"I saw one group being driven into futility and loss of confidence in God's power. While they desperately prayed, their prayers about personal problems didn't seem to be answered. They tried every Christian discipline, but with no results. As they played the same old cracked record of their defeats, the needle would get stuck in repetitive emotional patterns. While they kept up the outward observances of praying and paying and professing, they were going deeper into disillusionment and despair.It was this that statement that made me decide to reread this book. He mentions in his first chapter that Christians often go to one of two extremes to address these folks. "Some Christians see anything that wiggles as the devil." If you have a problem, you must be demon possessed. From my on experience, I've seen this over and over. If you're depressed, it is the devil. If you're overeating, it is the devil. If you're having panic attacks, it is the devil.
I saw the other group moving toward phoniness. These people were repressing their inner feelings and denying to themselves that anything was seriously wrong, because "Christians can't have such problems." Instead of facing their problems, they covered them with a veneer of Scripture verses, theological terms, and unrealistic platitudes." -- Healing for Damaged Emotions, David A. Seamands.
The other extreme was "Read your Bible. Pray. Have more faith. If you were spiritually OK, you wouldn't have this hangup. You could never get depressed. You would never have any sexual compulsions or problems."
In my experience as a Pentecostal, we're told we just need to shout more, sing more, speak in tongues more, and check our hems and hairlines. I believe all those things have their place in our faith, but not every problem is fixed or even addressed by any of those. Even Jesus noted that there are some problems which require more than the external actions of the believer and those ministering to them to correct.
When I suffered from clinical depression years ago, I experienced the second kind. I re-experienced it again when Jerry died. If you're one of those who deliver this kind of ministering, let me make one thing perfectly clear. You're nuts. That is not compassionate and it most certainly is not Biblical.
People suffering from damaged emotions can't be "fixed" by standard methods and they can't be fixed after one revival. They may feel better for a time, but the nature of these kinds of wounds is that they are deep and generally infected. It takes time and consistent attention to heal. I suspect that it takes a mixture of love, prayer, special encouragement, and counseling to stitch up the wounds and time to allow them to heal.
I'm going to continue reading this book. It isn't long and I'll let you know if I find it helpful.
"Read your Bible. Pray. Have more faith. If you were spiritually OK, you wouldn't have this hangup. You could never get depressed. You would never have any sexual compulsions or problems." Ah, yes. The Baptist way.
ReplyDeleteI had a friend in college who was a lapsed Christian. She'd become almost atheist... more agnostic. Diane was her name. She was a brilliant lady, a bit older than me. (I was in my 30s) She'd been one of those baptized on the beaches of California during the Jesus movement. Married and had a son. Her spouse abused her. She went to her Baptist minister and he told her if she were a better wife her husband wouldn't beat her. It destroyed her. I worked on Diane. Not to convert her to MY faith. But to bring her to a place she could find her own. She asked me how I could sit through Anthropology believing as I did. It told her I believe God could make a donkey talk and based on that I had no trouble believing He could make a man out of a monkey. She laughed at me. She got the point. How did I deal with earth science when I didn't believe the science? I asked her how she knew I didn't believe the science. Over time, Diane relaxed. She accepted my friendship. When I graduated I didn't see her anymore but a couple of years late I looked her up. She'd married a methodist. During our catching up, she laughed told me, "You won't believe this, but I go to church now."
DeleteNo, I didn't convert her to MY faith. But I like to think somewhere along the way I gave her something that sent her in the general direction of His faith..
I think I commented on this elsewhere, but it is good to remember that Elijah kept one widow from starvation. We are not told that she was most deserving. Not all the people living in Israel were cured by Jesus - only two were raised from the dead. There were many who remained ill, others stayed dead. All prayers are answered that include "thy will be done" and it seems that His will does include suffering. Someday with Him we'll understand. Right now as I see your pain, watch my Beloved Husband lose ability moment by moment and wonder what the next five days will bring - and as we acknowledge the hopelessness that brought the gun up to my grandson's head, I still wonder "WHY!!!!!" Then, "Help thou my unbelief." And, He does.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. I too have experienced clinical depression being hospitalized twice. I always felt that I was either possessed by a depressive demon or I wasn't living right. The medical part of this was a chemical imbalance. I've had a total hysterectomy and my hormones are whack. Not to mention that being sick all the time seems to make you feel out if control, helpless, and hopeless. I don't understand why we go through the battkes we do, but God does. And I don't honestly think he lets demons possess us just to teach us something. My mother told me something that a minister told her the other day. She said that victims of sexual abuse are possessed by a bad spirit that comes upon them at the time of the abuse and they need to be prayed over to release that spirit. She says that why I still have the nightmares from the abuse. I don't think I believe that. I don't think God allows someone else's sin put a demon upon the victim. I do believe that it took me many years to forgive that man. I remember the ladies conference when the ladies bound together and prayed that God would help us to forgive and help heal our wounds and I felt a relief that I could forgive him. Sometimes I think Pentecostals can get carried away with their beliefs. I still remember as a child when church people came to our house to pray over it. They found my Charlie's Angels collector cards and threw them all away because they could be causing a bad spirit in our house. I look back now and think how silly it was to think a child's trading cards could bring demons into our house. Maybe I'm wrong, God help me if I am.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you're wrong. I think that good people do foolish things with good intentions.
DeleteI do, however, believe that abuse victims are subject to tormenting spirits, not particularly possession. Not only is the body attacked but the mind and spirit. Dealing with that is more than most children can handle. An attack on the spirit weakens even the strongest adult. Imagine an undeveloped spirit being attacked by such hideous and unclean spirits. So, they are oppressive spirits. Possessive spirits can only gain access by permission. People do things willingly that they know are evil. This is yeilding territory to the devil that is not rightfully his, basically, opening the door and allowing him access. That's possession. Oppression is unwelcome, and unauthorized attack. You do not have to tolerate that but a child doesn't understand what is happening and is not able to get the proper help.
The next thing is prayer must be targeted to the proper condition. You don't give an antibiotic to someone suffering viral infection. You don't give cancer medications to someone with a cold. Prayer for oppressive spirits must identify them and call those things as they are and them must banish them. Demonic possession is far worse and require far more preparation and a very strong spiritual assault.
If you are still suffering from those things, Cathy, I urge you to identify the kind of attack you are dealing with and get correctly directed prayer for that. What you describes is oppression.
Sorry I should have previewed for errors and spelling mistakes before publishing.
ReplyDeleteNah, s'ok. Happens to me too. LOL
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