A Hot Topic

Yesterday in class, during the famously allotted class time that Dr. Corsini commonly refers to as "the time to ask him anything....anything at all", a student raised their hand and asked a question about homosexuality. It took about negative five seconds before numerous people in the class also had their hands up asking questions about the subject of homosexuality and the various stances on it. The overall consensus seemed to be.....we were all confused! During the discussion, by no surprise, the recently written article by Brandon Ambrosino was a "hot topic" of discussion. The article, "Being Gay at Jerry Falwell's University", written by a previous Liberty student, discusses the time the author (Brandon) spent at Liberty University, while struggling with the issue of homosexuality. While the article is somewhat controversial in nature, the overall focus suggests that contrary to popular belief, the authors time at Liberty University was in fact a time of unconditional love. As the article continues, it continually addresses the students time at Liberty as an overall pleasant experience, frequently being loved on by students, professors (most of who were named) and other faculty members. In addition, the author discusses the way in which he believed Dr. Jerry Falwell would have addressed his homosexuality by saying, "I never told Dr. Falwell that I was gay; but I wouldn't have been afraid of his response. Would he have thought homosexuality was an abomination? Yes. Would he have thought it was God's intention for me to be straight? Yes. But would he have wanted to stone me? No. And if there were some that would've wanted to stone me, I can imagine Jerry Falwell, with his fat smile, telling all of my accusers to go home and pray because they were wicked people."

How does this effect us as counselors?? I honestly believe that many counselors in training don't realize how much the issue of homosexuality will effect our profession. This is a subject that most Christians...well actually most people in general....are very confused about (as our class time Thursday showed). Because homosexuality is an issue that many human souls struggle with, it is essential to have an understanding of the lifestyle, as well as knowledge in the area of treating individuals who are in a continuous struggle with their sexuality. As Christian counselors, the bar is raised even higher. Because we as Christians are called to a higher standards, we must first of all have a thorough knowledge of what the Bible says about about the lifestyle of homosexuality.We must know WHAT we believe, and WHY we believe it.  In addition to this, we must be just as familiar of what the Bible says about love. The article presented, does an excellent job of showing the importance of both of these components.

This article stirred up numerous emotions within me. First of all, I thought the article really presented Liberty in a positive light, as it continually gave examples of people who showed the author love, compassion, and grace; even after he accepted a lifestyle that was not agreed upon. And while I do see why some may make the argument that not enough "discipline" was shown to the student for his behavior and actions, I would have to respectfully disagree. While I believe that it is ESSENTIAL to never condone sinful behavior, I also believe that in the present case, the student possessed full understanding of the sinfulness of his behavior. It is my opinion, that the professors in the article, gave an excellent example of how to show love to unbelievers at all times. I really appreciated their example of grace and unconditional love. 

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The Heart

What is the heart? If someone went around asking strangers this question I believe the answer would come out in a multiple of ways. In all honesty, i'm not sure if its even something that most people think about until they are asked. As you will read further down in my personal reflection, the matter of the heart has always been puzzling to me. I have never been able to fully grasp the meaning, and the more I tried to understand the more confused I seemed to be. 

After Dr. Corsini shed some light on this issue in class I began to research different articles concerning the matter. When searing, I found THIS LINK that in many ways paralleled with what had been discussed in class. As this source says, it seems that a lot of the confusion of the immaterial aspect concerning the heart, especially in scripture, comes from the difference in translation between the English and Hebrew languages As the text says, the English translation uses the word "heart" when speaking of emotion, ergo the commonly heard expression "my heart is broken". The Hebrew translation, however, appears to have a broader meaning that extends further than the westernized explanation. Although the translation can cause a problem for many, it is apparent to most individuals, even non Chris followers, that the heart is a source for more than blood. Those of us that do follow the Lords calling are blessed with the Bible as a source for further explanation concerning the nature of this matter. This source of information provides scripture to support many of the explanations that the heart is said to be.

Why does this matter as a Christian counselor? It is evident to me from this source as well as from a variety of others that the heart is what makes us as humans unique. Our character, emotions, and thoughts are all aspects to what makes an individual different than the person sitting next to them. As a counselor in general, we will never counsel any individual who does not contain a heart. This very fact alone, makes it essential for counselors to understand the importance of knowing that the heart influences why we act the way we do. In addition, we are studying to be CHRISTIAN counselors. The bible is full of spiritual knowledge concerning the importance of the heart, and how we as Christians should observe it. If nothing else I hope that this source has given each reader a better understanding of the scripture related to the heart and its importance. I know it has for me. 

The aspect of the “heart” has always been something that has puzzled me. When I was a little girl I learned at school that I had a heart inside of me. I grew up labeling the different parts and I knew without one I would not be alive. Then I would go to church and hear the pastor use phrases like, “You need to ask Jesus into your heart.” In addition, to add to this confusion I grew up hearing friends use expressions like “Guard your heart” and “My heart is broken.” As a young adult, this confusion has resulted in a variety of jumbled up definitions all combined into one brain. There have been several times where I even was determined to resolve the ongoing conflict in my heard by studying what scripture had to say. I have to be honest when I say that my lack of knowledge concerning scripture on this subject confused me even more. I found verses such as Proverbs 4:23 “Guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” and Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.” contradictory. Was the heart good or bad, something inside of me or immaterial? I had no idea.  

This is exactly why I was in a way relieved when Dr. Corsini brought up the familiar question, “What exactly is the heart?” As he began to describe the immaterial aspect of the heart, things began to come together for me. By understanding it as the center of intellectual life, emotional life, volitional life, and spiritual life I began to grasp that the heart was what made me unique. I began to recognize that hearing expressions like “The Lord desires our heart to be fully committed to him” was just another way of saying that the Lord wants to be the center of our intellectual, emotional, volitional, and spiritual life. This was a defining moment for me. 

IS HEAVEN FOR REAL??

 SUMMARY OF THE ISSUE

"I learned that heaven is for real, and you're going to like it!"

          “And that’s when I got to see heaven. Jesus and some angels came and flew me up to heaven…I knew that the first person I saw was Jesus. He was wearing white robes with a purple sash. And he just came down nicely and gracefully” These are the words that 11 year old Colton Burpo spoke after believing to have an encounter with heaven. Colton believes that at the age of four he died in the hospital, left his body, and was taken into the heavenly realm, where he met Jesus. After returning to his body, he began to recall different experiences that he had in heaven, many of which he would previously never have understood as a four year old child. In addition to meeting Jesus and knowing details about heaven he also claims to have had encounters with his grandfather and miscarried sister, both of whom he knew nothing of.

A few years ago I was given the experience to read the book that discussed Colton’s experiences, Heaven Is For Real. Before reading this book I had given little thought to how heaven would actually appear. I knew what the Bible told me about my future home, but the concept of how heaven would be never seemed “real” to me. After reading his book and researching videos such as this one, I gained a since of familiarity of what I would one day experience. In class, we brought up the idea behind these types of accounts. There seems to be a substantial amount of testimonies, just like Colton Burpos, where near death experiences  have resulted in the recalling of unknown knowledge. In addition, we have also discussed both the material and immaterial aspects of a person. The immaterial being that which is biological and the immaterial being life after death. The Christian Counselor is concerned with both of these aspects when treating, however modern science is only concerned with the material. If we have numerous accounts just like Colton’s, isn't this good immaterial evidence that there is something after death?   I would say so.  

HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO COUNSELING?

           As we discussed in class, a Christian worldview holds the person with both material and immaterial components. Because the Christian worldview takes this stance, we as Christian counselors should too. The problem is what about the rest of the world?? What about the remainder of counselors who completely discount the immaterial aspect of life, and choose to believe it doesn't exist? What evidence do we have that proves differently?
          While I am just a young graduate student with so much to learn, I have been taught that it is essential to understand why you believe what you believe. While I know that a video of an 11 year old little boy who claims to have gone heaven cannot prove the immaterial aspect of man in itself, I do believe that it can help. As counselors, I believe that it is essential to have a working knowledge of videos such as this, in order to develop an understanding of this “immaterial” aspect that we as Christians believe in. 

PERSONAL IMPACT

           Growing up, I lived in a bubble. A bubble where every thing was black or white, good or bad. I knew the minimum amount of information about the Lord to get by and was in a very comfortable place. Through the last years of college, and as I am now pursing my master's in professional counseling, I know how dangerous this is. By having a desire to gain knowledge about different areas, such as the immaterial and material world, I believe I will not only be a better counselor, but a better Christian. I conclude, that while this one video does not prove that there is something after death, it makes me interested to go find more information about other instances like Coltons. I can only hope that if it makes me as a believer interested in knowing more, it will also make the unbeliever.