Discussing
Mental illness, violence and a call for the church

We should definitely follow the example of Jesus' ministry. Part of doing so, in my opinion, means recognizing that demonic oppression still exists today. It turns out that demons were the cause of my son's schizophrenia. Jesus delivered him from them, and he is well and serving the Lord! :-)

As a college-educated professional, I am well aware that this sounds absolutely crazy and even possibly discriminatory. I am well aware of the many studies that have been done on schizophrenia and that it is commonly believed to be neurological in origin. Believe me, I didn't want to believe it either.

I'm glad that God showed me the truth, though, however harrowing it was, because now my son is FREE! I am so thankful that we didn't buy the idea that he was destined to live his life with an incurable disease.

I appreciate this Amy. During my many years of ministry, I have had to confront my own fears about how to serve those with mental illness. I confess,sometimes I have backed away, mostly out of sheer frustration that my efforts were not "succeeding" (ie said person was not responding well, etc.). Your article makes me wonder if I should check back in with God and see if his version of success might be something quite different. Thanks.

I fully support and understand your comments because I am in Christian counseling and deliverance ministry. I am so happy to hear about what happened with your son.

Thank you for this. It is much needed. As the father of a son with severe autism I can say his battle is hard enough. We do not need to battle prejudice as well. I wrote about this on my blog. Would love to hear your thought.

www.darianburns.com/2013/01/07/mental-illness-violence/