The Church in Crisis: The State of Mental Health in the Body of Christ

In the past 70 years, there has been significant progress made in the field of mental health. Society has become more accepting of those suffering mental illness, and there is less of a stigma associated with it.

However there is still much room for progress. Stigma still exists and those suffering mental health issues are by far the most marginalized and disenfranchised and most vulnerable population in America.

Sadly, there is still vast ignorance, discrimination, and bigotry against those suffering with mental illness. This exists both in the larger society as well as, tragically, in the Church.

The Church doesn’t have a good track record in its treatment of the mentally ill. For most of the past 2,000 years the mentally ill were treated as if they were demon possessed. They would be locked up in prison, or forced to live alone and fend for themselves. In more recent times, such as the Victorian Era (19th century), the mentally ill were locked up in sanitariums where there were many human rights abuses, and even torture and rape.

In the 20th century, we saw drugs introduced in the 1950s like lithium (anti-depressant) and haldol (anti-psychotic). These drugs helped many people. But there were still horrible abuses, such as the lobotomy. This procedure, introduced in the 1930s, involved removing part of the patient’s brain. Lobotomies were conducted from the 1930s through the early 1950s. Understand that these procedures were done on helpless patients who did not consent to such a barbaric and cruel procedure. This was an outrageous abuse. According to one 2013 research paper, roughly 60,000 lobotomies were performed in the United States and Europe in the 2 decades after the procedure was invented. President John F. Kennedy’s sister Rosemary had a lobotomy that left her permanently capacitated. Victims of lobotomies were left like vegetables.

As the treatment of mental illness increased from the 1950s to the present time, sadly there was not a similar increase in the attitudes and amount of ignorance present in many churches in America in their views on the subject.

Today in the Church, there are millions of believers and thousands of pastors who exhibit vast ignorance and theological confusion when it comes to mentally ill believers in the Church.

In many churches today, the most popular method for dealing with believers who have mental illness is called biblical counseling (utilizing truths from Scripture to address what is viewed as spiritual problems). Yes that is correct, they do not believe in using primarily psychiatric means of counseling, therapy and drugs. Rather, sadly, many of these churches view the root cause of these manifestations which we label mental illness, as being sins which Scripture addresses. This method of treatment is very popular I’ve noticed in Reformed churches. Especially a type of biblical counseling called nouthetic counseling. Mental illnesses are sins which must be confessed, prayed for, and removed through the process of spiritual sanctification.

This is a category error. Mental illnesses are not sins. They need psychiatric help, not theological. Methods like nouthetic counseling can actually work for minor mental illnesses, such as minor anxiety and minor transient depression. But in my research and personal experience, these biblical methods provide very little substantive and qualitative assistance to those, like myself, who suffer from severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, severe anxiety disorders, etc.

Many pastors believe and teach that mental illnesses don’t even exist! Recently Dr. John MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and president of The Master’s College and Seminary, asserted that there is no such thing as mental illness. For more info on exactly what MacArthur said read this article here.

This type of ignorant and uneducated speech, from an influential Christian leader, from a man of his great theological stature and prominence is deeply hurtful and potentially very damaging, not only to those believers with mental illness under his charge, but also it could be very damaging to those believers who suffer from mental illnesses who follow him and read his books and listen to his weekly sermons. MacArthur’s statements and assertions were, in my opinion, unwise, misinformed and lacking biblical footing.

I should say that I admire and respect MacArthur. R.C. Sproul and he were the two people who brought me into Reformed theology. I agree with MacArthur on most issues of theology. However in this case I believe he is dead wrong. Further I believe that pastors like him who are teaching their flocks that mental illnesses don’t exist are dangerous, are unbiblical, are guilty of false teaching, are leading people astray, and are ignorant.

With this false teaching concerning mental illness, the potential for danger to believers suffering from mental illness is very great. For example, if a believer has major depression and is told by their pastor that mental illness doesn’t exist, it may prevent them from seeking out treatment. If they are suicidal the result could be death by suicide.

There are some pastors who teach that mental illness is the result of demonic possession. Others teach that what we perceive as mental illnesses are just the result of a lack of faith. These beliefs further stigmatize those suffering from mental illness.

No matter how prominent or well respected a pastor is, if they are guilty of false teaching they must be challenged and called to repentance. We must hold church leaders, pastors and elders, accountable.

If you would like to learn more about nouthetic counseling, check out my two posts below.

Nouthetic Counseling: A Critical Evaluation

A Reformed conversation on nouthetic and biblical counseling