attitudes in Church to disability and mental/chronic physical illness?

[Junia]

I think the only thing that Jesus Christ didn’t liberate us from is knowing Him, knowing thyself, and knowing others to be as self.

amen.

 

[Junia]

Fear is always frustration and is expressed in anger or tears, whatever outlet because situations just don’t match the inner condition, or at least not processed from head to heart, so anything contrary to the picture of yourself feels like betrayal until one looks to Jesus and then the light shines straight to the Father.

very true

 

[mindlight]

This honestly isn't intended as a post to backbite or bash my fellow believers, or to angrily vent (will try not to as really not my intention) but, as someone who grew upin a "strict" Evangelical Christian home and was brought up with many odd ideas reagrding health and disabilty, i am also seeing other christians from all kinds of denominations though mostly under the evangelical/pentecostal/baptist etc umbrella with similar experiences.

examples i could give include:

- being told psychotherapy is a sin and psychiatry also. (i do get that not all psychology is or has been good and the origins of men like Freud and Jung have not been good either, but there are therapies like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy whcih have been very helpful in recoveries from severe personality disorders like BPD or mental health issues. also drugs have helped people with bipolar and schizophrenia and countless other disorders live relatively normal lives or in severe cases, at least keeps them alive and some symptoms at bay).

- being told that depression or symptoms of depression.anxiety, even eating issues like binge eating or anorexia are just loving self too much, focus on self or self pity

- being told that if you have a mentla disorder as a Christian then youa ren't really saved
- being told you are a Jezebel Spirit ifyou have Narcisstic PD or Borderline PD or even CPTSD.

- illnesses where the cause is uncertain (or sometimes uncertain- not saying always is) like ME/CFS, Fibro, or epilepsy must be result of sin or demons. (i do absolutely believe in demons and often think many of us even as christians may be oppressed- i and others i know have been at times) and if deliverance doesn't work must be a sin someone is holding onto. or that maybe they not saved

- that if you trauma reactions after someone hurt you badly then you are told you haven't forgiven properly even if you have really decided over and over to forgive and desperatley want to.

- learning disabilities like dyslexia, dyscalculia etc seen as rebellion or stubborness needing spanking or even yelling or screaming as punishment

- a belief that if a christian shows possible signs of demonic activity and it wont go away even if christian is repenting, prsying, fasting, etc that Christian cannot be saved and their salvation is uncertain.

- a friend of mine who told me her church is makign everyone wears masks against Covid when lockdown ends and services resume. sounds great? but not for my friend who has a hearing impairment and cannot hear a preacher wth a mask over his face. ok, fair enough so far, she can speak to the elders and explain and ask for an exemption? but they jsut won't lsiten. they seem to act as though disability doesn't exist and everyone can do the same. but we are not all the same.

- children being screamed at , threatened, if they decide to seek help for mntal health issues or severe physical issues like Fibro (chuch doesn't see it as socialy acceptable illness like hey do cancer or though even there i have seen cancer sufferers treated badly also in Word Faith settings) because the church will find out and the "family will be stigmatised and daddy won;t be able to preach again here if they find out our son/daughter is crazy/hypochondriac/self pitying/attention seeking"

- why preachers that do talk about healing and wholeness in a Biblical way are called worldy and "we shouldnt talk about our problems or needs as not edifying to God."


The purpose of this thread is not to vent but ask WHY these views exist, and why we, as the church, preach about helping the needy and happily address global poverty (most of us anyway) but disability is seen as less important or irrelevent to the gospel even though Jesus was very into caring for the sick healing them and loving them.

and to wonder why living a Christian life means we have to act like our own wellbeing is not important and that seeking help isn't denying self when Jesus was crucifed for us so we are now crucified with Him?

i just wonder where these views came from, because i have heard Evangelical christians say "psychology etc is evil because it the world's wisdom, people just need to repent and they won't have problems" and it sems more like LDS.Mormon teachings "That we musn't have anything of the world in our lives" more than Christian?

This is a complicated area and Christians like secular people often get their responses to mental illness wrong. Most secular counsellors I have met are utterly useless and probably do more harm than good by introducing subtle deceits into self perception and perception per see. There is a scientific basis to many of the drug treatments for bipolar disorders etc. Christian counselling can be very effective but obviously this also varies with who is doing the counselling. But fundamentally Christian living is the most effective antidote to socalled psychological issues. Stop taking the drugs , the excessive alcohol, stop sinning and many of the forces that propel mental illness disappear. Engage with Christian communities, read the bible, pray, do activities , do sport and the stresses that push these illnesses evaporate. We can spend to much time focused on our feelings and inside our own heads. Sometimes the simple answer is to do what is right and then just keep doing it and to simply ignore the "voices". Use facts that are scientifically verifiable, accept the broad consensus of what people say except when it contradicts Gods words or the facts. But fundamentally just trusting God to work stuff through is also a good attitude to have. In time many of these things work themselves through and the things that do not get worked through we learn to cope with.

 

[lismore]

The purpose of this thread is not to vent but ask WHY these views exist, and why we, as the church, preach about helping the needy and happily address global poverty (most of us anyway) but disability is seen as less important or irrelevent to the gospel even though Jesus was very into caring for the sick healing them and loving them.

Hello wrapped. Sorry that you had so many negative experiences growing up. It's an area Churches need to be aware of and sensitive to. But to be fair, mental illness and disability are probably areas a church member won't fully be able to empathize with unless they have experienced it.

It's also a common failing to try and find an easy solution to a problem, or something that seems to be an easy solution to a problem, even where the solution is complex.

In my church there is a working group who meet to find ways for people with disabilities, learning difficulties and mental illness to feel more at home. Because the church has to be a place that reflects God's love- where everyone is welcome. Where we look on the heart, not the outer appearance, where we look on no-one from a worldly point of view.

We had a seminar in February where an older gentleman with hearing loss and depression, a young blind lady and a lady in a wheelchair shared their experiences and challenges in attending church meetings, we will be acting on what they said Lord willing when this virus clears. I would like to have an autistic person share their experiences too, I know 'church' can be a challenge for brothers/ sisters with autism. God Bless You

 

[Celticroots]

PSA: stop hanging out with people who believe that mental health issues are sins as well as counseling and medication.

I say this as someone who has mental health issues which I take medication for and a disability.

I credit God for helping me find the right combination of medication as well as finding the right therapist.

Mental health problems are NOT sins. There is NO shame in seeking help for a psychological ailment! We don't shame people for seeking help for physical problems.

OP, for your own health and sanity STAY AWAY from anyone who says such nonsense.

 

[Celticroots]

Well if we look at it properly. Sin is the underlying cause of illness. It's a long story but it's true.When it comes to deliverance and healing, I guess God works differently in our lives according to each one's circumstances. Sometimes, the Lord will let us live with our conditions to ensure, we don't fall from grace.

No. Sin is not the underlying cause of illness. It could be trauma, imbalance of brain chemicals, or not fully understood, even by experts.

Responses like this are part of the problem.

 

[Celticroots]

What do you think of Jesus’s birthday being April 1st. Do you think he would have fooled everybody or would satan have? It makes sense, a lamb of less than two months at the feast of pentecost.

What does it matter? Most everyone, including Christians, know Jesus was not born in December.

 

[Junia]

No. Sin is not the underlying cause of illness. It could be trauma, imbalance of brain chemicals, or not fully understood, even by experts.

Responses like this are part of the problem.

thank you. in my case i believe that trauma caused by chronic abuse is at the root of much of my having a label of "borderline personality disorder" plus the fact of heredity (mental instability in family which in turn caused trauma to my father, who was himself abused by a depressed mother etc ) as well as a chemical imbalance i have called PCOS, which means my female hormones and insulin etc are not balanced right. high levels of diagnosable mental illness id often found in PCOS women. that is not a coincidence. also having asensitive temperament....so it a complex mixture in my case and many others

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

There’s a reason that bride’s of kings would spend a year preparing with oils and that’s it purifies the root causes of disease. Jesus was anointed on His feet in preparation for His burial, that’s the best place to apply to maximize benefits thru-out the body, mind included because it breaks the blood/brain barrier. I have sets of different blends therapeutic oils that I apply every day. Their very beneficial.