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Is Sin the Cause of Mental Illness?
By Author & Psychologist Eli Kittim
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Christian Psychotherapy
I should frame the discussion by saying at the outset that my definition of the Christian Method of Psychotherapy is not based on organized religion or on any particular denomination. The Christian psychological approach that I am introducing is not related to any religious doctrines, dogmas, or practices. Rather, it is based on my personal understanding of the teachings of the Bible in conjunction with modern psychology and existential experience! As a trained psychologist, I see an intimate connection between sin and neurosis!
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What is sin, anyway?
In Biblical terms, “sin” is an action that transgresses the divine moral law and is thought to be highly reprehensible, bringing about guilt and/or shame upon the individual who commits it through the conscience (i.e. superego).
In humanistic terms, that is precisely what a clinical “neurosis” consists of, namely, conscious or unconscious feelings of guilt and/or shame that are displayed in one’s personality as symbolic symptoms, such as anxieties, phobias, compulsions, and the like. Although the term “neurosis” has been dropped since 1980 by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM III), it is nevertheless prevalent in the clinical psychotherapeutic literature (e.g. it is still used in the ICD-10 Chapter V F40–48).
The point is, there seems to be a clinical connection between neurosis and sin. Some notable psychoanalysts, such as Moshe HaLevi Spero, have published academic works about this connection (see his article “Sin as Neurosis” in the “Journal of Religion and Health” Vol. 17, No. 4 [Oct. 1978], pp. 274-287).
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What is the Difference Between Christian and Clinical Psychotherapy?
Whereas modern psychotherapy’s goal is to make you feel less guilty about your neurosis, Biblical Christianity tries to eradicate the source of your guilt through *forgiveness*. These are two radically different approaches. One is largely devoid of any ethical considerations and basically encourages you to continue practicing your sins (as long as you’re not hurting yourself or others), while trying to persuade you not to feel so damn guilty about them. After all, this is the 21st century. People are free to do as they wish. A psychoanalyst once said to a patient——who suddenly revealed a secret perversion during a psychodynamic therapy session——“welcome to the club.”
The other approach acknowledges that something is morally wrong and says, no matter what you do, the guilt and shame will not go away unless you’re *forgiven*. Modern psychotherapy does not offer a “cure,” only a better coping mechanism based on a better understanding of your symptoms. In other words, it offers a bandaid, at best. Biblical Christianity, on the other hand, offers a “cure” based on an *inner transformation* of the mind. It may entail more risks and a far deeper understanding, but it almost always guarantees a personality change. All you have to do is to reinvent yourself. You have to become a new creature: a new creation. One day you’re this person; the next day you’re a completely different person. That’s exactly what happened to Paul in the New Testament. One day he was persecuting Christians. The next he loved and protected them. The Second letter to the Corinthians 5.17 (NIV) reads:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new
creation has come: The old has gone, the
new is here!
The Christian process of transformation is not unlike the Buddhist or the Hindu. In fact, it is almost identical to them in the sense of self-realization and self-transcendence, the only difference is that at the center of undifferentiated consciousness is the divine Christ. The Johannine Jesus makes it absolutely clear that you cannot even see the kingdom of God unless you are born again (3.3):
Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one
can see the kingdom of God unless they are
born again.’
That’s precisely why the Epistle to the Ephesians 4.22-24 (NRSV) instructs us to put away the “old self” and to put on a new identity, namely, “the new self,” which is made in the image of God:
You were taught to put away your former
way of life, your old self, corrupt and
deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in
the spirit of your minds, and to clothe
yourselves with the new self, created
according to the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness.
So, from this perspective, you don’t need to see a psychiatrist once a week. What you need is a personality change. In other words, you don’t need a slap on the wrist; you need forgiveness!
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Christian Psychotherapy Not Only Cures but Also Offers Salvation
Besides this psychotherapeutic advantage that the Bible offers, in which deep satisfaction and contentment can be attained, it also furnishes some insights into unconscious motivation and human behavior. For example, it goes beyond the personal unconscious and informs us about the influences of the so-called “collective unconscious” on our psyche, as the work of Swiss psychiatrist, Carl Jung, has shown.
Of course, the weltanschauung of transcendental philosophy is significant here because, in the Biblical context, transcendence refers to the metaphysical aspects of nature, which are beyond all physical laws. These parapsychological phenomena can be exhibited in various “religious experiences” of the type that William James studied, which are typically manifested in contemplation, prayer, séance, extrasensory perception, clairvoyance, meditation, or paranormal “visions” and existential experiences. In short, there seems to be a link between physical and metaphysical phenomena that are played out in the psychological sphere of the individual and in the realm of the mind.
To this end, the Bible has a lot to say on the topic of how we diagnose and therefore treat certain ailments. For example, should we treat all mental health issues as matters that pertain to sin or should we consult modern psychology? According to the Bible, if anxieties, fears, depressions, and phobias are the roots of mental disturbances, then *love* necessarily cures them. First John 4.18 (NIV) says:
There is no fear in love. But perfect love
drives out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made
perfect in love.
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Conclusion
The panacea for all nonbiological mental disorders is *love.* The Beatles were spot-on: “All You Need Is Love.” Second Timothy 1.7 (KJV) reads:
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind.
Thus, from a psychotherapeutic perspective, it is precisely this *love* and *forgiveness* that equips a person to break the chains of neurosis, addiction, and fear by restoring their mind back to health!
(To read this article in Greek, click the following link: https://www.tumblr.com/eli-kittim/652363021202669568/%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CE%B7-%CE%B1%CE%BC%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%84%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%B7-%CE%B1%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82-%CF%88%CF%85%CF%87%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE%CF%82-%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B8%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%82
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I want to play fight/wrestle with my f/os SO BAD!!!
YANDERE TEN:
•Yandere Chittaphon actúa de maneras extrañas.
•Lo que quiero decir es que de repente es tan frío y distante, pero cinco minutos después será una persona completamente diferente.
•Él también posee poder en la mafia, así que es mejor portarse bien si sabes lo que te conviene.
•Te conoció debido a un error de sus hombres que atraparon a la persona equivocada, pero ya no puede dejarte ir porque has visto su rostro, nadie que lo vea por error puede salir vivo.
•Y él te lo recordará a cada momento, lo afortunad@ que fuiste al perdonarte la vida para que comience a tratarte como de la realeza.
•Te dará todo lo que quieras, siempre y cuando te quedes con él.
•Quizás sea el más "liberal" de los yandere porque se te permite salir de la mansión solo si vas acompañad@ por el equipo de seguridad que él te otorgó.
•Y con equipo de seguridad me refiero a niñeras que en donde vean a hombres que intenten pasarse de listos contigo, van a morir.
•Es bastante liberal porque te lleva a fiestas, cenas, eventos y demás para presumir de tu hermosa compañía, como un trofeo.
•Pero sea quien sea, si alguien mancha tu honor, él mismo lo limpiará trayendo a tus pies el corazón de tus nuevos enemigos. En serio lo hará.
•Chittaphon es más así como un yandere sugar daddy, lo que quieres lo tienes, pero debes pagarle abriendo tus bonitas piernas para él.
•Volviendo a lo complicado de su carácter, es frío porque si bien te lleva a todas partes, odiara que vean que eres su debilidad, así que querrá obviamente disimularlo.
•Pero eres un ángel y tú belleza es difícil de ignorar para Ten.
•No tiene castigos físicos para ti, considera horrible marcar una piel tan bonita como la tuya.
•Además le hechara la culpa a los demás por tu mal comportamiento si es que lo tienes, después de todo, él cree que es el mundo quien está corrompiendote, por lo que le es lógico que sea el mundo quien debe pagar. Eres su ángel. Y te hará verlo, no para que te horrorices, si no para que lo felicites por su buen trabajo protegiendote de los malos.
•Literalmente estas en una cajita de cristal porque yandere Chittaphon no te permite hacer cosas peligrosas, para eso están sus hombres. O él en el mejor de los casos.
•Vive esta fantasía de que es tu hombre ideal, así que no lo contradigan, Chittaphon enojado es vengativo, algo que aprenderás viendo cómo trata a los demás.
•A este punto, seguramente notaste la enorme debilidad que eres para él, y eso probablemente tenga sus ventajas, siempre y cuando te hayas adaptado a olvidar a tus amigos y familiares porque compartir no entran en los planes de yandere Chittaphon.
•Ya eres suy@, así que comportate y adaptate. Ya lo dije, vive en su fantasía de que es tu príncipe azul, ese que te rescató de un triste destino cruel. Es tu obligación amarlo y ser agradecid@.
•Pero te prefiere pur@ e inocente en la cama, aunque eso no significa que no se te permita iniciar el acto, lo apreciará bastante. Sin embargo él es el hombre a cargo y quiere dominar la mayor parte posible.
•No le gustan los juguetes ni nada extravagante, porque él es el hombre a cargo y puede con todo.
•Y aún si tiene un enorme problema con verte en lencería, será tu haz bajo la manga si quieres algo que extrañamente te fuera a negar.
•Chittaphon es del tipo que desconfía de todos, así que tú opinión es demasiado importante para él. Aún así no sepas nada del tema, el querrá escuchar algo de tus labios.
•Pero como sus negocios son peligrosos, no querrá involucrarte directamente, lo cual es gracioso para alguien quien te lleva a todos sus eventos. Todos conocen tu rostro.
•Chitaphon ignorara tus quejas sobre que quieres irte y demás. Eres suy@ y vives feliz, con qué razón le dirías algo tan cruel? Así que quizás quieras recapacitar sobre tus palabras antes de que se enoje algún día.
•Por lo general, yandere Chittaphon es bastante tranquilo pese a actuar de maneras extrañas, te tiene por encima de todo, siempre pur@ y pulcr@. Nadie puede contradecir.
—Definitivamente eres mi ángel, siempre tan obediente y dulce. Permiteme premiarte por lo bien que me haces sentir, un pajarito me contó que te gustaría tomar aire fresco, te llevaré mañana a las montañas. Mi bebé~
