The book, Deceptive Diagnosis: When Sin is Called Sickness, explores the major shift in how Christian evangelicals view and deal with sin. The authors, Dr. David Tyler and Dr. Kurt Grady, believe that the Church stopped calling sinful and deviant behavior "sin," and started calling it "sickness" beginning in the mid 1960's. The sexual sinner Apostle Paul wrote about became the sex addict. The thief became the kleptomaniac. The drunkard became the alcoholic. The rebellious child became afflicted with "Oppositional resistant Disorder." A house in which the husband will not work, the wife will not keep the home, and the children will not obey is no longer considered sinful; it is dysfunctional. The liar became a compulsive liar. The gambler became a compulsive gambler. The "deeds of the flesh, which are immorality impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing" (Galatians 5:19-21) were all redefined using psychopathological words.
Tyler and Grady believe the scenery of evangelicalism today is very disturbing. Christians have jettisoned their commitment to the Bible and embraced psychology. Biblical definitions and categories have changed and a new vocabulary has emerged within the Church. Behaviors and attitudes once regarded as sinful have undergone a dramatic change. Sin is called sickness and confessing sin has been replaced with recovering from sickness. The word "sin" has nearly disappeared from our vocabulary. As such, the impact of the Gospel to a non-believer is less pronounced and the need for progressive sanctification in the believer is minimized. Although we try to make ourselves feel best by calling sin by other name, it is always there. It never fully goes away.
Speech Pathology Programs
"Deceptive Diagnosis" claims that in 1946 the federal government took accountability for promoting American's reasoning health. Some of the initiatives included the National reasoning condition Act (1946), the National originate of reasoning Heath (1949), the National reasoning condition Study Act (1955), and the creation of the Joint Commission on reasoning Illness and condition (1955). It was believed that American society would be dramatically transformed with the building of new reasoning condition centers, the incorporation of training programs as well as countless locations disseminating reasoning condition principles. On February 5, 1963 President John F. Kennedy delivered a national speech on reasoning health. He referred to reasoning condition as the nation's whole one condition problem. In order to confront what was considered a reasoning condition care crisis, Kennedy signed into law the society reasoning condition Centers Act on October 31, 1963. This gave Federal Government backing to the diseasing of America and calling sin sickness. In 1977 President Jimmy Carter organized the Commission on reasoning Health. The group studied the state of the nation's reasoning heath and accomplished a quarter of all Americans needed reasoning condition services. In the 1980's an eruption of twelve step programs provided a disease label for virtually whatever who wanted one. The television talk shows capitalized on and added to the success and growth of the disease model. From Donahue to Oprah, base everyday habitancy and celebrities alike pour out their heart-wrenching stories of codependency and other addictions, disorders and compulsions. No segment of society was exempt. Therapeutic holidays such as National Depression Screening Day, National Anxiety Disorder Day and National Eating Disorders Awareness Week were created. Local malls provided a suitable venue on these special days where habitancy could be diagnosed and learn more about their disease. For those who were too busy to go to the malls, a program of reasoning condition instruction and screening for early detection and intervention was ready online or by telephone.
The authors' of Deceptive determination believe that if a man thinks he is morally fine though physically sick, he will not repent. If one's bad behavior is a disease, he will not go to Christ for cleansing. If, on the other hand one decides to call sinful behavior, sin, he has made a major shift in his perception of reality. He has acknowledged, like the prodigal son, something is wrong with himself. Confession of sin requires accountability on one's part.
Tyler and Grady believe that evangelicalism has opened its gates to a Trojan horse by introducing the teachings of modern psychology. Some Christian psychologists have come to be so popular that to criticize them would be practically like criticizing the Bible itself. While their intentions may be good, intentions are not the issue. The issue is either today's Christians are mixing men's ideas with the Bible. Amazingly, most of today's Christian leaders who rightly cry so fervently against so many false teachings are saying minute if whatever about subtle shifts in biblical interpretation that undermine the faith of millions. In many cases, it reflects a lack of awareness and comprehension of the teachings of psychology.
The book states there is a tendency today is to forget the roots and ignore the essentials. The philosophy of sin is understandably disliked by the world. Moreover, what is alarming and tragic is the opposition Christians have for the philosophy of sin. There was a time when sin was clear and definite. But who can say that is true today? Vagueness characterizes what we think of sin. Sin is sin, but it is sickness too and Christians must consult the "experts" who are trained in detecting these things. There is no clarity of view, no definition of position and the language is confused. In fact, any endeavor to identify a clear dissimilarity in the middle of sin and sickness is branded as being anti-Christian and unloving. The apparent glory of Christianity today is in its vagueness.
Tyler and Grady promote the case that labeling sin as sickness is seen nowhere more clearly than in the fields of clinical psychology and psychiatry. From the world's perspective, clinical psychology and psychiatry are the sass to the reasoning and emotional problems of man. The word "psychology" as a matter of fact means "the study of the soul." Sigmund Freud, in what was lauded as breakthrough scientific exploration, cast aside the study of the soul and redefined psychology in terms of human behavior. Freud settled practical theology in the crosshairs of psychology straight through his fundamental facility that man's problems are based in man and are solved straight through man and man alone. He knowingly or unknowingly created a religion around man with theories that are in direct opposition to God's word. Today's reasoning condition commerce is largely built upon Freud; some 250 to 450 counseling theories are in institution worldwide. They are either directly Freudian, built from fundamental Freudian philosophy or are built in opposition to Freud.
In man's endeavor to run from sin, he also reduced man's lifespan thus sparing him from a miserable existence mired in sin. Since the Garden, man has prolonged to run and hide from God, shift the blame for his behavior onto others, and cover his sin so no one will see how miserably depraved he is. The Diagnostic and Statistical by hand of reasoning Disorders (Dsm) is man's endeavor run, hide, and cover-up. A collection of sins or sin-related behaviors have been composed into suitable lists, labeled as diseases, explained to the lay collective using fundamentally flawed research tied to unproven chemical imbalances...and the list goes on and on.
The authors believe we have witnessed a severe blow to the body of Christ as a effect of the Dsm and the disease-oriented culture it has helped to create. Believers in any place they are sick, diseased, genetically predisposed to illness, etc. Those same believers have been led away from the language and direction of the Bible and into themselves. Progressive sanctification is a foreign thought to many today. Becoming more like Christ each day does not want medication; it requires submission, humility, reconciliation, forgiveness, and most of all repentance. It requires a steady diet of God's Word, an environment bathed in His presence, and consistent work for His Kingdom. Evangelism begins with believers becoming sanctified and developing a burden for the lost. Those wayward souls do not need more therapy nor do they need an excuse for blame shifting. Dr. Tyler and Grady's book challenges the worldview of today's church. Statistics tell us church membership has been steadily decreasing year after year. Sunday School, which was once popular, has also been declining in attendance. Prayer meetings, missionary groups, and fellowship meetings in general are weak and feeble. Today, because of poor attendance, many churches have cancelled mid-week and Sunday evening services altogether or have minute preaching in favor of other activities where the operation is the focus and the gospel is absent or only alluded to by association. Mega churches are growing in prominence, but they are ordinarily marketing driven entities short on philosophy and long on a feeling orientation. Thus, the church as a whole is declining in attendance and in its knowledge and commitment to Scripture.
The authors believe that the essential necessity for an correct determination of a person's question is fundamental to solving, or curing, the pathology. If the determination is wrong, the rehabilitation is likely to be not only ineffective, but also potentially dangerous. Risky in the sense that the customary question is not addressed and that the wrong rehabilitation carries with it the inherent for side effects or other unwanted results. psychology and Worriers Anonymous will not solve man's problem. psychology may help man feel best about himself, but Jesus is the only hope for his sin problem. Jesus Christ is the Great doctor who possesses the cure to the most serious, life threatening question man faces: his inability to deal with his sin and disjunction from a Righteous and Holy God. The book "Deceptive Diagnosis" lays the question on the front door step of the Christian church and it's up to the church repent and turn back to the Bible as the sole source for truth.
Deceptive analysis
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