Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

GROUP THERAPY from page 9may include as few as two, as in the examples given inMatthew 5 and 18. That is to say, a Biblical groupingprovides for the possibility of reconciliation and seeks thisas its end. The group, therefore, must be composed of theestranged parties. Confession is wrongly viewed when it isconceived of as an end in itself. Unbiblical groups distortconfession, making it a personal catharsis that occursthrough ventilation. Confession rather must be seen as ameans leading toward forgiveness and reconciliation. It isa loving act in which the other person is prominently inview, not one focused merely on one's self (Ephesians4:32).Groups stressing confession in a non-reconciliationcontext often actually impede reconciliation. Airing one'ssins before the group may temporarily reduce the pressureof the guilt of unconfessed sin and estrangement. Therelief is temporary, to be sure, because in the long runsuch ventilation increases one's sense of guilt. Since theoriginal problem has not been solved by simply ventilatingit, the poor relationship has not been bettered, and theventilation itself has added the guilt of slander to analready over-burdened conscience.NEED FOR FELLOWSHIPThe amazing growth of groups must be explained asa multi-factored phenomena. For instance, new elementsthat characterize our modern mobile society, such as thevirtual dissolution of village-style community life, havecontributed to an acute sense of need for fellowship andfriendship. After all, God made man a social creature whoshould find his fellowship in the groups that God ordained— the family, the church, etc. There is nothing wrong withthe grouping together of God's people for worship, formutual instruction and encouragement, for service andfellowship. God Himself has endorsed and encouragedsuch grouping (Hebrews 10:24,25).It is not the idea of a group that must be opposed,but the distortion of the Biblical idea. The problem withtherapy and encounter groups is that since they are unbiblicalto start with, they meet for the wrong purposes,they exist on the wrong basis, they operate with the wrongpersonnel, and they use the wrong methods.There is one note yet to sound: The church hasfailed in large measure to help Christians meet their socialneeds and interpersonal relations in a truly Biblicalmanner, ft is time to do so. And this can be done only bymaking provisions for all of those crucial social elementsthat have been lost. The church must provide for itsmembers more wholesome social contact; it must preachand teach more frequently and specifically about themutual ministry of all believers to one another in whichthe Spirit's gifts are used for the benefit of all.Finally, the church must reinstitute both informaland formal discipline among its members for the glory ofGod, the welfare of the church, and the reclamation andreconciliation of the offender. Encounter and therapy16groups are not the answer.• • •The Presbyterian Guardian* Dr. Adams is Associate Professor of Practical Theology,as well as Dean of Students and Registrar, at WestminsterTheological Seminary. He also serves as a counselor forthe Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation.Clergy's StandBy Rev. Don LovingIn "Civilization On Trial," Arnold Toynbee said,"Out of 21 civilizations preceding this one, 19 of themhave been destroyed by a mixture of atheism, materialism,socialism, and alcoholism."Last year, in our country, 25,000 people were killedby drunk drivers on our highways to say nothing of thosestill physically living whose lives are wrecked.Is alcoholism a disease or a sin? If we accept the"disease" concept of alcoholism we must, in all honesty,accept the following facts:1. It is the only disease that is contracted by an actof will;2. It is the only disease that requires a license topropagate it;3. It is the only disease that is bottled and sold;4. It is the only disease that requires outlets tospread it;5. It is the only disease that produces revenue forthe government;6. It is the only disease that provokes crime;7. It is the only disease that is habit forming;8. It is the only disease that is spread by advertising;9. It is the only disease that is without a germ orvirus cause and for which there is no human correctivemedicine.It seems to be very hypocritical to license one to sellthat which will make another drunk and then punish theman who gets drunk. It is hypocritical to license one to sellthat which causes some to become paupers, criminals, andinmates in mental institutions while taxing sober peoplefor their support.It is hypocritical to license saloons to breed vice andcollect taxes for schools to teach virtue. It is hypocriticalto support an enemy which killed, in two years afterPearl Harbor, more Americans than did the Germans andJapanese combined.Maybe sin is not a big enough word to identifyalcoholism but if it is a "disease" it is a self-inflicted one. Aman is not an alcoholic before he drinks alcohol any morethan a child has mumps before he contracts the germ.Those who accept the authority of the Holy Bible wouldbe unrealistic to believe other than that drunkenness is sinbefore it becomes a disease.Editor's Note. This was taken from the Las Vegas Sun. It issignificant that it should come from such a source.—The Kansas IssueCOVENANTER WITNESS