“Cherry-Picking” Powlison
Recent writings in the modern biblical counseling movement have been using David Powlison’s teachings in a “gate-keeping” way.
“David Powlison taught _____; so anyone who sways from _____ is not really a true biblical counselor.”
These writings “cherry-pick” quotes from Powlison. That is, they focus exclusively on quotes where Powlison highlights the dangers of secular psychology, and exclude the quotes where Powlison discusses the role, value, and use of secular psychology.
Three Concerns
I have three concerns about this practice of cherry-picking Powlison.
Having known David very well, and respecting him deeply, I know that David would not want to be used as the “gate-keeper,” nor as the one to look to for biblical counseling orthodoxy. David would always point to Christ. He never wanted a 1 Corinthians 3:4 attitude of “I am of Paul. I am of Apollos.” Or, “I am of Jay Adams. I am of David Powlison.” David was very nuanced in everything he thought and taught. His foundational document, Affirmations & Denials, is a classic example of this. So to “cherry-pick” or “quote-mine” Powlison only talking about the evils of secular psychology and the dangers of integration, is to speak and
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
