Your take on mental illness and the Christian faith...

[7seasrekeyed]

DEFINITELY NOT SO!

The Scriptures differentiate between demon possession and mental illness, and so should we! Matt 4v24.

I have seen well meaning Christians (who, as you do believe ALL mental illness is caused by demons (or demon possession), trying to cast demons out of blood washed, born again good Christians, with the result, that those good Christians end up in a mental hospital!

It is a most evil sin to say that Our Heavenly Father would let one of His dearly beloved Children, who is loved by Jesus, to be possessed by a demon!

God would no more have let the Lord Jesus be possessed by a demon, than one of His dearly beloved children!

The Scribes said that Jesus was possessed by a demon, and He said that they were in danger of eternal condemnation; i.e., blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Mark 3v28-30.

So, those of you who hold this evil doctrine, go a long way down that road!

while I agree that everything is not caused by a demon, I certainly disagree with your knee jerk reaction to someone saying that

it is not a sin, as you suggest, to state something you believe. we learn as we go along in this world and I know I have certainly learned many things, will continue to learn and can look back and see things I thought that I now have better information on

first of all, the word possession is a poor translation referring to a person being possessed. what scripture actually states, in the original language, is that the person possesses the demon...or has a demon...not the reverse

FYI, Christians can most certainly be bothered by the demonic and sometimes directly through another Christian...but that's another thread

the scribes have 0 to do with the truth regarding demonic activity in this world and you have misapplied that verse

 

[Smooth]

I have not read that alzheimers nor dementia is regarded as mental illness in the psychological sense.

I may be as wrong as wrong could ever be, but from what I understand, dementia is caused by physical and chemical breakdowns in the brain. Yet be that as it may, it’s a mental illness. Maybe semantics, maybe not. 😊

 

[calibob]

I may be as wrong as wrong could ever be, but from what I understand, dementia is caused by physical and chemical breakdowns in the brain. Yet be that as it may, it’s a mental illness. Maybe semantics, maybe not. 😊

That's because of political correctness. They want to label some neurological disorders separately and avoid the social stigma of mental illness. How are diseases or failures within the brain not mental illnesses as well?

 

[Dino246]

Amen Brother (or Sister).....

My wife suffers from schizophrenia, and it is not easy....one day at Church, just before the worship service began as we were heading in...she saw a woman and was convinced this woman was doing something to hurt her, she rushed at her and pushed her. Praise God no harm came of it, the woman saw my wife rushing at her and stepped back thus diminishing any force....on top of that I later found out this woman is a nurse and she had recognized pretty much immediately that my wife was having a psychotic episode.

I was mad at myself for going to church that day....I knew my wife was in an agitated state before heading out, but selfishly we went to church with our 5 year old because I feel the need to go....my wife does not.

The Grace that flowed out of that incident was mind blowing....one of the Elders in the church saw what happened....in the immediate aftermath I got my wife's coat and told her to go outside to the car while I got our son's coat on. After zipping Amazing Boy up an Elder in the church approached me, put his hand warmly on my shoulder and asked if I was okay....I told him of my wife's condition, he simply nodded.....said some words that I don't remember and I took my son's hand to go out to the car. Once we were outside I realized we'd gone out the wrong door, not the one near our vehicle....and as we walked around the building I saw a gentleman following at a distance...it was like he wanted to approach but didn't know how to go about it. I turned and walked over to him and he came up to me, hand extended and asked if my wife was okay....I almost started crying.....I'm choking up remembering it. He was the husband of the woman my wife had pushed....and was a police officer, he simply wanted to know that my wife was okay and that I knew how to handle the situation....l

Later in the week the Pastor contacted me and invited me to lunch, he wanted to assure me that those who saw what happened had all been concerned for my wife's welfare, and that she was always welcome at worship. That happened back in February and just 3 weeks ago my wife started coming back to church....when the incident happened she had recently changed medication and she was not yet on the full dosage for her condition...you have to ramp up slowly with many anti-psychotics.

Things happen in life, and often we rush to judement....I know I've been guilty of it. When things like this happen instead of rushing to judgment, respond with grace...that's the lesson I learned that day from my Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Thank you for sharing; that's a wonderful story.

I can relate; my ex went through two years of wrong diagnoses and extended stays in the psychiatric wards of hospitals. Nobody at our church had a clue how to deal with her, but they were compassionate and gracious.

And... it's 'brother', brother.

 

[danja]

Very doubtful

i say that because people are not born with mental illness such as depression or bipolar ,or schizophrenia or other mental illness .It happens later in life .So there is something that causes the chemistry of brain to change

 

[calibob]

I believe in demonic oppression.All mental illness issues are caused by demons i believe .

I think your giving the enemy to much credit. Have you ever worked in a mental health ministry or suicide prevention? It'll wake you up.

 

[Smooth]

That's because of political correctness. They want to label some neurological disorders separately and avoid the social stigma of mental illness. How are diseases or failures within the brain not mental illnesses as well?

I work with many dementia patients. They are profoundly mentally handicapped. I used to watch one flew over the cuckoo’s nest and laugh. Now I watch one flew over the cuckoo’s nest and understand, wow, that stuff is real.

 

[UnderGrace]

I may be as wrong as wrong could ever be, but from what I understand, dementia is caused by physical and chemical breakdowns in the brain. Yet be that as it may, it’s a mental illness. Maybe semantics, maybe not. 😊

I do not think you are wrong in the broader sense of the term of "mental" and while Alzheimer's is in the DSM, and it obviously a neurocognitive condition, and there are many behaviours like paranoia present at certain stages, from family experience it is not treated primarily like a psychiatric disorder.

Parkinson's is also a neuro-cognitive disorder however mental illness does not usually come to mind.

I think the term "mental illness" should probably go in which case I agree the semantics do not help.

 

[UnderGrace]

i say that because people are not born with mental illness such as depression or bipolar ,or schizophrenia or other mental illness .It happens later in life .So there is something that causes the chemistry of brain to change

Changes in the brain happen for plethora of reasons and not necessarily related to anything demonic.
There are many babies that are born with non neuro-typical brains.

 

[UnderGrace]

That's because of political correctness. They want to label some neurological disorders separately and avoid the social stigma of mental illness. How are diseases or failures within the brain not mental illnesses as well?

Can you provide the source of the this lobby group wanting to separate out the various neurological conditions?
Is it the AMA?

 

[UnderGrace]

I work with many dementia patients. They are profoundly mentally handicapped. I used to watch one flew over the cuckoo’s nest and laugh. Now I watch one flew over the cuckoo’s nest and understand, wow, that stuff is real.

Sorry, but I really do not see the connection?

 

[calibob]

Can you provide the source of the this lobby group wanting to separate out the various neurological conditions?
Is it the AMA?

No but I've been out of that field for a decade.

 

[JesusLives]

Life can be overwhelming at times and mental illness does exist I think the problem is people won't or are afraid to get help for fear that they don't believe in God enough. Well God helped people get educated to become doctors who can help people with mental illness so if you need help get it. It doesn't mean you don't believe in God if you go get help.

We Christians have a bad habit of shooting our wounded..... Compassion and mercy can go a long way when our fellow brothers/sisters need help.

 

[7seasrekeyed]

i say that because people are not born with mental illness such as depression or bipolar ,or schizophrenia or other mental illness .It happens later in life .So there is something that causes the chemistry of brain to change

it can be that there is a weakness or tendency already disposed to illness but often in the genes as well

I do not think it is wrong to state that there could be a demonic element to it but everything is not caused by such

demons make attachment to things and when a person is down or weak, that is a time that they might be susceptible to be bothered

but Christians are not possessed...that does not mean they cannot be attacked or hindered or even need them cast out or away

this is a subject that just gets some Christians nuts, insisting the devil cannot touch us

ignorance is not a defense either

 

[7seasrekeyed]

I may be as wrong as wrong could ever be, but from what I understand, dementia is caused by physical and chemical breakdowns in the brain. Yet be that as it may, it’s a mental illness. Maybe semantics, maybe not. 😊

Dementia is a decline in mental ability which affects memory, thinking, problem-solving, concentration and perception. Dementia occurs as a result of the death of brain cells or damage in parts of the brain that deal with our thought processes. Some forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, are degenerative.

site

so physical effect causing mental behavior or lack thereof

 

[Lanolin]

I went straight to God and got healed after getting so called 'help' from dozens of unhelpful doctors. So I would encourage those who are suffering not to discount what God can do. The key is deliverance from deep rooted trauma which comes from fear. Perfect love casts oout fear, for fear has torment. When people suffer from mental illness the affliction is like a torment, whatever you do seems wrong, so people give up and thats how depression sets in.

As for those with alzheimers, yes it is diffucult but we must have compassion, when someones losing their minds, they still have a soul and a heart, and these all need attention too not just the mind.