Mental Illness & Medication vs. Spiritual Struggles & Biblical Counseling
By Ed Stetzer (Pastors.com) a Re-Blog

These past few weeks have been very trying. From deaths of people who inspired us to yet another reminder that we are not completely immune from the horrible acts of others, grief seems to be everywhere we turn.

Earlier this month, we spent a lot of time talking about mental illness here at the blog, in light of the sad news from Rick Warren and Saddleback. I spoke about the church’s response to this problem that is bigger than we want to admit, and looked at what others have to say as well. I did want to discuss more fully one issue that we can have a tendency to tiptoe around as if we are on eggshells–mental illness and medication.

Michelle Boorstein from the Washington Post called me that week, and she asked some penetrating questions about why Christians might struggle with this issue more than, perhaps, mainstream society. In that article she quoted me as saying:

Part of our belief system is that God ­changes everything, and that because Christ lives in us, everything in our hearts and minds should be fixed. But that doesn’t mean we don’t sometimes need medical help and community help to do those things.

That’s the heart of my issue, but let me address it more fully here.

Mental illness is a tough thing to consider because it can open a debate that many would rather not have. But given the overwhelming response these past few weeks on my blog and in other spheres of social media, it bears discussing more fully before we close the conversation for now. Continue reading “Mental Illness & Medication vs. Spiritual Struggles & Biblical Counseling – ReBlog” →