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Diary Christians and NLP

by
02 November 2006

Your answers

What is neuro-linguistic programming, and what would a Christian critique of it be?

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is the study of the structure of human subjective behaviour. The name refers to the way we take in information from the world around us, using our five senses and brain, our neurology; the way in which we language all of that information internally and how it affects us, linguistic; and the strategies we develop to deal with that information and achieve our goals — programming.

NLP is not, however, an abstract body of theoretical knowledge. It is of value only if the understanding of the model gives us some control over how we make sense of experience, and ways in which we can change that.

NLP began some thirty years ago with the “modelling” of three therapists who achieved remarkable success with their clients. The analysis of their success centred on their use of language patterns that brought about the beneficial changes that were observed in their clients.

NLP has found wide-ranging applications. To study NLP is to deepen our understanding of how we and others tick. This is very relevant for anyone who wishes to communicate a message. For the preacher, what would it be like to hold everyone’s attention for 20 minutes, and know that all the effort you had put in would bear fruit, and see life-changes in people? Some people use this stuff quite naturally — they simply “know” it.  Most of us don’t.

NLP is a humanistic model that has as one of its central principles the ancient understanding (e.g. Proverbs 4) that “what we think, we are”; the mind and body are different expressions of the one person. I, and others who think like me, extend this relationship to include the spirit, too. I regard all my clients as “whole” people: body, mind, and spirit.
 (The Revd Dr) John Walker (Master
 Practitioner of NLP)
Notton, W. Yorks

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) is defined as “a set of procedures developed by Richard Bandler, John Grinder, and others, by which subjective experience may be organised to define and achieve a desired behavioral outcome” (Library of Congress Authorities —http://authorities.loc.gov).

The basic criticism to be made of the approach is that “it seems that  NLP develops models which can’t be verified, from which it develops techniques which may have nothing to do with either the models or the sources of the models” (The Skeptic’s Dictionary/Robert T. Carroll — http://skepdic.com/).

Specifically, Christian criticism of the practice categorises NLP under hypnosis: “Hypnosis can be indirectly linked to biblical admonitions against ‘charming’. . . Even proponents warn of the potential for misuse or unethical application
. . .” (The Watchman Expositor — www.watchman.org ).
Robert Card
Birmingham

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