munari

whiteknight, I disagree with you because the funny thing is, especially with women, many of them will approach someone and just want to talk and spill their guts and not even want advice, and we dense guys start giving it to them... Guys want to try and fix things, women (a lot of the time) just want to communicate without even really discussing a solution. That's kind of off topic though and not direct to what you were speaking of. And, you also did address this to some degree when you said you must determine if the person really wants advice. But, here's an example of where I think advice could be dangerous. If someone approaches you about a girlfriend they've been dating about some troubles they have had, and you don't particularly like this girl, a person could potentially give bad advice, not out of intended malice, but because they do not like the person, tell the friend they should dump her for reasons X, Y, and Z. If things go bad, the friend could end his friendship with you. If you avoid (direct) advice and ask them what happened, relate personal experience, ask them what they want out of the relationship, ask if this girlfriend can give them those things, etc etc, you can guide them to their own answer.

Probably because he things he has all the answers. He probably views people giving him advice as a personal defect or weakness. An attitude of "You think I need you to tell me what to do?!? Yeah, right!" Notice, I said people USUALLY know what has to be done... but not always. And, ironically, it seems like the people who seek help do have an answer within themselves, but those who don't ever look for help and insist on doing it their way usually end up screwing something up because they didn't take any advice and didn't bother to try and view the situation from a different point of view other than their own.

A little bit of everything. But the best advice is the advice not given, but the advice one gives oneself. This is what I mean. As a counselor, I am not supposed to advise a person or tell them what to do. Rather, I am suppossed to ask questions and guide them towards their best solution. When I do this, I use my spirituality to guide me in the principles I lead my clients to. I believe that in reality, no one really needs advice because everyone knows what their best course of action is on some level, but they cannot identify it or they are too afraid to take action. Advice is also dangerous for the advice giver. The reason I say this is if you give a piece of advice and your advice does not work, the advisee will blame the advisor for giving bad advice. If a person is led to the answer and they discover the answer on their own, they have no one to blame but themself. At this point in counseling, the counselor would speak with them about what they did, why it didn't work, and what another solution could be.

No, it has nothing to do with celibacy. Being married does not effect whether or not a person will be a child molester... please, lets not let this thread too degenerate into a priest-bashing session... Celibacy and child molestation are not related.

Tatie, That article itself is designed to deceive and foster fear. The article states that all of psychology is non-Christian. It states that all counselors and psychologists are out to trip a person up. It states things about counseling and psychology that aren't even true anymore! When I was in school, we were taught to never give our opinions or to make suggestions, that we were not the "wise man" giving sage advice...

Yeah, they're basically the same. However, if someone says they're abstinent, it means they are abstaining at the time, when I've heard celibate, it carries a permanent conotation, its an oath. Everyone is called to be abstinent prior to marriage, not everyone is called to be celibate though.

Ok, thanks for clarifying. I saw the "****" and thought that that was your way of saying that was the end of the article... Anyways, I see what you're saying about the questions you're asking me and they were asked due to a lack of communication on my part. I wrote knowing what I meant, but I didn't make it clear... Counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists are SUPPOSED to be non-religious in their approach, they are supposed to accept the views of their client and help them move to a solution within that context. I myself am a counselor and I can do this to a point, but there is a point that I won't cross. I can't express what that point is explicitly, but I know when I get there. Anyways, going into any relationship with one of these professionals, ask them questions about their views and their position. Tell them yours. Go to a person who says they are a "Christian" professional and start there. If the person falls away, pick someone else. When I say be careful about who you go to... I mean if you're a Christian, you probably don't want to choose a counselor that says they're an athiest... that's the caution I'm referring to. As for the Christian psychologist you know, you can't blame psychology for the weakness of the person. There are many Christians who are psychologists. I know of a priest on TV that's a psychologist, he does psychological batteries on seminarians and priests. Christianity and psychology CAN work hand in hand, but like anything else, they can work against one another too. There is some psychological approaches that are completely contrary to Christian teaching and there are some approaches that work hand in hand.

I stopped reading here... this is really a joke... A person with a weak mind is less likely to be hypnotized. In order to be hypnotized, they must be able to focus. The will of the hypnotist has absolutely nothing to do with hypnotism. I checked this guy out. He's from the mid 19th century! You need to get a more recent resource for this information about hypnotism...

Medicines don't weaken the mind and open you up? Come on people, it sounds more like fear of the unknown and superstition. Come now... psychology is the antithesis of God's Word? No, it is not... certain PARTS of psychology is, but the whole of Phsychology is not. After all, Christ is the greatest psychologist of all time! There IS a Christian psychology, and Christ taught it perfectly. Anytime you go to any of these professionals, you have to be careful and know what kind of person they are, but they CAN help. Calling psychology (as a whole) devilish as laughable! Come on! You can't take a whole discipline and chuck it because people don't understand it or are afraid of it! tarrier, You can't blame a counselor for your husband's actions. Blame your husband, not the person he was talking to. Or, perhaps, that particular counselor was bad. It sounds like she made a suggestion or gave some advice... she broke rule #1, don't give any advice or make direct suggestions. When you do that, you can be blamed, as is what is happening now. tatie, Did you try calling your insurance company and ask them for a referral? What is psycho-oncology? FHA, That's not exactly right about the distinction. There are many different psychiatric theories, they're not all Freudians. The big difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist is that the psychologist has a PhD and the psychiatrist has an MD. Most psychologists use tests and more of a talk therapy to resolve issues, psychiatrists tend to focus more on medical issues and prescribe medicine to deal with issues. Many times, a psychologist and a psychiatrist team up on a particular ct. Example, if someone has clinical depression, they may see a psychologist (or a counselor) for weekly visits and visit a psychiatrist monthly or so for medicine.

angels, That's a supersition, a demon is not going to sneak into your body if you're under hypnosis. As Tatie asked, does the Holy Spirit leave you when you're under hypnosis? No, of course not. Your mind is just as open when sleeping, or day dreaming, or when you stare off into space, as when you are under hypnosis. As I said before, when under hypnosis, you will not do anything that you normally would not do or do something that goes against your morals.

There may not be any Christian hypnotists... I don't know, I've never looked. I'd suggest looking in the phone book and not just the net... the net tends to grab things and sensationalize them. That's a good idea FHA to have them pray with you beforehand. However, I don't know about having a friend in the room... that could be kind of odd and uncomfortable for the friend depending on why the person is going to the hypnotist... Also, the person may say something they would not want their friend to know. A tape of the session is also a good idea. However, I would suggest that you listen to the tape with the therapist or make sure the therapist tells you about what happened and what was said during the session. There could be disturbing things.

John, I agree with you partly, as I said... However, as a counselor, I must say that it is not contrary to Christianity. Hypnotherapists and psychotherapists CAN be Christian. You can find these different professions (I'm sure even Christian hypnotherapists can be found) with a Christian focus (counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, etc.). It is important to find a person who will work with you and your faith and will not try and tell you that you're wrong or that you're being self-abusive or some other such thing.

I don't think it is that black and white. I believe that God looks at each individual and sees whether or not they disobey His word because they refuse to submit and are rebelling or if they do not believe do to ignorance that is beyond their ability to overcome. I think it is dangerous us to sit here on earth, fellow sinners, and say whether or not certain people or entire groups of people are saved or not saved. I think we can say though that the CHANCES of a Jewish person being saved are less than the chances of a Christian (by self-proclamation) being saved.

You never know. It is possible. Like I said, hypnotism isn't evil, it is greatly misunderstood though. Those examples I gave before are examples of "natural hypnotism". I don't see anything unChristian about hypnotism when used properly.

Yes, definately a Christian counselor/therapist. You may even be able to find a Christian hypnotist if you were still considering that...

Whether or not you should go to the hypnotist is up to you, but I have seen a lot of misunderstanding about what hypnosis is and is not. When under hypnosis, you do not give up your will. A hypnotist cannot make a person do something that they would not normally do while fully conscious or that goes against their morals. However, it is important that you trust the person you are going to. It is also important that the person knows of any traumatic events that the one to be hypnotized has experienced. People have been known to have a panic attack while under hypnosis because a therapist made a suggestion that was stressful to the individual. Hypnosis is a sleep-like state and it is very natural. If you have ever "blanked out" in school or experienced a moment when you were staring off, or if you were traveling and suddenly you were furhter along than you expected, you were in a state of hypnosis. This is not usually as deep as you will experience with a hypnotist, but it is along the same lines. You can also experience a state of hypnosis if you are really concentrating on a task. This would be if someone has ever tried to get your attention and you did not hear the person because you were reading or doing something else that had your attention, that is a state of hypnosis. A lot of the stuff you see in movies about hypnosis is not real and greatly over-exaggerated...

I've been gone all day, that's why I haven't responded. I am a Christian, I have no idols. Do I have a crucifix, yes I do. Do I worship that crucifix, no I don't. Do I look at it when I want a visual reminder of Christ, absolutely. We're human, physical objects can have a deep impact on us. When we think about a deceased relative, looking at a picture of them can make the memories even more vivid and real, something to focus our minds on. That is what any crucifix or statue does for a Catholic, a place to focus, not to worship. Something that will keep our minds on Christ. Seeing an image of Jesus hanging on the crucifix makes His sacrifice even more real than just thinking of Him can do. Yes, I have my cross which I too have to carry, but I also want to remember the cross that Christ carried for me.

Its another reminder, a visual support to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It works, at least for me.

Star, haven't you ever turned your back on the Holy Spirit? I know I have... Also, I would not be insulted by a symbol, not if it helped remind people of me and what I stood for. yod, There hasn't been anything on this thread that I have interpretted as bashing... and I think I'm pretty sensitive to a bashing... Check out the Easter holiday thread for a great example of a bash... As for the obelisks... I have never used them as any form of worship, that is ridiculous to me... I think when it comes to such issues, the heart must be inspected. Perhaps there is something about the people of Israel that caused them to think of obelisks in a different way. Perhaps some relation to their stay in Egypt where obelisks held a meaning that the Jews learned from them. That would be something that was not relevant to us... I think its important to remember the improtant thing is to focus on God and not the rules so much. Remember Christ's discourse on Sabbath... I think that would apply to any "idols" or holidays...

Well, I guess you're just a better Christian than I am... I take advantage of every little thing that I can get my hands on to remind me visually, auditorally, physically, and mentally to keep me on track.

Yes, it is sad, but that's not necessarily a bad thing cat... Its a grim reminder not only of what He did for me, but what I have done to Him. Everytime I see a crucifix, it reminds me, on some level, of how my sins are responsible for Him being on that cross, and that He suffered for me and for all humanity. We should let our sadness be our strength to not sin again, because as I have stated before, our sins stretch back through time and add another stripe to His back or another thorn in His head.

Cat, You're right. And I'd like to take this post to make a quick apologetic to maybe explain WHY Christ is still on the cross. I don't intend for this to splinter, but I think it may be good as info for those who are curious about why Jesus is still on the cross on a Catholic's crucifix. Catholics celebrate the Mass. The Mass is an unbloody sacrifice, a participation in the one-time sacrifice on Calvary. For this reason, Catholics have Christ on the crucifix to remind us of this sacrifice, as a reminder of what Christ did for us. For me, I think that if all I had was an empty cross, I would remember that Christ rose from the grave for me (as I do now), but I would forget, or at least not have as clear in my mind, the real sacrifce and suffering that Christ endured for my soul.

:sarcasm: Does it offend me that people make such ridiculous accusations? :sarcasm:

Ok, where in the Bible does it say that aliens, first of all exist second of all, that they are evil, and third of all, that they are fallen angels???

This reminds me of the movie Pi... Have any of you seen that? Interesting movie... many people won't like it... I don't know if I like it either, but interesting none the less...