humanistic psychology and Christianity

Humanistic psychology says that there is no God and therefore there are no absolutes. Without absolutes one is bound to loose oneself in the world, causing many problems. Whereas, the Christian believes that there is a God and that He created every human in His image, therefore there is an absolute, which all life is based on! The Christian counsellor is therefore in a position to be a compass or guidance for the one who is lost, in order for them to not only find who they are, but also to find their creator.

Recognising that as humans, we are created in Gods image as an absolute, is a good starting place to be able to find oneself! Understanding that our identity should be based on what God says about us imperative to healthy living, in body soul and spirit.

Humanistic psychology says that evolution is acceptable and accepted, therefore we are a product of our environment, which should only be true in relation to the weather helping us decide what we will wear in order to maintain appropriate body temperature! Christians believe that we are created in Gods image, we were fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). Therefore, we are not a product of our environment, we did not crawl out of pond scum, become a multitude of different creatures before finally ending up human! Being fearfully and wonderfully made comes with responsibilities. If we attempt to deny our created image, then we not only attempt to call God a liar, but we also make ourselves look foolish before our creator!

Humanistic psychology says that we were determined (chemically, environmentally, and genetically), therefore sin is a sickness or a disease. The bible says that sin entered through one man (Adam) and redemption/salvation came through one man (Jesus). (Romans 5:12-21) The bible clearly states that we need to repent of our sin, we are each responsible for our own actions, we can not pass the blame on to someone else or call it something else! (Acts 2:38, Ezekiel 14:6, Revelation 2:5...) Because sin entered, that opened the door for death to freely enter. According to Cruden's Complete Concordance (Youngman's Edition), sin is any thought, word, action, omission, or desire contrary to the law of God. For original corruption, or the depravity and naughtiness of our corrupt nature, which is prone to all evil. It is more than obvious here that sin is not a disease or sickness! It is our nature, because sin entered through one man, being Adam, at the time that he and Eve met with a snake in the garden!

I find it interesting that humanistic psychology contradicts itself. If there are no absolutes, how then can it state that humans evolved, or that we are determined chemically, environmentally and genetically? There are apparently no absolutes, therefore the rest of the presuppositions have no leg to stand on!

I also fail to see how telling someone that they evolved from pond scum is going to help them overcome their issues! If anything, it's going to leave them feeling worthless and useless! It also tells them that life is not sacred. And, if there are no absolutes, then someone can say that they have no issues. If having issues says that there is something wrong, then without absolutes, there is no guide post to compare oneself to, therefore each person is either perfect or imperfect and possibly a mix of both, because nothing is absolute, there is nothing to measure oneself against and sin is a disease or sickness that simply requires a band aid until we somehow “get over it”!

To help a person get better, a Dr has a set of tools to use to diagnose the problem. These tools must have some amount of absoluteness to them in order to diagnose many different people with the same condition...!

As humans, we are complex creations. Made in the image of a benevolent loving God, who seeks to have an intimate relationship with each of us! He already knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:29-31) and our deepest darkest secrets. He wants to walk with and talk with us as He did way back in the garden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:8)! They hid, and just like them, we hide from God!

sin remorse repentance

Sin is the sick insidious nature to cause harm stemming from harm done! It began in the garden and continues today. It has been given many titles and in some cases been swept under the carpet to be ignored or has been outright embraced as “good”. Sin includes what we do and know we shouldn't, what we don't do, but know we should and what we think and our motivations! Sin is something that we love to hate! Yet, if we hated it enough, then we would do something about it! Elijah House talks about absolutely hating your sin before you'll even consider letting go of it! Sin enters life in the womb, because the baby feels the emotions around it! I can feel the mothers intentions whether good or bad! And if bad, it makes a judgement, and an inner vow. Ever wondered how it is possible for a child to kill a cat or dog, one that's been the family pet? Look back into their heart as that tiny helpless baby and ask the question of what was going on at the time? What is it that could cause such a small being to feel, experience and vent so much rage and anger? In the scriptures, David talks about sin from as far back as the womb, yet humans being fearfully and wonderfully made!
 
To get rid of sin, one needs to look at the patterns or fruit! What sin are you constantly committing, that you wrestle with constantly and constantly find yourself doing over and over again. You repent of it, then an hour find yourself doing it again? Why is that? Trace back... A man is married, to his third wife and is having affair number 50... is it really “commitment issues”? Or is there something else going on? A woman, at work in a retail shop, could be any shop. She opens the cash register and is tempted to take some or all of the money. She doesn't need it! Her job pays her enough to cover her bills, but that little voice in her head says that she just has to have it! What's going on?
 
It's not enough to slap a band-aid on the wound. Especially when the wound is a festering sore that simply refuses to heal! What can be done? Well, nothing until you really hate what you do!
 
There's remorse and there is repentance! What's the difference? Remorse says “I'm sad because I got caught and I don't want to loose whatever I shouldn't have! And oh, woe is me, my reputation is ruined, because someone else was sticking their nose where it doesn't belong!” Repentance says “I'm relieved because I got caught, I'm going to give back what I shouldn't have and I'm sad about the pain and loss I caused to everyone around me! And I'm not going to do this again! I'm done, it's finished!”
 
How you answered the question of how you felt when you got caught is exactly how you will gauge if you will find yourself doing it again in an hour or not!
 
Remorse often gets a band-aid slapped over a gaping great wound that is still full of muck and gunk, that often has a putrid stink, where as repentance takes the wound to a doctor to be cleaned out, stitched up and properly dressed to cause healing to occur!
 
As part of repentance, you need to pull down the structures that hold you in the pattern of perpetual sin! The longer you remain in your sin (whatever it may be) the more you will build a stronghold to keep you in that sin! Repentance is like setting fire to, and destroying that stronghold!
 
During a ministry time I had a picture of a person stuck in a tower and Jesus outside the tower with a sledge hammer, waiting for permission to bust in and destroy the stronghold! It's an awesome sight to see a stronghold get destroyed! Because that is where people get set free! But did you notice that Jesus, sledge hammer in hand, was WAITING!!! He waits for you to tell Him you're done!
 
Jesus more than understands the power, weight, guilt and shame associated with sin. He held it all, remember? He took it so we didn't have to. Yet we are still more than happy to wallow in our shit! What's with that? Oh, that's right, it's called denial! We deny to ourselves that it's bad! We tell ourselves that it isn't as bad as it looks, or as it smells!
 
I recently witnessed a person who did something, then not thirty seconds later she said she had done nothing! I was in shock about how strong her denial was! Should I have been? Probably not! My own denial can be that strong sometimes!
 
What are we going to do about it? Remorse? Repentance?

Relationships... Community... And a challenge!

I've been studying lately.  And in my school, I came across several things that caught my attention... one is the following statement: "in fact, the main reason missionaries leave the mission field is because of relationship problems - there is often somebody that they cannot properly relate to."

And I began to wonder - do christians fail to start in work for the same reason?

They decide to undertake training in some area to be better equipped to fulfil their calling, yet because they come across one or more people that they don't agree with, or cant get along with, they throw in the towel and walk away, and remain less equipped to do what they originally set out to do!
I find this to be a strange reason to drop the ball so to speak!

In my training (to be a counsellor) I'm certain that at some point in time, whether sooner or later, I'm going to find a person, or even several people, I neither agree with or get along with. I have a choice to make - either walk away, forget my training, or deal with my crap and learn to agree to disagree!

I often wonder why people cant simply acknowledge that others have a different perspective from them, or that maybe the problem is not the other person, but them, themselves!

If we simply chose to be humble, acknowledge they we have the capacity to be wrong, or have issues, life will go much better for us! Because then we can begin working with God and those around us, to become the people God created us to be!

At this point, I would like to issue a challenge:
If you have walked away from your work, because you smashed heads with someone (or several someones), then can I challenge you to pick yourself up, and continue walking! Ask God to show you where the issue lies, and if the problem is you - have the guts to deal with it, seek help to deal with it. And get on with doing what you were created to do!

In this challenge excuses will hold you back, so see your excuses as an opportunity to pray and seek Gods face!

To obey is better than sacrifice!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Australian Watcher On The Wall
http://australianwatcheronthewall.blogspot.com.au

Don't limit God. Don't limit yourself, because that limits God.

I bet you'd never thought about it in that way! I know I hadn't! But that's the thing... we disconnect things that shouldn't be disconnected.

How many times have you heard someone say "don't limit God", or "don't put God in a box", or "God is bigger than that"? Compared with how many times you've heard someone say that "if you limit yourself, you limit God"?

How does one limit God by limiting oneself? Well. If you say that you can't do "x" or "y" then you have removed the ability for God to do those very things through you, and you have thus put yourself and God into a very constricting box!

Whilst you really should know what you know and know what you don't know and generally stick with what you know. This shouldn't be a restriction. Wasn't it Paul who wrote "I can do ALL things through Christ"?

Ok, so me (I'll pick on me cause that is easiest), I know when my car sounds sick, and I know a few things that might cause the issue, but I'm no mechanic by a long shot! I know how to change a tire (I did 3 of them in one day on a car I used to own), I know how to check the water and oil, and I also know that if I have further issues, to please call an actual mechanic! I essentially know what I know as far as the car is concerned, and when I get out of my depth (knowing what I don't know), I call someone a little more knowledgeable! Ok, so I haven't needed to rely on God to help me with my car! Though, I'm sure He would if the need ever arose!

What I am trying to say, is that sometimes someone is hurting and you're all thats there in order for comfort. I'll pick on me again! I had a friend who had cancer. I could comfort and encourage her to a point. I've never experienced (and don't exactly wish to experience) the stresses, challenges, trials and exerything else that goes along with that. I know that there people more qualified than I was to bring comfort and encouragement, but occasionally, I was it! And I had to learn to rely on God in order to do it! There are other things I'm better at, but sometimes I need to be out of my depth, because I'm, somehow, the only one around or willing to try! When I am out of my depth, I do get a huge feeling of relief when someone more qualified/able steps up to take over or even fix up my feeble attempts!

Think about it this way. Person A has just buried their husband of 30 years, they are really grieving. I can say no, I've never experienced that, not going there, and thus limited my capacity to learn a new experience and limited my capacity to attempt to comfort a friend, or I can say, while I haven't had that experience, I will step up, I will rely on God, and I will supply my shoulder to cry on and my ear to hear them. It may not be as great as someone who knows from experience the pain amd loss, but I can at least offer my shoulder and a couple of boxes of tissues!

Do you get what I am trying to say? The minute I say I can't or wont do something is the minute I start limiting Gods ability to work His stuff through me!

So, other than limiting God, why is limiting myself so bad?

To be stretched like a rubber band is not such a bad thing, it causes growth! Yes, trust me, the process of stretching hurts, but its a good hurt. It's a hurt that has the potential for growth, understanding, experience and wisdom. But you have to let that happen, be willing. Or you could choose to get all bitter and twisted!

Limiting yourself reduces you ability to grow, learn, experience, feel and ultimately love.

In a perfect world, we would be willing and able to step up everytime something happened. But then, in a perfect world, pain wouldn't exist!

In a perfect world, you and I wouldn't have broken hearts and issues causing and caused by sin!

So, in this less than perfect world, we need to not limit outselves!

Haha! Easier said than done! I know this, because I still limit myself! I still limit God! Part of the reason for this is the fact that I am human! The rest (and I would think, a larger portion) is due to my sinful responses to things that happened around me and to me as a child! As a child I made some rather huge judgements, thus locked myself into the cycle of doubting my abilities AND doubting God.

So, how then do we stop limiting ourselves, and thus, limiting God? Firstly, we need to walk the road called repentance. We need to repent of our sinful responses to things that happend to us and around us. We need to forgive those who hurt us (no easy thing, yet it is a command of God, AND He will give us the ability to forgive, if we ask for His help). We need to learn who we actually are, not who we think we are or who others have told us who we are. What God says about us and what we think about us are often two completely different things! We need to walk lives lead by the Holy Spirit.

So why do we limit God? Because we don't trust Him. Why don't we trust God?

Our parents are first and foremost the ones who show us what God is like. So, again, picking on me. My father wasn't in my life (not going into the why), he simply wasn't there. Thus my perception from my lack of a father, was that Father God is distant and frankly doesn't give a damn about me. Then I had two step fathers, one was a drug addicted alcoholic with violent tendencies, so this told me that when God is present,  He will be violent towards me. The second of the two step fathers was somewhat more subtle in his way of doing things. He liked to carve people up with his words. He essentially had venom dripping off his tongue. He was conniving, manipulative, and verbally abusive. So compound my three human representatives for God. Absent. Violent. Verbally demeaning, cruel and abusive. Not the best impression of God! Not the worst, but far from good!

Thus, by the actions of those around me, my basic trust that is supposed to be formed as a child, was at best shattered, and ant worst, missing in action. Thus, if I can not trust those who are supposed to protect me, how can I trust God? Therefore, because I don't/can't/won't trust God, I can not take Him at His word, therefore I limit Him.

How to get out of this mess? This mess that I had no control over? I need to forgive. The list is extensive, and I wont get into that here. I can tell you that because I have started to deal with my issues, I can sort of trust God a little bit. Not as much as He or I would like. But the process has been started! Forgiving is hard work.

The more I repent of my sinful reactions to what happened to me and around me, the more I am able to forgive those who hurt me, and then, the more I am able to trust God and take Him at His word, and the LESS I limit myself and Him.  Again, all this is far, far easier said than done!

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Australian Watcher On The Wall
http://australianwatcheronthewall.blogspot.com.au

God must be busy...

That anchor man says the fight began
Somewhere in the Middle East, world prays for peace
There's a single mom just got laid off when they lost a job
To some foreign hands, some faraway land
Last night in Oklahoma some twister took thirteen
And they're praying that they find the missing three
God must be busy

That highway sign went from slow ahead to traffic's dead
Thought it couldn't get worse than that Amber Alert
They say she's four, Colorado plates headed out-of-state
In a Chevy van, it's hard to understand
You can see it in the faces of all those highway strangers
They're praying that God keeps that girl from danger
God must be busy

And I know in the big picture I'm just a speck of sand
And God's got better things to do than look out for one man
I know he's heard my prayers cause he hears everything
He just ain't answered back or he'd bring you back to me
God must be busy

At evening news ain't much changed
Pretty much the same since I left home
Yeah, that war's still on
They found that little girl
She was soaking wet, half scared to death on the side of some road
Them prayers work, you know

And the Bloods and Cripps are at it
And theres a killer drought down south
And old folks can't afford the drugs they can't live without
God must be busy

And I know in the big picture I'm just a speck of sand
And God's got better things to do than look out for one man
And I know he's heard my prayers cause he hears everything
He just ain't answered back or he'd bring you back to me
God must be busy

That anchorman says the fighting's worse
Cities burn in the Middle East, world prays for peace

Brooks & Dunn - God Must Be Busy 

Firstly, I need to say that just because something has a "christian" label on it doesn't make it christian or good!

When a song says that things aren't going well for me, or I'm not getting my way, therefore God must be busy - it is hardly good and gives a false impression of what God is actually like!

When we write music or poetry or other things, our heart will often leakmout and share itself with us and occasionally with the rest of the world. Whoever wrote this song is sharing their hearts warped view of God, as too busy to stop and have time for me!

When I first heard the song I asked myself "what the ...? Did I really hear that guy say what I thought he said?" And sure enough ... blah, blee, blah blah God must be busy! Where does this guy get off? Does he not know that God is intimately interested in everyone including him?

While I get the other meaning that God is running flat stack solving problems, answering prayers and whatever else - its still looking at God as though He is nothing more than an overworked and under paid secretary with a bunch of demanding, picky bosses!

It wasn't until I started ministry training through Elijah House, then hearing the song again, I put it together. This guy has a very warped view of God because of his personal issues!

Whats with the thing of, I didn't get what I wanted, so I will automatically say God must be busy elsewhere with someone else, who, He loves more than me, whom He cares about more than me, so I'll just go write this song that screams "I HAVE ISSUES, BITTER ROOT JUDGEMENTS, BITTER ROOT EXPECTANCIES, INNER VOWS AND UNFORGIVENESS"!!

And I know in the big picture I'm just a speck of sand
And God's got better things to do than look out for one man ... since when did God have better things to do?

How does the writer of this song see God? Well, you can get a glimpse simply from two lines of the song. Firstly he shrinks himself down to an insignificant speck of sand then he says that because my "genie in a bottle" has failed to grant my demands, he must be busy elsewhere!

As children we form perceptions or ideas, whether accurate or in accurate, about our parents that colour or completely warp our relationship with God as adults. If our father is distant then we will assume that God is distant. If we see our father as being present but too busy to answer our request for time, hugs, or whatever else, we will see God as present but too busy for us! In the very area where we dishonour our parents, we will reap trouble relating to God. Our view of God will be screwed up, warped and twisted. And we will possibly end up saying something like ... "And I know he's heard my prayers cause he hears everything He just ain't answered back or he'd bring you back to me God must be busy".

This is apparently what passes as a good, uplifting, edifying christian song - my word, I didn't realise that the standards had slipped so far down the toilet!

How many people are listening to crap simply because they brought it from a christian book shop?
Do they not stop and listen to what the writer is actually saying in their favourite songs?
I sincerely hope that I never hear that depressing, warped song again.

May Gods blessings shower down upon you. And may you be coated in the dust of your Rabbi!

Australian Watcher On The Wall
http://australianwatcheronthewall.blogspot.com.au