On Faith and Mental Health

The conversation about the intersection of faith and mental health is rife with a lot of confusion and polarization. On the one hand, you have those who think that every mental health problem is a spiritual problem, and on the other hand, you have those who think mental health is simply a matter of chemical imbalance. Depending on who you talk to, the cure for depression is either prayer and meditation or it is simply taking the right pills. However, is there a more holistic, multidisciplinary approach? I firmly believe so.

It was this conviction — that there is a multidisciplinary approach to mental health — that led me to get a master’s degree in professional counseling from Oral Roberts University (ORU). I chose ORU because I needed a university that shared my beliefs in the historic tenets of Christianity, especially of the Charismatic, Spirit-filled flavor. Yet I wanted a university that did not downplay the physical, psychological, and neurological aspects of mental health. I wanted a university that believed in divine healing but was not afraid to speak the language of science. This is precisely what I got at ORU, and it is out of that overflow that I share these thoughts. Let’s get into it:

Gnostic Influence

First of all, we must affirm and recognize that people are multidimensional. In other words, we are not only spiritual beings, but we are also physical beings. The gnostic cults that plagued the early church tried to draw a hard dichotomy between the body and the spirit. In their view, the immaterial (spiritual) world was good and the material (physical) world was bad. The Gnostics, therefore, paid attention to the spirit, while in many ways neglecting the place of the body in personhood. It was believed that the spiritual ranked high and the physical ranked low. This conclusion led the Gnostics into all kinds of practices that I cannot discuss here. However, I will say that the Apostles of Jesus Christ were firmly against the Gnostic worldview and sought to combat it. As a matter of fact, the whole book of First John was written to counter the influence of Gnosticism on the early church.

While Gnosticism as a cult no longer exists, its basic teaching has found its way back into Christianity, especially in the conversation about mental health. Here’s what I mean: Many Christians believe that all that is needed to cure depression is prayer, meditation, and the practice of spiritual disciplines. They are well-intentioned to be sure, but the underlying belief is that whatever physical causes may exist, the spirit is all that really matters. They believe that if one can only tackle things spiritually, it will take care of things in the natural. There is disdain and neglect for the physical nature of things and an unhealthy fixation on the spiritual as the sum of all reality. This is a kind of functional Gnosticism that fails to take into consideration the multidimensional nature of humanity.

There is a popular phrase among many Christians that expresses this functional Gnosticism best: “I am a Spirit, I have a soul, and I live in a body.” The idea, of course, is that all that really matters is the spirit, and to some extent, the soul (which is usually defined as the mind, will, and emotions), but as for the body…it’s just a temporal house that will be destroyed someday. But does the Bible teach this? No!

The Christian worldview is radically different from Gnosticism. This is why the Apostles vehemently opposed it. In the Christian worldview, the material, physical world is not inherently bad or unimportant, but was made by God and declared to be good in the beginning (Gen 1:31). The body is not just our temporary home needed for life on earth; rather, God promises to raise us up after death, not as immaterial spirits floating around, but in new, glorified bodies (Phil 3:20–21). The Christian worldview teaches that God actually came down and inhabited human flesh in His son Jesus Christ (Heb 2:14). The material world was not made merely to be destroyed, but to display God’s glory and beauty (Psalm 19:1), and along with people it will be fully redeemed and restored into a glorified heaven and earth (Romans 8:20–23). Therefore, spirit, soul, and body are all important and should be paid much attention. We must take very seriously the multidimensionality and interconnectedness of all human parts.

This is why Apostle Paul can say things like, “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:23). Elsewhere he says something that would have been a direct affront to gnostic thought: …the Lord is for the body (1 Cor 6:13). In the context of 1 Corinthians, Paul was saying that what happens in the body is important! It is not merely a house for the spirit but a “member of Christ himself” (1 Cor 6:15).

So What?

What does all this have to do with mental health? It means that more Christians need to pay attention to what scientists and neurobiologists are saying about chemical imbalance, stress, and exercise, as well as the effect of all these on mental health. Prayer alone is NOT ALWAYS the answer; sometimes it must be combined with more physical, psychological, and medical treatments. Mental illness can come from wrong thought patterns, or it may stem from stress, or it may be spiritual. Sometimes, it is all of these things interacting together in one person. We must be holistic in how we think about it, lest we make everything a spiritual issue while neglecting more natural causes.

For a long time, Christians (especially those in the Pentecostal church) looked down on medical science. It was seen as a lack of faith to seek out any medications. This is absurd! Oral Roberts, the great healing evangelist built a gigantic hospital out of his belief that medical science and faith could work hand in hand. Furthermore, the great Apostle Paul said to Timothy, “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Tim 5:23). That sounds very similar to a doctor’s prescription to me. Is it possible that Paul would say to a depressed believer today, “Take antidepressants for your depression?” I’m sure he had been praying for Timothy, and he had faith for healing, yet he did not consider it a failure of faith to take wine as a cure for stomach illnesses. We must adopt such a view.

I recognize that the reverse is true. What I mean is that some non-believers also make the mistake of totally discarding spiritual causes and cures for mental health issues. For some, it is merely a case of taking the right pill or doing more exercise. However, we must recognize that there are demonic and spiritual influences that can cause some mental health problems. While not every mental health illness is the result of demonic influences or “spiritual dryness”, there are some cases where this is the cause. In such cases, prayer and other spiritual disciplines will be a huge part of treatment.

The point is we need to give up our “nothing buttery” — we need to stop saying things like, “Depression is nothing but chemical imbalance” or “Depression is caused only because of prayerlessness.” In some circumstances, both statements could be true. But more often than not, mental illness is an interaction of many factors that need to be considered. There is a physical component that needs to watch out for stress and fatigue. There is a psychological/emotional component that needs to talk to someone, preferably a trained counselor. There are biological, societal and relational factors that may account for some mental illnesses. There is also a spiritual component that needs to claim God’s promises, pray, read scripture, and sing the psalms. All these components should be a part of treatment; we need to think more about the whole person — spirit, soul, and body!

What does all this mean? It means that more pastors ought to have the phone numbers of good psychologists/counselors, and vice versa. We need to reach hands across the room rather than claiming to have all the answers in one system. Believers who suffer need not be afraid to seek counseling. It is not a failure of faith to take antidepressants. God who created all parts of our multidimensional being is not mad when we seek out help from other less “spiritual” institutions. As a matter of fact, it is God, in His common grace, that has given us doctors, psychologists, counselors, engineers, etc. for the promotion of human flourishing. Let us use all God’s good gifts with gratefulness and thankfulness.

So, what do you say? How about we think holistically?

Let me hear your thoughts!