For it was you who formed my inward parts;
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
When I was being made in secret,
Intricately woven in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
All the days that were formed for me,
When none of them as yet existed.
How weighty are your thoughts, O God!
How vast the sum of them!
I try to count them—
They are more than the sand;
I come to the end—I am still with you.
(Psalm 139:13-16)
The great pioneer of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, once called religion an “illusion.” Religion, he said, simply fosters an inability to address the actual problems of background and personality development that contribute to psychological difficulties. In many ways, he was right. His culture during the 19th century in Vienna, Austria, was steeped in a religion that was pessimistic, cavalier, apathetic, and self-centered. Most of his Austrian clients considered themselves to be religious. They, for the most part, were also wealthy, aristocratic, and generally quite unhappy with their lives (which is why they sought Dr. Freud’s services in the first place).
So, Freud’s appraisal of the religion he encountered each day was largely accurate. The faith most of his clients exhibited was an “illusion,” a sad and an insufficient coping device derived more from culture and manipulation than from biblical truth and divine inspiration. This is unhealthy religion.
Unhealthy religion is not necessarily a foreign concept in our own society. A casual scan of the religious programming in our media, books, and perspectives about faith online reveals a wide variety of potentially unhealthy ways to view life, faith, and the world.
Yet, just as Freud’s perspective on 19th century Austrian religion fails to provide an accurate picture of healthy faith, neither does channel surfing through our own cultural messages today. For all the current voices condemning the rising interest in spiritual matters and for those who persist in calling faith an illusion, let us be more specific about the biblical faith that God intends for us all.
There is a plethora of evidence now suggesting, in fact, that faith can be miraculously healthful. Those who have a sincere belief in a loving God and who attend church regularly literally live better, longer, and more optimistically. This is not an illusion. A number of well-respected studies have demonstrated that active involvement in a community of faith fulfills a deep-seated need in us all for love and companionship.[1] The belief in a good and gracious God who loves us and cares for us, while uplifting spiritually, is also calming emotionally and energizing physically. Spiritual growth, Bible study, and the specific charge to live a better, more loving life is stimulating mentally, comforting emotionally, and challenging spiritually.
Therefore, the combination of a healthier lifestyle as exemplified by Jesus, and a genuine, hopeful faith in God as taught by Jesus, make for a life that is truly exciting, remarkably fulfilling, and extremely healthy. Want to live a better, longer, and happier life? Go to church. Love God. Care deeply for those around you. Take care of yourself. And have faith!
[1] Dr. Harold Koenig of Duke University Medical Center conducted one of several studies on health, wellness and church attendance and concluded the connection is undeniable. The sense of community, well-being, positive self-worth, connectedness and concern for others all were significant factors in longer, healthier and more productive lives.
