RE: [asa] God as Cause

Bill Hamilton wrote:
>>When I was a new Christian 35 years ago I became intrigued with the
difference between the Bible's view of demon possession and modern
psychiatry's view that mental disorders are caused by chemical imbalances,
not demons. Eventually I concluded that it's certainly possible that demons
work by creating chemical imbalances.

I have no intention of spinning off a controversial thread on the subject of
demon possession, but I have considered very interesting the same thing as
you refer to above. I think what you have suggested is entirely possible --
AND/OR the reverse could be true. It could be that demonic possession
actually creates chemical imbalances. I believe I've read the same thing
can be seen in clinical psychology, where a mental depression can be caused
by chemical imbalance, or an attitude of depression can actually create
chemical imbalances in the brain, thus generating a vicious cycle. (I'm
certainly no expert and am open to correction.) The treatment might come
through medical intervention for the chemical imbalance, or through
psychological counselling, or a combination. If this is true in
psychological disorders, certainly spiritual disorders could have similar
repercussions.

Secular psychologists sometimes fall into a reductionist error, thinking
that such psychological disorders are purely chemical and mental, and
denying the possibility of spiritual causes. By the same token, religious
counselors of the mentally depressed sometimes fall into the opposite error,
considering the spiritual side to be the only valid cause, and not taking
advantage of appropriate medical options which might in some cases assist
spiritual counseling and healing. In either case, whether healing comes
through medical or spiritual sources, or both, God is still ultimately the
cause of healing. (I might also interject a different topic, when I get a
cut which heals up spontaneously due to blood clotting, etc., both God and
natural causes could be invoked, but ultimately it's through faith that I
praise God for his marvelous design of the human body.)

I think this example is a good illustration of the original question, how
can God be the Creator and yet creation can be described as coming through
physical causes. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

Also a thought about Steven J. Gould's "non-overlapping magesteria" concept:
it seems to me that this dichotomoy exists more in the mind of the observer
than in the reality itself. If one _chooses_ to see clinical depression, or
healing, or creation, as either natural or spiritual (but never both, and
with no relationship between the two), then the non-overlapping magesteria
is merely a function of the observer's bias -- if in fact the truth is,
"it's both".

Jon Tandy

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Received on Fri Jan 5 09:01:10 2007