Christian Commentary
Okay, so maybe it isn’t a direct health hazard to be atheist, but studies show that theism is conducive to better mental and physical health. For instance consider the following statement made by the Mayo Clinic made in 2001:
In an article also published in this issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Mayo Clinic researchers reviewed published studies, meta-analyses, systematic reviews and subject reviews that examined the association between religious involvement and spirituality and physical health, mental health, health-related quality of life and other health outcomes. The authors report a majority of the nearly 350 studies of physical health and 850 studies of mental health that have used religious and spiritual variables have found that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes.
As far as mental health and atheism is concerned, the following statement was made by the University of Warwick in 2003:
Dr. Stephen Joseph, from the University of Warwick, said: “Religious people seem to have a greater purpose in life, which is why they are happier. Looking at the research evidence, it seems that those who celebrate the Christian meaning of Christmas are on the whole likely to be happier.
Also, there are psychological studies that suggest a link between atheism and suicide. This isn’t too surprising in my opinion. I could see how depression could possibly set in with some people who decide to be atheists given their beliefs. Also, if the atheist comes from a religious/spiritual family, then they could possibly receive negative backlash from their family including isolation. That is just my opinion though, here’s what the American Society of Psychiatry reported:
Religiously unaffiliated subjects had significantly more lifetime suicide attempts and more first-degree relatives who committed suicide than subjects who endorsed a religious affiliation. Unaffiliated subjects were younger, less often married, less often had children, and had less contact with family members. Furthermore, subjects with no religious affiliation perceived fewer reasons for living, particularly fewer moral objections to suicide. In terms of clinical characteristics, religiously unaffiliated subjects had more lifetime impulsivity, aggression, and past substance use disorder. No differences in the level of subjective and objective depression, hopelessness, or stressful life events were found.
I am by no means suggesting this as evidence that God exists, so don’t waste time writing a response of that nature – just hoping to spur a lively conversation!
God Bless,
Justin
Filed under: Christianity
What is the “American Dream” for most Americans? What do they really want? In Barna’s latest study, he looks at what Americans want when they dream of their ideal life. Here is what they found:
There were six specific conditions that at least three-quarters of all adults identified as being very important elements in their ideal life. Those included having good physical health (listed by 85%), living with a high degree of integrity (also 85%), having one marriage partner for life (80%), having a clear purpose for living (77%), having a close relationship with God (75%), and having close, personal friendships (74%).
There were another half-dozen items listed by at least half of the adults interviewed. Those conditions included having a comfortable lifestyle (mentioned by 70%), having a satisfying sex life with their marriage partner (66%), having children (66%), living close to family and relatives(63%), being deeply committed to the Christian faith (59%), and making a difference in the world (56%).
The survey uncovered seven conditions that only a minority of Americans deemed worthy of including in their vision of their desired future life. Those conditions included having a college degree (named by 46%), being personally active in a church (45%), traveling throughout the world for pleasure (28%), working in a high-paying job (28%), owning a large home (18%), owning the latest household technology/electronics (11%) and achieving fame or public recognition (7%).
There are some fascinating trends here in this study.
One example is that having a close personal relationship with Christ was very important and yet being personally active in a church was very low. It is an interesting disconnect that people see the church as an impediment to their relationship with Christ. It also shows how individualistic we are in our relationship with God. The community and body of Christ doesn’t in the minds of many Christians connect, as it should, to their relationship with Christ.
That is a shame.
We are not merely individuals in a privatized relationship with God but rather we are part of a “community”. And as such we need one another to grow and be encouraged toward become more Christ-like.
I know that part of this disconnect has been the church’s fault. We have made church an activity to do, merely a place to go, and simply a club to join. Rather, the church is called to Love God through our worship, to Love One another through real, authentic friendships, and to Love the Community by going and serving the least, the last and the lost. These things are on the very heart of God. It should be on our heart as well.
May we as a church reclaim that vision and purpose again.
Bill Reichart is a pastor at Big Creek Church in Forsyth County, GA. He blogs at his personal blog, Provocative Church and his ministry blog, Ministry Best Practices.
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Commentary, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life, Thought for the Day
Come on…you know you have an opinion.
What do you think church is…or at least what do you think a church should be?
Webster defines a church as:
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1. a building for public and especially Christian worship
2. the clergy or officialdom of a religious body
3. a body or organization of religious believers
Which definition is the one that you most identify church with?
Why?
Webster has church listed as a noun…shouldn’t the church be a verb?
Just my thought.
I’ve been re-reading Philip Yancey’s book called What’s So Amazing About Grace? In the beginning he shares this story that a friend of his told him.
A prostitute came to me in wretched straits, homeless, sick, unable to buy food for her two-year-old daughter. Through sobs and tears she told me she had been renting out her daughter– two years old! —to men interested in kinky sex. She made more renting out her daughter for an hour than she could earn on her own in a night. She had to do it, she said, to support her own drug habit. I could hardly bear hearing her sordid story. For one thing it made me legally liable—I am required to report cases of child abuse. I had no idea what to say to this woman.
At last I asked if she had ever thought of going to a a church for help. I will never forget the look of pure, naïve shock that crossed her face. “Church!” She cried. “Why would I ever go there? I was already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.”
Yancey continues,
“What struck me about my friend’s story is that prostitutes much like this woman fled toward Jesus, not away from him. The worse a person felt about herself, the more likely she saw Jesus as a refuge. Has the church lost that gift? Evidently the down-and-out, who flocked to Jesus when he lived on earth, no longer felt welcome among his followers. What has happened?
I’ve pondered this question for years. What has happened? How have we as the church lost our way? When did it become about being right instead of being refuge? When did it come about posting our credentials? When did it become about creating mocking names about offering children to Molech? When did it become Ok to mock and jeer those we disagree with or those we agree with who aren’t as mean as we want them to be? When did Jesus tell people to take their plank and shove it? How many people have walked away from the church because those who made it up forgot how dirty they truly were? Somehow, we’ve lost our way as a church. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in the blogosphere where people can hide behind any name they want and say whatever they want to say. Someone can call 15 year old girls painted whores of Sodom and write Tabloid titles because they don’t have to see the pain they are causing people. Somehow, the political party you belong to is more important than the family you belong to. If we believe we are criticizing children of God then we are family. If one is not criticizing God’s children then we’re violating all sorts of Scriptures not in the criticism but in the name calling. Lines are being drawn not about salvation but about what is worn on Sunday’s to church.
And the whole time people who’s lives are being blown apart just keep on dying. They just keep on living the wrong way because Darn It, I AM RIGHT!!! One camp picks apart a person in the other camp because he doesn’t go far enough down the Theological trail with them. They may agree that one goes to Heaven by believing on the work on Christ but down the path they disagree so it’s Ok to tear each other apart. I wonder, does this make you as sick as it does me?
Here’s what the Apostle Paul had to say about it,
The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
I wonder how many people have been devoured by someone who “was right” and “justified.”
Filed under: Christian, Christianity, Real Life, Relevant Christian, Relevant Life
I watched a playground full of small children play today and found myself reminiscing back to when Meagan and Forrest were in grade school.
As I watched the children play tug of war, I remembered fondly of the Field Days that my children’s school would have at the end of the school year. Field Day was a day when all of the students, teachers and quite a few of the parents, would get together in the school yard for friendly competitions, games, food and a whole lot of fun.
I can still see Meagan running and playing in her little school uniform with her ponytail flapping in the wind, laughing, giggling and playing…and me having a blast watching. I can still picture Forrest playing soccer, (he was always playing soccer), running as fast and hard as he can, red faced and sweating in the hot sun with a huge smile on his face. I am getting misty-eyed right now just thinking about it.
Sometimes I miss those days.
I think what I miss most about those days is the bond that I shared with my kids. The closeness we shared. I miss the hugs, the kisses, the laughing, the crying, the sharing.
They grow so quickly. Time flies by in an instant it seems. Those days are gone forever.
Now the pony-tailed little girl is a beautiful young lady in her junior year in college who I get to see a handful of times a year. And the red faced little boy with the grin from ear to ear, is now a handsome young man standing at the entrance to the bridge between high school and the rest of his life.
Once upon a time I was king in their world, I was “Daddy”, the all knowing one. The one who could fix and do anything. I was their protector, their comfort, the one who got to rock them to sleep at night. Alas, but no more.
Sometimes I miss those days.
Sometimes when I look at their faces, look into their eyes, I can almost catch a glimpse of that little girl wanting to hold my hand everywhere we go, and the little boy who loved to sit in my lap and watch baseball on television for hours. Every now and then I am still “Daddy”…and I love those fleeting moments.
Sometimes I miss those days.
I was thinking later in the day, how much I missed the day when I first became a Christian.
Everything was new, unspoiled, uncomplicated. We didn’t care who belonged to what church, or what denomination they were. Most of us had no idea who Calvin or Wesley was. All we knew was that something had happened. Something had changed. We looked at things with new eyes. Jesus had come into our lives and we were happy, content, oblivious to the warfare going on around us.
Sometimes I miss those days.
I miss the days of simple Christianity where right is right and wrong is wrong. I miss the days where we were happy, loved everyone and treated them with respect and dignity. Ah the naivety of our early Christian lives.
Sometimes I miss those days.
