Sunday, December 16, 2012

So You Think Psychiatric Drugs Work?



When people hear about the dangers of psychology and psychiatric drugs, and the lack of any real science supporting them, it’s not unusual to hear the response, “But for me (or my children, or my husband), they work.”
And to that I would reply, in all seriousness, “Define ‘work.’”
Lots of things “work,” yet those of us who love God know that He would never call us to do something that “works” in the world’s eyes if it goes against what He has said in His Word:
  • Alcohol is fabulous at numbing the senses, making us temporarily happy, uninhibited, and more sociable. (Ephesians 5:18 says do not be drunk with wine but filled with the Spirit.)
  • Speed, cocaine, and other stimulant drugs like Ritalin provide stamina and the ability to concentrate on minutia, which is why both the street-corner version and the ones dispensed by men in white coats are popular among college students during final exams. (First Peter 4:7 says be clear minded and self-controlled.)
  • Marijuana and tranquilizers work too: a little self-medicating if you’re stressed or anxious and your situation immediately seems bearable. (Philippians 4:6 says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgivingmake your requests known to God.)
  • Divorce “works” to end a marriage that the world sees as no longer “working.” (Matthew 19:6 says let no man separate what God has joined together.)
  • Even abortion “works,” if the goal is to get rid of what is perceived as an undesirable situation. (The Bible says the fruit of the womb is a reward, children are a gift of God, and Jeremiah 1:5 says before He formed us in the womb, He knew us and set us apart.)
Isn’t it about time we stop letting pragmatism define our faith?
                                  “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” —2 Corinthians 5:7
When it comes to seeking psychiatric or psychological answers for problems of living, here are six reasons why we need to question whether something that appears to be “working” by the world’s standards could really be God’s best for us:
1. All psychotropic drugs “work” by damaging the brain, and what we call “improvement” is really the result of their brain-damaging effect.   
End quote (emphasis, mine)

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