Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class

Introduction

Although Biblical or nouthetic counseling has existed as a modern movement since Jay Adams first published Competent to Counsel in 1970, it still needs describing to many in Christian ministry. In Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class Jay Adams explains the difference between Biblical and Christian counseling in a fictitious setting. Jay Adams needs little introduction in any Biblical Counseling context. Adams is a retired professor, author and speaker, he has written more than 100 books and his resources are still heavily used in Biblical counseling ministry today. He says about himself: “Adams is a conservative Presbyterian minsters associated with the ARP denomination. He has pastored several congregations, taught in two seminaries, and studied in three. He majored in Greek at Johns Hopkins University, received his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in speech. He was called to teach preaching in the department of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia” (2). The book is the story of Christian college students interviewing a Biblical counselor named Greg Dawson at a nearby church. In a series of dialogues, Adams uses Dawson to clarify nouthetic counseling, its history and application

Summary

Adams opens his book with an initial interview of Greg Dawson by Phil, the Christian college student taking a psychology class. This first discussion answers the questions, “Who is Jay Adams and how did the modern Biblical counseling movement begin.” It also explains the term, “nouthetic counseling.” Adams uses the dialogues to define the word nouthetic as a Biblical concept containing, “Three components: loving verbal Confrontation out of Concern in order to bring about C...

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...seful writings on counseling have earned him the right to modestly recommend his own materials. Adam’s attempt at fictional writing is somewhat cheesy, especially the attempt at romance between Phil and Jane. A straight forward non-fiction explanation may have been more in Adam’s line.

Conclusion

Greg Dawson and the Psychology Class is a book that is uncompromising in its insistence on the truth of 2 Peter 2:13: “Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” Jay Adams is passionate in his belief in the authority of God’s Word and the effectiveness of Biblical counseling. This book would be a helpful supplement for anyone wanting to know more about nouthetic counseling, its methods, goals and its antagonism with secular counseling.