I’ve been thinking a little about the sufficiency of Scripture. This doctrine is either neglected or misused. One denies the sufficiency of Scripture by completely outsourcing mental health issues, while the other misuses the sufficiency of Scripture by never outsourcing. One brother seems to put Scripture on par with other resources, while another brother believes that the Bible is the only book you need on your shelf and that it alone is needed to speak to all issues.
Using cancer as an example, I hope to show how to properly use the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture. First, consider this little graph I created:
This chart is a visual way of saying that where Scripture does speak it does so with authority. When Scripture speaks clearly (and therefore I am confident of my interpretation) then I should have absolute confidence in the truth that it declares. The less clearly that Scripture speaks on a topic the less confident I should be.
Cancer and the Bible
You’ve just received a most unwelcome diagnosis. That lump…it’s…cancer. Your mind races. A million questions flood your mind. You wonder where in the world God is in all of this. What does He have to say about cancer?
Now remember our rule: Where Scripture does speak it does so with authority.
What this means is that we test al truth claims by this. You will soon have options about treatment. Should you do chemo? What is the best way to fight this cancer?
The Bible is not going to answer those questions. It does not speak to what foods a cancer patient should eat. It doesn’t address issues like chemotherapy. Therefore, you should probably do what your doctor tells you. It’s not denying the sufficiency of Scripture to listen to your doctor and to get the help that you need.
Yet, the Bible is not silent when it comes to issues like cancer. The Scripture tell us that everything that happens in the life of a believer is designed by God for our good; namely, to bring us into greater conformity to Christ. (I’ve written more on this point here). We also know from Scripture that Jesus is our ultimate healer. We know that death is not the end of the story. We know that we are called to pray—even to call upon others to pray over us.
What happens if your doctor contradicts any of these points? What if he tells you, “prayer won’t help”? In this situation he is making a truth claim. And it is a truth claim that the Bible does speak to. Therefore, we measure his statement according to the Scriptures. God clearly calls us to pray and to cast our cares upon Him. Therefore, in this instance we don’t listen to our doctor because God, who has far more authority, has spoken.
Mental Health and the Bible
I don’t intend to flesh this out here, but my point in this article is not about cancer it is about the sufficiency of Scripture. There are some issues that are far more complex than cancer. Mental health is one of these issues. My hope in this article is to give us a way of thinking about how the sufficiency of Scripture relates to things like mental health.
The point is simple. The application is more tricky. Where Scripture speaks on issues of mental health it does so authoritatively. Where Scripture is silent (like brain chemistry) it is silent, and the sufficiency of Scripture doesn’t call us to make the Bible address issues that it does not address. Therefore, when we think through these matters it would do us well to humbly embrace a “both/and”.
We must not neglect the truth that Bible is sufficient. And we must not pretend that this means that the Bible speaks to every issue. Let us be bold where Scripture is bold…and no more.
the sacred Scriptures are testaments . . . they are inspired by God . . . if however, the sacred writings were all-sufficient, then Christ would have had no need to send the Holy Spirit to remain with the Church and to guide the Church into all truth
Mike: What you have touched upon, I think, is a matter involving the Omniscience God who is the source of Holy Scripture, an issue I am not sure we can ever adequately begin to understand, a matter as deep as the being of God Himself. I remember reading a statement by a Puritan that our problem with the Bible was really with its perspicuity, its clarity. You can look at a matter and think that you understand it, because it is so clear, but your problem is a depth problem, comprehending the depth of the reality which engages your thinking… Read more »
Mike…is there any chance this phrase is intended to have a link attached to “here”: “I’ve written more on this point here”. Specifically with respect to cancer: it’s amazing that the Bible specifically does not mention anything about cancer given the use of yeast to illustrate some principles of sin. But in order to validate anything the Bible said about the organs of the body would require cutting the body open and generally touching sick and dead things instead is used as a spiritual warning. As well as–in general–the concept of malformedness or sickness being related to (spiritual) uncleanness. Specifically… Read more »
I would like to see you do a piece entitled, “Mental health Issues and the Sufficiency of Scripture.” I suppose we all agree with the latter part of that.
Interestingly enough, Greg, one noted psychiatrist, C.G. Jung, stated in his writings that in his analysis of persons and their problems he had encountered more than one personality in some of his clients, even malignant personalities, pointing perhaps to demons!!!
This might post twice: I’m not sure that a single, rare, controversial diagnosis (see Wikipedia entry for Dissociative identity disorder) ought to be used to justify general opposition to psychology as a science. A more general exegesis of the DSM v. the Bible might be pertinent, but even then it should be specific and crisp. Of course, when the symptoms agree directly with the test of Scripture, by all means cast out that demon (or demons) with prayer and fasting. I just think most of us aren’t very realistic about how often we’ve observed that kind of behavior and most… Read more »
Mike Leake
Sufficiency of Scripture can be a broad area, and a tangled web. All of the Apostles were martyred but one, they suffered sickness, and they all died. Mike, please forgive me but it seems you are tiptoeing through these issues.
Doc: you raise a valid point that I thought about bringing up. But it really deserves its own topic. So, of course, I’m going to throw together a series of comments that illustrates why it deserves its own topic… Should we as believers expect medicine to extend our lives when God has clearly chosen to give us infirmities that potentially shorten our lives? A clear warning on the subject is the birth of Manasseh–described as the most evil king of Judah–to Hezekiah after Hezekiah successfully petitioned God for a longer life when he had been told his life was going… Read more »
Doc,
I’m unsure of your point here. Without showing how I am tiptoeing It’s really hard to respond.
I’ll chalk it up to a poorly written article. As I read through this article again I realized that my writing didn’t do justice to the thought that I’m hoping to convey. I plan on writing on this same concept but in a different way.
P.S. Greg, you mentioned above that a link is missing. I believe you are correct. I’ll look into getting it fixed. Thanks for pointing that out.
Jess, I too wonder how you define Mike as tiptoeing through these issues. He writes pretty clearly. Can you elaborate?
This subject is of interest to me, so I read it eagerly. The assertion was:, “The point is simple. The application is more tricky. Where Scripture speaks on issues of mental health it does so authoritatively. Where Scripture is silent (like brain chemistry) it is silent, and the sufficiency of Scripture doesn’t call us to make the Bible address issues that it does not address. Therefore, when we think through these matters it would do us well to humbly embrace a “both/and”.” This begs for application. I would be interested in knowing (a) exactly what does mike think scripture says… Read more »
What William, and Greg said.
Last week a friend of mine was in the hospital visiting a man who was there due to severe hallucinations and irrational behavior correlated with a huge drug overdose. My friend said, “this guy was demon possessed”. As a layman I ask this forum. Is there such a thing as “demon possession” today? If so, how would one go about differentiating this from mental illness or symptoms related to a drug overdose. Is there any correlation between “demon possession” and suicidal behavior? I have personally seen people with Alzheimer’s who have lost all rational thought. They do things which are… Read more »