A re post from Dr. Valerie Hugsy Bridgeman - A woman I honor, respect and love has put it out there and I am going to stand with her, love her and support her because she is a great Woman of God, venerable leader, teacher, preacher and educator. Thank You for being exactly who you are and speaking truth. So, someone I respect said tonight that suicide is a dramatic form of avoidance (at least that is the way he was quoted). This statement was in response to the recent suicides of 3 pastors, 4 (that we know about) in the past year. I started to just ignore it and just let it go. Instead, I posted these words: Dear sister: At first I was going to just let this pass, but decided since I respect and honor you, that I would not. Suicide is the ultimate symptom of despair, of depression and an impulse that some can resist and most do in their despair. It is a part of mental illness, as a fever is a symptom of infection in other parts of the physical body. Im saddened by this statement (though I respect _____). This thinking is a part of the theological problem. We dont have a good theology for mental illness, for people who are suffering, not because they lack moral stamina or strength, but because they are ill. As someone who has suffered from clinical depression, I know how very hard it is to be taken as anything other than deficient. So most religious people suffer in silence, believing they are--in fact--defective in faith and in personhood. I just dont accept this statement and I reject it in the name of all those who are tormented by these kinds of sicknesses: paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, mood disorders, manic depressive disorders, depressive disorders, etc. God help us and teach us, I pray.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 05:28:55 +0000
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