Simply-Christian

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.

This passage is telling us we need to have Godly knowledge and wisdom of that which is good, but be simple when it comes to evil. We do not need to be experts in evil; just know its characteristics so we can avoid it( 1 Thessalonians 5:25 for reference) . We don’t have to read books about wicca to know that it is evil. You could say that all the discernment ministries out there might not be necessary, but a lot of this is due to the fact that most christians are too lazy to “test the spirits,” so God has chosen someone to inform the church. Take Christian Psychology for example, which is becoming more widespread in churches, since there seems to be a belief out there that the bible can’t handle the issues of today. I was listening to the radio on sunday evening and a “christian psychiatrist” was having an open line call in show. I was unable to call in as I was picking up a friend from work, but here are the questions I wanted to ask:

1. Are “Christian psychology/psychiatry” theories originated solely 100% ONLY from the bible and then applied to life’s problems or are the based on the theories of unregenerate men who don’t believe in God?

2. Are we supposed to come up with a theory totally unrelated to the bible and then some how find scripture to support it or should our final authority in all matters be the bible, and then from there derive our theories?

A very good ministry that I recommend is psycho-heresy.org where they have exposed “Christian psychology” for what it is and shown how all believers can help others in the time of emotional need. When you really look into this subject, you will find out that a vast majority of the theories employed were created by unbelievers like Freud and Jung. Also see here how a major, influential seminary website places importance on secular psychology:

“understand and evaluate secular and Christian psychological theories and practices from a sound biblical and theological point of view in order to develop professional competence within a thoroughly biblical framework with a focus on ministry”(http://dts.edu/academics/academicprograms/professionalmadegrees.aspx, emphasis mine)

Of course if you were to apply every secular theory to the scriptures, they would probably fail horribly. The funny thing about secular theories is they are never concrete and sometimes always changing or proven false, but the word of God in everlasting and true( not to mention the foolishness of man). I have an example that I just heard on mon. that shows how slow secular psychiatrists are now just discovering what christians have know for centuries. The topic was about the underclass in Britain and this leading British psychiatrist wrote a book about them. The host of the show brought up a point(he was referring to the”left” or liberals) and their viewpoint on human behavior. Some people on the left belief that everyone is good and when something bad happens to them it is not their fault, while there are other people who believe we are bad and are accountable for our actions. Another psychiatrist who frequents the show said that he has noticed this in his patients too, even people who are not poor. He said there are people you take responsibility for their actions and those that what to make it external. He even asked, why would you make it external? I think we all know why:

Romans 3:10-18
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

and 23
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We are all sinners and only want to do what feels good and right in our own minds and not to be accountable for our actions. Only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can we be forgiven of our sins and justified righteous through him.