I have a question, are there really mental illnesses? I was talking to somebody the other day and we kind of got on the subject. The bible says that people are responsible for their actions, does that include people with mental illnesses who are "unable" to control their actions? Does the bible say anything about that?
Anyways something interesting I thought about.
16 comments:
Good, good question. I need to think on that.
of course people are born with mental illnesses.
it's unclear to us, because they didn't have names for them in the bible. so that's rather confusing.
of course people are responsible for their actions, however, if they are not concious of what they are doing, if they are nothing but animals, are they still accountable? we're not really told.
mm hm
wow. I have to think on that too. great question Lucy!
sometimes i wonder about demons, if it could be possible that what the bible calls demons in some spots could possibly be mental illnesses.
same thing with the thousands upon thousands of witches that have been burned in the last two thousand years.....could it just have been mental illnesses?
I have something to say about this but, it is late. Night y'all!
Okay I have to chime in on this topic :-) Awesome question Lucy! The answer is fairly simple. Yes there are such things as mental illnesses and yes people are still responsible for their actions to an extent. Say i have a muscle spasm problem and I can't stop flinging my arm around. If that hits someone, I'm not responsible because I didn't mean to and there's no way for me to control it. However if I murder someone and I claim it was because of a mental illness that's a whole other story. You can't blame murder on a mental disease because it all boils down to a concious choice on your part to murder.
As far as demonic possesion goes. If say you murder someone while your possessed you are still accountable for that because you gave satan the foothold in your heart to begin with. That's a concious choice.
Well that's my two cents. Say goodnight Dick!
you have a muscle spasm disease?
interesting....
does that mean all those times you hit me, you really didn't mean to?
Thanks! That does clear up a lot of questions.
I'm not sure there are any real "mental" illness that excuse people for making wrong choices. Yes, there are people who are wired differently and can't make some decisions. But, that doesn't excuse them from asking nicely or rudely for something they want. Because, as Richard said, they make a conscience decision whether to be polite or rude.
The bible says we all sin, that includes people with "mental" illnesses. So, we must conclude that people with disabilities are responsible for their own actions.
i'm not sure i agree.
if they are not conscious of what they are doing, then how can they be guilty?
all they become is animals...do all animals go to hell because they're rude and don't ask nicely?
But, humans are not animals. We were made in the image of God. We are special and different from animals in that we have a soul, animals do not. People with mental illnesses are not animals, even though they can't think and make the same decisions as we do doesn't make them animals.
Yes, I do agree that some people with mental illnesses are not conscious of all of their decisions. On the other hand the bible says all sin, so that means that the mental make enough conscious decisions to sin.
I guess I said exactly what Richard said :)
I couldn't have said it better myself Lucy! Oh and the by the way, I'm Ryan in case we hadn't been interested. I'm Emily's adopted big brother :-)
Sorry Sam but I have to disagree. Nothing any human does can make them an animal. They may display animal tendencys but just as Lucy said, they have souls thus, they can't be animals. Most mentally disabled people and even some of the worst cases still understand right and wrong. No matter what a person has been taught. God has instilled a conscience in everyone that is a sense of right and wrong. Many people get very good at ignoring it but they still are responsible for their actions. There are no handicap parking places in heaven.
Thanks Ryan! Nice to meet you. I've heard Emily and the others talk about you.
I concur.
Okay I swear I meant to say introduced on my last post. Man... I need coffee...
lol It's ok, I figured that is what you meant. Coffee sounds like a good idea. . .
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