How John Calvin Led Me to Repent of Christian Psychology

In this article, Steven Cole shares his story of growth in moving away from Christian psychology and towards a biblical counseling framework. Cole states that his pastoral ministry had drawn significant ingredients from popular teachings about self-esteem, the psychological need for love, and other staples of Christianized self-help. About ten years ago, he went through a major course correction. Cole raises 5 observations about the Christian psychology movement: (1) The Christian psychology movement is built on an inadequate view of salvation, (2) Christian psychology focuses people on self, not on God and His glory, (3) Christian psychology denies the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, (4) Christian psychology undermines the sufficiency and authority of God’s Word and (5) Christian psychology minimizes the biblical view of sin and personal responsibility.