The Journal of Biblical Counseling: Volume 24, Number 4, Fall 2006

by David Powlison

Publisher:

The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation

, 2006

Overview

For nearly 30 years, the Journal of Biblical Counseling (previously the Journal of Pastoral Practice) of CCEF (the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation) has provided a forum for biblical counseling’s development and application. The journal’s mission is to develop clear thinking and effective practice in biblical counseling through articles that faithfully bring the God of truth, mercy, and power to the issues faced by ministries of counseling and discipleship.

Contents

Top Highlights

“What is anger? It’s the way we react when something we think important is not the way it’s supposed to be.” (Page 9)

“Absent anger fails to get aroused when real wrongs are occurring, because it’s easier to remain indifferent and detached. And only then can we cultivate a new association to anger operating as it should: Righteous anger acts redemptively and constructively in the presence of wrong.” (Page 8)

“God created us in His image. That image includes the capacity to react with displeasure toward real wrongs, and to act forcefully to make wrongs right. In other words, we are moral beings inescapably. So we are wired by God to operate in anger’s logic: ‘That matters, and it’s wrong. It displeases me, and I am against it. I must change it, remove it, destroy it.’ The core is that something important is not the way it’s meant to be, and we are moved to take action.” (Page 8)

“Creation in God’s image wires us with the capacity for anger at wrong, making us agents of justice. Human beings instinctively react against unfairness or betrayal towards themselves or those they love. The given goodness in anger is that we are made to be displeased with wrong, and aroused to act. The fall into sin does not erase the capacity, but misshapes it.” (Page 14)

“The root of anger is spiritual blindness, and it is the God of light who opens blind eyes. Here are a series of implications for how you counsel an angry person.” (Page 28)

Product Details

• Title: The Journal of Biblical Counseling: Volume 24, Number 4, Fall 2006
• Author: David Powlison
• Series: The Journal of Biblical Counseling
• Publisher: The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation
• Print Publication Date: 2006
• Logos Release Date: 2012
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Counseling › Practice; Pastoral counseling › Practice; Pastoral theology
• Resource ID: LLS:JBC24_4
• Resource Type: Journal
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-10T23:03:19Z

About David Powlison

David Powlison, M.Div., Ph.D (1949-2019) was a popular speaker, writer, and faculty member of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation’s School of Biblical Counseling. He also taught Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary and edited the Journal of Biblical Counseling. Dr. Powlison has also written Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture, a 2004 nominee for the coveted ECPA Gold Medallion Award. In addition, he has written Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare, and numerous articles on counseling.