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Exposing Psychology, Exalting Christ |
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Reader Letter 4/9/06 Hi! I just want to address your theory that one can not be a Christian and also have a belief in psychiatric disorders. I happen to do both. My husband suffers from bipolar disorder and without medication he would not be functional. Bipolar disorder is not caused by the devil or anything else but an imbalance in chemicals in the brain. It sounds very much like you are preaching medieval beliefs that were better left to less educated times. I truly believe all good things come from God and that includes knowledge and the ability to develop medications for the treatment of ALL diseases – physical and psychiatric. I’m sorry that some people who seriously need help will see your message and think they must decide between Christ and their mental health. That is truly the furthest thing from the truth. Our response: Thank you for contacting us. In response to your email, we would direct you to the links below, which are Q&A sections from prior email newsletters that provide a scientific and biblical view of bipolar disorder and the medications to treat it. http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0508_Q&A.htm http://www.psychologydebunked.com/email0510_Q&A.htm Regarding chemical imbalances causing mental disorders like bipolar, see the below excerpt from http://www.psychologydebunked.com/news.htm#2005: Researchers say antidepressant ads are misleading, since chemical imbalances remain unproven: The non-profit Public Library of Science (PLoS) has researched scores of SSRI antidepressant advertisements, including the famous Zoloft bouncing ball, and has found these ads mislead the public by claiming that a serotonin imbalance could be to blame for their depression, despite growing researcher skepticism of this theory. The authors correctly note that researchers don’t even know the normal amount of serotonin in the brain to begin with, much less how to correct a theoretical imbalance of serotonin. In the full essay entitled "Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and the Scientific Literature," the PLoS authors explain in detail why the chemical imbalance theory has not been accepted by researchers. They cite many studies that cast doubt on the theory, but could not find a single study proving the theory. They conclude, "Far from being a radical line of thought, doubts about the serotonin hypothesis are well acknowledged by many researchers." (Public Library of Science, November 7, 2005) We believe Christ is the KEY to mental health. His Spirit gives us power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7). The problem is that psychiatry's disorders and medications have taken our eyes off of Christ and His desire to sanctify us and conform us into His image, and put them onto our problems. Worse, psychiatry claims these problems are not accountable or controllable, but rather diseases just like any other true physical disease. So the problem isn't sin, but sickness. And the solution isn't Jesus, but medication. You can see how psychiatry becomes a false gospel that undermines the true gospel of sin, repentance, salvation and sanctification as described in the Bible. We sincerely hope you consider the above information. Remember, the Bible promises that God is enough for life and godliness--we don't need worldly solutions of soul treatment because they will only cheat us out of the life God has for us (2 Cor. 12:7-10, 2 Pet. 1:3, Col. 2:8-10). With love in Christ, Lisa and Ryan Bazler
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