Religion and Spirituality in Psychiatry

The Bible: Relevant Issues for Clinicians 33remained righteous. The satan then urged Godto take away Job’s health by covering his entirebody with scabs and wounds, betting that hewould then curse God. God agreed, and Jobsat in a pile of dung ash and was so thoroughlymiserable that his wife urged him to “curse Godand die!” Some of Job’s friends told him that hemust have sinned because God is just and onlypunishes sinners. Yet Job proclaimed his innocence,begged for mercy, and said that he wouldremain righteous even though God had made hissoul bitter. God then spoke with Job and listedhis mighty works. Job replied, “Behold, I am vile:how shall I answer you?” God again humbledJob with more examples of his power. Job said, “Iabhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” Godthen restored Job’s possessions by twofold andallowed him to have seven sons and three daughtersand to live for 140 years. The story ends wellfor Job. But why would a just God punish such arighteous man? It puzzled Job, and it still puzzlesreaders.Many people turn to the Bible for solace andfor both spiritual and behavioral guidance, especiallyin difficult times. It is not surprising thatmentally ill persons may be influenced by whatthey have read in the Bible and by what they havebeen taught about it. Sometimes this turning tothe Bible has positive results, but at other times,the opposite occurs. This chapter considers someproblematic Biblical themes that may affect thelives of patients.2.1. GodWhen the O.T. was written, there were manygods in the area we now call the Holy Land. Forthe Jews, however, the God Jehovah emergedas the supreme God. In the passage of time, theother gods disappeared, were forgotten, or werechanged into different supernatural beings suchas angels, principalities, powers, Sons of God,cherubim, and seraphim. God selected the Jewsas his chosen people and made a covenant thathe would look after them, allow them to prosper,and to rule the Holy Land as long as theykept his commandments and followed his laws.In the O.T., God intervened many times in thelives of the Jewish community and often punishedthem when they did not follow the rules of theholy covenant. In the beginning, God appeared toMoses at Mount Sinai, but afterwards only sometimesrevealed himself in visions and dreams. Hethen let his prophets speak for him until, finally,at the end of the O.T., he totally disappeared.He let his chosen people be forced into exile inBabylon, but then he allowed them back hometo rebuild the destroyed Holy Temple. His peoplevowed again to follow his commandments andlaws. He made no appearance but simply had theprophet Ezra read from a scroll that containedeverything of importance that he had to say.Throughout the centuries, Jews have beenpersecuted, especially by Christians who hatedthem for their role in Christ’s crucifixion. In fact,the N.T. contains many anti-Semitic passages.Throughout all the terrible persecution of the pasttwo thousand years, however, the community ofJews has demonstrated to the world that sufferingcan be made redemptive and a promise of betterthings to come. Then came the Holocaust wherethe Nazis methodically exterminated millions ofJews. This led to a crisis of faith not only amongJews but also among Christians who could notunderstand why God did not intervene. Manypersons felt that God was no longer a real presence,that maybe he was dead, and that humanbeings were responsible for their own fate.In the N.T., the God of the Jews is still presentbut is composed of three “persons”: theFather, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each onebeing uncreated, omnipotent, eternal, co-equal,and unalterable. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,was sent to earth in human form to educate themasses and then to be crucified to wash away thesins of the world and to save humankind. Jesuson the Cross of the Crucifixion is the most iconicimage of Western civilization. His voluntary suffering,crucifixion, and resurrection, accordingto Christians, both fulfilled and transcended theprophecies of the O.T.It is not uncommon for manic, schizophrenic,and depressed psychotic persons in Christian cultureareas to proclaim the delusion that they are