Thursday, April 11, 2013

Christian Counselor: Depression Demands Living by Faith, Not by Sight

By Melissa Barnhart , CP Contributor
April 11, 2013|12:01 pm

Edward Welch, a licensed neuropsychologist and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation in Philadelphia, Pa., provides counseling that is based on Scripture to help patients who are suffering from depression.

For people who've never suffered from depression, Welch describes it as being a chronic physical pain and an eternal presence that seems as though it's never going to change.
Welch told The Christian Post that the experience of depression is the absence of all things that are good. "Think of all of the blessings from the Lord: weather, rain, food and fellowship," he said. "The absence of anything good would be hell; and people use metaphors for hell to describe depression."

READ MORE AT THE CHRISTIANPOST

American Family Association Condemns Army Presentation Labeling Evangelicals, Catholics as 'Extremist'

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter
April 11, 2013|12:15 pm

The American Family Association, a conservative nonprofit, has responded to the U.S. Army labeling evangelical Christianity and Catholicism as "extremist," by saying that the issue all comes down to views on homosexuality.

"This categorization is incorrect and unfounded. We do not hate any person or group of people; we love homosexuals enough to tell them the truth about the consequences of homosexual behavior," Tim Wildmon, president of AFA, said in a statement.

READ MORE AT THE CHRISTIANPOST

Pastor Saeed Abedini Given Ultimatum: 'Deny Christ or Face Longer Prison Time'

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter
April 11, 2013|12:45 pm

Iranian authorities have posed U.S. Pastor Saeed Abedini with an ultimatum to deny Christ, or spend more time in prison.

"Deny your faith in Jesus Christ and return to Islam or else you will not be released from prison. We will make sure you are kept here even after your 8 year sentence is finished," the authorities said, according to a letter by Abedini  that was recently obtained by the American Center for Law and Justice.

READ MORE AT THE CHRISTIANPOST

3 Christian Responses to Mental Illness; Which One Is Most Biblical?

By Frank Viola , CP Guest Contributor
April 11, 2013|6:15 am

This post is a P.S. to my article on Monday entitled Rick Warren's Horrific Tragedy & The Sickening Response of Some "Christians", which has become my most viewed blog post since I started the blog in 2008.

Throughout my years of being involved in various and sundry Christian movements and denominations, it seems that Christians understand mental disorders in one of three chief ways:
1. Mental illness is demonic in origin. So the antidote is to cast out the demons that are causing it.
2. Mental illness is psychobabble. There's no such thing as a "mental disorder." All so-called mental illnesses are just sinful behaviors. So the antidote is for person to repent and get right with God.
3. Mental illness is a physiological disorder. The brain is a physical organ just like the heart, the thyroid, the joints, etc. Thus if someone has panic attacks or bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or chronic depression or ADHD, they have a chemical imbalance in the brain, not dissimilar to a hyperthyroidism or high blood pressure or arthritis.
I cut my teeth on a movement that promoted #1. I've met many people who believed #2. But I believe #3 is often the case.
Yet it's not so simple.
The problem, I feel, is that confusion over this issue seems to be rooted in the fact we don't properly understand the integration of body, soul, and spirit.

READ MORE AT Frank Viola CP Blog 

A life saved through a song