> > He said: "People who have repeatedly failed to stop drinking
> > or taking drugs for many years, miraculously stop when they
> > find a higher power through Alcoholics and Narcotics
> > Anonymous."
> > She said:
> > 1) Motivation ('repeatedly tried")
> > 2) Social support and peer pressure
> > God says:
> > Wait, just kidding (me, not God).
> >
> > The alternative explanations for studies on spiritual beliefs
> > and mental health are plausible, but seem typically
> > reflexive.
> >
> > It's as if some of you want to believe it's anything BUT
> > spirituality and/or religiousness.
> >
> > Just how it looks from my side of the world
> Jim Clark:
> It would help Jim G. if you spelled out how you see spirituality
> per se working. Are you thinking, for example, that god
> intervenes on behalf of religious people (and not the
> irreligious) and this heavenly intervention directly causes
> improved MH?
Jim G:
I think it is a viable explanation that God does intervene, although
I cannot explain the exact manner.
I don't think for example that God simply waves a finger and that's it.
Even in a theistic explanation the process is still usually more
complicated than "God did it." A human response is part and parcel of the
process. (Did I say that correctly -- it's late?)
> Jim C:
> Or perhaps you were thinking that god punishes
> those who don't believe in him and that mental illness is one of
> the punishments that he uses?
Jim G:
I believe that this is A possibility, but one can also argue it's much
more
common in religious individuals because they are much more accountable to
God for their actions.
Of course, this kind of hypothesizing is undoubtedly viewed by some as
absurd, maybe even prone to disastrous results.
One cannot know for certain, and so a theistic explanation has to be one
that a person would accept beforehand, and concludes on his/her own.
A recent article in a Christian journal nicely laid out the effects of sin
on mental health, and that from this perspective one can argue a lack of
mental health could be a result of
a) the person's own wrongdoing (which may be sin)
b) another person's wrongdoing (probably sin)
c) the general presence of evil in the world, but nothing that is directly
tied to a specific individual or behavior.
Like some multiple choice tests, best to go with "c"
> Jim C:
> I suspect (hope?) these are not the kinds of explanations you
> have in mind. Probably you are thinking more along the lines of
> religion providing comfort or contributing to one's motivation to
> improve life or perhaps leading to a sense of personal coherence
> that alleviates suffering and associated needs for alcohol and
> the like.
Jim G:
For some religious people, that is a viable explanation.
I think many people do find comfort, but the comfort may come from
an idea or belief that has no basis in fact.
I'm clearly arguing for something more difficult to prove and harder to
accept -- that beyond the belief in something there IS something or
someone BEHIND THAT BELIEF
But that's just my .02, which gets dropped in the plate :-)
************************************************************************
Jim Guinee, Ph.D.
Director of Training & Adjunct Professor
University of Central Arkansas Counseling Center
313 Bernard Hall Conway, AR 72035 USA
"Too many of us have a Christian vocabulary rather than a
Christian experience. We think we are doing our duty when
we're only talking about it." ... Charles F. Banning
E-mail is not a secure means to transmit confidential
information. The UCA Counseling Center staff does not
use e-mail to discuss personal issues. The staff does
not maintain 24-hour access to their e-mail accounts.
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