How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

I think it is a nice thing that you would try to convince this person to get help. Research suggests that the combination of medication and therapy has better results for the treatment of depression than either medication or therapy alone. I believe those Christians who debunk mental health treatment act irresponsibly. And pastors who are trying to do mental health treatment for depression are as out of their league as I would be to try to give spiritual direction. Smart pastors refer to professional therapists, and I can attest that they do it all the time, folks on the fringe notwithstanding.

That said, my son likes to say it's hard to reason with folks who didn't use reason to arrive at their position in the first place.

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

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Are you a Doctor? What is the medication you want to prescribe her?

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

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Since it's more dangerous to be prescribed medication and not take it consistently, it is necessary for the person taking it to come to the conclusion that they need it.

This is a tough one. Use to suffer from what was clinically known as bi-polar. A lot of my problems stimmed from my experiences growing up in life. Was an angry human being, sometimes would be depressed and speaking openly to myself statements such as ' I hate myself, I am better off dead, Shut up Matthew! A lot of self doubt, no understanding of the motivation of which direction to go (because of being hardheaded and having things my own way compared to what anyone else had to say).

Mother was never really around to teach me anything, so suffered from anxiety, also a lot of selfishness because of not properly addressing the issues going on my life.

There was no father figure, and I had to live and learn a lot on my own though people came in and out of my life, in the past almost now 30 years.

Also made a bucket load of choices of misusing others, manipulations, lying, stealing, whatever you can name hating God, using drugs, hating Christians, hating people in general.

Around the age of 26 is when it all started to change, was still angry, also accepting the Lord Jesus Christ helped a little bit, had to really address my early life and why was I the way I was, observing the experiences, realized that I was a selfish hateful human being, who desired his own way, but also in times where no one was around ; where seeing the world with their friends and social media ; I was in my room alone : Though did go on webcam sites to see other people and react with them like yahoo chat sites to fill in my times of lonelyness.

Life is tough, and sometimes we really need to be open about what the issues we experiences in life where, why we did the things we did, what led us to do them, and what are the alternatives to the negatives, and how do we face these problems.

At this point, God worked in me and changed me alot from the manic depressive person that once was, who use to take medications but some people need medications to help them.


Not everyone is like myself, but also this was my experiences that had to be dealt with and addressed slowly through out my life.

God bless!

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

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Honestly, I don't think thats a very big tent... most Christians believe that for some good counseling (Christian based) and medication can help, as there are very legitimate medical conditions.

I don't know how to advise her though; see if you can't find some good sermons on the topic to share with her. Do you want me to help look for some?

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

Click to expand...

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

Click to expand...

Well the first question is outside of a few hardcore "Biblical" Fundamentalists, doesn't most of the opposition from this come some radical elements in the Charismatic movements like Word of Faith, some Deliverance ministries, and some Inner Healing folks?

From my perspective the answer is yes, and the way to deal with it is to tackle the doctrinal problems in those movements especially WOF and certain deliverance ministries (more sympathetic with the Inner Healing folks).

With Fundamentalists against it, I would possibly go after them more as Pharisees, Clouds without Rain, or maybe misguided folks depending. Basically my major issue is folks that stop people from getting help while at the same time can't really offer them anything other than quoting Bible passages at them.

There are of course some legitimate reasons why people might be negative towards mental health. When I was in school back in the late 80s and early 90s major mental health organizations like the APA, AMA had long jettisoned their previous stance against homosexuality as something unnatural, and that has only increased now in our present "Gender fluid" age, anyway, I would not be surprised if some people might over react to this kind of thing.


PS - I don't lump "Christian Science" members in with other Christian groups who are luddites as far as getting mental health treatment.

Daniel Marsh said:

I am going to ask her if she wants to get well.

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I'll pray for both you and she...

Daniel Marsh said:

How does one deal with the Christian Anti-psychology movement?

Someone I know, has depression that I think medication will fix. She is listening to the Christian Anti-psychology cultic theology.

Click to expand...

If you can show me where the Bible tells us that psychology is the answer to human problems, I would agree with you. I'm not saying that it is wrong to go to a psychologist. But I do believe that the vast majority of people's problems are spiritual, not mental. Medication can only relieve the symptoms. I suffered depression for years until the Lord showed me the reason. Life is still a struggle at times, but I have peace in situations that are impossible for me to deal with in the natural. I've never consulted a psychologist. I'm not saying that no one should. It's an individual choice. But people who won't consult a psychologist are not necessarily members of a cult.

Sometimes God works healing miracles directly through prayer, and sometimes God uses others (such as physicians and psychologists) as his hands of healing. If the reason she refuses any sort of professional help is because she believes that God is supposed to heal her directly, then she is like the man who sat on the roof as the flood rose higher refusing the raft, the boat, the helicopter, etc. because God was going to save him, only to find out after he reaches the "pearly gates" that God had answered his prayers multiple times by sending all of those people to help him.

Some people over-emphasize the worldly philosophies of Jung and Freud. If it can be explained to them that the psychology that you're involved in doesn't deal with anti-Christian sentiments but is rather a way to help care for people's minds, that can be productive to a receptive person. If someone isn't receptive, don't expect to change their mind - but if there's low-hanging fruit for chipping away at their illusion of psychology, it may be worth it to take it.

A visitor at my church told a story of how both he and his wife were suffering from depression. He turned to church for help, and she turned to the psychiatrist and his medications for help. The medications threw her emotional state into worse imbalance, to the extent that she killed herself.

While it's easy to say that science and modern medicine are superior to religion....

Be careful with those psychoactive drugs, whether they come from a pharmacist in a store, or a "pharmacist" on the street corner.

Daniel Marsh said:

Hi friend, I don't see what homosexuality has to do with helping someone who is depressed.

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I was just spit balling why some fundamentalists would be against getting mental health treatment, and the biggest reason is they give out humanistic advice and urge that over stuff out of the Bible. Homosexuality being the best example, but it actually fits any area of life, like sexuality in general, people cohabiting and having sex outside of marriage, being OK with abortion etc.

Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick." - Luke 5:31

Sounds like permission to seek care to me.

seeking.IAM said:

That said, my son likes to say it's hard to reason with folks who didn't use reason to arrive at their position in the first place.

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Indeed; the use of reason (Logos) is impossible for the unreasonable (Alogoi). One could argue that irrationality is blasphemy against Christ for He is the incarnate Logos.