Here
is a professor at a local seminary who is director of their biblical
counseling institute. He questions the commonly held view of mental
illness as an organic disease and views it as a spiritual matter. His
view is that the mind is not part of the body. He says,"Can someone get
mentally ill? No. He can be spiritually sinful, physically sick, but the
mind cannot get sick and therefore we don't need to cure minds."
It's a shame such views are being taught at seminary! No wonder so many
pastors and Christians view mental illness as merely a manifestation of
sin. This serves to stigmatize those suffering from mental illness and
puts all of the blame on the one suffering which only makes them feel
worse! Ugh this gets me angry!
I
think very few mental illnesses are caused by sin. Maybe some mild
ones, but people suffering with schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar
disorder, those are physical organic diseases and have NOTHING to do
with sin! And
what really irks me is that this guy is the DIRECTOR of the whole
biblical counseling institute so he is probably training tons of people
who become counselors at their churches! The
body and mind are interlinked, but I don't agree with the notion that
most mental illness is just a result of sin! That is insane to think
that in my view. I agree a holistic approach has merit, and some people
with low grade relatively minor mental illness can benefit much from
Biblical counseling, but this is not, in my view, the case so much with
severe mental illness. If someone gets diabetes or polio do we suddenly
start questioning whether it was from sin? Of course not, and we
shouldn't question organic mental illness either! The amount of damage
being done to Christians with mental illness is mind boggling! And they
are being stigmatized and taught that they are at fault for their own
suffering! It's sadistic and very wrong. I'd even go so far as to say
such teaching is itself sinful. Further, so
many suffer needlessly in the Church because they were taught they
don't need medication just Biblical counseling, or even worse some are taught
that psychiatric medication is itself of the Devil!
