Are Pastors Allowed to Seek Treatment for Mental Illness

I've never seen a headline in a conservative site before this one proclaiming there is widespread depression among pastors. This includes pastors with suicidal thoughts. The long standing shtick of the faith is that "Jesus never gives you more than you can handle."

Mental illness has also been thought of a demonic. The treatment then must have a religious source instead of a medical one. Religion, of course, is thought to have a solution to everything, alcoholism, drugs and bad marriages.

There have been several stories of preachers committing suicide in the past few months. The frequency may not have increased but it seems now to be permissible to admit this happens. One or most prominent stories within the faith was the suicide of Author Rick Warren's son. Both Warren and his wife give public talks about the problem now.

If a depressed preacher has told depressed people he/she counsels they need to have more faith or pray more one can understand what a downer it would be to see these worthless measures are also worthless to him/her self as well.

I know well a family in which a young father who suffered from depression fell into a small religious group. The group persuaded him God wanted him to stop taking his prescriptions. Not long after that he committed suicide. I can't say, of course, he would not have done so anyway. I only wish he had never fallen in with those crazy believers.

I think of him every time I hear about the wonderful things the faith has done for people.