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DO I HAVE A SOUL?

PSYCHIATRY'S VIEW

In the 19th century, new philosophies such as Darwin’s evolution, Marx’s communism, and Freud’s psychology, attacked the traditional Christian view of life.

While some today try and synthesize Christian Counselling and Psychology, let’s briefly consider the two most influential men whose theories formed the basis for modern psychology – Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung.

From its inception psychotherapy has undermined the doctrines of Christianity. Freud’s attitudes towards Christianity were obviously hostile, since he labelled all religion as “the universal obsessional neurosis of humanity.” 1

1 Sigmund Freud. The Future of an Illusion, trans. and edited by James Strachey. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1961, p. 43.

PSYCHOLOGY

Freud viewed religion as the source of mental problems and thus formed all of his notions from a godless position. 1

Part of the disagreement that resulted between Freud and Jung was due to “Jung’s interest and commitment to religion, which Freud saw as unscientific.” 2

1 SOURCE: " psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html"> psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html 2 Wikipedia – Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)

Jung delved deeply into the occult and had daily contact with disembodied spirits, which he called archetypes. Much of what he wrote was inspired by such entities. Jung had his own familiar spirit whom he called Philemon, 1 of whom he wrote “I went walking up and down the garden with him, and to me he was what the Indians call a guru.” 2

1 SOURCE: " psychoheresy-aware.org/ "> psychoheresy-aware.org 2 Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

Carl Jung (1875–1961)

(Jung)… did view all religions, including Christianity, to be collective mythologies - not real in essence, but having a real effect on the human personality. 1

Dr. Thomas Szasz (author of the classic “Myth of Mental Illness”) writes: “Thus in Jung’s view religions are indispensable spiritual supports, whereas in Freud’s they are illusory crutches.” 2

While Freud argued that religions are delusionary and therefore evil, Jung contended that all religions are imaginary but good. Both positions are anti-Christian; one denies Christianity and the other mythologizes it.. 3

1 " psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html"> psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html 2 Thomas Szasz. The Myth of Psychotherapy. Garden City: Doubleday/ Anchor Press, 1978, p. 173 3 " psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html"> psychoheresy-aware.org/ jungleg.html

PSYCHOLOGY

Does man have a soul and/ or spirit? Not according to many atheistic psychiatrists and neuroscientists.

Materialists and atheists maintain that the physical world is all there is, and that man has no soul. Consequently, death results in physical extinction or annihilation and there is no such thing as immortality.

Psychiatry is founded upon the “biological/ chemical model” which is opposed to the “Moral/ spiritual model” revealed in scripture. Psychiatry views man as wholly physical, just a bunch of chemicals and denies both the existence of God and the spirit of man. 1

1 " bible.ca/ psychiatry/ psychiatry-atheistic-anti-christian-medical-chemical-biological-model-vs-moral-spiritual-view.htm"> bible.ca/ psychiatry/ psychiatry-atheistic-anti-christian-medical-chemical-biological-model-vs-moral-spiritual-view.htm

DO WE HAVE A SOUL?

Giulio Tononi (a neuroscientist and psychiatrist at the University of Wisconsin) and Gerald Edelman (an American biologist) write, “Whatever the specialness of the human brain, there is no need to invoke spiritual forces to account for its functions.” 1

PSYCHIATRY

1 Edelman and Tononi, 2001 - A Universe of Consciousness, p. 81

Gerald Edelman

Giulio Tononi

They continue, “Darwinian principles of variation in populations and natural selection are sufficient, and the elements invoked by spiritualism are not required for our being conscious. Being human in mind and brain appears clearly to be the result of an evolutionary process. The anthropological evidence emerging for the evolutionary origin of consciousness in humans further substantiates the notion that Darwin’s is the most ideologically significant of all grand scientific theories.” 1

1 Ibid

The tinsmith forgot to give me a heart.

This materialist form of psychiatry says you’re only matter - therefore bad behaviour is due to a chemical imbalance in your brain. Thus you are sick and your behaviour can be treated by drugs which alter your chemical balance.

SICK OR SINNER?

Because your bad behaviour is a sickness, it’s not your fault. After all, who blames a person for being sick?

The consequence of explaining such conduct as disease is that it makes the person not accountable. He can’t help it, just like he can’t help having a brain tumour or a heart attack… He is not a sinner who should have a guilty conscience; rather, he is a victim of his conscience and mistreatment by others. 1

1 http:// gospelway.com/ religiousgroups/ psychology.php

SICK OR SINNER?

Thomas Szasz (1920–2012) was a psychiatrist and academic. Since 1990 he had been professor emeritus of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. He was a well- known social critic of the moral and scientific foundations of psychiatry, and of the social control aims of medicine in modern society… His books The Myth of Mental Illness (1960) and The Manufacture of Madness (1970) set out some of the arguments with which he is most associated. 1

1 "http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Thomas_Szasz">http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Thomas_Szasz

SICK OR SINNER?

Szasz argued that mental illnesses are not real in the sense that cancers are real. Except for a few identifiable brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, there are “neither biological or chemical tests nor biopsy or necropsy findings for verifying or falsifying DSM 1 diagnoses”, i.e. there are no objective methods for detecting the presence or absence of mental illness. 2

Szasz wrote: “If you talk to God, you are praying; If God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; If you talk to the dead, you are a schizophrenic.” 3

1 DSM: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. 2 "http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Thomas_Szasz">http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Thomas_Szasz (2008). “Psychiatry: The Science of Lies” pp. 2–5. 3 The Second Sin. New York: Doubleday, 1973

SCHIZOPHENIA

Some claim that in Bible days mental illnesses like schizophrenia and ‘multiple personality disorder’ were incorrectly attributed to demons because of the limited medical knowledge in those times.

To make such a claim would mean that Jesus himself drove out demons, when in fact the person was really sick.

In reality, the Bible recognises both mental illness and demon possession, but differentiates between the two.

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY

David feigned madness in Gath:

1 Sam 21:13-15 So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, “Look at the man! He is insane! Why bring him to me? Am I so short of madmen that you have to bring this fellow here to carry on like this in front of me? Must this man come into my house?”

INSANITY

In the book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar goes insane for 7 years (behaving like an animal) as a punishment for his pride. After he is restored we read, “At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored…” (Daniel 4:34)

INSANITY

Jesus’ family say he is “out of his mind”, when he fails to eat because of his ministry. They considered this irrational behaviour.

Mark 3:20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

INSANITY

In Acts 26:24-25 Paul’s defence is interrupted by Festus shouting and accusing him of being insane.

You are out of your mind, Paul! Your great learning is driving you insane.

Paul’s response shows that he understood an insane person to be someone who said things that were not “true and reasonable”.

I am not insane, most excellent Festus. What I am saying is true and reasonable.

But in the case of the man with multiple personalities from the region of the Gerasenes, his condition is clearly attributed to demon possession.

Mark 5:15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind…

My name is Legion for we are many.

The boy in Matthew 17:15 is described as a ‘lunatic’ (NASB) who has seizures. The term ‘lunatic’ is derived from the Latin ‘luna’ (moon) and reflects the ancient notion by Aristotle and Pliny the Elder that the full Moon affected insane individuals.

Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

The Greek term (selyniazetai) in Matthew 17:15 is likewise related to the Greek term for moon (selene). But in this case Jesus drove a demon out of the boy. Are all epileptics or insane people demon possessed? No! But Jesus could differentiate between sickness and possession – as should we.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

But let’s look at some examples of how the fabrications of alleged ‘mental disorders’ have plagued our society.

It has become fashionable for people to have “bipolar disorder” which is characterized by severe mood fluctuations.

The term “bipolar disorder” first appeared in 1957, previously being called “manic depressive illness” when it was “discovered” in 1921. “Bipolar disorder” is generally used as a pseudo-medical term to excuse destructive, sinful or simply bad behaviour.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

The cause of bipolar disorder remains unknown. There is also no proof - positive test for it, but it is diagnosed based on the symptoms displayed by an individual. Yet you are told you have a “chemical imbalance” in the brain.

BIPOLAR DISORDER

Elliot S. Valenstein, PhD, is a professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan. He is a noted authority on brain stimulation and psychosurgery and author of Blaming the Brain: The Truth About Drugs and Mental Health. He writes, “There are no tests available for assessing the chemical status of a living person’s brain.”

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Ron Leifer, M.D., a psychiatrist with more than 45 years experience in the practice of private psychotherapy and author of In The Name of Mental Health says: “There’s no biological imbalance. When people come to me and they say, ‘I have a biochemical imbalance,’ I say, ‘Show me your lab tests.’ There are no lab tests. So what’s the biochemical imbalance?”

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Clinical psychologist Ty C. Colbert received his Ph.D. in Counselling Psychology in 1984 from the University of Southern California. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Trinity School of Graduate Studies. 1

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

He is the author of several books including “Rape of the Soul, How the Chemical Imbalance Model of Modern Psychiatry has Failed Its Patients”, “Broken Brains or Wounded Hearts: What Causes Mental Illness”, “Blaming Our Genes: Why Mental Illness Can’t Be Inherited”.

1 http:// psychrights.org/ education/ HungerStrike/ PanelBios.htm

One of his specialty areas is psychotherapy without the use of psychoactive drugs. Colbert challenges the biomedical model and holds that these conditions cannot be reduced to genetics, chemical “imbalances,” or biological defects. He writes, “We know that the chemical imbalance model for mental illness has never been scientifically proven.”

He says that to adopt psychiatry’s biological model, one has to “believe in a materialistic, non-spiritual world ... the medical model claims there is no mental activity that is due to the spiritual dimension. All activity, even one’s religious beliefs or the belief in God, are nothing more than the workings of the brain.” 1

1 “Rape of the Soul, How the Chemical Imbalance Model of Modern Psychiatry has Failed Its Patients”, 2001, p. 236

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Dr. Fred Baughman Jr., child neurologist, Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology states: “In forty years, ‘biological’ psychiatry has yet to validate a single psychiatric condition/ diagnosis as an abnormality/ disease, or as anything ‘neurological,’ ‘biological,’ ‘chemically-imbalanced’ or ‘genetic.’”

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen, Harvard Medical School psychiatrist says, “No claim for a gene for a psychiatric condition has stood the test of time, in spite of popular misinformation.”

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Dr. Joseph Glenmullen

According to schizophrenia.com/ diag.html ‎ “There is currently no physical or lab test that can absolutely diagnose schizophrenia - a psychiatrist usually comes to the diagnosis based on clinical symptoms.”

Under the Criticisms section in Wikipedia’s article on “Chemical Imbalance” the following is noted:

Chemical imbalance theories do not presume individual laboratory tests be obtained from a patient at the time of prescription, such as one would expect in the analogy to physical medicine. For example, someone suffering from schizophrenia is not given haloperidol on the basis of a laboratory test which shows that his or her dopamine level is too high. 1

1 http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Chemical_imbalance

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Lisa Bazler earned her B.A. in psychology and her M.A. in counselling psychology. 1 She was a psychotherapist with 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She writes, “After becoming a Christian, I left the field because of the gross incompatibility between psychology and Christianity that I observed…” 2

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

Lisa and Ryan Bazler

1 http:// psychologydebunked.com/ about-us/ 2 psychologydebunked.com/ email040215_CTarticleresponse.htm

In response to a Christianity Today Article claiming that bipolar disorder is a disease which must be treated with God’s grace PLUS the proper amount of medication and therapy, Lisa Bazler writes:

No one in the psychology field has been able to prove that bipolar disorder is a true medical disease with a known cause, treatment, and outcome. It is simply a label based on subjective observations of behaviour made by psychological “experts.” A behaviour becomes a disorder in psychology’s bible of disorders--the DSM--by ballot, not by objective testing. For instance, homosexuality was removed from the DSM as a disorder due to pressures from pro-homosexual special interest groups on the day of the vote. 1

1 psychologydebunked.com/ email040215_CTarticleresponse.htm

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

She continues, “There is also NO evidence that bipolar stems from genetics… In addition, bipolar is NOT a medical phenomenon in the brain that can be treated with psychotropic medication. Contrary to what the public is told, biochemical imbalances in the brain have NEVER been proven to cause mental disorders like bipolar. Rather, it is well-known that the medications themselves alter brain function and personality, sometimes permanently. These medications are extremely addictive and dangerous, and the patient becomes dependent on the drug, instead of God, to function normally. People get prescriptions for highly addictive medications after as little as five minutes of subjective observation by a doctor--no tests are run to show that the person actually has a chemical imbalance.” 1

1 Ibid

A CHEMICAL IMBALANCE?

ADD & ADHD

For 35 years, Fred Baughman was an adult and child neurologist in private practice. Baughman was involved in chromosome research earlier in his career.

ADD & ADHD

He was also director of the Western Michigan Birth Defects Clinic and author of the book “The ADHD Fraud How Psychiatry Makes ‘Patients’ of Normal Children”.

Baughman writes, “Biological psychology/ psychiatry is a total perversion of medicine and science, and a fraud.” 1

He also says, “The fundamental flaw…is that Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have never been proven to be a disease, or anything physical or biological.”

During a PBS interview he stated, “Representing such things as depression, anxiety, conduct disorder, ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, learning disabilities as diseases absent any scientific proof, is to deceive the public.” 2

1 " adhdfraud.org/ commentary/ 2-3-01-1.htm"> adhdfraud.org/ commentary/ 2-3-01-1.htm 2 PBS - frontline: medicating kids: interviews: Fred Baughman

ADD & ADHD

Dr. Mary Ann Block went to medical school at age 39 to save her daughter, who had been made gravely ill by doctors prescribing psychotropic drugs. Dr. Block’s approach is to look for and treat the underlying health problems instead of covering the symptoms with drugs. This top-selling author and osteopathic physician says:

“ADHD is not like diabetes and Ritalin is not like insulin. Diabetes is a real medical condition that can be objectively diagnosed. ADHD is an invented label with no objective, valid means of identification. Insulin is a natural hormone produced by the body and it is essential for life. Ritalin is a chemically-derived amphetamine-like drug that is not necessary for life. Diabetes is an insulin deficiency. Attention and behavioural problems are not a Ritalin deficiency.”

ADD & ADHD

Block writes, “If there is no valid test for ADHD, no data proving ADHD is a brain dysfunction, no long-term studies of the drugs’ effects, and if the drugs do not improve academic performance or social skills and [they] can cause compulsive and mood disorders and can lead to illicit drug use, why in the world are millions of children, teenagers and adults being labelled with ADHD and prescribed these drugs?”

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders states that the major complication of Ritalin withdrawal is suicide.

ADD & ADHD

Richard DeGrandpre, Ph.D., author of Ritalin Nation: “How can millions of children be taking a drug that is pharmacologically very similar to another drug, cocaine, that is not only considered dangerous and addictive, but whose buying, selling, and using are also considered a criminal act?”

ADD & ADHD

Another damning revelation was made on 2 February 2012 by the German weekly Der Spiegel. They quoted US psychiatrist Leon Eisenberg, who they termed the “scientific father of ADHD”, as saying that he never would have thought his discovery would someday become so popular. In his last interview before his death he said, “ADHD is a prime example of a fabricated disorder” and “the genetic predisposition to ADHD is completely overrated.” 1

ADD & ADHD

Leon Eisenberg (1922-2009)

1 " snopes.com/ politics/ quotes/ adhd.asp"> snopes.com/ politics/ quotes/ adhd.asp

Paediatric neurologist Dr. Fred Baughman says, “The invention of diseases satisfied medical-economic needs. Additional income for growing numbers of psychologists and psychiatrists is generated… Presently, child psychiatrists, psychologists, counsellors and special educators in and around the U.S. public schools nearly outnumber teachers…”

WHY INVENT DISEASES?

Psychiatric medications are among the most widely prescribed and biggest-selling class of drugs in the U.S. In 2010, Americans spent $16.1 billion on antipsychotics to treat depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, $11.6 billion on anti- depressants and $7.2 billion on treatment for ADHD, according to IMS Health, which tracks prescription- drug sales. 1

WHY INVENT DISEASES?

1 "http:// online.wsj.com/ news/ articles">http:// online.wsj.com/ news/ articles

SICK OR

SINNER?

Psychiatrist William Rader 1 says of people who shop-lift, abuse alcohol or drugs, or who are involved in sexual perversion - that the problem “is a disease, not a sin” (Berkley, p. 147). 2

1 A controversial psychiatrist who administers injections of human foetal stem cells as what he calls therapeutic treatments for a variety of illnesses. Rader has stated that he charges $25,000 for the initial treatment and $8,000 for each follow-up. 2 " gospelway.com/ %0Breligiousgroups/ psychology.php"> gospelway.com/ religiousgroups/ psychology.php

SICK OR SINNER?

Dr. William Rader

In contrast the Bible says bad behaviour is ‘sin’.

SICK OR SINNER?

1 John 5:17 All wrongdoing is sin…

You sin because you have a fallen nature (not a chemical imbalance in the brain).

Rom 7:17-19 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like…

SICK OR SINNER?

The fallen nature is spiritual and not physical in makeup. Sin comes from this “inner man”:

Mark 7:20-23 He went on: “What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’ For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean.’”

SICK OR SINNER?

Obviously the ‘heart’ Jesus referred to is not the physical organ, but the non-material part of man (soul / spirit) where God may inhabit:

Ephesians 3:17 and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith.

SICK OR SINNER?

You can make a conscious choice to sin or to renounce sin.

SIN

GODLINESS

CHOOSE TO SIN Heb 10:26 If we deliberately keep on sinning …

(“deliberately” implies choice):

RENOUNCE SIN: 1 Cor 15:34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning…

So God’s Word says that, unlike disease, sin is something we can avoid and overcome.

Rom 6:12-13 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Can you simply choose not to be sick? If not, then don’t call your sinful behaviour a disease.

CHOICE & FREE WILL

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

The Bible tells us that God has provided everything we need to overcome sin. So resisting temptation is within our power if we use the means God made freely available to us. Therefore, unlike disease, sin is without excuse.

CHOICE & FREE WILL

Eve became a sinner through a choice she made:

1 Tim 2:14 … it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.

And Adam became a sinner through a choice - deliberate disobedience to God’s command:

Rom 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners…

After Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, “she also gave some to her husband” (Gen 3:6). Potiphar’s wife repeatedly encouraged Joseph to commit fornication with her (Gen 39:7-12).

People often encourage other people to join with them in sinning. Do people encourage others to have a heart attack or cancer? Of course not! So sin is unlike a physical disease in that it is often pleasurable and desirable.

BE SICK WITH ME?

Unlike real physical diseases, people sin because it is pleasurable and appealing.

James 1:14-15 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

People sin because they are “gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires” (Ephesians 2:3).

WHY WE SIN

We sin because something about the sin attracts us and draws us. That is not why people get diseases.

1 John 2:16-17 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (NLT)

We sin because of our failure to control our passions and our desire for pleasure. Our flesh finds sin more appealing than doing what is right.

Titus 3:3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

WHY WE SIN

Do people get cancer, heart attacks, arthritis, and stomach flu because those diseases are so pleasurable that people just love to participate in them? People contract diseases, not because they want them, but because they are overcome by germs, etc. People in sin often seek ways to justify continuing in the conduct. But no one tries to justify continuing a disease; they want to be cured! 1

1 Ibid

WHY WE SIN

It is true that, after sinning awhile, people often find it is not as pleasurable as they anticipated; yet they may continue because the habit has captured them - they are ‘hooked’ and find it very difficult to quit (as in alcoholism, drug abuse). Nevertheless, they began the sin because they chose a pattern of life that led to the habit. For that reason God continues to hold them accountable, even after they are hooked and might wish they could quit. 1

1 Ibid

WHY WE SIN

If sin is not a choice made by free will, but simply a side-effect of a sickness or chemical imbalance – then people are not to blame for their actions. We shouldn’t punish people for crime then. Many have latched onto this and get acquitted or a reduced sentence in court when claiming “temporary insanity” or other mental illnesses.

ACCOUNTABILITY

A current case in point is that of Shrien Dewani, who is accused of arranging the murder of his wife Anni while on honeymoon in South Africa.

Murder accused Shrien Dewani with Anni.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Dewani lives a relatively free life in and out of a mental hospital in Bristol, UK. (Fortunately he is well enough to be allowed home for meals and family gatherings.) He has repeatedly evaded extradition for trial in SA because of his treatment for the pseudo ‘disease’ of post-traumatic stress disorder.

(Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas) … said the extradition case against Dewani must be reviewed to see whether an “accused person” suffering from an acute illness could be extradited under the Extradition Act. 1

1 iol.co.za/ news/ crime-courts/ dewani-is-playing-the-system-expert-1.1598021#.UnD4e_lmySo

ACCOUNTABILITY

Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz said the following about the practice of psychiatrists being called to comment on people’s state of mind when committing a crime:

“Psychiatrists regard this practice as medically sound and scientific, and courts and society accept it as similar to expert testimony given by other medical specialists, for example forensic pathologists. I regard the practice as the epitome of junk science and refuse to participate in it. In the first place, there is no objective test for mental illness, as there is for melanoma or pneumonia. What psychiatrists pretentiously call an ‘examination’ is a conversation with the subject and observation of his behaviour.” 1

1 The Medicalization Of Everyday Life, Thomas Szasz, 2007, p 106

ACCOUNTABILITY

God will hold you accountable for your actions – you cannot shift the blame to someone or something else.

Romans 2:5-10 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

ACCOUNTABILITY

You are responsible for your actions – there will be consequences for unconfessed sin.

2 Pet 2:4-9 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly… if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Unlike disease, God says that people who sin will be punished.

God does not punish people for physical diseases which are truly beyond their control. But He will punish people for sin, including the sins psychologists often say people are not accountable for. 1

Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

1 Ibid

JUDGEMENT

As God condemn sinners and has promised punishment for the unrepentant, this shows that he holds us responsible for our actions and accountable for our sin.

Matt 12:36-37 “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

God would not command us to stop sinning if it were not possible. But which of us can ‘quit’ having a disease because we are sorry we have it and have decided to give it up?

Proverbs 28:13 - Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

QUIT YOUR SICKNESS?

Therefore bad behaviour is your fault and the problem is with your spirit which cannot be treated with medication – but is rectified by having “Christ in you”.

Rom 8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

You don’t need a pill! Your spirit (which many psychologists deny that you even have) needs to be regenerated by God – you become a “new creation”.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

ACCOUNTABILITY

Metamorphosis is defined as “a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.” 1

Through the biological process referred to as metamorphosis a caterpillar becomes a totally new creation. This metamorphosis is comparable to the process of change that we undergo in becoming a child of God.

1 thefreedictionary.com/ metamorphosis

METAMORPHOSIS

In Romans 12:2 Paul actually uses a word from which we get the English word ‘metamorphosis’. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

The phrase “be transformed” in Greek is μεταμορφοῦσθε (metamorphousthe), and it means undergoing a radical transformation.

METAMORPHOSIS

Before we knew God, our souls and / or spirits were held captive by sin.

Acts 8:23 “For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

But Jesus has set us free from the power of sin:

1 John 3:7-8 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

THE SOLUTION

People sin when they succumb to their passions and lust for pleasure, not because they are overcome by some disease. So while psychology says you need therapy or medication, God says you must repent.

2 Cor 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.

We are freed from sin not by prescription drugs, but by having a relationship with God:

1 John 3:9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

THE SOLUTION

Moses “chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.” (Heb 11:25-26)

Moses’ choice is an example we can imitate. If, like Moses, we value God’s reward above earthly treasures and pleasures – we can overcome temptation and sin.

Psychiatrists will blame the chemical imbalance in your brain, while psychologists will blame your parents and your environment for your obnoxious behaviour.

When psychologists claim these people are not accountable, they contribute, not to the solution of the problem, but to its continuation! There is hope for the mentally and emotionally troubled person when he becomes willing to admit and turn from his sin. 1

1 Ibid

THE SOLUTION

If you are making excuses and saying that you are blameless (by passing the blame to your environment, parents or brain chemicals) you are being deceived.

1 Jn 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

Denial of our responsibility estranges us from God.

1 Jn 8:10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

THE SOLUTION

Jesus offers the repentant sinner forgiveness – nothing can be done for the self-righteous who refuse to accept responsibility for their sin. Jesus says to the Pharisees:

Luke 5:32 “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Acceptance of our sinfulness and our accountability will result in God extending mercy to us:

1 Tim 1:15-16 … Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

THE SOLUTION

The true solution to the problem of sin is godly sorrow, confession, repentance and God’s forgiveness.

Psalm 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

THE SOLUTION

Confession of sin gets a response from God.

1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

THE SOLUTION

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV:

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB:

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. ( Lockman.org)

SOURCE: http:// en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Chemical_imbalance According to critics, the chemical imbalance hypothesis has been overpromoted and continues to be advanced as factual by pharmaceutical companies. They believe the general population and many journalists have accepted this hypothesis into their understanding of mental illness uncritically. They have pointed to the lack of an established chemical balance (without which, they claim, the notion of an "imbalance" is meaningless). Certain pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer continue to promote drugs like Zoloft with advertisements asserting that mental illness may be due to chemical imbalances in the brain, and that their drugs work to "correct" this imbalance. Most academics believe that the advertisements are oversimplified and don’t fully explain what is happening.

APPENDIX 1: Criticisms of chemical balance hypothesis

Chemical imbalance theories do not presume individual laboratory tests be obtained from a patient at the time of prescription, such as one would expect in the analogy to physical medicine. For example, someone suffering from schizophrenia is not given haloperidol on the basis of a laboratory test which shows that his or her dopamine level is too high.

Chemical imbalance theories distinguish between "side" and "main" drug effects in recording the response to the drug. "Side" effects are considered to be simple, direct, predictable, allowable effects which are merely "physical" but do include often flattened affect and memory, emotive and cognitive effects. These drug effects may then be cited capriciously as further evidence to confirm the diagnosis as correct, confusing cause and effect.

When "improvement" is measured in industry research studies, attention is given only to the "main" effect—typically a complex, indirect, interpersonal, perceptual, cultural change, thereby confusing cause with coincidence. In chemical imbalance theories, there are no effectiveness measures using standard social networks and associated tests before and after drug administration.

Chemical imbalance theories predominate in "streamline" public sector medicine for lower social class and homeless persons, where drugs constitute the only form of treatment. There is much wishful thinking in attribution of drug effect, particularly in cases like schizophrenia, where there no longer exists a patient [non-drug user] control group available.

One criticism while not outright rejecting the theory is that it has been scientifically proven that things other than drugs can influence brain chemistry. Exercise releases endorphins. Even our own thoughts change our brain chemistry. These natural methods of changing brain chemicals are claimed by critics to be preferable to drugs since drugs have side effects. Furthermore, some psychiatric drugs might alter the mind by disabling moods and emotions not just in circumstances where they're a problem but in circumstances where they're appropriate or even beneficial as well while natural ways to change brain chemistry can be used as needed.

There is also criticism that Chemical Imbalance theory does not take into account that there are feedback mechanisms in all neurotransmitter pathways. These feedback mechanisms are present in all mammals, and likely all forms of life utilizing neurons, and are absolutely required for information processing to function properly. Publications on chemical imbalance theory often do not properly follow the scientific method, and often gather data on changes to neurotransmitter systems in patients who are taking, or have taken, psychotropic medication. This skews data by confusing the cause of the illness with feedback mechanisms potentiated by psychotropic drugs. Limited publications on changes detected in neurotransmitters pathways in psychotropic drug naive patients have not been reproducible.

The primary neurotransmitter feedback mechanisms currently studied are:

Receptor deletion (uncoupling),

Receptor addition (supersensitivity),

increase or decrease of neurotransmitter metabolism (manufacture),

increase or decrease of neurotransmitter release,

increase or decrease of reuptake (removal process from the synaptic cleft),

increase or decrease of enzymatic breakdown of neurotransmitters (for monoamines like Dopamine, Serotonin, and Norepinephrine - this is done by the Monoamine Oxidase enzyme)

Receptor deletion and Receptor addition are implicated in causing psychiatric and physiological symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from psychotropic drugs. As feedback mechanisms also evolved to overcome the effect of molecules from eternal sources that interfere with receptors (and thereby interfere with information processing) through a variety of means, treatment with psychotropic drugs should produce 'withdrawal' like symptoms with long or even short term use of an unchanged dose (this is called dependence), thus the chemical imbalance theory is under attack due to published evidence on how feedback mechanisms respond to drugs - rather than a lack of evidence on changes in neurotransmitters in patients with mental illness.

To date, all studied psychotropic drugs potentiate feedback mechanisms, some feedback mechanisms of which have been implicated in causing the same symptoms of the illness the drugs are approved to treat.

It is currently understood that feedback mechanisms can lose their original reference point in some patients with some drugs (usually in long term treatment), meaning that a drug with the exact opposite effect is needed to repair the feedback mechanisms to end otherwise permanent drug withdrawal symptoms. The only class of drugs that had been studied in this manner are benzodiazepines, for treatment of 'protracted withdrawal syndrome' using a GABA agonist.