Image: Spiritual Depression by Len Lantz (CC BY-NC-ND)
Synopsis: Len's Star Rating: 1 out of 10. A book that is most useful as a historical example of literature that worsens mental health stigma among Christians.
BY LEN LANTZ, MD, author of unJoy / 7.15.2022; No. 85
Disclaimer: Yes, I am a physician, but I’m not your doctor and this article does not create a doctor-patient relationship. This article is for educational purposes and should not be seen as medical advice. You should consult with your physician before you rely on this information. This post also contains affiliate links. Please click this LINK for the full disclaimer.
Star Rating – 1 out of 10
Rating guide: 1 = horrible, 5 = average and 10 = wow
Author
Martin Lloyd-Jones
About the author
Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) trained as a physician but left his medical practice after two years to enter the ministry. He served as the minister of Westminster Chapel in London. He was an influential and controversial Christian leader who had a public conflict with other Christian leaders in England over his separatist approach to Christian denominations that he deemed to be too liberal. Dr. Lloyd-Jones was well-known for providing hour-long expository sermons, and often thousands would attend to hear his preaching. He has had admirers among several Christian denominations and has been credited with influencing the Charismatic Movement based on his teachings on “baptism with the Holy Spirit.”
General description
Spiritual Depression is a book that contains consecutive sermons on the theme of spiritual depression, which were delivered by Dr. Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel. In his sermons, he used the term depression loosely to include frequently unwanted emotional states such as sadness, anxiety, and demoralization. One of his main points throughout the text is captured in his introduction, which is: “Unhappy Christians are, to say the least, a poor recommendation for the Christian faith; and there can be little doubt but that the exuberant joy of the early Christians was one of the most potent factors in the spread of Christianity.”
Unique and most important aspects
While it was likely not the intention of the author, I found this book to demonstrate a lack of compassion, incorrect and stigma-inducing opinions, and extensive, rigid moralizing. I believe that giving this book to a depressed Christian would be harmful, possibly even abusive.
In Spiritual Depression, Dr. Lloyd-Jones is not technically wrong when he argues that a Christian who has depression might not be the best poster child for people considering conversion to the Christian faith. It’s bad marketing, right? However, he repeatedly makes his points in an unhelpful and harmful way. Dr. Lloyd-Jones states his goal as: “We are trying to diagnose and treat the case of the so-called miserable Christian.” In his efforts, he perpetuates many myths about depression and the Christian faith. He incorrectly asserts that difficulty controlling negative mood states is solely due to a lack of discipline or not truly understanding how awesome God is.
Dr. Lloyd-Jones also frequently used the term “antidote” when describing the positive effects that prayer and reading the Bible can have on negative mood states, but, unfortunately, this is not always the case for people experiencing major depression. Interestingly, Dr. Lloyd-Jones mentions Charles Spurgeon in one of his sermons, but not the fact that Spurgeon, a famous minister who lived and preached a full century earlier than Lloyd-Jones, suffered from severe depression and often preached in a manner to destigmatize depression among Christians.
Best quotes
“We must now consider the case of other people who are crippled in the present as the result of looking back into the past, not this time to some particular sin, but rather to the fact that they spent so much time outside the Kingdom and are so late in coming into it. This again is an extremely common cause of spiritual depression. These people are depressed by the fact that they have wasted so much time, wasted so many long years, and that they have been so slow to become Christians at all.”
“In other words, our feelings are variable, and I would emphasize the danger of being controlled by them.”
Who would enjoy this book?
Readers who are interested in researching the contributors to mental health stigma among Christians would likely enjoy Spiritual Depression.
Who would not enjoy this book?
Readers who are interested in a Christian book on depression that provides accurate and helpful information are unlikely to enjoy Spiritual Depression. I would direct readers who are interested in a famous preacher’s helpful viewpoints on depression to the book Spurgeon’s Sorrows by Zack Eswine (See Len’s Book Review).
Conclusion
Spiritual Depression is a book that is most useful as a historical example of literature that worsens mental health stigma among Christians.
