Religion and Theology

In his book, Dr. Anderson expressed the opinion that people who are demon-possessed always act in an eccentric manner, they are usually unbalanced and anxious. Secular psychiatry as well as psychology may question whether being possessed by demons is a reason enough for an individual to act in a bizarre manner.  Anderson came with his theoretical approach that explores demon possession. He also developed a counseling technique which is based on his concept. He expanded his premise by drawing from belief codes in accordance to Christian canons.

Andersons Counseling Technique
Anderson expressed his opinion that non-believers are probably demon-possessed. The demons ensure that these people are unable to control their own lives. They cannot free themselves from bad practices even when they desire to act in a better manner. When believers engage in sinful activities or when they offer some lee way by which the demons can enter into their lives, they are enslaved and thus are unable to live in accordance to Gods intentions. He feels that the control battle often takes place in an individuals heart. The demon is often deemed to be attacking Christians through lies and temptations in their hearts. Christians are thus advised to be truthful and give no way for the devil to come into their lives. Human beings are weak in their nature, their thinking is not straight and they can be stimulated by factors in their environment, these are vital concepts that the devil explores to tempt Christians (Anderson, 2006).

He proceeds to explore the risks associated with losing control of our heart as well as our emotions, thee are what the devil uses to tempt Christians. He also feels that Christians lack psychological restraint. Repetitious sins give preference to the flesh as opposed to the spirit. He feels that, in our present world, the devil is very active this is because of the psychological disorders which psychiatrists feel has been on the rise. He feels that no dichotomy exists among the spiritual as well as emotional disorders. He also expresses the opinion that even believers are susceptible to demon-possession (Anderson, 2006).        

Truth Encounter
He came up with a very comprehensive clinical technique capable of supporting a demonized person. The theoretical approach is founded upon counseling by clarifying some truth in accordance to the bible as well as his numerous therapy sessions with demon-possessed counselees. He feels that his therapies enabled these people to be freed from such bondages and they were delivered. The devil always aims at taking control of believers. A believers identity in Christ is a key concept which Anderson emphasizes. The characteristics are founded upon the action of Christ on the cross as well as His assurance of making Christians champions. A Christian can be freed from past bondages when they identify with Christ. This is the area where Anderson feels that theology and psychology are integrated (Anderson, 2006).

Steps to Freedom
He came up with seven steps which could lead a believer to deliverance. First, the believer is supposed to renounce involvement in occult practices. Second, the believer is required to be truthful and restrain from deception. Third, the believer is required to choose forgiveness and not be bitter about his actions. Fourth, he is supposed to be submissive and avoid rebellion. Fifth, he should be humble. Sixth, he should choose freedom. Finally, he should renounce ancestral curses (Anderson, 2006).

Critique of Andersons theory
Andersons approach is effective in guiding a counselee to realization by means of truth encounter as opposed to power encounter. Power encounter involves commanding the devil to leave while truth encounter entails leading an individual to realization. This approach leads to a person realization of the difficult areas in his life (Dunn, 2009).

One major weakness is in his approach. Demon possession is portrayed as being behind all the difficulties in the life of a Christian. This approach seems to ignore the issues of the flesh, willfully disobeying God as well as other psychological aspects which are not demonization. The existence of a demon in an individual cannot be verified. Although this is the case, Christian faith acknowledges the supernatural realm which affects the mental stability of both the believers as well as the non-believers (Dunn, 2009). Anderson directed his book to Christians with struggling faith. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to relate the information to non-believers. His psychology outlook is unconstructive as far as the dichotomy between the spiritual as a well as the psychological is concerned. He recommends psychological concepts as well as techniques to assist believers in diagnosing their actual conditions (Dunn, 2009). Counseling approach to Christians should be founded upon biblical teachings. Christian counseling should be skewed towards spiritual health as opposed to psychological health. Despite these challenges, Andersons theory still play an important role as far as Christian counseling is concerned (Dunn, 2009).

Conclusion
Christians are supposed to be grateful to the sacrifice that Jesus Christ did on the cross. While Christians will still face temptations, they will emerge victorious as a result of that sacrifice. Anderson ought to have also come up with seven steps that are bound to lead a person to spiritual victory. He does not seem to be much concerned about spiritual aspects instead he emphasizes on psychological approaches in solving Christian challenges. Andersons theory on Christian counseling approach fails to take into consideration, the spiritual needs of the counselees. It still finds great relevance and application as far as Christian counseling is concerned.