A Christian's Guide to Mental Illness

"...I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Ps. 139:14)

Just finished reading "A Christian's Guide to Mental Illness" by @davidpmurray and @tomkareljr.

"I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Ps. 139:14). That's how I feel after reading Murray and Karel's 'A Christian's Guide to Mental Illness.'

I appreciated this book on a few levels. I like its ability to address the lay reader's most fundamental questions about this almost verboten subject, and do so in light of God's Word. I also liked reading this book, because I got the distinct impression that we are a once glorious, now fallen, beautifully complicated, mess of a race. With this everapparant underpinning, Murray and Karel explore the biological, psychological, and circumstantial elements of mental illness, recognizing whatever human advancements have been made in the field of study, but only permit that which comports itself with the Word of God, the greatest anthroplological work ever Written. On that note, I greatly appreciate Murray's nuance regarding his past view that depression is solely a spiritual issue, acknowledging that mental health is more complicated than the naked application of the Bible. He confesses a common misconception in many conservative Christian circles and opens up a much-needed dialogue on mental health. I once held that same opinion, that depression = unconfessed sin in your life. Sometimes that's true. Sometimes it's not. And as the book points out, if this were true, we'd all be walking depressionists. But I have come to learn that if you can break your arm, you can break your brain. It's that simple. Or should I say, complex? As God's "breathed into" creatures, we are as much metaphysical as corporeal, as much soul as body, eternal as ephemeral. Ignoring the fall's effects on our minds is missing a few vital centerpieces of humanity's puzzle. The book addresses these missing pieces.

Karel's clinical experience becomes evident in this book. It is a balanced book, as much as that word is abused today, by appropriately dividing the parts of mental illness according to its genus. Sometimes circumstance plays a part, sometimes biology, sometimes trauma, sometimes sin, and more often than we know, all these intermix in the suffering mind of the child of God.

The book is very readable, pastorally compassionate, but decidedly firm. I love that about the book. As a pastor well acquainted with believers' mental struggles, I often wonder where the help lies, and which help to render. We need faithful brothers and sisters trained in this ever-expanding field to help the rest of us navigate the gauntlet of opinions as we seek help for our loved ones or ourselves. When is a case in need of an actual physician? How do medications fit into this? Who can we recommend that is safe for our loved ones? What role can the body of Christ play in recovering mental strength? This book helps address these and other questions.

Murray and Karel have done an excellent service to the Church by opening the doorway into a new field of discovery, for conservative Christians. If God is in the macro of quantum physics, He's certainly also in the micro of my mind and heart. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, so let's seek help from our Maker. With that confession, read this book with an open mind. You will not be disappointed. Get it into the hands of elders, pastors, and as many in the pew as you think would benifit, for themselves, or for a loved one. Thank you to both brothers for writing it.

P.S.

It would be interesting to see a holistic expansion of this book. I hope this is not a one-and-done. We need volumes on this subject for the layman and minister alike. Key areas: new science (light therapy [ifrared, red, and blue light]), Christian meditation, a lost art, natural supplements, and the influence of technology on this field (especially online therapy and AI-generated therapy!). The next generation will be quicker to embrace the thesis of this book, but they will have a whole new set of questions for the 21st century and mental illness.