Wisdom in Weakness (a sermon)

Last Sunday at Village Church in Brisbane I gave a sermon, entitled the Wisdom of Weakness. In the beginning I talk about some of my own encounters with weakness through my struggles with mental health. I then looks at some Bible passages from 1 and 2 Corinthians that discuss weakness, particularly in light of the Cross of Christ.

The video recording of the morning service is below. (Sorry that the sound quality is not brilliant).

Here is the text of the sermon (including some material I cut out for time reasons) The slides are here.

Some local context is that a goal of the sermon was to help set the stage and pique interest in a forthcoming course the church is running on Mental Health and Pastoral Care.

The sermon has some parallels to a talk I gave a few years ago at Theology on Tap and led to a chapter in the book, Pub Theology.

Jesus hears the cry of oppressed Africans

But, do followers of Jesus hear the cry?

This month in the theology reading group we discussed My Faith as an African, by Jean-Marc Ela. It was largely written while the author was working as a Catholic priest amongst the Kirdi people in northern Cameroon. It was published in French in 1983 and translated into English in 1985. Ela was particularly concerned about the poverty, hunger, and suffering of the village communities that he was ministering too.

Here, I focus on some broad questions that are raised by my reading of the book, as a WWW (Wealthy White Westerner).

Is Jesus relevant to every context?

Ela and I would both answer yes. But, Ela argues that the Catholic church was not relevant to his context. The everyday life of his congregants was one of a daily struggle for existence, exacerbated by external oppressive forces. The dogmas, catechisms, liturgies, and rituals of the Catholic church were not relevant. They were entrenched in Western culture and thought, and ancient traditions that are alien to Africans. Furthermore, by aligning itself with the powerful and presenting a gospel that focuses on the afterlife, the church is complicit in the oppression of the poor. 

Although Ela writes from a Catholic perspective and experience, many African Protestants would agree with his perspective.

Yet, Jesus is a liberator. He identified with the poor, with social outcasts. He suffered with them in his crucifixion and death. Thus, the church needs to change. 

Universality vs particularity

This dialectic tension is embodied in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He claims to be the Saviour and King of the whole world and for all time. The Gospel is for all cultures, languages, and ethnicities. Yet, there is the scandal of particularity. God chose a specific people, the Israelites, at a specific time, to reveal Himself, and to use as an instrument to bless all nations. Furthermore, Jesus was a particular man in a particular place, at a particular time. The New Testament writers wrestle with how the church is to express itself in a new cultural context, such as Gentiles across Asia minor. The struggle to balance universality and particularity, and to relate the Gospel to local culture has continued in two thousand years of church history. Ela was at the forefront of that struggle in his own context.

Abstract vs concrete

Western Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant, has delighted in and endlessly divided over abstractions, from the precise wordings of creeds about the nature of the Trinity or the Eucharist, to endless theological -ologies: soteriology, eschatology, ecclesiology, ... The outcomes of these intellectual debates have debatable relevance to concrete situations in everyday life or church life.

There is no connection between these abstractions and the everyday life of an African from a village or a slum.

What about Jesus? His life and teaching was rather earthy. Much of his ministry concerned eating and drinking with people, particularly those on the margins. He did not present abstract doctrines but told stories. His teaching and life were integrated.

Sacred vs secular

Valuing church traditions and abstractions imported from the West at the expense of engaging with local realities is an example of the sacred-secular divide. It values the spiritual and the eternal, liturgy, sacraments, over non-Church activities including temporal and material concerns.  

Jesus was certainly concerned about peoples spiritual needs and their eternal destiny. But, Jesus was also concerned with the material needs of the people he encountered, healing and providing food. Furthermore, he urged his followers to provide clothing, food, shelter, hospitality, even just a cup of water, to those in need. 

What is the meaning of the Incarnation?

John 1 states that "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Emmanuel means "God is with us."

Ela says the church thinks that "The Word became a text." A text is not of much use to illiterate peasants. In contrast, the church, as the Body of Christ, Jesus, the living Word can be present, concrete, empathetic, in solidarity, and relevant to African communities.

What are African realities?

Ela uses the term "African realities" repeatedly. There are many dimensions to this, including the following. Villagers traditionally survived with subsistence farming, growing crops such as millet. They now go hungry as they are forced to grow cash crops such as rice for external markets. The main beneficiaries are multinational companies and African urban elites. Disease and death flourish with access to Western medicine reserved for the urban elites. They are the only people with access to schools and hospitals started by churches to help the poor.

Poverty and suffering have been compounded by the massive migration of people from villages to urban centres, where they now suffer in slums.

Post-independence politics is dominated by corrupt autocracies who use violence to maintain power. Colonialism [oppression by Western rulers] has been replaced with neo-colonialism, the exploitation and oppression of Africans and their land by multinational corporations and national governments. 

African traditional religion has been misinterpreted and demonised by Westerners. Rituals that honour ancestors are not idolatry. What about witchcraft? People resort to it due to the irrelevance and the impotence of the church on matters of everyday existence.

What are possible ways forward?

Ela advocates community development. This involves conscientisation, self-determination, and agency. There are similarities to the basic ecclesial communities in Latin America, whose practices were influenced by the ideas of Pablo Freire, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

What is African culture?

Too many people think of African culture in terms of the traditional culture that existed prior to colonisation. That assumes culture is static, rather than dynamic. Ela points out that African culture today is a rapidly changing hybrid, being a mix of traditional and Western culture. This hybrid culture increases alienation and a crisis of identity because of the internal contradictions and unpredictability of such a hybrid.

Ela considers it a mistake to advocate a return to the past traditional culture. This is both impossible and undesirable. Furthermore, many attempts at inculturation, contextualisation, or indigenisation in theology and liturgy are superficial. They merely consist of incorporating traditional songs or dress into worship. Ela sees this as a tool of oppression as it sidesteps the more substantial challenges of the church having a theology, practice, and communities that engage with current African realities.

Are African realities different now? 

The book was written almost forty years ago. My limited understanding is that many of the issues discussed in the book are just as relevant today. Perhaps some of the problems are even worse.

How is the book relevant to Western Christians?

Yes. A large fraction of Christians now live in Africa. Westerners need to know their reality, be in solidarity with them, and learn from them. Furthermore, engagement with different cultures and contexts can force us to reflect on our own culture and context and be more self-aware of our own limitations and challenges. 

A theology of mental health

Humans are complex. Society is complex. Theology and science are complex. Mental illness is complex. What causes mental illness? What are paths to healing? Can it be prevented? Here I explore how Christian theology is a rich resource to help address these questions. I write as a non-expert in theology, cognitive science, and mental health. But I also write as someone who for four decades has struggled with my mental health, read widely, and walked with many others on their journey.

As with many issues, I find it helpful to begin my exploration, with the key theological concepts that are encapsulated in the Biblical narrative: creation, sin, redemption, and re-creation.

The doctrine of creation highlights that humans are made in the image of God. We are relational, rational, and wonderful. Human relationality is reflected in the Trinity. We are creatures; we have finite capacities. We are designed by God to enjoy and live in harmony with one another and with the rest of God's creation. We are like animals but distinct. Rest (Sabbath) is central to life and its rhythms. Creation, from our being to food and nature, is a gracious gift. Mental illness is not God's plan or design.

Sin. (The Fall) We do not experience God's ideal: life in the Garden of Eden. Like Adam and Eve, we want autonomy, to rule ourselves. Like them, we are alienated from God, ourselves (shame), each other, and nature. Work is toil and male-female relationships are a power struggle. We live in a world that is marred by sin: individual, collective and structural. Sin has corrupted our thinking and desires. The whole creation is broken and groaning. Violence, disease and death, are part of life, but not God's wish, plan or design.  Given the multiple-dimensional character of sin's influence and presence in the world we should not expect to be able to simply identify the cause of a specific incidence of mental illness in one individual.

The tower of Babel captures human hubris and ambition, the vanity of our futile attempts to know and understand everything. Even when we don't understand we will claim that we do and ridicule and silence those who don't have our "correct" understanding. 

In her book, Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness, Anne Harrington, a historian of science at Harvard, comments.

Today one is hard-pressed to find anyone knowledgeable who believes that the so-called biological revolution of the 1980’s made good on most or even any of its therapeutic and scientific promises. It is now increasingly clear to the general public that it overreached, overpromised, overdiagnosed, overmedicated and compromised its principles.

Fortunately, we are not cursed and condemned to forever live in a sinful world marred by disease, despair, shame, guilt, and violence. God acted according to his promises, sending his Son, Jesus Christ, to usher in the Kingdom of God.

Redemption. God identified with humanity by humbling himself and becoming fully human as Jesus Christ. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God, preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins, healing the sick, and driving out demons. Mental illness is not God's design or plan. People are not sick simply because they sinned or their parents sinned. Jesus death and resurrection bring reconciliation: between us and God, with one another, and the whole of creation. The curse of sin is reversed. Jesus is the suffering servant. He suffers for our sake. He has entered into our suffering. As he lives in us and we in him, we can participate in his sufferings. If we struggle with mental illness, we can find hope and comfort as Jesus knows and shares our struggle. Our liberation from our sin and the world of sin and disease is "now, but not yet." In this life, an individual may experience no, some, or almost complete healing from mental illness. Nevertheless, we can be certain of a future day when we will all be completely healed from every affliction.

Re-creation. There will be a new heaven and earth, where there will be no more tears, sin, suffering, or death. In this Kingdom of God, justice, truth, and righteousness will reign. We will have new minds and bodies. We will be living in the City of God which contains the River of Life and the Tree of Knowledge. There will be no mental illness. Redemption will be complete. This hope can give hope to those who suffer and those who care for them.

Living with virtue. How then shall we live as we wait for our redemption, even while afflicted with mental illness or walking with those who are? The fruits of the Holy Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. God has designed us to live a particular way. Hence, we should not be surprised to learn that research shows how forgiveness and thankfulness are beneficial to mental health.

What is a person? Our view will shape what we consider to be the causes and cures of mental illness. A Biblical anthropology acknowledges the complexity of the human person.  Different facets of the whole human person include heart, mind, body, and soul. These facets are highlighted in the following passage from Matthew 22:36-40.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

[For the first commandment, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 but replaces "strength" with "mind"].

Mind, body, heart, and soul are not well-defined separate entities but inter-twined facets. For example, "heart" refers to our will, desires and inclinations. It is hard to separate this from the "mind".

We are a complex whole and cannot be reduced to just one dimension: genetics, physiology, personality, experience, social conditioning,...

If we accept this complexity of a human person and the presence of these different but inter-related facets then it is natural that understanding the causes of mental illness and proposing action to prevent or cure it will also be complex and multi-faceted. We will never be sure we really do understand.

For two thousand years philosophers have debated the mind-body problem, which is now being addressed in cognitive science. In spite of many advances there is no clear philosophical or scientific consensus on the relationship between the body, brain, mind, and consciousness.

Another dimension to Biblical anthropology is the social. A human person is not an isolated individual who can be defined independently of their social context. Rather, a human is part of a family, community, and nation. The person is also defined by a network of relationships. The emphasis of Western modernity on individualism and postmodernity on the "authentic self" conflicts with the anthropology of the Bible and almost all times and places outside the past four hundred years of the Western world. Mental health needs to be addressed within relational and social contexts.

I now introduce one model for a person. It is discussed in the book, Mental Health and Your Church: a Handbook for Biblical Care, by Helen Thorne and Steve Midgley. I recently encountered the model at a one-day seminar given by Midgley in Brisbane.

I introduce the model with the caveat as a scientist I consider that all models are wrong, some are useful. I think this also applies to models in theology.

A human person is created by and lives in the presence of the Triune God. The Word of God and the Spirit of God can speak to the heart of the person, changing its sinful, wicked, rebellious, and hard state to one that is oriented towards the desires of God. But the heart is not some abstract free floating essence. My heart is embodied. My heart and mind are intimately connected to my physical brain which is also part of my physical body. My mind and brain have been conditioned and moulded, for better or worse, by my experience living in my body. Stress, trauma, and addictions have an effect. Relaxation, sleep, diet, and habits can heal and train my body. Furthermore, my body is also embedded in a social context. These are my circumstances: family, housing, school, church, workplace, neighbourhood, and nation.

There are several competing models of mental illness, and I have reviewed them in this post. The current dominant model in the secular world is the biomedical model. However, I would consider that these models are complementary and we need a multi-faceted model, nicely captured in the figure below.

[Figure from Sanctuary Mental Health ministries]

Three of these models [biomedical, psychological, and social] are promoted by people who may not be Christian and do not operate from a Christian theological framework. However, the models can be valuable for understanding and treating mental illness, due to the doctrine of common grace. Thus, there is a role for drugs and counselling.

Human diversity. Paul uses the metaphor of the human body to describe the church. It is the body of Christ, his living presence in the world. Like a human body, there are many members. They are not all the same. They have different purposes, gifts, and functions. The weaker members are indispensable. This means that those who struggle with mental illness are indispensable members of a church. They are not a burden that has to be carried. They are not a problem that has to be solved. They are not a distraction from the "more important" work of preaching and evangelism. They are indispensable. The whole body grieves with them, walks with them, and celebrates them. Christ's power is made perfect in weakness.

Acknowledging human diversity is also important to understand and to treat mental illness. On the one hand, we are all made in the image of God. We are all sinners. We all have the same biology. On the other hand, Paul acknowledges a diversity of backgrounds, life histories (calling), and gifts. This diversity means there are no "one size fits all" answers to mental illness.

Finally, the concept of the "powers of this age" is helpful to understand the causes of mental illness, and particularly its proliferation in the modern world. There are massive power struggles going. Some are clearly visible. Others are not. Forces such as globalisation, capitalism, and autocracy, unleash ideologies and technologies that undermine good mental health. Mobile phones, social media, junk food, consumerism, secularism, movies, television, internet, alcohol and drugs, are not just neutral. They are tools for some people to gain inordinate amounts of power and money, with no regard for human flourishing. These powers need to be resisted, from the individual to the global level.

Will we ever know, really know, for sure?

The beautiful novel Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi has many wonderful passages where the protagonist, Gifty, a Ph.D. student in neuroscience wrestles with profound questions. Here are two passages. The first wrestles with the common claim of a tension between science and religion. Both do not provide the definitive and certain answers that we hunger for.

“...at a certain point, science fails. Questions become guesses become philosophical ideas about how something should probably, maybe, be. I grew up around people who were distrustful of science, who thought of it as a cunning trick to rob them of their faith, and I have been educated around scientists and laypeople alike who talk about religion as though it were a comfort blanket for the dumb and the weak, a way to extol the virtues of God more improbable than our own human existence. But this tension, this idea that one must necessarily choose between science and religion, is false, I used to see the world through a God lens, and when that lens clouded, I turned to science. Both became, for me, valuable ways of seeing, but ultimately both have failed to fully satisfy in their aim: to make clear, to make meaning.”

The following quote highlights how science raises questions; whose answers just raise more questions.

“The truth is we don't know what we don't know. We don't even know the questions we need to ask in order to find out, but when we learn one tiny little thing, a dim light comes on in a dark hallway, and suddenly a new question appears. We spend decades, centuries, millennia, trying to answer that one question so that another dim light will come on. That's science, but that's also everything else, isn't it? Try. Experiment. Ask a ton of questions.”