An recent article at Fox News reporting the recent delcarations by the National Institutes of Mental Health that 46 % of all Americans will development a mental illness, caused me to once again ponder the issues of sin, psychology and Biblical answers.
Where do I even begin? When I was an elementary student in the early 1980s, the school counselor recommended that my parents put me on a regular intake of Ritalin. It seems I was not performing up to par. I was easily distracted and could not stick to a task for very long. Now I am 31 years old ... I am still not the most disciplined person. It takes a lot of work to excerise discipline and self control, especially for an 8 year old boy who had an overactive imagination. Did I need drugs to control by chemically "imbalanced" brain? Did I need someone to help me discipline myself for life?
Please don't misunderstand me! I understand that there are some situation in which legitimate, physiological concerns must be addressed by qualified medical professionals. However, this does not change the clear meaning of God's diagnosis and subsequent prescription for what ails the human condition.
What God has called sin, modern "doctors," have labeled sickness, disease, and (when they have no quantitative evidence) disorders. See for example:
Stealing (Eph 4.28)= Kleptomania
Worry Phil 4.6,7 = Anxiety
Laziness (Ecc 9.10) = Attention Deficit Disorder
Homosexuality (Rom 1.26,27) = Sexual Orientation
Fear (1 John 4.17,18) = Phobia
Selfishness (Rom 12.3-5) (Phil 2.3,4) = Depression
Drunkenness (1 Cor 6.9-11) (Eph 5.18) = Alcoholism
And so on and on the list goes. There are of course many dangers in creating excuses for sin. The greatest danger, as I perceive it, is the failure to offer any real solutions, a lack of hope. For example, when a drunkard is told he has a disease and will always have this disease, there is no hope. Sure, he is relieved from responsibilty, he is released from the consequences of his actions, and is given a formula to attempt to control the disease. But in reality, he is left with no hope.
When we call rebellious action what God calls it - sin - there is a solution, there is hope! Jesus came to "save his people from their sins" (Matt 1.21). "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim 1.15). There is an answer for sin. It is repentance and faith in Lord Jesus Christ. When we simply seek to mask the evidence and reality of sin, we are blocking God's call of repentance to the individual. When we tell a homosexual struggling with the guilt and shame of his sin that his lifestyle is a result of an innate sexual orientation, we are redirecting his God-given sense of guilt and shame away from the path of real hope, namely repentance and forgiveness.
By the definitions provided by the National Institutes of Health and the American Psychological Association, all humankind has a variety of mental disorders. I prefer simple recognize the problem of sin and declare the only true prescription, repentance and faith in the Lord!
Grace to You!
Further Resources
Articles from the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors
Blame it on the Brain, by Ed Welch
(I anticipate the response to this post will be varied and emotional. Let's try to interact on a rational, biblical level)
10 comments:
As to "Attention Deficit Disorder" (and the concomitant "treatment" via Ritalin), as well as "sexual orientation", the role of schools during the past few dozen years cannot be overlooked! What's not so obvious is the role of the Feminist Agenda which underlies the aforementioned role of the schools. The issue is beginning to be recognized and studied and discussed via books (most recently, The Feminist Mistake by Mary Kassian, and Feminist Fantasies by Phyllis Schlafly).
What can we expect when boys are socialized in their schools to be less masculine? Overprescription of Ritalin, focus on building self-esteem (with results such as giving medals to all participants and not keeping score), Outcome Based Education (and its resultant generations of academically inept "graduates"), and so on.
Dear reformer Your comments leave one to believe that maybe you could get a job with the Taliban. You seem to have the right frame of mind for it.
I hope that the previous commenter is not serious! If he/she/it is serious, he/she/it needs to examine the beliefs of Muslims and Christians.
I for one do not think you are a terrorist, Dave.
It's amazing how far this idea of demonizing truth has come. If you mention at all that anything might be true, such as sin as an evil and not a sickness, we are automatically labeled fundamentalist pigs who are capable of anything.
It's silly, really.
The only sin that the world recognizes anymore is the sin of being judgmental. And they are very judgment in their pronouncement of that judgmentalism.
I agree with you, Dave.
Dave,
Good post! and I can tell you are in the mood to stir the pot! Next write a post on whether babies go to heaven! I agree with you sin is the root of our "mental disorders." But I think you need to qualify it as not necessarily as result of our own sin. What I mean is you did not get ADD because God was smiting you for disobeying your parents. (Although, I do admit that sometimes God will inflict sickness for the sake of wrath.) I am reminded now of the blind man in John 9. Lets look at a couple verses: And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:2-3(ESV). I am going to conclude then not all disabilities and sicknesses are obviously not the result of that individual’s sin. But I do understand that all in imperfection and disability is because of sin. Adam’s sin that corrupted the human race, and as a result we inherit certain defects due to his sin that was imputed to us. I hope my distinction is clear. That corruption has made us a people with all sorts of defects because of it and this is also showing God’s holy wrath against sin. Anyway great blogging as usual!
Grace and peace to you,
John
P.S. whats up with the commericial for UK life insurance?!? I had a very simular post on my blog a little bit ago and deleled it.I bet its the same guy.
John, thank you for pointing that out! You are absolutely correct. Sickness and disase is not always the result of personal or corporate sin - though it can be!
The point is ... what we often call sickness, is really not sickness at all. It is a result of an inherited sinful nature and willful active rebellion. We mask it by calling it sickness and disease.
And to the brave guy slinging mud from behind the curtain... Everyone notice the tone and substance of the attempted rebuttal of whoever starship714 is? There is no substance, no interaction with any truth, let alone the Word of God, and certainly no attempt at reasoning. I would be glad to interact on Truth and substabce to an argument. Or you can continue to hide behind the curtain of anonymity and ignore the truth.
I deleted the comment from "The Prophet of God" (I know, who am I to question a prophet???). But anyway...
The reason was many unsubstantiated claims and allegations. Please remember to stay on topic (or at least close) in each thread. Also, when making accusations and claims, please provide a link to verification.
Reformer,
I think you are right. (wow, that feels gooooood!) As far as kids with ADD go, although their lack of attention may be a result of the sin nature, it seems next to imposssible to get them to overcome it when they are at school (I know - my 9 year old has your same 8 year old story). Therefore, the prescription medication is quite appealing as a parent because you don't want your precious child to fall behind and suffer when there is a med that can help (and boy has it!) It is a very hard decision because we hold much the same outlook on this as you do. Hopefully the fruit of the Spirit, 'self control' will be cultivated and Ritalin discontinued.
But as far far as the world labeling all sorts of sins as diseases, it IS a wretched trend. AMEN!
Rose, it is nice to agree. But... of course.
I am concerned with the use of psychosomatic drugs, or any other drug that is not treating a clear, physiological symptom. The use of the drug to mask a sinful action (I am not being specific to your situation - since I do not know all the details)hinders the repentance and spiritual growth process. It really s no different than a person who harbors and criminal. The drug acts as an abeiting resource to the rebellion. As long as the rebellion is hidden, it will never be overcome.
Admittedly, the work of disciplining oneself for godliness is much harder and a much longer process than taking a drug. Perhaps there is situation in which the two can used in tandem. But simply taking a drug (such as Ritalin, Paxil or Zoloft)without the work of training the mind is dangerous and simply asks for more longterm problems
I agree with your diagnosis. Am I a terrorist too?
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