mental illness and christianity

[Blade]

you know so many times we talk about the body being "sick". Well the mind is part of the body and it can get sick just like any other part. Yeshua.. being born again or born from above is not flesh. New Spirit. So.. praise GOD

 

[RaymondG]

you know so many times we talk about the body being "sick". Well the mind is part of the body and it can get sick just like any other part. Yeshua.. being born again or born from above is not flesh. New Spirit. So.. praise GOD

Yes, but God can heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases...... Why would a Christian dwell in sickness of the mind, if they don't have to? Assuming the sicknesses of the mind is just like other sicknesses as you stated.

 

[Clintpauljohnson]

Philippians 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work In you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

God is continuously working on us.

 

[derpytia]

So this is something I've been curious about for a long time. I never would have doubted that you can be a born again Christian and be mentally ill if someone hadn't told me otherwise. I know what I personally but, as a Christian with a mental illness, I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.
Do you believe that someone can be a born again Christian and yet still be mentally ill?

Edit: illnesses like, for example, depression or anxiety or schizophrenia, etc.

Yes. I am born again and I am mentally ill (I have had despression and anxiety since I was a small child) but I'll talk mostly about my depression in regards to answering your question.

Mental illness is not merely a spiritual thing, it is also a physical ailment as well. Sometimes I think people with lifelong depression should call it major depressive disorder (MDD) because most people will go through a period of depression in their lives but not everyone will deal with it day after day and perhaps calling it a disorder will steer people away from saying, "It's just a mind over matter thing!"

The key word in mental illness, is "illness". Would you say that people who are Christian that are suffering with cancer or even chronic pain are not truly saved? No. The same goes for people with mental illnesses. It is an illness. Something is wrong inside of our brains physically and the deviations from the norm occur as a result just like any other illness.

With depression the brain does not function as it should. My hippocampus releases too much cortisol. Because of too much cortisol my amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotions) becomes enlarged and more active than it should be. All of this causes disturbances in sleep and activity, causes my body to regulate hormones improperly, and various other problems.

My mental illness is just that. An illness.

Jesus came to save people like me and He has. I am born again and saved. My depression and anxiety have nothing to do with my salvation.

 

[Clintpauljohnson]

Click

Why Doesn’t God Heal Every Sickness, Disease, and Illness? - Chris Russell

 

[dqhall]

So this is something I've been curious about for a long time. I never would have doubted that you can be a born again Christian and be mentally ill if someone hadn't told me otherwise. I know what I personally but, as a Christian with a mental illness, I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.
Do you believe that someone can be a born again Christian and yet still be mentally ill?

Edit: illnesses like, for example, depression or anxiety or schizophrenia, etc.

Some mental illness such as ADHD can be inherited genetically from parents. Dr David Amen is a psychiatrist who studied the brain scans of thousands of mentally ill patients. He found those who had suffered concussions later complained of mental illness. Substance abuse such as drugs or excessive alcohol use can cause brain damage visible on scans that also resulted in mental illness. Bad nutrition can harm the brain. Environmental pollutants might be a factor as interior painters suffered brain damage visible on brain scans. A program of proper nutrition was shown to reverse brain damage in some patients. Dr David Amen wrote, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

 

[W2L]

So this is something I've been curious about for a long time. I never would have doubted that you can be a born again Christian and be mentally ill if someone hadn't told me otherwise. I know what I personally but, as a Christian with a mental illness, I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.
Do you believe that someone can be a born again Christian and yet still be mentally ill?

Edit: illnesses like, for example, depression or anxiety or schizophrenia, etc.

Yes.

 

[wheatpenny]

As a Christian with schizoaffective disorder I can assure you that it is in fact possible to be a Christian and mentally ill.

 

[wheatpenny]

Yes, but God can heal all manner of sicknesses and diseases...... Why would a Christian dwell in sickness of the mind, if they don't have to? Assuming the sicknesses of the mind is just like other sicknesses as you stated.

The same reason a Christian would have diabetes or cancer. For reasons unknown to us, God does not heal everyone, so I trust His judgment on whether or not to heal me. If it's His will for me to stay like this, I take comfort in knowing that in Heaven I will be healed.

 

[RaymondG]

The same reason a Christian would have diabetes or cancer. For reasons unknown to us, God does not heal everyone, so I trust His judgment on whether or not to heal me. If it's His will for me to stay like this, I take comfort in knowing that in Heaven I will be healed.

so there is no real reason to pray, correct? Since He may or may not answer.... if he does great, if not, he has his reasons not to? No real way to know if your prayers are answered or not? just a luck of the draw?

 

[wheatpenny]

I don't know, but it's obvious God does not choose to heal every believer, otherwise there'd be no sick Christians.

 

[Citizen of the Kingdom]

I think we all learn thru our suffering whatever form that may take.

 

[Winken]

Some groups have strange doctrines that claim that all mental instability is due to demonic possession, and that a true believer cannot be possessed.

The first one is just downright wrong. At times, demonic activity can make mental illness and instability, but IMO it is the minority of cases.

As to the second point, it is absolutely TRUE that a demon cannot possess (as in ownership) a true believer. But that does NOT mean that demons are unable to attach themselves to the body or mind of a believer. They can, and do so on a regular basis.

I would change "attach" to "attack."

 

[Winken]

Just our spirits. Our bodies and minds can definitely be demonized.

They can be attacked.

 

[Winken]

I see. And we have to get an exorcism to get the demons to leave? You said that mental illness is caused by demons so if I got an exorcism would I be cured?

You need to fully investigate "exorcism." No human on the face of the earth has the power to exorcise a demon. A demon attacks / invades the sinful nature, exploring it for methods to make you miserable. The sinful nature is overcome by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[RaymondG]

I don't know, but it's obvious God does not choose to heal every believer, otherwise there'd be no sick Christians.

Being a Christian only entails joining a church. We are called Christians in an attempt to group people with common ideas, together. There were no Messianic/Christians before the disciples started being called that name in Antioch. It is just a name and have no relationship to a persons personal relationship with God.

And just because someone prays and their prayer doesn't get answered, doesn't mean that God wont answer anybody else who prays for the same thing. Prayers aren't a luck of the draw. Every prayer is answered, everything we ask for, we receive. Do you believe this? If not, than this is exactly why ones prayer wouldn't be answered. Lord, teach me how to pray.....

 

[Fantine]

I had a neighbor, a minister, who was trained in "Biblical Counseling." (I am Catholic, he is Baptist.) He truly believes that there is no such thing as mental illness--just sin. Everything is "sin." He counseled the father of a high school friend of my daughter's and told the father he needed to give up his psychotropic meds. His son had to leave home because of abuse.

I once mentioned a Christian recovery program, "Celebrate Recovery," based on the 12 steps and the Beatitudes. He said that it wasn't OK to participate in such programs because they used resources other than the Bible (CR is a program from Rick Warren's church).

It took about 2 years before this minister and his church decided they weren't a good fit for one another. I was glad he moved beore he broke up more families with bad advice.

 

[megan_26]

There's been a lot of discussion on here and I'm pleased to see some encouragement and also a bit of debate.
Sometimes I do wonder why God hasn't healed me. I ask him to. I know he has the power to and I wonder why he doesn't, but at the end of the day, our God is still greater than he who is in the world. I try to look at my disorder as a blessing, though it often doesn't feel like it. Because of it, I have come away from my struggles stronger and have learned to trust God with my entire being, for I can't do this alone.
Thank you for all the comments!

 

[Widlast]

So this is something I've been curious about for a long time. I never would have doubted that you can be a born again Christian and be mentally ill if someone hadn't told me otherwise. I know what I personally but, as a Christian with a mental illness, I'm interested in hearing what others have to say.
Do you believe that someone can be a born again Christian and yet still be mentally ill?

Edit: illnesses like, for example, depression or anxiety or schizophrenia, etc.

I'm sorry for your illness. I know many who suffer like you and it is a severe burden.
That being said, being "christian" does not cure you from mental disorders any more than it cures from from tooth decay. Regardless of how you believe you may still get "the crazy" and rotten teeth.
Side note, the vast majority of "christians" are not particularly Christian. They make a vaguely Christian noise but don't walk the path.

 

[samir]

double post