Depression is a Theologian

October 21, 2011 in Life with 5 Comments

 

Blog reader, Chad Jones, turned me on to an important book Not Alone. Not Alone: Stories of Living with Depression is a collection of essays of people who live with the wound of depression. Each chapter offers a unique, unvarnished perspective of what its like to live under the weight of intense sadness.  I was moved by the honesty of each contributions. For some, depression was the respond to enduring unspeakable abuse. For others, depression was the by-product of ministry. And for others, depression is an unwelcome and unexplained guest who came without warning and offered no indication of if or when he intended on leaving.

Reading several of the essays I realized that depression is not just a disease but a theologian. Depression asks hard questions about God’s goodness. It asks  ”Why?” and won’t relent, not even when surrounding church culture seems content with pat answers. Depression explores the terror of sharing a universe with a God who can make suffer stop, but does not. Depression rails against God’s silence. Several of the essayists explored this theme. Some contributors continue to live with the questions, others have found God to be faithful, and still other contributors took the risk of saying that they’ve given up on God all together. Not Alone is an honest book. As such, its not always comfortable reading.

It’s the honesty of this book that has the potential of given people who suffer from depression hope. The book reminds depression sufferers that they are truly not alone. There’s a quiet community of people who wrestle with the same feelings of sadness and hopelessness. Not Alone has the potential to connect those hurting and help those around them to better understand the road they are traveling.

By the way, Chad is also a contributor to this book. Brilliant job on your chapter, friend.

You can read a full chapter from the book here.

 

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  • http://randomlychad.com Chad Jones

    Larry, thanks so much for your review! And for your kind words as well! You truly are a gentleman and a scholar.

  • Pingback: Why its Hard to Remember What's True and the Need for a Good Tattoo Artist | Larry Shallenberger

  • http://www.facebook.com/jonnmcdaniel Jonn McDaniel

    Looking forward to getting this book and reading it. It is always encouraging to connect with someone else who understands, in their own way, what the battle with the beast of depression is like. I call it my personal Jihad–it truly is a holy war for me. I have often used different metaphors to describe to others what it feels like and, for me, it is like a boiling red hot, molten river of lava constantly flowing underneath the surface–sometimes deep within, sometimes under brittle ground. Sometimes I can walk confidently on solid footing knowing I am making healthy choices for my life and managing my depression with huge success. Sometimes I’m unaware of a pending volcanic eruption about to burst through that send me running to protect myself and scrambling for answers and any sign of hope in this life. Sometimes I feel I am having to walk carefully upon very brittle ground feeling the heat all around me knowing it could break through at any moment. And, other times I’m jumping from rock to rock to save my life on huge volcanic rivers (ala Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars) trying to keep myself from falling in the river to my peril. But, regardless of where I am on my journey with depression, the river is always there. It never goes away. However, I am learning to continue making healthy choices that help me walk on solid ground. I am learning to spot those volcanic fissures from farther away. I am learning to win more battles in my Jihad with the beast. Thanks for reminding me I’m not alone on this journey too.

    • Anonymous

      Jonn, that’s a good description. Yesterday was a “volcanic” day for me. 

      The more open I am about it, the more I’m realizing that I’m not alone and that its not the end of the world. 

  • http://twitter.com/RTODD123 Robert T Ross

    Having worked/treated people with a variety of mental illnesses including depression for over 30 yrs, I have an opinion which some Christian camps may not like, but here goes. I firmly believe that depression is a biological illness-not due to Satan and not due to sin-and is a pre-dispostion which one can inherit. Depression can rear its ugly head or not, depending on one’s environment, stress, life events and trauma. Medication is often helpful, but so is Christ-like compassion, care, support and EMPATHY. I also think pastors can be particularly prone to depression if they have don’t cadres of caring, supportive friends who pastor them…..Robert T Ross, MSW LSW