The Sufficiency of Scripture and Holistic Care: A Cursory Introduction

The current article is an attempt to honor the tenets of the biblical counseling movement while providing schemata that encourages interaction with extra-biblical data. A biblical systematic care of souls is presented, and empirical data are offered to serve as an adjunct to formulate a holistic care of souls. Empirical inquiry is encouraged so long as a biblical foundation serves as the basis of interpretation.

An Examination of Two Biblical Cases for One Approach to the Sufficiency of Scripture

This article explores the twofold key claim often made within the Biblical Counseling Movement: (1) that doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture necessitates a Biblical counseling approach that is predominantly or exclusively derived from Scripture and (2) that the counseling approaches derived from the secular mental health professions are either unnecessary or so inherently defective as to be improper resources for counseling by Christians. Particular focus is given to two key passages used to support this perspective: 2 Peter 1:1–11 and 2 Timothy 3:1–17. It is argued that neither of these passages provide Biblical warrant for the sufficiency of Scripture doctrine as sometimes advanced by the Biblical counseling movement.

Introduction to the Special Issue on the Sufficiency of Scripture

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on the sufficiency of Scripture. The special issue examines the biblicist approach to the sufficiency of Scripture and offers alternative understandings or examples of the how the sufficiency of Scripture relates to counseling. The introduction notes the issue includes contributions from integrationist, theological, Christian psychology, and Biblical counseling perspectives that share both a commitment to a high view of Biblical authority and an openness to resources for counseling offered by the contemporary mental health professions.

Integration, Biblical Counseling, and Hermeneutics

Some have claimed that the integration project has adopted a lower view of Biblical inspiration. Yet, both Biblical counselors and evangelical integrationists typically hold to a high view of the authority of Scripture and may share the same adherence to Biblical inerrancy. This article argues that difference between how Biblical counseling and integration tends to engage Scripture in their counseling approaches is due less to their doctrines of Biblical authority than to their secondary hermeneutical and related theological views. A review of the author’s model of integration as a form of interpretative activity is provided. Implications for the sufficiency of Scripture doctrine, theological interpretation of Scripture, and integrative interpretative competency in reading Scripture are considered. The evangelical integration movement is fully compatible with a robust embrace of the historic sola scriptura view of Biblical authority but not the innovation represented by a solo scriptura view.