Sin and Mental Illness

[marley]

The question I would have is how is sin dealt when the element of mental illness is involved. Is it just to hold someone accountable for sin when they are not in their right mind? If someone has bipolar and can't control their state of mind, or if someone has schizophrenia and can't control their delusions, when they act out in sin, can it still be called sin when if they were in their right mind, they wouldn't have chosen that action or path to begin with?

thanks!!

[Mike Miller]

Now that's a tough question. The reason it's so tough is that the Bible does not address it directly. Therefore, we'll have to consider the nature of sin theologically. This, however, is a hotly debated topic (I even had a discussion about this subject at Starbucks this morning). Some believe that everyone is guilty of sin from the moment of conception because of our sinful nature that we inherited from Adam. However (and I actually addressed this at greater length at askmike.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=16 ), my position is that people are guilty of sinning when they sin. That means, for example, that a newborn baby is not condemned by God, because that baby has never sinned. Moreover, until that child reaches a state of moral awareness (a time when he or she can understand right and wrong--again see the above link), no moral guilt is incurred.

So, what this means for your question is that a person must have at least a conscience to the point that there is a moral awareness of right and wrong to be accountable. This doesn't mean that a person must be knowledgeable of God's law to be guilty of transgressing it. Rather, as Romans 2:15 says, the law of God is actually written on our hearts. This means that we sin when we do what our hearts know is wrong--whether we admit it or not. Therefore, if a person is mentally handicapped, for example, and never comes to a state of moral awareness, then I see that as like the situation of a small child.

Your question, however, addresses mental illness. This a broad question, for mental illnesses take on many manifestations and to varying degrees. What if a man is bipolar and flies into a state of rage and beats his 2 year old to death? Is that person accountable? Yes. Even though there is perhaps a physiological explanation, he must know that it is wrong to kill a child. Now, does that mean that mitigating factors are not considered in a court of law? Of course not, we have laws that allow for situations like that, and I would hope we would help a person get treatment. However, anyone who is capable of making a moral decision is accountable for the decisions he or she makes. I also think that a delusional schizophrenic who commits some violent crime, for example, in the justice system, can plead insanity and receive help. As to how God deals with that person, however, I'm afraid I cannot answer.

And that, in a nutshell, is my final answer. While anyone who is capable of making moral decisions is accountable to God for those decisions, only God can know the heart and mind of an individual, and fortunately God is the one who has to make those decisions. We can't possibly tell to what degree a person understands what they are doing. But what we can be certain of is that God is just and gracious. He will not condemn the innocent, but the guilty be held accountable for transgressing God's law.

I don't know if I've helped, so feel free to keep the discussion going. I can only give you as much as I know from Scripture then plead ignorance beyond that.