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We go for an hour, learn/think about something compelling, and typically leave feeling better. Personally, I find church more effective because I don't need to think as much or talk
But isn't a churchgoer who has a mental health stigma similar to an atheist in counseling who has a stigma about religion? So don't we need to look at people as individuals and drop the stigmas around religious beliefs and mental health?
We go for an hour, learn/think about something compelling, and typically leave feeling better. Personally, I find church more effective because I don't need to think as much or talk
But isn't a churchgoer who has a mental health stigma similar to an atheist in counseling who has a stigma about religion? So don't we need to look at people as individuals and drop the stigmas around religious beliefs and mental health?
If that's what the person is after in a church, it can be just that. Many popular churches today are just about that --meeting the felt needs of the congregation. But no--a church service is SUPPOSED to be about worshiping God, not just making a person feel good about their life, or give them warm feelings. They're not mutually exclusive, but we should start with God, and from that move to the people...not the other way around.
I'm trying to understand the question you're asking, though. Is it wrong to have the stigma about mental health? Yes--it is. My pastor has openly spoken that sometimes a person does need to see a counselor, and it IS ok to take medication to help with some issues.
We go for an hour, learn/think about something compelling, and typically leave feeling better. Personally, I find church more effective because I don't need to think as much or talk
But isn't a churchgoer who has a mental health stigma similar to an atheist in counseling who has a stigma about religion?
The thing about therapy is that if it is successful, change happens. Real structural change in a person's perception of the world and their place in it. That can happen via religious/spiritual experience also, but there are times when religion can simply fortify the erroneous/harmful thinking that is in place.
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Originally Posted by Jumbo10
So don't we need to look at people as individuals and drop the stigmas around religious beliefs and mental health?
Yes to this. Looking at people as individuals and not part of some group is always the best path to take.
Some attend church, other believers don't. Some attend and take it all in without any mental processing, others are highly engaged. There's no one way, one-size-fits-all reality.
Some might consider it like therapy (what they receive), but most - ideally - are to worship and contribute (what they can give). We're there to learn about and celebrate God/Jesus, not be there for "what's in it for me". At least, that's how I see it.
We go for an hour, learn/think about something compelling, and typically leave feeling better. Personally, I find church more effective because I don't need to think as much or talk
But isn't a churchgoer who has a mental health stigma similar to an atheist in counseling who has a stigma about religion? So don't we need to look at people as individuals and drop the stigmas around religious beliefs and mental health?
can be.
but making rules because god said so is the problem. How about coming up with rules without the word god said so?
The word "salvation" in the Bible was a term for finding happiness/joy/peace/contentment in THIS life. The word "life" itself was a synonym for joy/happiness, in the context of the Bible. "Death" was another term for depression. The root definition of depression even today is "low spirits", or in other words, "spiritual death".
The idea of salvation in the "next life" is incorrect in the way Christians explain it, because the next life really just means your "New Life" in Christ after you accept the ways of God. Your new life "in Christ" means that you are accessing your Higher Power which has always existed inside yourself.
So everything about religion/faith is just ancient terminology for Psychology today.
but making rules because god said so is the problem. How about coming up with rules without the word god said so?
Like?
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1st Principle: The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
2nd Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
3rd Principle: Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
4th Principle: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
5th Principle: The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
6th Principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
7th Principle: Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.
It is more like anti-therapy designed to fill you full of fear, anger, paranoia and Sky Daddy issues.
Depends entirely on the church. In fairness, there are churches that are almost entirely about community and refuge and only minimally about creed. On the other hand, pretty much by definition you can't entirely dispense with creedal shibboleths and not become some sort of post-Christian organization like the Unitarian / Universalists.
Still ... there's a big difference between a church that obsesses about doctrinal correctness and one that focuses on inspiring people to mutual commitment and inclusiveness. As a former fundamentalist I had the same tendency as you to assume all of Christendom is guilty of the same things. Honestly, though, even all evangelicals are not equally guilty.
What I am willing to say is that the authoritarian sort of things you're talking about are highly influential culturally and politically here in the US, particularly in the South, and are very toxic indeed.
If that's what the person is after in a church, it can be just that. Many popular churches today are just about that --meeting the felt needs of the congregation. But no--a church service is SUPPOSED to be about worshiping God, not just making a person feel good about their life, or give them warm feelings. They're not mutually exclusive, but we should start with God, and from that move to the people...not the other way around.
I'm trying to understand the question you're asking, though. Is it wrong to have the stigma about mental health? Yes--it is. My pastor has openly spoken that sometimes a person does need to see a counselor, and it IS ok to take medication to help with some issues.
Maybe I would break it down into too groups. Conscious and subconscious therapy. If it's subconscious therapy, it will be tougher to recognize personally but could also lead to stronger beliefs and irrational thinking.
That's good your pastor says it's ok. Just extreme cases tho? How do scientologists feel about therapy/medication? I'm guessing the leaders see it as competition. I ask for real, because I only know about what Tom Cruise said.
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