Secular psychiatry and the born again believer.

Steve Bloem All Rights Reserved. March 2016

 My intention with this blog is to look at some of the basic underlying  assumptions that are part of a secular psychiatry which includes bias against the supernatural, whether it be God or Satan. We do cover the difference between  demon possession vs. schizophrenia in our seminars, though here we discuss the subject with  brevity.  

My assumption is that as a culture gets further and further away from God, more people in that culture will practice witchcraft and there will be more occurrences of demon possession. But the flip side of this is that a culture that does not honor Scripture will often deny the existence of demons as well as the existence of God. Demonic doctrine is organized, powerful and deceptive. 

Paul the Apostle writes, But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1 ).  

In the 1970s the Soviet Union authorities sent evangelical pastors to psychiatric hospitals, psychiatrists prescribed them medications that normally were used for the treatment for bipolar disorder.  Those in the Soviet Union did not believe in God nor in anything that was supernatural. This deluded thinking was a result of the deceptive doctrine of demons mentioned above..

I have also read and  pieced together that this bias against the supernatural and more specifically against the work of the Holy Spirit in revival and conversion  was part of  the psychiatric treatment  practiced  by the  mad doctors of the 18th century England,  please see, http://www.amazon.com/Undertaker-Mind-Mad-Doctoring-Eighteenth-Century-Medicine/dp/0520231511 .   These English psychiatrists actually petitioned the court to hospitalize the despised Wesleyans because they had ecstatic utterances.  Some of these evangelicals were put in the infamous Bedlam, which was actually Bethlem Royal Hospital.

I remember the desperation I felt when I was looking for a psychiatrist that would prescribe the medicine that I needed to alleviate the symptoms of  my clinical depression. I found a doctor in a neighboring town who was no help to me; he ridiculed me because he felt that evangelical Christians should have, "the joy of the Lord."  He also told me that John the Baptist suffered from psychosis and  depression.  Since part of psychosis is hearing voices, I assume the "psychosis" to which this doctor referred is found in Matthew 18:15-17.   

But Jesus answering said to him, 'Permit it (the baptism of Jesus by John) at this time ; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he (John) permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him,  and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased)" Matthew 18:15-17).

 We must understand that the devil is literally a "quick change artist)."

 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.. No wonder, for even Satan disguises (metaschematizo)  himself as an angel of light.Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds (2 Corinthhians11:13-15))

He can deceive us in so many ways that we could not possibly depend on our own wisdom to understand him. The only way to deal with him is to know the Scripture and compare it with other Scriptures. He can come as a snake in the grass or a roaring lion and one of his goals is to convince us that God, our Wonderful Savior, does not care about our suffering.

He also enjoys the confusion that mentally ill Christians must deal with in the various debates about the causes and cures of brain disorders. He is a murderer and a liar and he loves to see Christians suicidal. If he can convince us that it is merely a spiritual battle when it is biological in nature, then we stop taking medication, sink into despair, feel the Lord is against us somehow and we may as well give up. Or if he can convince us there is no God, then we are just a higher form of animal and who cares if we live or die anyway! So, we must fight, know the scriptures and support one another as we experience these eclipses of our understanding that are many times part of the disease itself.


In the case of my depression I described here today, others were praying along with me for my healing. I was working two jobs and pursuing my Masters of Social Work-all with moderate depression. I had begun to think I would always feel like that and I was trying to keep going. In this extreme weakness, God had mercy on me. Shortly after that discouraging encounter with the psychiatrist, God gave me a different psychiatrist that tried "one more medication" and within two weeks I was completely well. My spiritual questions, my fears, my fatigue, my moderate but hanging depression and the flatness I felt for two years all went away.


The devil did not win in that case and even after almost thirty years, this is still a great miracle to me. When we are depressed and suffering we must remember our great High Priest always has us on His heart and He prays for us!

So, don't give in to the devil's lies, seek wisdom from others who have traversed these paths and keep fighting to get your life back! God loves you and deliverance could be right around the corner.

May He bless and comfort you today. I get it; I have been there and we care!