Theophostic

The Theophostic Prayer Ministry is part of the Inner Healing Movement. This is a counseling movement practised among some conservative protestant Christians. Those in the movement believe that certain counseling methods can be used for the calling up of suppressed or hurtful memories in order to deal with them. TPM was founded by [http://www.theophostic.com/content.asp?ID=8 Ed Smith.] Its name comes from the Greek "theo" (God) and "phostic" (light).

Definition

The TPM Basic Training Seminar Manual defines TPM as, "Intentional and focused prayer with the desired outcome of an authentic encounter with the presence of Christ, resulting in mind renewal and subsequent transformed life."

Proponents believe that a person's present emotional pain is often rooted in misinterpretations (lies) embraced during life experiences. If an adult, for instance, feels shame when he thinks about a sexual abuse memory, the shame is not because he was abused, but because of what he believes about the abuse. For example, he may believe the abuse made him dirty or was his fault (lies). In a TPM session, the client is encouraged to discover and expose the beliefs and emotions associated with the abuse. He is then encouraged to encounter Jesus Christ through prayer, allowing Jesus to reveal that those beliefs and emotions are falsehoods. This realization then relieves the client of the emotional disturbance associated with the abuse.

Controversy

According to some critics, the practice of Theophostic Prayer Ministry can be extremely dangerous because it incorporates techniques and principles similar to those used in Recovered Memory Therapy. At the very least, the therapeutic effectiveness of TPM has not been empirically validated. As of a May 2008 psychology database search, there have been no client outcome studies of TPM beyond unpublished dissertation case studies.

External links

Official website
* [http://www.theophostic.com/ Theophostic Prayer Ministries]

Arguments for
* [http://scottlownsdale.com/template/TPM%20position%20statement.htm Theophostic Position Statement] by Scott Lownsdale, Ed.D.
* [http://www.kclehman.com/index.php?view=articles&opt=1 Articles] by Dr Karl Lehman

Arguments against
* [http://www.mypetra.org/eBooks/Report%20On%20Theophostic%20Ministry.pdf Lying Spirits] by Jan Fletcher
* [http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/inheal.htm Biblical Discernment Ministries]
* [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/ Apologetics Index] (founded by Anton and Janet Hein)
** [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/i01.html Inner Healing] by Anton Hein
** [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/c55.html Theophostic Counseling: Dr. Ed Smith's Theophostic Ministries]
* [http://www.bibleriches.org/archives/theophostic.html The Sufficiency of Scripture over Theophostic Counseling] by William P. Tisdale
* [http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/ Psychoheresy Awareness Ministries] (founded by Martin & Deidre Bobgan)
** [http://web.archive.org/web/20020816070205/www.psychoheresy-aware.org/tpmin104.html Theophostic Ministry]
** [http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/abusemem.html Abusing Memory] : The Healing Theology of Agnes Sanford by Dr. Jane Gumprecht
** [http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/inner82.html Inner Healing]
** [http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/ga_tpc76.html TheoPhostic Counseling: Divine or What?] by Gary Almy, M.D.
** [http://www.psychoheresy-aware.org/mmtpc105.html Theological Critiques of Theophostic Ministry]
* [http://www.cefcelverson.org/theophostic.htm A Biblical Evaluation of Theophostic Ministry] by the staff of [http://www.cefcelverson.org/ Community Evangelical Free Church]
* [http://www.religioustolerance.org/theophostic.htm Theophostic© Counseling] by Bruce A Robinson of [http://www.religioustolerance.org/ Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance]
* [http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue79.pdf Theophostics: Unbiblical Teaching Wedded to Mystical Experience] by Bob DeWaay, the senior pastor at [http://twincityfellowship.com/ Twin City Fellowship] of St. Louis Park, MN.