Is Mental Illness Demonic? A Biblical Analysis of Mark 5:1-20 by David Lee Chu Sarchet
A common misconception that many professing Christians have about mental illness is that it is demonic. And because they believe this they think the answer to “curing” mental illness is prayer and/or exorcism. The problem with this belief is that it is more in line with Roman Catholicism than it is with the Bible.
In this blog, I will be discussing the most commonly used passage that many Christians use to justify this belief. I will expose how they are not properly interpreting the text. After I expose how this belief is unbiblical, I will then explain why this belief is harmful towards mentally ill people.
Scripture Reading:
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
– Mark 5:1-20
The Three Sections:
- 1) Similarities: In the first section, I will discuss how this passage is similar to mental illness.
- 2) Differences: In the second section, I will discuss how the passage differs from mental illness.
- 3) Dangers: In the third section, I will discuss why the teaching the mental illness is demonic is very dangerous.
Something we need to keep in mind about demon possession is that the reason we see a lot of it in the times of Jesus and His apostles was because they were reacting to His coming and they knew their time was up. Simonetta Carr, author of Broken Pieces and The God Who Mends Them: Schizophrenia Through The Eyes of A Mother, says:
“In the gospel accounts, the demons knew exactly who Jesus was and knew exactly that his arrival marked their destruction, which was to be realized in the end. That’s why the group of demons in Matthew 8:29 asked him blatantly, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?’ Christ’s casting out demons showed that his kingdom had been officially inaugurated, and his death, resurrection, and ascension effectively opened it to anyone who repents and believes”
I hope that you find this article to be edifying to you and I hope that it is glorifying to God.
Similarities
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At first glance, it seems like this passage may be talking about some sort of mental illness. The demon-possessed man isolated himself from the community and he even cried out loud while cutting himself. These are classic signs of depression. I know this feeling all too well because I have had frequent bouts with depression and suicidal ideation and I even resorted to cutting myself.
If these were the only signs that this man exhibited then I would say that this is clear proof that mental illness is demonic. However, these are not the only signs and we must look at everything as a whole before determining whether or not this passage is describing mental illness.
Differences
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One of the main signs that this is not describing mental illness is the fact that this man had superhuman strength. No mental illness will give people superhuman strength. My schizophrenia and bipolar does not allow me to tear apart metal chains and shackles!
Sure, when some one is out of their mind and acting out of control it may take three or four people to restrain him or her. but this is just regular adrenaline pumping not superhuman strength. A rush of adrenaline can affect any one and everyone regardless of if they have a mental illness or not.
Another very clear evidence of this passage not being about mental illness is in the fact that the demons were able to communicate with Jesus. This is very significant because the voices that we hear in our heads do not ever communicate with other people. They only communicate with us. No one else can hear my voices.
Now, someone may say well the demons spoke out loud through the man. But, this is just an example of eisegesis because no where does the text say that the demons spoke through the man. People who make this claim are merely only making that assumption but the text in no way tells us this.
Dangers
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There are a variety of dangers about this theology.
The first, and more significant, danger is in the fact that it encourages mentally ill people to not take their medication. When you tell mentally ill people that their problem is spiritual, not physical, and they just need to have demons cast out of them, this will in turn convince them that they need to stop taking their medication and to instead pray for an exorcism.
This is dangerous because as I have said before mental illness is degenerative so it will get worse the longer it goes untreated,
We need to stop spiritualizing medical conditions.
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Mental illness is a medical condition that requires a medical solution. We would not spiritualize a broken arm, would we?
The other reason this theology is dangerous is because it further causes stress on people with mental illness and it increases our marginalization by feeding the stigma. Again, Simonetta Carr offers some valuable insight here:
“It is equally important to remember that, unlike Jesus and His apostles, we do not have the ability to recognize demonic activity. Labeling mentally ill persons as demon possessed or under demonic assault will serve only to aggravate their agony and marginalization. Instead we should do what the Bible tells us to do: proclaim the good news of what Christ has accomplished for us in his life, death, and resurrection as well as the promises that are contained in his word.”
Closing
I hope this is article has helped you better understand mental illness and if you were one of the people who held the belief that mental illness is demonic then hopefully this article has challenged your beliefs. We should always be open to having our current beliefs challenged because that will be the only way we will ever grow spiritually.
Thank you for reading my blog and 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
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