Debunking the Myths of Medicine for Christians who Need Them

[reallyME]

*** This was a paper that my mentor had me write, since I have this habit of "labeling" people as NPD, BPD, and telling them they need help and need to be on meds.  She is teaching me to be more tactful in how I present things to wounded people who really might need help and meds.  I hope you find this informative to read.  I enjoy writing a lot.  If you are not a Christian, please understand that there are many Christian "faith" sects in the world, who teach against using medicine in treating any type of illness, including psychiatric ones, which, I believe is to the detriment of individuals and possibly society as well.

~Laura




Debunking the Medicine Myth

This is a written discussion about what the Bible says regarding the use of medicine for treatment of illness. It is written from my own point of view, and can apply to physical illness, but I am primarily gearing my information toward answering questions and debunking the myths regarding using pharmaceuticals for treating psychological and mental disorders in the Christian Believer.

Perhaps you are a person who currently takes medicine for treating a mental/psychological disorder. You may be somebody who is struggling with trying to stay focused and emotionally stable.

This information I am presenting here, might give you some help and insight, as well as to dispel the condemning voices and attitudes of some of the "faith-movement" churches who encourage rejection of people who use medicine to treat their illness. Maybe your church group forbids using medicine due to a belief system that states that if God intended us to put foreign substances into our bodies, He would have posted a chapter in the Bible on "Pro-Medicines."

Possibly a feeling of guilt is keeping you from even venturing to try a medicine prescribed by your doctor or therapist, because you feel like your faith will appear as weak to your Godly peers who are doing just fine by standing in the truth of the Word of God, "confessing to possess" their health and deliverance.

I can even personally relate to the feelings in all of these situations, as I have taken an anti-convulsant for a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, and faced the disapproving glances and comments of my "faith-only" friends. I have experienced guilt from not being able to "stand in faith only" for my healing.

I have seen more books in the charismatic sections of bookstores, that are anti-medicine, than I have seen of those that support the use of medicine by Believers. Here, in writing, I hope to offer an alternative Bible-based view for those Believers finding themselves needing to resort to using medicine in their lives.
Let the Debunking Begin

Myth #1
If you "only believe" you will be healed.

This is usually quoted from the verse in Luke 8:50, because Jesus told a person in this scripture that if they only believed, the woman would be healed. I would like to suggest that, yes, in that instance, all it took, along with the woman's faith, was a mere touch from Jesus and she was made well.
 
In some instances, the brain chemistry of a person will not line up with their will to enable them to have a rational thinking capacity. God provides medical knowledge to doctors, in order to create pharmaceuticals that balance the chemistry of the brain.

I personally experienced this situation. I wanted so badly to be able to "only believe" myself able to think straight, but no matter how much I cried out to God, got hands laid on me, begged, pleaded to the heavens, and no matter how many scriptures I confessed over myself, the confusion and the drive to get revenge on people who had wounded me, continued to haunt and obsess my mind.
 
At a point of wanting to die, I finally demanded that the mental health clinic do an evaluation on me, to find out what had been tormenting me almost to death for so many years. I had, up to this point, tried everything else I knew to try. I consulted my medical practitioner for a thorough physical exam, then went through 6 hours of counseling and deliverance from a married couple who specialized in helping people bound by devils.
 
Nothing helped me, until I finally took a tiny pill. After 30 minutes of the pill being in my body, every extra traumatizing thought ceased, and, for the first time in my life, I did not feel like I was being controlled and compelled to do things that were totally contrary to my people-loving nature. It was like God sent me the gift of sanity and reasoning, in one little tablet.
 
 It was as though I had eaten the Bible scrolls that God presented to His prophet in the Bible. I was suddenly feeling wise and in control of my mental/spiritual faculties.

I believed that at last, God answered my cries, from His heavens, according to Psalm 119 v 145. I did what God's Word told me to do so many times, asked for wisdom because I lacked it, James 1, and , through my search for help and ultimately my new medicine, my prayer was granted to me.

Myth #2
 
 "Oh ye of LITTLE FAITH!"

This was a rebuke given by Jesus to his followers during a storm at sea, in which they did not trust him to keep them safe and alive. Let's examine my view of this situation realistically.
First of all, Jesus was right there with them physically they knew his nature and that he would not allow them to drown in the sea, yet they allowed rationality and trust in God to go "out the window" instead, following their emotional panic during the moment.
 
For a person suffering with mental/psychological illness, it does not usually take an extreme situation for their reasoning ability to shift to panic-mode. These struggling people live constantly "on edge" with the tendency to react in an insecure or unstable way.
 
I do not believe that Jesus would have rebuked someone who was truly not able to think logically or who lived in a constant unsettled frame of mind, by no fault of their own. They cannot use their free will, because their mind is hindered by imbalances of chemistry. God understands and has compassion on those people.
 

When Jesus said, "Oh ye of little faith, he was correcting a group of men whose minds were able to trust that all would be well, not people who could not even conceive of what being "well" felt like, due to being raised in abuse, molested or just having a chemical imbalance that caused their brains not to work right.

Myth #3

Pharmaceuticals come from the word "pharmakeia" which is derived from "witchcraft," and God strictly forbids His children using any form of witchcraft or sorcery; therefore, taking medicine in not ever an option for the Christian person.

Jesus told his disciple Peter, to "take some wine for your stomach." Most people are aware that wine contains a mind-altering drug known as alcohol. If Jesus/God did not want us to utilize any form of medicine that could alter our brain chemistry or emotional state, suggesting that Peter use wine to treat his stomach ailment, would go against God's own belief and decision.
 
Since God does not contradict himself, it must stand to reason that medicinal treatment is ok where and when it is warranted.

Myth #4

Medicine will totally change your character and nature. God created you just the way He wanted you to be, so do not mess with His Divine plan.

If a medicine changes who you are, it might be the wrong one or an incorrect dosage. The Bible says, "even if you drink poison, it will not harm you." (Luke 10 v 19). Medicine is not supposed to harm nor poison your body; rather, it should act as an extra help to bring your entire "self" into a place of healthy balance, so that you can live your life as the best "you" you can be.

Myth #5

Medicine turns people into zombies, so medicines are all bad!

God's word says, "a merry heart does good LIKE A MEDICINE." It is actually the "broken spirit" that can destroy you, more so than using a substance that is referred to as "doing good." Some people are not able to get to the "merry heart" state of mind, due to lacking some chemicals in their bodies and minds. This is where medicines can be very beneficial.

Myth # 6

Since you were not "given the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind," you have only to trust God and the fears and anxieties will dissipate.
 
 It is true that you were not given by GOD the spirit of fear, however, this does not guarantee that you did not have it imparted to you in some other way.
 
Perhaps you have this spirit of fear, through being abused or threatened or merely through a chemical or neurotransmitter dysfunction in your brain. Medicine can often help in the balance and often healing of these problems.

 
Specific arguments about wine not being a "fermented" drink, so it cannot be compared to a mind-altering substance, such as a prescription are:

1.) Wine in the Bible days, was nothing more than grape juice. People did not get drunk on it.

On their journeys in Bible times, wine was carried in animal skins, because as the liquid fermented, the skins could expand to keep it fresh and drinkable. Obviously quite a bit of wine was drunk in Bible days during travel and celebration, and people did get drunk at the Wedding Feast of Cana.
 
 The leader of the wedding was shocked that Jesus "saved the best for last." The reason for this, is that, usually the host at weddings, would have the best wine drunk first, so the people would not notice when they were drinking the cheaper drink, due to being already drunk.

2.) Ok, but their form of wine did not affect their minds like a drug can and does.

2 Samuel 16:2 says that "wine is for those who are faint in the wilderness." Why? It helped pep the people up, as in "eat, drink and be merry." (It wasn't Kool-Aid they drank to get the pep back in their step!)
 

Some more characteristics of wine that prove it does alter the chemistry of the mind just as any drug does:

Esther 1:10- King was merry with wine
Ps 60:3- wine of confusion, proves that wine can cause bad alterations in one's thought processes when used in excess or in the wrong type
Ps 104:15- wine can make a person glad
Prov 20:1- wine is a mocker

There are many other things that wine does, both positive and negative, but they are too many to list here.  A word study on "wine" will help give more input on this.

Wine can be used for good or for bad; same with medicines. When medicine is used to help a person function at his/her fullest level, it is a good thing.
 
The hope is, that eventually a healing will take place in the body by some means, and the person will be able to discontinue using the medicine and live a wholesome life without it.

For some, this is highly possible because the body eventually has altered and balanced its chemicals and neurology.
 
For others, medicine may need to be used for a longer period of time.

The most important thing to keep in mind, is that God looks at your heart and knows exactly what you have need of before you even ask or think it. He does not condemn you for needing help in life. (Romans 8:28). "There is therefore now no condemnation to him who is in Christ Jesus, who walks not according to the flesh but by the spirit."
God desires for you, His Beloved to prosper and be in health even as your soul ( mind, will, emotions) prosper. If taking a medicine will promote His plan and help you to be who He has called and commissioned you to be, then you have His favor upon you and His mercy and power will work along with your medicine, to promote the healing you need.

Chances are that if you have been prescribed or need a medicine to help bring things into balance, your behavior may be erratic and even irresponsible and dangerous toward yourself and others, when not taking your medicine. If this is the case, I believe that God would rather have you take a medicine that helps normalize your behavior, so that you can set your mind on becoming fruitful in His will for you, rather than staying in a mental/emotional/psychological state in which your troubling behavior may cost you relationship, jobs, sanity or, in extreme cases, even your very life!

God is a God full of love, mercy and grace. He desires that none should perish. I believe that settling for a life that is less than His best for you, because your mind does not function normally, is not in His plan. He wants you to be successful and healthy in your mind and body both on this earth and in your new body in heaven.
In His love,
Laura
 
 

[Certain Hope]

Dear Laura,

  I've enjoyed reading your essay and I think you did a great job writing it! It's very thorough and you've selected good texts to use in support of your points. I do believe that God heals... sometimes without medicines, sometimes with. I also believe that the very knowledge and wisdom which medical science possesses is a gift from God. As with all gifts, this is up to mankind's free will whether to use it for benefits or detriment.

   My belief is that faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. We can have faith that when we sit down, the chair beneath us will give steady support, but if it has a flaw and gives way... we will quickly lose faith. I think it's like that when folks have faith in their faith, instead of faith in God. They miss the bigger picture and forget that He is the Father of lights, from whose hand comes every good and perfect gift. Since faith itself is one of His gifts, getting back to the Source is the first step in healing, in my opinion.

   Thank you for sharing this, Laura. It's given me a great start to this new day!

With love,
Hope

[jordanspeeps]

Pharmaceuticals come from the word "pharmakeia" which is derived from "witchcraft,"

Fascinating, that.  I've done a considerable amount of research on witchcraft, trying to understand how it presents itself in modern culture.(wearing the anthropologist's hat)  The research was prompted by my feeling that my family must be enduring a generational curse, (of mental illness and narcissism).  A curse, or geneological marker, if you will, that would predestine us for selfishness, envy, shame, guilt, and mental disease.   I was looking for a way to "break the curse" or "break the cycles" if you will for my daughter's sake.  I learned a heck of a lot about modern witchcraft, which in it's own terminology and symbolism represents to me, a physical manifestation of Narcissism. Witchcraft is defined as the desire to covertly impose one's WILL onto another and I'd witnessed it first hand throughout my life with my Nmother, Nfather, and Ngrandmother.

Through the study of several subject areas: Theology, demonology, Native American religion (my great, great-grandmother was a religious priestess of a North Carolina Cherokee Tribe), psychology, medicine/anatomy, astronomy/astrology, I've come to believe that Narcissism is one the Enemy's tricks for manifesting pure evil, as stated in that book, People of the Lie.  And that Ns, in many ways, are humans possessed with evil. Pigs in the Palour, a book supposedly for Christain counselors  to assist them in identifying and casting out demons, has been on my mother's bookshelf since I was a tot.  It was published the year I was born in 1974.  Eerily, I never read it, and rarely did a book get by me, my Nmom, however used it like a bible and I worry that she manipulates people, including myself with the information in it. I think that qualifies her for using witchcraft.  She has displayed several other characteristics associated with modern witchcraft and I worry sometimes that certain "spiritual gifts" she has claimed to possess throughout her life as a faithful church member, theology student, and eventually a pastor, (gifts like prophecy, healing touch, prosperity ministry,) have been conjured up psychological mind-control tactics used fluently by malevolent Ns.

I've seen her destroy happy couples, drive recovering addicts back to the pipe, and fleece innocent souls of their cash.  If it is the job of the N to murder spirit, she will certainly receive a crown wherever she's going.  She has always colored my life with her greater-than-life hero stories told to take away from my shining moments with her careless ignorance and ridicule.  I believe her to be a modern day witch, her own birth in 1944, at midnight on the first day of spring heralded by an intense blizzard, an ominous omen in Cherokee folklore, that the child born under such circumstances needed to be separated from her mother for the first months of it's life, while the little gods talk to them. (perfect setup for Nism isn't it, doesn't the damage done to Ns happen in the crib?) This pattern of separating the babies from the mothers is strong in my family.  My oldest brother was left with my Ngrandmother upon his birth, because my mother was in nursing school several hundred miles away and could not be seen during that time unwed with a child; it would ruin her education. So she was re-introduced to him two years later when she finished her LPN. (heartless b!)  This brother grew up to be a heroin, crack-abusing, untreated bipolar committing crimes and leaving a trail of abused women and thier children. Meanwhile, she starts social programs for recovering addicts at her church And the witch's, (also Satan's) biggest lie is that they are nothing like this, that they are indeed that sweet, harmless, next-to-God character that you would never suspect.. There are many more fascinating other details I've uncovered about my mother's family that sends the mind spinning.  If it wasn't for God and the enormous faith that I've placed in Him that the frightening coincidences of my life will lead me exactly to where I am supposed to be in my life, I would just crack up, like my poor brothers and sister.  I'm made strong for a reason and when I come to know what all this witchcraft, demonology, psychology stuff means, I hope to find peace and balance.

Sorry for the tirade, RM, this is a really touchy area for me, 

As for the use of medicine by Christians, I'd been taught against the use of medicine since I was born into the fundamentalist pentacostal apostolic organization, (cult).  When I was eighteen, and decided, against all church member/family advice to stay and go to local city college, I was going to go "away" to University, I got away from that harrowing experience, where the only thing good that come from it was my courtship with the Bible and God's ways.  This romantic, imaginative period of bible study and sunday school lessons was so much more appealing to me than the hypocritical abuse I was witnessing in reality day in and day out in the name of God.  I did carry on many of the traditions I learned as a child/teenager and not taking medicine was one of them.  I always attempt to use my faith, holistic medicines, and rest to heal me of my infirmiries.  I generally like to exhaust every possible non-pharmaceutical approach to a cure before using medicine.  I'm not like this with my daughter, she goes straight to the M.D. and we follow his directions to a T. 

But, recently, my body's functions do not match what I believe to be my mind's healthy state.  I'd been diagnosed with IBS years ago, when there was no med for it, you just avoided trigger foods and kept your stress low. (easier said than done with a stark-raving N in your life) I've done every thing I could to keep the symptoms at bay, but recently I can't control the symptoms despite my impression to be in a low stress state.  My husband thinks I should seek medical attention and possibly look into the new med they have for IBS sufferers, Zelnorm.  The fact that it's a med period, makes me want to cringe, but the fact that it is really a psyche med, makes me extremely nervous.  But the fact that my husband thinks I should see what the doc says and let him know that we'd like to exhaust all non-med alternatives first, makes me feel like I could release the warped thoughts of my FOO and cult-ish church upringing and embrace functionality.

feeling a little pensive today
Tiffany

[penelope]

wow, all I can say is *interesting* RM.  Thank you for sharing that, I learned a lot from reading it and thought it was very gently put.  good job

pb

[penelope]

hi tiff - pensive's alright.  I'm reading yours too..but coffee isn't work and up all night again, so I'll have to read it a couple more times I think.  There's a lot there!

pb

[reallyME]

Thank you for your comments on my paper.  Mom and I are planning to possibly revise it a bit and add to it and publish it.

Know of any publishers?

~Laura

[adrift]

Hi,

  The old excuse that wine in Biblical times wasn't fermented was used by my mother to keep me from believing it's o.k. to drink alcoholic beverages.  My mom's dad was a preacher, my mom taught SS all my life, my dad was a deacon but yet my mom used this lie because she didn't want me to drink.  Years after she died, I found a picture of my mom at the beach when she was in her twenties and she was holding up a can of Bud!!  Come to find out she lived some wild times when she was young and I guess she was afraid I would do likewise so she used whatever lies and extreme controls she could to manipulate me.  She quoted the Bible extensively to me, always to control me.  She kept me from living a normal teenage life, all but locking me in the house, she "demonized" anyone who was a partier or who was a member of the country club.  My mother would fall under the "cult" type of Nish behaviour, definitely.  It wasn't really my welfare she cared about, but her concern was in how my behaviour relfected her---100%. 


Adrift

[portia guest]

Tiff

have you tried? - http://www.internethealthlibrary.com/Health-problems/Irritable%20Bowel%20Syndrome%20-%20researchAltTherapies.htm

Acupuncture & IBS
Acupuncture has traditionally been successfully employed in China to treat most illnesses. There is little doubt that acupuncture is an excellent therapy for people suffering with irritable bowel syndrome; in 1979 the World Health organisation listed 40 major diseases that could find relief by acupuncture treatment and diseases of the intestinal tract including irritable bowel syndrome were included in that number. (1)

if not, try IBS Acupuncture in Google. If you have, ignore me!

[jordanspeeps]

RM,

Know of any publishers?

a suggestion:
have you thought of self-publishing on the Internet, developing a grass-roots following, and let your works be picked up by national publishers as they see you've developed an audience...

...just a thought, a lot of successful self-published authors regret not doing this sooner.

to portia:  thanks, so much for the link, I plan to follow it now.  And oh no, I'd never ignore you, sweetcakes!!!! 

take care
tiffany

[Certain Hope]

Tiffany,

  You said:  I've come to believe that Narcissism is one the Enemy's tricks for manifesting pure evil, as stated in that book, People of the Lie.  And that Ns, in many ways, are humans possessed with evil.   

I absolutely agree. This is not an aspect of N'ism that I've heard much about, but so needed, I think,  to keep in perspective the influence of not only mind and heart, but of the spirit... upon a person's behavior.

To me, that little word "with" makes all the difference... "possessed with evil", as opposed to being possessed  by  it,
or by some spiritual force. In other words, I think N gives him/her self over to wickedness and thereby becomes sealed as a reprobate. I also believe in spiritual gifts, just not that they're all gifts from God. I think of the enemy as the great pretender.... and since he's incapable of producing an original creation/gift/miracle, he's stuck with copying the real thing. I've seen some of the  devastating outcomes of the "work" of those who masquerade as Christian counselors & ministers in groups that are actually cults.
It's terrifying. There are many spiritual forces at work, I believe, and whether a person believes in demonic possession or not, it seems fairly easy to recognize that there are some individuals who have utterly given themselves over to evil.

   I really appreciated reading your description here of witchcraft, Tiffany.. all of this just resonates with my spirit as being the truth.
I also believe that you have God's hand of protection over your life and destiny, that He has strengthened and preserved you, and that you will find the peace and balance you seek as you trust in Him. "The flesh can only be broken by the Spirit" has become a very real axiom in my life. I'm praying that the Lord will lead you to complete healing, whether that comes via meds or acupuncture or whatever... and that you will rest in the absolute assurance that you've been made a new creature in Christ Jesus. Blessings, Tiff.

With love,
Hope

[adrift]

Since y'all have mentioned witchcraft......I was very active on another board before wandering here.  This other board was a homebuilding site and lots of us chatted for over a year and became good internet friends.  As always happenes, new people came on the board and ended up that three of them were practicing witches.  I ignored their references to celebrating the Solstice, etc.... until one day one of them went into this long explanation about how wicca isn't in any way bad or evil and blah, blah so I figured since she could give her perspective, then I could nicely give mine.  Ever been attacked by 3 witches and a Jew on a board???  Then one of the admins, who talked all the time about going to church and claimed to be a Christian, sided with them and said I was stirring up trouble. The reason the Jewish lady joined with the witches in verbally attacking me was because I used a quote from Deuteronomy and she claimed I was using HER religion (that's how she said it) to attack others. I politely told her that Christians consider both the Old and New Testament to be our text for Christian living.  I never attacked, I just gave my opinion with scripture to back it up.  I sadly left that board, although quite a few old members have asked me repeatedly to come back. 

So with regards to witchcraft,,,,,that's a mighty sensitive topic. 

Adrift

[reallyME]

Tiff,

HOw does one go about self-publishing on the internet please?

[lupine]

Ever been attacked by 3 witches and a Jew on a board???

Adrift, I know that must have been upsetting but it is really funny too.  How many ways can a thread go wrong???  Take care.

[jordanspeeps]

ch,

thank you for your kind words.  they are very encouraging to me especially when my head gets to spinning with the details of my past and this witchcraft, demonology stuff; i tend to get frazzled.  your words are grounding and help confirm what i've always felt; that there's a reason for my suffering and that God has it all in control.  i've managed to survive and maintain a forgiving, creative spirit despite all this Nism/evil and for that i consider myself blessed of God.  bless you, ch.

adrift,

it's great that you were willing to be a witness to the practicing witches, even if it stirred controversy.  we [christian soldiers] should be willing to stand for that which we believe in a gentle loving manner, of course.  the discord and confusion the witches caused only confirms for whom they were working, killing spirit and causing havoc.  the scripture, your sword, truth, is the weapon that will ultimately defeat the enemy despite any confusion he tries to cause.  good for you, adrift.

rm,

i'm really quite unsure as to the semantics or logistics; i've only discussed online publishing in passing with friends/associates in the industry. but if i were in your shoes, looking to publish an edited work, i would probably start with one of those yellow "for dummies" books to begin pointing me towards a direction.  good luck with that.

tiffany

[portia guest]

I'd never ignore you

like...angels down the telephone wires... it touches exactly : thank you Tiffany (big warm heart emoticon)