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About the author

David Wilson, although originally trained as an industrial chemist, read theology and pastoral studies upon his return to academia in 1995. After graduation he completed an MA in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies, before submitting PhD research in selected passages of the Hebrew Bible to the University of Manchester in 2006.

introduction

‘Ask not what the Church can do for the depressed, ask what the depressed can do for the Church’ is clearly a ‘play’ on the words of the famous John F Kennedy address – a ‘play’ which if true demands an explanation. Any such explanation will depend firstly on how we modern Westerners (and Western Christians in particular) understand depression, and secondly on how depression was understood in the Ancient Near East. If it turns out that the ancients in general and the biblical writers in particular were familiar with depression – however this was understood – then this raises further questions for Christians. Those questions concern the way in which the current practices of our faith interact with and accommodate depression. In short, we must ask how Christians should react to depressed Christians and vice versa.

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Disclaimer

I hope that the viewpoints expressed on this site will be of some help to you – they stem from my own research, and personal involvement with depression as a full-time carer. I am not medically qualified in any way, and it must always be borne in mind that depression presents very real dangers to those who suffer from it, such that recourse to medical advice may become necessary. It remains my fervent prayer, however, that a different and entirely biblical understanding of depression may become more widely known for the benefit of all Christians everywhere.

I have set out the subject matter of this website as a series of questions:

1. What is the modern orthodox medical view of depression?
2. How was depression viewed in the Ancient Near East?
3. What does the Bible say about depression?
4. What does this mean for the Church?
5. How should Christians view their depression?

Click on the links above to view the different sections.

My own attempts to reconcile my personal experience of depression as a full-time carer with a biblical understanding of depression is set out more fully in a book: Conversation with God: A Christian Experience of Depression may be purchased from –

Athena Press, Queen’s House
2 Holly Road, Twickenham TW1 4EG
Phone: +44 (020) 8744 0990
E-mail: info@athenapress.com
Website: www.athenapress.com

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