Christians and mental illness and diseases

[harvester]

My Christian friend and I slightly disagree on things on one is this. She believes all mental illness comes from the Devil and that Christians can not get cancer. I know they can and I also know mental illness is a real illness? Anyone care to add further debate to this please?

My brother is paranoid schizophrenic and does much better on tablets than without them.

 

[Larry.]

I was diagnosed with severe clinical depression early in 2010, and have been on anti-depression medications ever since. I agree with my Doctor's view that it is a physical ailment that can be effectively manged with medication. Since my diagnosis and subsequent treatment, my life and the lives of my family members improved greatly after my angry outbursts stopped and I was finally able to engage with them emotionally in a positive way. I believe that mcontracting this disorder was hereditary, as my father began physically abusing my mother and us at precisely the same age that I began having issues with it. Thankfully to God I sought out help before I ever started to physically abuse anyone. I hope this helps shine some light on this issue for you. God bless.

 

[El Hombre viejo]

My Christian friend and I slightly disagree on things on one is this. She believes all mental illness comes from the Devil and that Christians can not get cancer. I know they can and I also know mental illness is a real illness? Anyone care to add further debate to this please?

My brother is paranoid schizophrenic and does much better on tablets than without them.

Well both you and Larry are correct. And your Christian friend too.

Look. JESUS said " I have a come that you might have life, and that more abundantly" John 10:10
The Father said "By JESUS' stripes you WERE healed" ! Pete 2:24

Ok These two verses show that JESUS came to give life. Obviously sickness of any kind is not part of life, rather it is part of death, and dying

So who brings death and dying?
Again John 10:10
[h=3]ohn 10:9-11[/h]King James Version (KJV)
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

Satan comes to steal kill and destroy. So.....mental illness does come from Satan. That does not mean it is not a real illness. Even so there are demonic spritts
who work with the tools Satan gives them. Schitzophrenia is a spirit who works with an illness called by the same name to imprision people in their minds. Cancer is also a spirit who works with cancer the illness to kill and destroy people.

Your Christian friend is partially right too, in that, since by JESUS stripes we were healed 2000 years ago, we don't have to bow to such things. Healing is already ours. We are the healed and Satan does try to make us sick. Mentally and physically. So.. can a Christian get cancer? Yes Can a Christian get mentally ill? Sure. They don't have to however and won't if they will believe GODs WORD. Believe is not mental assent but actual walking in it.
An example... I was born asthmatic. I almost died from it several times when I was a child. I was asthmatic even in my twenties when I was married. Well I was a brand newbie Christian when I married my Lady and a woman at our church in Wa came to me one evening after Wed night prayer meeting. She said "Lay hands on me, you have the gift of healing and if you pray for me I'll be healed" LOL I was blown away but I did as she said because after all she was a Christian and must know what she was talking about...Right? grin
Ok I laid my hand on her forhead...Well ok she grabbed my hand and slapped it onto her forehead "Now pray for me" she commanded. No! Really.
Ok I said "God Please heal this woman. Thank you" And I walked away amazed at this event. I promptly forgot about it when my Lady came up to be because I was so smitten with her.... I didn't see this woman for about two weeks, but I remember that something reminded me about it after about one week.
I felt soooo guilty because I forgot about her and her illness. LOL Anyway When I did see her she was richocheting around praising GOD because her illness was gone. Me? I was jusd blown away. My point? Oh My point!

By JESUS stripes we are healed! Its ours. We have dominion in the Earth and What we speak becomes law in the Earth.


[h=3]Matthew 16:18-20[/h]King James Version (KJV)

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

Look at verse 19 in this verse...

[h=3]Matthew 16:18-20[/h]Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

18 I also tell you this: you are Kefa,” [which means ‘Rock,’] “and on this rock I will build my Community, and the gates of Sh’ol will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 20 Then he warned the talmidim not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

Whatsoever things you permit...Whatsoever things you prohibit? That's dominion my friend

 

[farout]

For those who will not believe there is never enough to change their mind. Just like those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ....hard hearts and in your situation a hard head.

 

[Far Traveler]

My Christian friend and I slightly disagree on things on one is this. She believes all mental illness comes from the Devil and that Christians can not get cancer. I know they can and I also know mental illness is a real illness? Anyone care to add further debate to this please?

My brother is paranoid schizophrenic and does much better on tablets than without them.

I have been around my fair share of people with mental illness and it seems real enough. I'm saying it is a real illness although I won't rule out the possibility of the devil causing some of it. I'd also say that the devil making someone mentally ill is different from being posessed.

I went thru a short period where the devil was able to attack my mind. I was in a unique situation that opened me up spiritually. This was totally new to me, and with no one to explain what was happening to me, I became confused. Even though I was a christian at the time, the devil seized the moment and made me paranoid and delusional. Others sought professional help for me, but all they offered there was secular meds. I was able to endure through that 3 months, and through the power of Jesus Christ I was healed from that. There was depression after that which I struggled with for about a year, but I got better and back to my normal self.

I kept that really short, but felt that ordeal of mine opened for me a window into the mind of a person with mental illness, of what they go through.

 

[Puddleglum]

I work with some chemicals in my job that can kill someone with in a week or two and some may take some years to cause problems just by just getting it on you skin. and some will go straight through rubber gloves in no time. so your skin will absorb it and go straight in to you blood steam.

aside from things like that. i think the brain is a unbelievable oregon and it feeds of what you consume and your well being can be influenced by your feelings, so if you are not happy - content or have issues with things that have not been resolved, this stress hinders your immune system.
We have hear in Australia the original blacks. that if one of there tribe pointed the bone at them, they did truly die some days after. and i think it's because they truly believe what it's function is. something like a phantom.

Then we have the Stigmartyr. i think this is the work of the brain, and some how it does it.

So i think if we have problems we should consult them issues directly before they become a bigger problem and some people may not really know that they do have a problem because of there stubbornness, thinking they are so tuff, it's not an issue.

 

[Whitestone]

My Christian friend and I slightly disagree on things on one is this. She believes all mental illness comes from the Devil and that Christians can not get cancer. I know they can and I also know mental illness is a real illness? Anyone care to add further debate to this please?

My brother is paranoid schizophrenic and does much better on tablets than without them.

Your friend is just parroting something someone told her. Forget all the devil stuff and keep him on meds. You are doing everything right so far. Keep yourself immersed in the Word of God, ask Him, He will give you knowledge wisdom and understanding directly and Christ in you will guide every step
blessings

 

[El Hombre viejo]

Your friend is just parroting something someone told her. Forget all the devil stuff and keep him on meds. You are doing everything right so far. Keep yourself immersed in the Word of God, ask Him, He will give you knowledge wisdom and understanding directly and Christ in you will guide every step
blessings

Yeah The devil is ficticious too.

 

[Whitestone]

Yeah The devil is ficticious too.

The only devil that exists is the one who stares back at me out of the mirror. I slap him down regularly

 

[El Hombre viejo]

There is no Satan? Should I be relieved by this? If you don't believe in the existence of the devil, how can you believe in the existence of GOD?

 

[Whitestone]

There is no Satan? Should I be relieved by this? If you don't believe in the existence of the devil, how can you believe in the existence of GOD?

LOL!

Tell you what, you go around telling people you believe in the devil.

I'll continue going around telling people I believe in Jesus.

Then let's see what happens

 

[El Hombre viejo]

LOL!

Tell you what, you go around telling people you believe in the devil.

I'll continue going around telling people I believe in Jesus.

Then let's see what happens

grin I didn't say I believe in the devil. I believe in JESUS But I do not deny the existence of Satan

 

[Whitestone]

grin I didn't say I believe in the devil. I believe in JESUS But I do not deny the existence of Satan

Neither do I. Like I said, I see him every time I look in the mirror and I keep him beat down regularly with the Spirit of Christ in me.

I guarantee you this. The satan I know is a lot more dangerous and real then the satan you "believe in"...

 

[Zephaniah]

Please pray for my friend. She is bi-polar and tried to commit suicide a couple of weeks ago and now hurt badly in the hospital. Her family member hardly came visit her and I am the only friend she told this. She is not Christian but I and my Christian friends go visit her sometimes. We tell her about Jesus and she said she wanted to know Jesus more and to believe...We need your prayers.

 

[Thiscrosshurts]

Please pray for my friend. She is bi-polar and tried to commit suicide a couple of weeks ago and now hurt badly in the hospital. Her family member hardly came visit her and I am the only friend she told this. She is not Christian but I and my Christian friends go visit her sometimes. We tell her about Jesus and she said she wanted to know Jesus more and to believe...We need your prayers.

I would be honored to pray and believe with you and your friends that she would receive light and truth and receive Jesus as Lord in her life.I ask that she would hear the voice of the Son of God and live.
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

If you think about it dying to self in Christ is a way to commit suicide where nobody gets hurt.
She is very blessed to have you and your friends lifting her up to Jesus.
Godspeed

 

[Zephaniah]

Thank you very much for your prayers and encouragment. I just went visit her this afternoon. She was sleeping with the bible near the pillow. She said the bible is hard to read and understand. I said that's alright cos the important thing is God understands us.

 

[lawrenceb]

All sickness is ultimately the result of sin.

 

[Boanerges]

Your friend could not be more wrong. Sickness and disease are the products of the fall of man (mans willful choice to disobey)..
While mental illness can be demonic in nature there are known chemical in-balances in the brain and/or glands that can cause such issues.
I know a great man of God who has had cancer, to say it cannot happen is simply naivety. We all die, and in spite of some opinions almost all (Christian or not) die from some form of disease.Very few simply expire from old age.
Jesus specialized in drawing the sick and needy to Himself.
As far as the pills your brother takes- God placed the ingredients for those medicines in the plants, soil, and etc. for man to use.

I have seen God heal some.
I have seen God walk with some as their strength as they go through infirmity and trial.
I have seen God take some home.
None of those are punishment- The first is restoration, the next walking a faith walk, and the last the greatest of promotions.

God does indeed move in many ways.
He gives our bodies the ability to heal- that is healing from Him.
He gives the herbs of the fields for medicine- that is healing from Him.
He heals miraculously - that is healing form Him.
He takes the saints home in due season- that is the ultimate in healing and is from Him.

 

[Hekuran]

Agree with Boanerges on this.
Much of the confusion that we have when discussing these kind of issues is due to the way that we have absorbed Western philosophy that puts sharp divisions between sacred and secular; flesh and spirit. The Bible does not put these things into separate compartments. Every person is a unity of body, mind and spirit. So an illness such as depression has emotional, physical and spiritual dimensions.

Most of us will have experienced a condition such as guilt has physical and emotional manifestations as well as spiritual. And we all know that we're less likely to feel a spiritual high if we are in physical pain or have a stinking cold.

 

[El Hombre viejo]

Grin Ok I see your meaning of the word 'believe' LOLOL