Book Review: On Satan, Demons, and Psychiatry

Exploring mental Illness in the Bible

By Ragy R. Girgis, M.D.

I jumped at the opportunity to review this book because the subject matter is an area that I believe does not receive nearly enough attention. In my opinion, far too many people believe that mental illness and the Bible do not overlap anywhere, that if you are a believer in the Word you should pray away symptoms of mental illness, then those who do not seek out God’s Word at all and rely totally on clinical methods.

I strongly believe there IS an overlap, and that does come across in Dr. Girgis’s book. For that reason alone, it is worth reading.

I found Dr. Girgis’ analysis of some familiar biblical stories, such as Jonah’s acting out that wound up getting him swallowed by a fish/whale, King David’s feigned insanity while he was on the run from King Saul, and stories of Jesus casting out demons, to be quite interesting. Dr. Girgis cast these stories in terms of mental illness, explaining in some reasonably easy to understand detail how these could be explained by a more clinical analysis. Certainly a different approach and one I appreciated reading.

I have two issues with this book. The first one is stylistic. There are only 112 pages of text, which is fine, but a LOT of it is used to set up and preface what he is going to write about. The preface itself was 15 pages, with much of that material repeated in sections throughout the book. The points Dr. Girgis brought up were interesting, I just wish there had been more of them.

My second issue is theological. As I got deeper into this book, I saw that more and more Dr. Girgis was removing most of the spiritual aspect of these stories, casting them almost solely as mental illness. This is a point that, theologically, I simply cannot agree with and diminishes my opinion of this book.

That said, however, I think there is a important place for this book in the discussion of mental illness. The simple act of discussing the bible in a clinical setting or the clinical aspect of mental illness in a church setting is vitally important.

.I would encourage anyone looking for a different take on some of the more serious manifestations and who is trying to avoid being weighed down by heavy medical jargon to read this book and consider what Dr. Girgis has to say. They would likely find it useful.

I received a copy of this book from Speakeasy with the promised to write an honest review of it.

My name is Jim, and I’m a white man who has benefitted my entire life from a system and a culture designed to give me every advantage; socially, professionally, and financially. There is a word for that system.

            Racism.

            Does that make me a racist? I believe that question is largely irrelevant. If I live under and benefit from a racist system and stay silent, then I am complicit. Oh sure, I might be sympathetic to my African American friends when the latest incident of a person of color being murdered comes up, but then I crawl back into my white life with my white privilege and go about my white business.  

            I’m learning how deeply rooted racism is in the United States, going back to the first slave ships arriving on the shores of North America in 1619.

I was one of those naive white people who thought Barack Obama’s election was a turning point for the United States, a coming out party for African Americans who were taking a leap forward toward their rightful place as equal citizens and equal members of our society.

            It was a turning point, alright. The white backlash that resulted was a vital part of Donald Trump’s support and election as President. His words and actions during the 2016 campaign and which continue to this day have given white people more freedom, permission and encouragement to let their inner racist out with their words and actions; to help put African Americans and other persons of color “back where they belong.” Court and government sanctioned actions like voter suppression have also gained momentum in recent years, exacerbating the challenges minority communities face in being heard and getting justice.

            And now, we have the latest round of horrible murders of African Americans at the hands of white men; George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN and Ahmaud Aubrey in Brunswick, GA (link via Red Letter Christians).

            Today, I was moved by two challenges on Facebook. One of my African American church family members asked her white friends how we were showing up as anti-racist. Another, a writer and writing coach I admire, asked what was most important to us in the world and why we write or don’t write about it.

Providing a Safe House (to use my Bishop’s words) for the spirit of God to be poured out on ALL people and a Safe Space where they can live as fully equal members of society is the most important thing in the world to me right now (except my love for God and my wife).

Why then haven’t I spoken out more and been more of an ally to African Americans and people of color, especially those I know and love in my church?

            Simple. I’ve been afraid.

            Not afraid like African Americans have every reason to be. I don’t have to fear for my life if I get pulled over by a police officer. I don’t have to worry about being assaulted while out at a park or jogging. No, the daily risks in my life are minimal. Because I’m white.

            What I have feared is doing it wrong. Saying the wrong thing. Hurting or disappointing (unintentionally) those African Americans I love. Using a flawed understanding of the Bible to support what I’m saying. So, I’ve been studying, intensely in recent weeks. That’s safe. No one gets hurt when it’s just me, books, articles, or videos, and my computer.

            No one gets helped either. No one gets encouraged-I sure don’t. Racism is not easy to process. It works in complete contrast to what the Bible teaches and how Jesus lived on earth.

            Imagine living under its thumb, everywhere you go, every day of your life.

            I’m still afraid, but I’ve finally reached the point where I’m taking time away from what has already been written to stand up, move out, and add my voice as an ally to the African American community.

            I’m finally putting my white skin in the game. But it’s no game. Not at all. It’s life and death for far too many people simply because their skin color is different from mine, an advantage I did nothing to earn and that I do not deserve.

            Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a thought from the Apostle John:

(1 John 2:11 NIV) But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness.

            Jesus said this, recorded by John:

(John 13:34 NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

            There is so much more in the Bible to speak against racism, and I’ll be sharing it as I go along.

            We, meaning Christians who oppose racism and all of the ugly, tragic results of it, are fighting against the words and actions of people, but our true enemy is the spirit of darkness (Ephesians 6:12) which leads people to adopt these attitudes and sustain the existing system of racism in our country. I question how effective it is to label someone a racist, but we can certainly point to what comes out of their mouth or how they live their life as contributions to perpetuating racism.

            Or even their silence.

            I’m done being a silent spectator. I ask my African American friends, and those who might read this I do not already know, to be patient with me. What can I say to encourage or support you? What can I do to try and make a difference, to be an effective anti-racist? I ask my white friends and those who might read this I don’t already know to take this journey with me, learning, listening, and speaking or writing words that are helpful.

            Get your white skin in the game too. You are needed.

Book Review: Reclaiming Our Political Roots

Rethinking Church in Nationalist Times

By Yohan Hwang

The title of this book piqued my interest in what ideas the writer had to accomplish the goal of the title and subtitle.

It did not take me long to regret that decision.

Ultimate, as I slogged my way through its mercifully short 147 pages, I saw Mr. Hwang take a very selective look back at history and make connections with broad stereotypes and assumptions. In my opinion, he came up with questionable, at times absurd, conclusions and ideas going forward.

Mr. Huang mixed in some useful insights like “our allegiance to church should trump over allegiance to state by far,” and “there is something tangible at stake in what America offers, but not so much in the life of the church today.” These points and a few others I thought were substantive, appeared early in the book and gave me hope that Mr. Hwang’s work was building toward something of value.

Unfortunately, he quickly began with his broad, sweeping statements that would likely alienate most people, like me, who were open to hearing the message suggested by his book title. He frequently refers to the church as a “once a week social club,” for example. Some of them can be that, but I believe anyone reading that who feels his church offers more than that, which I do, will likely be offended and put off, as I was.

Oddly, his main frame of reference for when he thought the church most closely resembled the ideals he was building toward was in the Middle Ages, before nation-states had developed much size and sophistication. While he did allude to the Crusades that happened during these times as a horrible mistake, Mr. Hwang keeps going back to this period, pre-Reformation, as the design that today’s church should more closely emulate.

Bizarrely, one of the three models he offered as current examples he thought the church should follow was Elon Musk, the erratic genius billionaire founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and other ventures. He made the case that the church should become active as a venture capitalist, influencing business toward goals of the church instead of the state. He suggested this funding would come through the church “enforcing” the obligation to tithe, in part because it would now offer services of value, unlike today’s church, and even compared tithing to the government’s right to tax.

Glaringly absent from Mr. Hwang’s ideas was any mention of how to consider the rights and values of non-Christians, be they Muslims, Hindus, Atheists, etc. Even worse, there was only a passing mention of the spiritual aspect of the church. His ideas would essentially turn the church into a combination of a business incubator and a shared service provider in areas such as health care. Sadly, these plans left very little room for God to act in any spiritual manner within HIS church.

We are currently seeing plenty of the right-wing evangelical church active in the political realm; the resulting polarization was another issue the author paid little attention to. The thought of seeing even greater influence with less reliance on the spiritual side of the Church is an idea I was all too eager to discard.

That is the way I felt about this book when I finally finished it, and my recommendation to you would be to avoid taking up your time with it.

I received a copy of this book from Speakeasy with the promised to write an honest review of it.

Book Review: Running For Our Lives

A Story of Faith, Politics, and the Common Good

By Robb Ryerse

Robb Ryerse is a pastor who left his conservative denomination to start an independent progressive church in Northwest Arkansas. After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, he felt the urge to take action. His action was running for Congress…as a Progressive Republican, and this book tell the story of that campaign.

The premise is what attracted me to read and review this book. Upon finishing it (it is a fairly quick read) I found myself very conflicted in how I felt about it.

I enjoyed Ryerse’s writing-his story flowed well, and in most pertinent areas he was very open and vulnerable. He was quite candid about the impact of this campaign on his family and the challenges of it gaining traction without any support from the Republican leadership in Arkansas and very limited financial resources. Ryerse clearly established himself as the underdog, and who doesn’t love a good underdog to root for, especially one who is trying to buck the corrupt political system.

There was one major flaw with this encouraging underdog story, however. He got crushed, only receiving 15% of the vote in the Republican primary. He tried to make the case that, despite his lopsided loss, his campaign had made a difference in the public forum, but I felt he did not succeed in that, either.

Additionally, the toll on his family and his career was significant. He is a bi-vocational pastor, meaning the church can’t afford to pay him a living wage so he needs to keep a full-time job. He cycled through multiple jobs during his campaign, and also dealt with some significant emotional challenges with one of his three children.

The moral I took away from the story was surely not the one Ryerse intended. Rather than an optimistic underdog story, he showed how the system will crush someone who does not play the game within the established rules (which, to his credit, Ryerse did not do). His campaign also reinforced how much of an outlier a progressive is within the Republican party. I don’t believe he did an effective job of justifying why he ran as a Republican. I suspect it came down to a pro-life, small government political view, which would have likely been just as unwelcome in a Democratic primary.

Ryerse wound up landing a job with another progressive grassroots organization after losing the primary, but one that took him away from home even more and left his wife to pastor the church and tend to the family. Although his stated goals were to help people obtain better representation and improve their lives, I was left to wonder how much his love of politics and desire to become a player in that arena factored into his decisions.

While I found this to be an interesting story, I can’t recommend it to anyone looking for a satisfying or encouraging ending. It turns into a validation of the deep entrenchment of our political system, and I’m not sure we really needed that.

I received a copy of this book from Speakeasy in exchange for the promise to write a candid review.