Does Sin Cause Mental Illness?

It is an all pervasive attitude in many popular Christian circles today that Christians are not supposed to suffer either mentally or physically. And if they do suffer, it is either because they are harbouring some secrit mental sin or because they don't have enough faith to be healed. This attitude is, at best, a false assumption or, at worse, a false doctrine. And it tends to make the individual sufferer experience extra pain because it makes him or her have false hope and overwhelming guilt for not having enough faith.

But the Bible has a lot to say about the certainty of suffering in the life of a believer. Remember Job, Remember Jeremiah, Remember Jesus. Jesus had no disease, and yet he suffered the pain of every one of them, both physical and mental. The chastisment of all our peace was on him.

You are not going to get out of this life without suffering, I don't care who you are. In fact, life begins with pain and ends with pain, and everything in between can be a pain, but it's better than the alternative.

Now recently I received a communitcation strongly implying that mental illness is caused by sin. Well, I have a few questions for professing Christians who feel that way. First, what is the specific sin that causes mental illness. And what scientific, verifiable proof that you have to prove that this is the specific sin, the "it" sin that causes mental illness. Now as a person who suffers from a mental illness, thus one who stands accused, I want court admissable evidence that I am guilty of that specific sin and not some other specific sin. And if you can do that, I want to know what specific sin causes physical disability. Now that you have accomplished that, as a Christain, I want the specific scriptures in the Bible that verify both your scientific and judicial findings.

If you can't do all that, if you can't prove your misrable thesis, then you can't put up so you should shut up because you just don't know what you are talking about.

Tou Che