful hands for the treatment of behavioral disorders, but this compendium of twelve essays is also eminently adequate to the task which it confronts.

The first impression that reinforces reader confidence is the unquestionable credibility of the contributors themselves. A mere glance at the Table of Contents is convincing evidence that the debate is in the hands of professionals, all maximally credentialed and experienced. This is particularly comforting to those who know too well the shabby treatment customarily accorded by the mass media to almost any controversy centering on science and religion.

In comprehensive, yet penetrating, fashion and in language that is free of both psychotechnical and theological terms, here is a book that will prove to be of inestimable value to personal counselors, whether churched or unchurched, Christian or secular. Without denigrating the value of information provided by the textbooks of the social sciences, the consensus ...