Model of Psychotherapy
grounds for engagement with secular practices (‘analogy’); however, wisdom’s theistic and Christological aspects result in distinctiveness (‘critique’). This balance means that a wholesale absorption (syncretism) is avoided; secular insights may be appropriated (Hughes and Crabb’s ‘Spoiling the Egyptians’) where a Christian world-view is not compromised. Hurding, whilst offering an historical overview of the above factors, expresses the value of an approach encompassing both special and general revelation:
At best, the people of God have sifted, evaluated and challenged contemporary thinking in the light of Scripture; at worst, they have found the approach of the ‘two horizons’ too daunting and have either escaped into the bolt-hole of reaction or embraced the cosy anonymity of assimilation, taking in presuppositions and objectives of the surrounding culture with little or no critical reflection.195 The selection of topics covered is necessarily limited, and is intended to illustrate the above rather than offer a comprehensive, systematic coverage. The list extends Irving’s previous work on this topic. Given the discussion of wisdom earlier (Chapter 3), the supporting evidence will be predominately confined to secular therapies, specifically psychodynamic, person-centred and cognitive behavioural, as they represent three well established and prevalent modalities.
Analogy This approach assumes continuity between Christ in the life of the Church and the world. Dueck sums it up well: ‘This approach begins with God’s selfdisclosure and then moves by way of analogy from God’s covenant to creation, from God’s action to ours, from the Christ event to historical events.’196 Whilst there is not an absolute parallel across therapeutic modalities, generally speaking both secular psychotherapy and biblical wisdom assume the following:
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