No I am not a Christian Scientist.
Check my profile.
I am Baptist through and through.
Comparing a psychiatrist to a heart doctor is apples and oranges.
Psychiatrists try to fix spiritual problems with worldly counseling and medicines.
That is not what God wants.
Nowhere in the Word of God does the Lord tell us to seek a doctor for depression, for conrolling our thoughts.
NO, He
is the answer to that which would attack our mind, not man.
And you know that there is no possible physical reason for depression because......
Where in the Bible does God tell us to see a cardiologist or to have angioplasty?
Luke 5:31 (KJV) And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick.
Depression is not a sickness, but an attack on the mind.
Those who are sick should see a doctor... unless God has spoken to them to trust Him for their healig (I have seen God heal without the need of a doctor).
Has anyone else noticed that Benz has not been back to this thread? How do you people KNOW that he does not have a chemical imbalance? You are so quick to point out that he is suffering spritually, and he is, but you know NOTHING about his medical history. For all you know he found a good Christian psychiatrist. There are many out there.
You want to argue psychiatry? You really think that is appropriate for a thread where a Christian brother is screaming out for help and encouragement? Is proving your point more important than helping Benz? Here's a thought start a new thread. NOWHERE in the Bible does it encourage us to use or not use a specific specialty of medicine. In fact it would be quite odd if there were as they could not even dream about our modern advances in technology and medicine. Many factors play into depression. Yes, for some it is just feeling down in the dumps and the like, for others there are actual medical problems, chemical imbalance being one of them. As we do not even personally know Benz none of us are qualified to make that determination. Do you have a problem with a schizophrenic seeing a psychiatrist and being put on meds? I would hope not. I understand this is a debate forum, and I have no problem with such, but please lets show a little more Christian compassion. Is it more important for Benz to avoid a psychiatrist or it more important to show him that we, as his Christian brothers and sisters, believe that his life is meaniful, not only to God, but to us as well?
I agree with film producer and I wish Benz would let us know how he's doing.
I would just like to say to those who think depression is not a physical problem....you evidently have never had children.
One day your child is a happy go lucky little person and the next day he's hit puberty and everything he does seems crazy.
He cries, he can't cope with the slightest problem, he loses his temper, he thinks everybody is against him, and on and on.
The huge hormone surge going through his body affects his emotions and the way he processes thoughts.
It is VERY physical, but it affects his mind.
Thus, proof that physical imbalances can and do cause emotional disturbances.
Moreover, what about women who deal with postpartum depression?
That is a very clear illustration of the biological basis of one's spiritual state.
After delivery, the neurochemicals can sometimes go haywire, and the brain is disordered.
I know a young woman who went through this last year.
Having her first baby, very mature, well prepared, full of anticipation, the poster-woman for young motherhood.
No baby could have been blessed with a better or more devoted mom to all appearances.
Within a few days after giving birth WHAM! she was in such a mental state that her family was afraid to leave her alone with the child.
The two mothers-in-law took turns driving across the state to spend a week with her taking care of the baby and making sure neither she nor the babe came to harm, while daddy had to go back to work.
A few weeks on an antidepressant helped, and now she is fulfilling her role the way we had known she would.
But the sudden black depression really sidelined her for a few months.
Being sad is not the same thing as day to day overwhelming depression.
I'm sad when someone dies, when a pet dies, when someone I love is suffering from sickness...but I don't go to a dr. for it, I go to God.
He is my strength through tough times.
He was my strength and even my joy all through my father's last 3 months on this earth.
I did not need medication to get through it.
But, there is a physical depression caused by chemical imbalances in the brain.
There is no difference in this than any other physical ailment or disease.
It needs to be treated medically.
I think if Dr. Luke was alive today, he would also prescribe anti-depressants for those that really need them.
I can attest to this, too.
Four days or so after our first child was born I had one entire day (possibly a little longer - I don't remember it well) where I cried almost non-stop.....and it was all a chemical reaction.
I am so thankful that my body was able to regulate itself without the use of meds, but I can sure sympathize with those ladies who had something even more severe than mine and needed a medicine to help them gain their equilibrium.
Look, we still consider it God healing us when we go to a doctor and the doctor operates or gives us medicine to heal the infection.
Why can't God use the Christian psychiatrist in the same way?