Posted on

Understanding Splankna Therapy: A Caution for Christians

In the ever-growing field of alternative healing, many therapies claim to integrate spiritual, emotional, and physical healing. One such approach is Splankna therapy, a modality that blends elements of psychology, energy healing, and what it claims to be a Christian framework. However, despite its use of biblical language, Splankna therapy is fundamentally incompatible with Scripture. Christians seeking true healing must carefully discern the philosophies behind any therapeutic approach and ensure they align with biblical truth. As Colossians 2:8 warns, believers must not be taken captive “through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

What is Splankna Therapy1?

Splankna therapy is a holistic approach that integrates muscle testing, neuro-emotional techniques, and elements of energy healing drawn from modalities like acupuncture and kinesiology. It is marketed as a Christian form of energy healing, claiming to help individuals access subconscious emotional wounds and release them through spiritual prayer techniques. Practitioners believe they can address emotional trauma by tapping into the body’s energy fields and utilizing protocols that involve the application of biblical principles.

The Underlying Issue: Energy Healing and Unbiblical Worldviews

While Splankna therapy uses Christian terminology, its core methods originate from New Age and Eastern religious practices that are incompatible with biblical Christianity2. The concept of manipulating energy fields is rooted in non-Christian traditions such as Reiki, Qi Gong, and acupuncture, all of which derive from pantheistic or animistic worldviews. Scripture does not support the idea of an invisible “energy” flowing through the body that must be balanced for healing. Instead, the Bible teaches that God is sovereign over healing, and prayer is the primary means by which believers seek restoration (James 5:14-16).

Dangers of Syncretism: Mixing Christianity with New Age Practices

One of the most concerning aspects of Splankna therapy is its syncretistic nature—the blending of Christian language with non-Christian practices. The Bible warns against this kind of spiritual mixture:

  • Deuteronomy 18:9-12 forbids occultic practices, including divination and spiritual manipulation3.
  • Colossians 2:8 warns against being taken captive by philosophies rooted in human traditions rather than Christ.4
  • 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 urges believers not to be yoked together with darkness, making it clear that mixing pagan practices with Christianity is spiritually dangerous.

While Splankna therapy may offer temporary emotional relief, it does so through means that are not sanctioned by Scripture. The Bible provides the framework for emotional and spiritual healing through prayer, repentance, the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2), and the work of the Holy Spirit, not through tapping into an alleged energy system.

Biblical Healing: The True Source of Restoration

The Bible offers a clear and sufficient model for healing that does not require blending with secular or mystical practices:

  1. God’s Word as the Foundation – Scripture is sufficient for addressing emotional and spiritual wounds (2 Timothy 3:16-17).5
  2. The Holy Spirit’s Role – Healing comes through the work of the Holy Spirit, not through energy manipulations (John 14:26).6
  3. Prayer and Community – God calls believers to seek Him in prayer and rely on the local church for support (James 5:16).7
  4. Biblical Counseling – Instead of energy healing, believers are to seek biblical counsel that is rooted in the truth of God’s Word (John 8:31-32, 36).8
  5. Legitimate Medical and Psychological Treatment – While mystical methods are to be avoided, legitimate medical and soul-care treatments can be beneficial when aligned with biblical principles. The relationship between Luke, the physician, and Demas, a fellow worker traveling with and supporting Paul’s ministry (Colossians 4:14), exemplifies that medicine and faith can work together under God’s sovereignty.9

Conclusion: Choosing Biblical Truth Over Spiritual Counterfeits

While Splankna therapy may appear appealing because of its emotional benefits and Christianized terminology, it ultimately leads believers away from reliance on Christ alone. The Bible warns against being deceived by human philosophies disguised as truth (Colossians 2:8). It tells us that God’s Word is sufficient to address every matter of life and faith (2 Peter 1:3). Christians seeking healing must be cautious not to embrace methods that, at their core, contradict the sufficiency of Scripture and the power of God’s Spirit.

True healing—whether emotional, spiritual, or physical—comes from a deep relationship with Christ, the application of His Word, and the work of the Holy Spirit. Any practice that relies on energy healing or human-derived techniques rather than biblical truth ought to be rejected in favor of God’s ordained means of restoration.

Sources:

  • Splankna Therapy descriptions – Monarch Christian Counseling (on Splankna’s use of meridian energy, muscle testing, and prayer) monarchchristiancounseling.com; GotQuestions: “What is splankna therapy and is it biblical?” (overview of Splankna as a Christianized energy healing protocol) gotquestions.org
  • Critiques of Splankna’s energy-healing roots – Women of Grace blog (Splankna using acupuncture’s meridian system; “energy” concept from Eastern mysticism) omenofgrace.com; GotQuestions (Splankna borrows from Reiki/Eastern mysticism; life force vs. Holy Spirit)gotquestions.org; Susan Brinkmann, Women of Grace (Holy Spirit is not a cosmic energy; no evidence He inhabits “meridians”) womenofgrace.com.
  • Biblical warnings against syncretism/occult – GotQuestions on applied kinesiology (occult/pantheistic concepts like chi are pagan; Bible forbids involvement in such practices, cf. Deut 18) gotquestions.org; BibleHub Q&A (test every practice by Scripture; Colossians 2:8) biblehub.com; GotQuestions (cannot “Christianize” paganism; 2 Cor. 6:14 principle) gotquestions.org.
  • Dangers of Splankna – GotQuestions (Splankna is wholly based in New Age spirituality and is a pseudo-science to be avoided) gotquestions.org; GotQuestions on alt-med (many holistic modalities bring pantheistic/occult ideas that pervert one’s view of God )gotquestions.org.
  • Biblical model of healing and sufficiency – The Master’s Seminary Journal (W. Mack, The Sufficiency of Scripture in Counseling: affirms Scripture’s sufficiency for non-physical problems; secular techniques unnecessary) tms.edu; John MacArthur (Christ provides every spiritual resource we need; no secret knowledge needed beyond the “everything…for life and godliness” given in Him) tms.edu; A Little R&R blog (R. Jukic, “Problem with Splankna”: God’s Word and Holy Spirit are powerful to heal; mixing New Age with God’s Word defiles the truth )rosilindjukic.com; Master’s Seminary Journal (seeking human/occult solutions replaces the Holy Spirit’s power with human wisdom) tms.edu.
  • Faith and medicine – Grace Communion Intl., “Medical Science and the Bible” (Bible does not condemn using doctors/medicine; Luke honored as a physician; seeking treatment is proper if one’s trust remains in God) gci.org.
  1. https://monarchchristiancounseling.com/services/slankna-therapy/ ↩︎
  2. https://gotquestions.org/splankna-therapy.html ↩︎
  3. https://gotquestions.org/kinesiology.html ↩︎
  4. https://biblehub.com/q/what_is_splankna_therapy.htm ↩︎
  5. https://tms.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tmsj9d.pdf ↩︎
  6. Ibid. ↩︎
  7. Biblehub ↩︎
  8. https://rosilindjurkic.com/say-no-splankna-centering-prayer/ ↩︎
  9. gci.org/articles/medical-science-and-the-bible/ ↩︎

Unknown's avatar

Published by: Pastor Warren Lamb

God has granted me the honor of being adopted as one of His sons and of serving His people as a Bible teacher and Biblical counselor. My primary area of counseling expertise is often referred to as "high-end" counseling: survivors of trauma and abuse, especially childhood sexual abuse, church abuse, narcissistic abuse, domestic oppression, sex-trafficking, kidnapping, and sole-survivor counseling. As a survivor myself, God uses my own healing journey to help bring hope and healing to others (a la 2 Cor. 1:3-4). Abuse and oppression are NEVER okay with God! When it comes to oppression and abuse, there is no "Switzerland," no neutral territory - you either side with the oppressor or with the oppressed; there is no middle ground. To find out more, visit our website https://tilbcc.com

Categories Biblical authority, Mysticism, New Age, Splankna, Sufficiency of ScriptureTags, , , , 3 Comments

3 thoughts on “Understanding Splankna Therapy: A Caution for Christians”

  1. Great article. “Energy” seems like it is just part of the cultural language these days. Certain words just come off of our tongues in conversation without thinking about it. I haven’t come across this yet but it seems to tell the same ol story…that Jesus and the Word of God aren’t enough. After looking up some of the websites it is pretty blatantly new age and eastern. It’s an ugly misinterpretation of scripture. Good Herminutics is in short supply these days. It also reminds me of a book I read awhile back called A Time of Departing. He talks a lot about the Church bringing in alternative practices to experience God in a more mystical way. Thank you for the warning and encouragement.

    Tobiah

    Reply

  2. I noticed that you didn’t include any source notes or a bibliography to support your claims about Splankna Therapy. As you likely know, providing additional information or citations for specific statements helps the reader locate the sources you used and confirms the accuracy of your interpretation. Kindly update your report to assist the reader further.

    Respectfully submitted,

    Kevin

    Reply

Leave a comment