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PRESUPPOSITIONS OF BIBLICAL COUNSELORS

by JIM NEWHEISER in Vol. 9 No. 1 / Apr 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35285/ucc9.1.2023.art9



Abstract
From its inception, the modern biblical counseling movement has been rooted in the presuppositional apologetics of Cornelius Van Til and John Frame. The presupposition that the Bible is absolutely authoritative and sufficient leads to certain conclusions regarding who we are, what our purpose is, what is wrong with us, and how God can make us what we are meant to be. While we see a role for knowledge outside of the Bible, such knowledge is secondary in value and subject to the authority of Scripture. This is in contrast to those who rely on secular psychology or who believe that it is essential to integrate techniques used in secular psychology with biblical principles.

Keywords
Biblical counseling, presuppositionalism, sufficiency of Scripture, Jay Adams, Cornelius Van Til, John Frame, integration, authority, anthropology
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Other Articles in
Vol. 9 No. 1 / Apr 2023

Editorial: The Sin behind “Sin” by Paul Wells
The Progress of the Kingdom: Calvin’s Pastoral Care for Rulers by HERMAN H. VAN ALTEN
Adapting the Structural Perspectives of the Westminster Larger Catechism for Biblical Counselor Training by TIMOTHY P. YATES
Bavinck, a Patron Saint of Biblical Counselors? A Case Study of Bavinck’s Theological Description of Shame by KAZUSA OKAYA
“The Hidden Artist”: Edith Schaeffer and the Success of L’Abri Fellowship by CHRISTOPHER TALBOT
Where Has the Soul Gone in Pastoral Care? The Case and Cure of Pastoral Counseling by MAARTEN J. KATER
Six Keys to Protecting and Strengthening Marriages by JIM NEWHEISER
A Pastoral Framework for Infidelity Counseling by MICHAEL GEMBOLA
Rightly Applying God’s Law Makes Legalism Impossible by BRAD BEEVERS
Presuppositions of Biblical Counselors by JIM NEWHEISER
Biblical Counseling in the Spanish-Speaking World by NATALIE CARLEY
Some Reflections on Biblical Counseling, Adams, and Powlison by D. CLAIR DAVIS
Interview with Alasdair Groves by PETER A. LILLBACK
Carl R. Trueman. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism and the Road to Sexual Revolution. by ANDREW MUTTITT
Scot McKnight. Five Things Biblical Scholars Wish Theologians Knew. Hans Boersma. Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew by DONALD E. COBB
Robert L. Wilken. Liberty in the Things of God: The Christian Origins of Religious Freedom by TODD M. RESTER
IN MEMORIAM Jong Yun Lee by editor