Christian Ethics and Morality, from Assurance to Melancholy, A Facebook Post

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 If you have ever suffered from what the Reformers and Puritans called "melancholy" (the closest modern terminology is "clinical depression"), you might consider perusing the attached. Start at User Prompt 3 (or at the beginning if you prefer).


Melancholy, I have come to understand, is rooted deeply in the DNA of my ancestors on my father's side of the Family Tree, and in their progeny. Not so much endemic as recurring. Reformed Christianity generally, and the Puritans specifically, dealt with Melancholy under the umbrella of Christian Ethics and Morality, or how we OUGHT to live compared to how we ACTUALLY live. As a result, there are many great works on what melancholy is, and how Christians should approach it.

Timothy Rogers' "Trouble of Mind, and the Disease of Melancholy" is on my bookshelf, and is a constant source of comfort for me. Reading through Rogers' book with your Bible at hand doesn't always obliterate the melancholy, but it provides sufficient comfort and reassurance to weather the storm. I commend it to those of you who know all too well what is meant by "melancholy."

THE EMBEDDED GEMINI CONVERSATION:


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