What theological work is being done to investigate and correct this?
Theological study undertaken within the academy tends by its nature to reinforce a certain detachment from reality, the study of historical context, analysis of concepts, and usually adherence to a denominational worldview.
Some of us, even some of our leaders, exhibit questionable symptoms and appear somewhat disconnected from God, His people and the world. We function in our own virtual worlds, even use our own unintelligible language. We tend to deny or ignore the reality that both our global society and the ecclesial family have changed and can no longer be held within the denominational boundaries outlined during the Reformation.
We are taught to accept as unchangeable the divisions that we have inherited and which intrude into our families and communities. We know that Jesus prayed for unity among His followers yet we are reluctant to question our leaders about building links with other Christians. We're sometimes told not to bother with other churches: there's too much inertia against change! Some of us have heard this from our youth.
In Christian Education and Evangelism, Donald G. Stewart comments that,
“Emotional pressures are adapted to the use of those who wish to impose what to think without regard to how to think…Teaching the young those aspects of religious doctrine which are beyond their intellectual capacity and relevant experience to understand and to assimilate often lays the groundwork for emotional collapse and serious mental disorder of which guilt complexes and disabling fear are the symptoms.”
The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that one in five of us suffers mild forms of mental distress. One in ten will suffer a major crisis in their lifetime. One in a hundred will suffer actual schizophrenia, an illness which can be defined as a break between thought and action, or a lack of appropriate engagement with reality.
Just as cancer was once a taboo subject, not discussed and certainly not admitted to, schizophrenia, psychosis and major depression have until recently been unworthy of serious public attention. In spite of the presence of mental illness in one percent of the general population, somehow it has not been given the necessary attention. We talk more about distant terrorist acts and threats of economic disaster. Yet this epidemic is finally being addressed. Important as this is, it's but a window on the much deeper crisis: our spiritual health, or lack thereof.
Back in 1983, Louis Weil wrote in his book,
Sacraments and Liturgy: The Outward Signs,
Our inherited attitude toward the liturgical act reflects a kind of schizoid state. We hear but do not really hear. The liturgy is an encapsulated experience, entered into in isolation from real human experiences. It does not connect with the real world because it has been shaped by a piety which is often consciously an escape from the pressures of the real world. Liturgical time is seen as ‘holy time’ working according to its own laws, and feeding our hunger and thirst for God. But it does not connect for the great majority of our people with the real choices of daily life.
Listening to the average sermon, one might conclude that mental illness is a thing of the past and that every member of the congregation is spiritually and emotionally on track.
Are our leaders truly acting as servants of the Living God?
Or are we led by spiritual schizophrenics who hear the Voice of God and see visions, but who say one thing and do another?
Do they, and those who follow them, act in spite of reality and against biblical values?
Can we be really be inclusive and evangelistic, catholic and reformed, orthodox and charismatic, faithful and post-modern?
Is it possible to live out such a convoluted faith?
Psychosis is too real. Suicide is too real. Does it matter what label is used? Whether we call it mental or spiritual illness, it cannot be denied but it is often avoided, shuffled back into the pack of issues to deal with. The pain of exposing wounds is so intense. But it must be so.
Just as physical disease demands treatment, the 'cure of souls' cannot be optional.
Why then do some clergy deny the reality of mental illness?
(see http://canadianmentalangst.blogspot.com/2009/01/on-clergy-and-mental-illness.html )
Popular opinion and political influence too easily push truth aside, at least until disaster forces a belated adjustment. Arno Gruen's book, The Insanity of Normality, describes the folly of so-called normal behaviour when it is shown to be counter-productive. Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractal geometry, pointed out, for several years, inaccuracies in the financial formulae used to predict market behaviour. Could there be similar errors in the spiritual formulae which our churches develop to meet their 'objectives'? Why is church growth considered so important? Why are so many church meetings devoted exclusively to budgeting and servicing money?
A Problem of Education?
Before the internet Christians had to pay large fees to participate in theological reflection, study and discussion. Our leaders have often been trained by teachers who gained their credentials either by manipulating and using the educational system or by tolerating and surviving it.
Lee Smolin writes in his book, The Trouble with Physics, about the way that academic studies can be diverted from experimentally verifiable truth towards highly speculative theory. Has deficient theological practice contributed to the poor mental health of Canadians? I submit that, for our day, the crucial need is for God’s people to pray against our trans-national schizophrenic behaviour and to pray that faithful Christians quickly regain effective oversight and control of theological education. We must remove it from the secular authority of the universities and return it to the church where it more properly belongs. The local church must be involved in oversight of the seminary teaching experience. Let us return to speaking plainly and deeply about Jesus. Let us recover a Christian intellect.
It seems to escape the notice of some professional academics, and others, that true Christians, young and old, are already primarily theologians, already leaders. Some lead behind the scenes. Others share reflections and insights through writing or speaking. Some are pastors. Some are called to the battlefront in politics and administration, in secular or spiritual realms.
Many Christians have refused to undergo the theological re-education process imposed by institutional religion and have chosen lay ministry as being more effective, pursuing self-directed study, independent counsel and only occasionally partaking of the standard academic fare.
Anton Boison discussed his own psychotic breaks and suggested that they represented efforts to reintegrate his personality. He developed an empirical theology which sought to study the patient, his symptoms and the healing process. He became one of the founders of clinical pastoral education. This field has largely been taken over by secular psychologies which allow the patient to become a subject for experimental testing of theory. Pastoral theology has been transformed from the divine cure of souls into the pseudo-Christian effort to correct human flaws by human techniques.
Isn’t it interesting that young people and new Christians are quite perceptive in pointing out inconsistencies in church life?
Secular processes that assume the ignorance of the student tend to undermine the Christian beliefs and experiences of candidates for ministry. Yet, isn’t the experience and wisdom of even the biblically grounded student usually ignored by the seminary?
This is a tragedy. Lives have been ruined as a consequence of constantly shifting approaches to developing potential leaders.
Christianity is often formally taught as a set of propositions to be believed, or else! This approach can negate the practice of faithfully developing a lifelong relationship with the Living God.
Front-line ministers of the gospel are isolated from and can feel abandoned by philosophers in their ivory towers. Students are caught in the crunch, trapped by desire for ordination, emerging only to perpetuate a sick system.
Is it possible any longer to believe Holy Scripture and at the same time tolerate and support the unbiblical denominational systems which separate Christians from one another?
Several years ago I heard a story of a godly woman who gave a testimony to a group of believers. She had been paralysed for years and was brought into the gathering on a stretcher. Her disease left her with diminished and sometimes blocked flow of blood through her body. In prophetic utterence, she compared her physical health to the spiritual state of the Church, the Body of Christ Jesus. She suggested that the barriers between different Christian denominations actually restricted the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit in His Church. She illustrated the way we reinforce the separation of the spiritual from the worldly.
Only as Christians live and work together can we be of any value to God and His World. The tendency of some to foster unrest and legally push toward denominational division, out of desire to preserve faulty church systems, is both unbiblical and anti-christian. Their abuse of position and pseudo-spiritual authority will eventually be seen for what it is: hypocrisy, arrogance and willful deceit. Those who sue other Christians in the secular courts act with intentional disregard of Holy Scripture. There are many historical and theological reasons for our unhappy divisions, yet if we say we believe in one Lord, one faith and one baptism, we are compelled by the love of Christ Jesus to find ways to remain in fellowship with all who love Him.
The following is a thesis written in 2007 by Pauline Emma Pierce.
http://researchbank.acu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=theses
She offers 'A critical conversation between theology, psychology, pastoral care and the voice of the witness,' and does answer some questions raised in this article.
It appears that churches with conservative, biblical agendas are growing. Christians in Canada, and elsewhere, are showing signs of rising from a deep slumber. We are beginning to realize that not a few Christians are dealing with mental illness. Along with comprehensive bio-social medical care, we are learning again the power of prayer and utter reliance on the blood of Jesus as the only power effective against certain conditions. God's Word calls us to pray and to rejoice without ceasing, even in the midst of our personal and corporate struggles.
Our God is able to heal even the schizophrenia of our society. The Lord our God is mighty to save and the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church! He knows what He’s doing! The Lord is shaking His Church, moving His people in Spirit, truth and power. Some of our leaders are standing for God’s kingdom of righteousness and the sifting is taking place.
I've worked for nearly 30 years in a Christian ministry setting. When I join my brothers and sisters through the week I do not leave my church behind. I represent my tradition and bring my heritage with me to work with and draw upon as I serve the lost and encourage my co-workers. This includes all that I have learned, whether from my own tradition, or that of a co-worker. Indeed whenever Christians work together, God’s Church, both visible and invisible, is truly present with all its warts and powers.
Is your church part of the problem? Do your leaders preach freedom or legalism?
Are you part of God's solution? Do you follow Jesus, no matter what anyone says?
Is He your Total Truth?
