Why Atheism Is Bad For Mental Health

Atheism is a worldview that is riddled with all kinds of fallacies. So it is amazing that so many people would willingly choose to believe such a ridiculous belief. As a Christian mental health advocate, I am concerned with how things affect mental health. So in this blog I will be discussing three different ways that atheism is bad for stable mental health. However, before I dive into the reasons, it would be helpful if I gave a definition for atheism. According to the dictionary, atheism is "the doctrine, or belief, that there is no God". This is the standard definition for this term, however in recent years a slew of New Atheists have been trying to redefine the word to mean "a lack of belief in any god or gods". Since the New Atheist's definition actually makes no logical sense as a definition for atheism (as it confuses atheism with agnosticism), I shall be going with the standard definition for the word in this blog. As I said there are three different ways that atheism is actually bad for mental health. These are the following: 

1) Atheism Goes Against The Grain Of Reality 

2) Atheism Destroys All Hope 

3) Atheism Destroys All Meaning

I will elaborate on these points now but I would like to say that if you can think of more ways that atheism is bad for mental health please say what they are in the comments. 

Atheism Goes Against The Grain Of Reality 

When we turn to Romans 1:18-20, we read, 

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." 

As you can see that according to this text, God has revealed Himself to all people plainly in such a way that we are all without excuse for not worshiping Him. This means that when we acknowledge Him we are acknowledging what is reality and when we refuse to acknowledge Him we are closing our eyes to reality. In other words, atheism is in fact delusional wishful thinking that leads one into denying reality! This is why the Psalmist says in Psalm 14:1 that only fools say there is no God! 

Atheism Destroys All Hope 

According to atheism, this life is all there is. We are born into this world and once we die it is all over and we just become worm food. One cannot possibly have any kind of hope in this sort of worldview. This is why there are many suicides amongst atheists. It makes sense because if this life is all there is and we are all merely cosmic accidents then why should anyone go on living? Atheism is a very depressing philosophy. The world renown atheist Fredreich Neitzche was possibly the most consistent atheist that there ever was and he lived a very bleak life. Obviously, atheism breeds a depressing life when lived out consistently with it's own presuppositions. 

Atheism Destroys All Meaning 

As atheism destroys hope, it also destroys meaning in life too. If we are all cosmic accidents and there is no rhyme or reason to life then there cannot possibly be any inherent meaning to life whatsoever. Most atheists acknowledge this and to get around the bleak implications of this they will say we need to create our own meaning in life. But, why? What is the point in doing that if we are here today and gone tomorrow? Anything we do will ultimately be meaningless if atheism is true. 

Thankfully, we can safely know that atheism is not true. We are created for a purpose by the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As a the Westminster Larger Catechism puts it, our purpose is "to glorify God and enjoy him forever". We were created to be in eternal communion with the Holy Trinity on a New Heaven and New Earth where we will reign and there will be no more sin, sorrow, pain, or suffering. 

I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog and I hope you were edified and challenged and that God was glorified. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

Check Out The Second Ministry Website

Forgiving God When You're Diagnosed With A Mental Illness

As some of you may already know, when I was originally diagnosed with a mental illness when I was sixteen years old, I felt ab intense shame and hatred. I was ashamed for myself but I hated God. I hated God because i felt like He was intentionally causing me harm. It was precisely because i believed that He was intentionally causing me harm that I decided to take out my anger, frustration, and hurt against His people. I would do some horrible things to anyone who even professed the name of Christ. I honestly believed that any time I harmed a Christian that I was harming God and it caused me deep satisfaction. In reality, however, God was showing me patience and long-suffering because I was acting out of ignorance. It was not until The Lord eventually saved me that i realized this. Part of my salvation process had to do with coming to grips with my mental illness. In this blog, I will be giving some advice on how to "forgive God" when you are diagnosed with a mental illness. Obviously, I do not literally mean that God needs forgiveness, but sometimes we need to let go of our anger about our mental illness. I trust that after you read this, you will be encouraged and edified. These tips are what I have personally done so I'm speaking from personal experience. I know that dealing with a mental illness is nothing to balk at. For those of us who struggle with mental illness, we are incredibly strong. I would like to say that this list is not comprehensive so If you can think of something I have not thought about please feel free to add it to the list. The things that have helped me forgive God for my mental illness are the following: 

1) LETTING GOD KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL 

I know this may sound like dangerous advice, especially if you were raised with the mindset that you must always speak nicely to God. However, the Lord wants us be open and transparent with Him. The book of Psalms are filled with all kinds of songs from people who were experiencing all kinds of raw emotions. God is not afraid of our emotions and so we can be real and authentic with Him.

2) Realizing That All Things Do In Fact Work For Good 

One of the most comforting verses, yet the most challenging to accept is Roman's 8:28 which says; 

"And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose"

This is a beautiful verse right? It is very difficult to accept especially when you think about mental illness. I mean, how does Depression and anxiety work for good? How does one's delusions and hallucinations work for good? It may seem hard to accept but God is not a liar. He cannot lie to us. So if His word says ALL THINGS, then that would include our mental illnesses as well. We can trust God at His word because He is faithful and reliable. 

3) REALIZING THAT MENTAL ILLNESS DISPLAYS THE GLORY OF GOD 

I talk about this more in depth in my blog, "How My Schizoaffective Disorder Displays The Glory Of God" so if you are interested in how I can make such a claim then I would recommend you read that blog. For the purpose of this blog, however, I will discuss how coming to that realization has helped me tremendously. It has helped me because now I understand that there is a purpose to my mental illness. I am not just struggling mentally for no apparent reason. If my hallucinations and delusions and mood fluctuations were just random for no rhyme or reason, then I may as well give up on life. However, knowing that there is a purpose behind what I am experiencing gives my experiences actual transcendental meaning. 

I hope that this blog has helped you in some way and I thank you for taking the time to read it too. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! Soli Deo Gloria! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Please Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry

5 Ways My Schizoaffective Disorder Makes Me A Better Man

Life has a way a throwing certain things in our way that cause us immense difficulty. Whether these things are tragic life events or character flaws, these things eventually do come upon us all regardless of age, race, religion, or gender. I believe that the Lord uses these things as ways to mold and shape us into the men and women that we are meant to become. Romans 8:28 seems to suggest this and I believe that mental illness may be included in that promise. In this blog, I will discuss five ways that my Schizoaffective Disorder makes me a better person. The purpose of this is to help people understand that mental illness is not some insidious thing that must be expelled but instead it is a beautiful piece in the tapestry that makes us the amazing creations of God that we are. These five things are not meant to be comprehensive because I am sure that I could think of many more things and if you can think of more ways your mental illness improves you please leave a comment below. The five ways my mental illness makes me a better person are the following: 

1) it keeps me humble 

2) it makes me more compassionate 

3) it makes me more in tune with my emotions 

4) it causes me to be more creative 

5) it makes me more loving 

I will elaborate on all five of these points now. However, I do want to say that I am not saying that I am better than other people because of my mental illness nor am I saying that I am better at these qualities than others either. My goal is to eliminate the stigma that has been built around mental illness by talking about how mental illness has personally improved my life. 

It keeps Me Humble 

Since I have to deal with this mental infirmity, I cannot really look down on anyone else because I fully understand my own fragility. My mental illness makes me all aware of my own limitations and I fully understand what I can and cannot handle too. 

It Makes Me More Compassionate 

Since I am aware of my own affliction, it makes more empathetic towards others who are suffering either physically or mentally. I can identify more easily with people who are suffering in ways that other people cannot. 

It Makes Me More In Tune With My Emotions 

I have always felt my emotions in extremes. This means when I'm happy, I am euphoric. When I am sad, I am deeply depressed. There is no in between for me. 

It Causes Me To Be More Creative 

I have always been very creative in my writing. I can literally turn anything into an elaborate story because my mind is always coming up with all kinds of wild scenarios. 

It Makes More Loving 

Since I feel more intensely, I also care for people much more intensely too. This is why I get close to people very easily and I am more vulnerable around them too. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I hope that this helps you see that there are some benefits to having a mental illness. May the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ richly bless you all! Soli Deo Gloria! 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

How The Doctrine Of Justification By Faith Alone Should Affect Our Mental Health

There is an infection that infiltrated many churches, regardless of denomination. This infection is called moralism. I call this is an infection because it is a deadly killer of many Christians. I have witnessed how the joy has been sucked right out of my fellow brothers and sisters in the faith as soon as they accept moralism. What is moralism, you ask? The best definition I could find is that it is "an undue obsession with morality". Christians who have succumbed to moralism may abstain from watching secular movies, listening to secular music, dancing, celebrating certain holidays, and the list goes on. While moralism may seem to be wise, it actually is a trap because it misses the whole point of the Gospel message. In this blog, I shall discuss what justification by faith alone means and how it should have a profound impact on one's mental health. In Romans 3:21-25 we read, 

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it--the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" 

I would like to point out how all people fall short of the glory of God because we all sin. This means that we are all equal. It does not matter if you are a monk in a monastery or a crack addict in the street. Every single one of us are equally guilty before God. However, for those of us who have placed our faith in Jesus Christ alone, God freely justifies us in His sight. This means that God will not hold any of our past, present, or future sins against us. The apostle Paul tells us this in Romans  4:4-5 when he says, 

"Now to the one who works his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness" 

When we trust in Christ, our faith is counted as righteousness. This means it does not matter what we have done or will do because God has already declared us righteous in His sight on the account of what Christ has already done for us. It is precisely because of this reason that Paul can tell us that absolutely nothing in all of creation will ever separate us from God's love. As we read in Romans 8:37-39, 

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor Angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" 

There is not a single thing in all creation, not even anything we say or do, that will cause the Father to no longer be pleased with us. It is because of what Christ has done for us that God is forever pleased with Christians.  This truth is utterly profound! And not only is the Father forever pleased with us, but he also sees us as holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:3-6). 

So, what does all this mean for our mental health? I believe that once we accept the truth of this doctrine, it will cause us to greatly rejoice and to finally rest. I say that it will cause this because it will cause us to realize that the work of salvation has already been accomplished. This means that we no longer need to do anything to earn our salvation through our vain attempts to maintain a rigid morality. We are now free to participate in certain cultural activities or watch and listen to secular entertainment without fear of judgement. We can now stop striving for salvation through our moral efforts, which could never save us anyway. We no longer need to prove ourselves to God and others because we already have God's approval and He is always pleased with us. 

-David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website

A Letter To My Depression

Dear Depression, 

I have always despised you because dealing with you have always made my life really tough. I hate the days when I would wake up and I cannot get out of bed. I hate the days when I cannot eat my food or do things that I normally love to do. I hate the times I want to isolate from people and cut myself. I also hate the days when all I want to do is die because life has no more meaning. During these moments, the words of the Psalmist in Psalms 88 comes to mind: "Darkness is my only companion". How often do I feel this way? So often I feel alone and abandoned by my friends and family. So often do I feel abandoned by my God. 

I know that when my heart brings me down that God's word is greater than my heart. The word of God tells me that God will never leave me nor forsake me. The word of God tells me that there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother. This Friend is the Great High Priest who suffered in every way that i have suffered, yet he was without sin. In this way, this Friend can sympathize with my struggles and despair. For this reason, my hope and trust is in Jesus Christ alone especially in the moments when life doesn't make any sense because I know that it is only through Christ that life does make sense. God is the Sovereign ruler over all creation and nothing happens in this creation apart from His ordaining it to pass. And the Lord promises to work out ALL things for my good, including my depression. For this reason, no matter what I go through I will always trust in Him because I have no where else to turn. 

Depression, you used to control my life, but nowadays you have lost your power over me because I know Jesus Christ and in Him lies my true joy and peace that you cannot destroy. In my weakest moments I am still strong in Him. 

Signed, 

David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry

A Letter To My Mania

Dear Mania, 

This is a letter written out of love and hate. It is written out of love because I do enjoy the highs that you take me on. It is written out of hate because I do not enjoy when I finally crash into a state of depression and shame. I enjoy the moments when I feel like I'm soaring through the sky blissfully and I wish that it would last forever. However, reality always seems to settle in and I realize that I do not have any wings. That is when I end up crashing and burning. During the moments when I am souring, I feel super creative like I can write a symphony. It is during those moments when I experience my greatest works. I love you for those moments. However, i hate how you can cause me to overspend my money or mistreat those who I'm closest too. I hate how you can cause me to be incredibly selfish and egotistical too. Why do you do this to me? Why do you insist on driving a wedge between myself and my loved ones? It hurts me deeply when people I care about turn their backs on me because I am too much for them to bear. It is during those moments that I feel like I am unlovable. 

I know that according to Romans 8:28, God uses all things for the good of His people, but I do not yet understand how the Lord is using you for my good or the good of His Church. I take it on faith that He is but it does not make any sense to me. How can my manic phases possibly work out for good? However, I know that the Lord is sovereign over all things, including my mania. It is precisely because of this that I trust in His might. I do not trust in myself because I am too weak and frail. I trust in the Lord and in His Strength because He is mighty to save. 

Signed, 

David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry

A Letter To My Voices

Dear Tom and Rita, 

I am writing this letter to tell exactly how I feel about the two of you. The purpose in my writing this is to show other people who hear voices that they don't need to be controlled by them and that they can take ownership over their voices. I understand this letter may seem harsh but know that this letter is written in love. I love the both of you, but I also hate the both of you too. Tom, I love you because when I was younger you were one of my only friends during my darkest moment in life but recently you have been a real jerk to me. Rita, I love you because you are always sweet to me but you tell me things that are not reality. As a matter of fact, both of you tell me things that are not in line with what is real. I am constrained by Holy Scripture because the word of God defines what is reality. It is precisely this reason why I must reject what you both tell me because the things you say are contrary to Scripture. When you tell me that I am God and people are worshiping me, I know that is not true because God's word tells me that that there is only one true God and He will not give His glory to another. Also, when you tell me to hurt other people, I must reject that as well because the word of God tells me to see people as humans created in God's image. This means that human beings, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or whatever else are to be treated with dignity, respect, and honor. 

In the past, you both have been invaluable friends to me, but lately all you have been doing is causing me distress and anguish. I do not believe that you are demonic because I understand that you both are just the result of a chemical imbalance in my brain. It is because of this that I need to always remember to take my medication and see my therapist, despite you two trying to persuade me not to. I am thankful to the Lord of Hosts for blessing me with a good psychiatrist and a good therapist who actually take the time to listen to me. 

I would like to thank you both for something though. I want to thank you for providing me with companionship during my loneliest times in my life and I want to thank you for your understanding of me during my weakest times in my life. However, since these days you seem to only want to convince me to do do bad things or to think blasphemous things, I must see you both as a nuisance in my life that I must deal with through proper medication and counseling. It is because of this that I desire the return of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when He will resurrect my mind and body and make all of creation brand new. When this happens, I will no longer deal with the two of you because there will be no more pain, suffering, sin, or death for He will wipe away all our tears and we will be in perfect communion with The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Soli Deo Gloria! 

Signed, 

David Lee Chu Sarchet 

Christian Mental Health Advocate 

Check Out The Christ-Centered Mental Health Ministry Website