Dr. Ernie Baker’s new book, Biblical Counseling and the Psychologies (Shepherd Press, 2023, 100 pages), seeks to help biblical counselors engage thoughtfully, critically, and cautiously with current trends in the biblical counseling movement, especially those that are quick to integrate with and accept—as authoritative—the secular theories that currently grip the greater culture’s imagination. This insightful resource exposes the perils and pitfalls of integration, provides a framework for assessing various methodologies, and encourages steadfastness in biblical methodology
Pop-psychology has so worked its way into our culture that rarely does a counselee come without a self-diagnosed, psychological label from the world. So the initial parts of the counseling process become all the more necessarily Gospel-orienting: telling a better story, shaping a more dignifying identity, and providing a more compelling worldview. This has also made the integral stage of building hope even more critical to the process because, like a straightjacket, these labels can be so powerfully demeaning and restrictive. Counselees no longer come with a life-dominating problem but an ironclad identity.
In this rather short book, Baker breaks down the philosophy of biblical counseling without diminishing its depth and comprehensiveness. He examines secular trends through a seven-layered grid which inspects their views on source of authority, sin, salvation, sanctification, support systems, servants of the system, and sparring (apologetics). This grid equips counselors to check under the hood in order to assess how the presuppositions, epistemology, anthropology, etiology, methodology, and goals of these secular theories and therapies compare to a distinctly biblical model. He exposes the psychologies as unreliable and unstable and calls us to a more dependable approach.
The Myth of Neutrality in the Psychologies
Secular theories are just that: secular. Their underlying presuppositions are not simply different but antithetical to the fundamental truths of the Scriptures. A radically different worldview undergirds the secular field. They do not believe that a transcendent, personal God created mankind, that man is an embodied soul created in his image and designed for his glory, that sin entered into our world and corrupted the human heart, that God has revealed himself and his will in Scripture, that Jesus redeemed us through his life, death, and resurrection, or that the Spirit is at work sanctifying the believer. Rather, their worldview maintains no absolute truth or morality, no inherent dignity of man, no personal God that we are accountable to.
From the very outset, secular theory get so much wrong. They miss what is fundamentally true of and wrong with man. It is not neutral but fundamentally antichristian, for it denies fundamental Christian truths and sees no solutions in Christ. So, there is a bug in the system. And we don’t want to introduce that same bug into the our system for it is precisely what we are seeking to overcome in biblical counseling: this skeptical, man-centered, self-oriented, prideful, godless bent in the human heart. And even further, their constructs and labels can at times downplay personal responsibility, can justify and excuse behaviors, thoughts, and desires that God’s Word warns are harmful and/or sinful, and can undermine any hope of change. Therefore these psychologies are gravely unreliable.
The Myth of Consensus in the Psychologies
The title of this book alone includes an intentional yet subtle silver bullet that reveals the glaringly obvious yet often overlooked reality: there is not one psychology that is recognized and respected. Rather, there are multiple psychological theories. And they don’t simply contradict God’s sufficient Word, they contradict each other. And this generation’s methods certainly contradict the former’s. Psychology is not in itself a coherent, consistent, or cohesive system. It lacks a certain credibility.
Various theories have gripped the culture’s imagination, but hindsight often shows that the wave was short-lived. Various pop-psychologies gain traction and lose traction. Various fad-therapies grip the social consciousness then fade away. They are eventually discredited and discarded as sloppy and half-baked studies. And we all are expected to pretend that doesn’t matter as we cling to the next theory that will follow the same cycle. With every new theory comes both a built in time mechanism and another professional to invalidate its claims. They are not only unreliable, but profoundly unstable. There’s a reason they’re called soft sciences . . . because they are science-lite. At some point we need to wake up, rise above this endless cycle and realize we already have what we need. There is a better way . . .
Scripture Should Preside over Our Presuppositions
A distinctly biblical counseling methodology is rooted and grounded in the truth of Scripture. God’s Word, not human wisdom, should both undergird and oversee the process from beginning to end. Scripture is not simply an encyclopedia of knowledge; it is a story. It is God’s grand narrative that reveals fundamental truths about the human condition—who we are, where we came from, what our purpose is, who we are accountable to, and how to flourish and find fulfillment. Like a corrective lens, it puts everything into proper perspective. It reveals ultimate truth and reality as well as God’s will and purposes for us and for the world.
In the pages of Scripture, we discover our place in the world and in the story. We discover God’s redeeming and transforming love and goodness. Nothing else can reveal that—not general revelation, not common grace, not secular theories . . . only Scripture. The Bible is the only solid foundation for biblical counseling. Everything else is shifting and sinking sand. Secular theory operates on a symptom-based diagnostic system. It observes our behavior, desires, and feeling then tells us who we are. But the Scripture first tells us who we are then explains why we do what we do, desire what we desire, and feel how we feel. And better yet, it provides a path toward Christ-centered, God-glorifying change. It leads to a renewed mind of power and love and discipline and hope and peace.
Scripture Should Permeate Our Process
A distinctly biblical counseling methodology believes that God’s Word is sufficient. It alone possesses what Baker calls “a magisterial authority and inherent sanctifying power.” The Scriptures alone are inspired by God and are thereby imbued with an intrinsic authority, infallibility, sufficiency, and power that is not found anywhere else—not in my life experiences, my inner desires and feelings, not in secular theories, not in the research and methods of fallible men, not in science, not in general revelation, nor in common grace.
Therefore, our counsel in the context of soul care and the issues of the heart and mind should come from the Scriptures. Anything else would be misguided, shortsighted, self-reliant, and sterile. It would lack a certain supernatural, sanctifying power. Why would we elevate our personal wisdom and/or the wisdom of the world over God’s? This would be to relegate authority to a fallible, unreliable source. It would be to establish hope in something that is unable to ultimately provide it. Why would we trade living waters for broken cisterns? Why would we sell out our Gospel heritage for a bowl of stew?
Scripture Should Prescribe Our Purpose
A distinctly biblical counseling methodology also has a distinct purpose revealed in Scripture. I appreciate Baker’s honesty throughout the book. He admits that these secular therapies can help hurting people. But we should ask how do they help? In what ways do they help? To what extent do they help? The purpose of biblical counseling is not to provide mere palliative, therapeutic, or utilitarian care. Our goal is not temporary relief or behavioral modification that treats the symptoms only while bypassing the root cause. While the psychologies can make accurate and insightful observations about human behavior, they cannot provide any meaningful solutions. Biblical counseling has a completely different, yet clearly defined goal in view: God-glorifying growth in Christlikeness—worship. This goal stands in absolute consensus among all biblical counselors and remains absolutely relevant to all human problems related to the heart and soul. And this is a goal that secular theories and therapies cannot accomplish.
One part of the book that I found to be particularly enlightening and practically beneficial was his illustration of a funnel. On pages 72 and 73, he writes:
“Picture a funnel. We have limited time when meeting with counselees, so what should come out the bottom of the funnel during those precious minutes? Speaking personally, I know a lot of information goes into a counseling situation. There is much that is shaping me as I decide what to say.”
Into to each counseling session, we all bring with us a wealth of knowledge and experience that we’ve accumulated throughout our lifetime. Baker summarizes much of his own life experience—his formal studies, his personal reading and research, his own study of psychological theories, his travels around the world, his own relationship with the Lord, his personal struggles, and his extensive experience counseling.
But he concludes, “All of these ingredients have gone into the top of the funnel and have shaped my thinking and my soul. But when it comes to the actual words that drip out the bottom during counseling, it is my calling to make sure they are Biblical words. The Bible is my authority, my calling, my specialty. I may use some of the other information as supplemental material or as illustrations. What I know may shape the type of questions asked. But when direction is being given for dealing with life, I should point them to Scripture.”1
This must be the unwavering commitment of every biblical counselor: “It is my calling to make sure [my words] are Biblical words. The Bible is my authority, my calling, my specialty. I should point them to Scripture.”
In his popular book on trauma, Bessel Van Der Kolk admits, “We had only one real textbook: our patients. We should trust only what we could learn from them—and from our own experiences.”2 Thankfully this is not the biblical counselor’s position. We are not competent to counsel in and of ourselves, because of the wisdom of the world, or from flawed and fading empirical studies. We are competent to counsel because we have the all-sufficient Scriptures. This should provide the biblical counselor with conviction, confidence, and hope that God will work in even the most stubborn and overwhelming cases.
Throughout the book, Baker argues for a biblical approach to biblical counseling. The counsel we speak should be Word-centered. The homework we assign should be Word-saturated. And the hope we offer should be Word-driven. God’s Word is the beginning and end of biblical counseling. Everything we do in between should point people back to the Bible, to the Gospel, and to Christ. Only there do we find real, substantial, and eternal hope. We should help people see themselves and their circumstances in light of God’s grand narrative. Anything else really isn’t biblical counseling. Why would we resort to the blind to leading the way?
Integration with secular systems is a case of subtraction by addition, for it dilutes the purity and the power of the Gospel. God’s Word is not one theory among many. It’s absolute truth, authority, and power. It’s on a whole different plane. It offers answers, solutions, and hope that will never be discredited. And it is wholly sufficient. As Baker states in his introduction, “Scripture, accurately interpreted and creatively and properly applied, has answers for the deepest human struggles.” The Scriptures alone can provide ultimate truth, an eternal perspective, and blood-bought hope.
Every biblical counselor should secure a copy of this valuable resource in order to help examine the next up and coming secular theory according to Baker’s insightful grid.
Maximum Mandatum 
Great review of what sounds like a great resource!
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