# Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class



## Eoghan (May 31, 2012)

View attachment 2885 To put the book in context I had become aware that our High School had started a psychology course. I was aware that my daughter could well be offered the course in a year or two so was a bit apprehensive. Seeing Jay Adams’ title “Greg Dawson and the psychology class” I felt I had to get a hold of the book. Well it took a couple of months but I finally got a copy.

I was expecting a Christian struggling with his lectures to be set straight by the pastor Greg Dawson (fictitious). Well that scenario was not quite what the book delivered.

The book is set in a church close to a Christian University. It is the Christian University that is organising the psychology course. One of the students decides to look into nouthetic counselling for an assignement. That gives him the opening to visit Pastor Dawson.

It allows Greg Dawson (Jay Adams) to explain something of the background to nouthetic counselling. It was basically a course he was asked to teach. He took a year to research and reject psychology from Freud, Jung, Rogers et. al. During this time he was helped by the book “The Myth of Mental Illness.” (p63) This book first published in the sixties (?) made the distinction between neurology and “problems of life.” Basically this says that something that is an illness is biological, so if you are helped by Lithium treatment for bi-polar disorder you are dealing with a mineral deficiency and an organic illness – neurology.

If that is the first major item to jump out at me, the second is that you cannot counsel non-Christians. As Greg puts it more aptly he never knowingly counsels a non-Christian. (p9) This is pure and simply because a Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit who will be directing the Christian to right living with God and assisting. The non-Christian is probably more disposed to want a way to stop feeling guilty, or afraid of the future etc… For the Christian this may well be the conviction of the Holy Spirit for the non-Christian conscience can just be a nuisance. This does not mean that the non-Christian is shown the door! No, the non-Christian is pre-counselled regarding his need of Christ and the new birth (evangelised).

Did I mention the distinction between genuine biological illness and problems arising from life? If it is biological then the counselee is past to a doctor.
The third thing that brought me up short is that Adams views Freud, and other psychiatrists as theologians. (page 70) Not good theologians to be sure but when you look at the problems of guilt, anger and despair that are dealt with it is the psychiatrists who are poaching on theological turf not the other way about. This discussion runs for two or three pages and is I think the one “lesson” that sticks out for me.

Did I mention the distinction between genuine biological illness and problems arising from life? If it is biological then the counselee is past to a doctor.

Other items dealt with are the slogan “All truth is God’s truth” (p42) and the importance of words; the proverb, “You can’t teach an old dog new spots” being a “self-evident truth” which can be a real obstacle to growth in grace. (p21) 

The key text to understanding Jay Adams proposition that the bible contains all we need for godly living is found in 2 Peter 1:3 (and 2 Timothy 3:16,17) If all we need for godly living is in scripture we need nothing else.

Would I recommend this to my kids – mmmm, yes, but I think it is more appropriate to those studying at seminary. It is Biblical first and foremost (In my humble opinion) and a challenge to know our scriptures and apply them to ourselves.


You can purchase it online at Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class (and probably good bookshops too)


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