"Christian" Healing and Mental Health (3)

mcmama (51978) 10 Nov 2007 07:42 AM

This is an interesting series Beth, and I am surprised that no one has commented with their experiences. I know of some folks who have gone through some non Christian "New Age" healing rituals, and when those fail are told they have to buy more crystals, herbs, candles, etc. I also know families who have been left out in the cold by "reparative therapies" aimed at gay husbands, only to find when they do not work that they are shoved aside as not having prayed hard enough and now must deal with another layer of deception and shame.

Christian response to illness is rooted in a believe in spiritual healing - and faith - and the support is not in "love bombing" but in doing the difficult job of sustaining faith in time of need. For some this is short term, for others (such as those with mental illnesses) it is a long term thing. When I was diagnosed with cancer, many people I did not know prayed for me. Prayed real hard. And my surgery was one of those "miracles" which could be explained away, but I believe it was a miracle. It was AFTER the surgery that I needed the prayer and support, and it was truly God's revelation where I got it - totally unexpected again.

Beth McHugh (13211) 10 Nov 2007 02:16 PM

Glad that your surgery went so well, Janet. My point in writing this series was to illustrate just how harmful some people can be, all in the name of Christianity. I hear you about having to buy more crystals, herbs etc, but to be "rejected" by God in the form of these harmful people, really was often the last straw to these sick people. Many of them cried and said that God didn't love them, and it was the worst rejection of all. All I could do was try to reinforce that these people were not God, nor were they loving. They were grossly misinformed as to the nature of the mental illness and took matters into their own hands. One poor man committed suicide. Obviously that was not the fault of the "Christians," but the incident he went through with them was a contributing factor to his final act.

QueenAngie Central Illinois, USA (60086) 11 Nov 2007 02:50 PM

I know of one teenaged boy that had cancer and ended up dying, despite excellent medical care and many prayers.

His family was very religious and some individuals took it upon themselves to state that "if they only prayed more," "if only they'd had more blessings," "something that the parents or grandparents had done was evil, so this was the result of their child dying of cancer."

There individuals were not people who went to our church.

They were people in the community.

Not very supportive or loving friends, in my opinion.

Why would anyone say such a thing to a grieving mother?

Beth McHugh (13211) 11 Nov 2007 04:00 PM

Angie, this is not only sad but cruel. Yes, why would anyone say this to grieving parents? To suggest that a child died because someone in the family was evil IS evil. This is exactly the type of case I am talking about. I hope these parents did not take on that guilt, because in their vulnerable state they are more likely too. I personally know of a man who did this sort of behavior. That is, until he got cancer himself. To his credit, he did publicly announce that he had been so very wrong. He died too, but he died peacefully, a changed man.