Is there such a thing as Spiritual Insanity? Most of the world would be considered spiritually insane by today's accepted medical standards. A few days ago I received a letter from Sid Wright from Richland Hills, TX, who had a background and career positions that gave him a unique perspective of man's standards that define how we know a person is clinically insane. If those same human physical standards are applied to a mans' spiritual position, we can see a correlation between whether person might be classified as "spiritually insane". It might surprise you but the tests are straightforward and you can see yourself if you meet these standards and if not, and more importantly, what you must do to adjust your spiritual position to meet the standards. I'd like to share his letter with you which intersects Psychology and Theology from the Biblical Worldview. This is something most of us need to reflect upon. Preface: When I entered the University of Arizona in 1961, seeking a Liberal Arts degree, courses in Psychology were part of my curriculum. My first employment upon graduation in 1966 was as an Intake Worker at The Southern Arizona Mental Health Center in Tucson, an outpatient day hospital facility, a branch of the State Mental Hospital in Phoenix. While there I interviewed many incoming patients whom I presented to a clinical staff of Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychological Therapists, and other staff members, provided tentative diagnoses, and suggested treatment modalities. I also conducted group therapy sessions, psychodrama, saw individual patients and interviewed potential patients for treatment at the Psychology Ward at Pima County Hospital, and attended many Sanity Hearings of patients there. Years later after receiving salvation in 1975 through Jesus Christ, I was in a new management position in 1980 in a check-printing company. I had to learn all of the production functions of my subordinates. One day, while operating the programmable, self-advancing cutter, the Holy Spirit recalled my earlier education in Psychology and experience at the mental health center and said to me, "There is a spiritual application of that." Then He explained what follows. THE BASICS OF SANITY/INSANITY IN THE NATURAL AND SPIRITUAL REALMS - Psychological Clinical And Biblical View of Unbelief Resulting in Separation From God For Eternity. Spiritual Sanity is foundational for the greater Christian life. The psychological standard for ascertaining sanity/insanity in the natural, physical realm is orientation in three spheres: who you are, where you are, and what time it is. This information must be KNOWN and reportable by you voluntarily or in response to questions in at least general terms, if not in more specific details. The Three Tests: WHO? WHERE? and WHEN? You must prove yourself to be oriented in all three spheres to at least a reasonable level of accuracy in order to be adjudged sane in a court of psychiatric law. If not, then you are at least clinically, if not functionally insane, and require professional treatment in a registered, standardized facility. Translation of this standard of sanity to the higher spiritual realm reveals stark and serious ramifications with lifetime and eternal consequences. The 1st Test: WHO ARE YOU? If a person has been born again, spiritually, from above, per Jesus' explanation to Nicodemus, through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then and only then, he (she) has been redeemed from the Fall into sin, adopted into the family of God as a son (daughter); with Jesus as brother, being a co-heir with Him. He receives the gift of the Holy Spirit who begins the process of sanctification, leading and guiding the adopted child/adult into all wisdom and understanding, and thereby gaining the mind of Christ. If a person has not been thus adopted by God as his (her) Father, he (she) remains in a fallen state, unredeemed, unregenerated, and a child of the Devil, Satan, who is a liar and the father of lies. The great majority of nonbelievers do not KNOW they are such, and so, are not accurately or correctly oriented (thus, disoriented) in that sphere of identity. Jesus is the line of differentiation by which one is qualified or unqualified as a child of God. Jesus is the One who spoke all Creation into existence and He is the One who is also the Judge of all, knowing all things, even our thoughts before we become aware of them. The 2nd Test: WHERE ARE YOU? An adopted child of God learns that he is a guest on his Father's Earth which, along with the heavens and Universe, were spoken into existence through Jesus Christ. All that we can see or find in His extravagant creation exists to reveal the Glory of God. The Earth, etc. is our accommodation for this life. Nonbelievers may just believe Carl Sagan, or another secular humanist or nihilist, that we are riding a dirtball around in space meaninglessly, with no purpose, no sin, no need for a Savior, no Love, and no Creator. Nonbelievers do not KNOW where they are, do not KNOW that they are here as a guest for a trial visit, and so, are not accurately or correctly oriented (thus, disoriented) in the spiritual aspect of the sphere of location. One can observe and appreciate the beauty of the earth and heavens but never give thanks, praise, and glory to God for the magnificence and power of His Creation. They may glorify the design but fail to glorify the Designer. The 3rd Test: WHEN ARE YOU? (What Time is it?) An adopted child of God learns that human life is very short, like the dew on the grass. Thoughts turn to death and what follows. He learns that Jesus has planned and is preparing a place for him for his future. He learns that he will live for all eternity in a new body that will never die, living with Jesus and other believers with their Father and the Holy Spirit in an eternal and incomparable Heaven. He lives his life in relationship with God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, in hope and passionate purpose; fulfilled, glorifying God and Jesus as King and Creator, fulfilling God's purpose and plan. He KNOWS that our lifetime is short to make a decision to accept or reject Jesus as Savior and Lord, and our future destination for eternity is determined by our decision. The nonbeliever has chosen to embrace a seemingly neutral position, politically correct, that there is no Heaven or Hell, and if there is a heaven, you can get there by being good, or thinking nice thoughts, you can be your own savior that way, you can dismiss Jesus' claims, believe in Scientology, Oprah or other universalist, nihilist, naturalist, Mohammad, Buddha, or thousands of variants of false gods. God is probably dead if He ever existed. No rush, no worry, go back to sleep. The unbeliever does not KNOW that life is seed-time unto harvest and eternity somewhere beckons. He does not KNOW what time it is and is thus disoriented in that spiritual sphere. You Must be Oriented in all Three Spheres Disorientation in one, two, or three spiritual spheres constitutes insanity, and in the natural realm is justification for medical commitment to a mental institution. It is common to a fallen and deceived Man who is sane and successful in the Natural realm but is failing in the Spiritual realm, possibly dismissing its existence, as "hocus-pocus". Orientation in the three spheres of who you are, where you are, and what time it is (as the determining factor of sanity) means that spiritual insanity is the leading disease and cause of the eternal death of the majority of mankind. In importance, it far exceeds cancer, heart disease, etc. because those diseases and causes of death are limited to the physical realm with consequences limited to and limiting this lifetime. Spiritual insanity has the consequence of death for this lifetime as well as for eternity. It accompanies unbelief which separates us from God for eternity. Even the demons believe and fear God. Only belief in Jesus as God and Savior can ensure eternal life with Him. The Only way to build a relationship with Jesus is to study His Word: God tells us “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). We MUST … I can’t emphasize that enough … We MUST study God’s word for ourselves. We cannot listen to pastors and blindly follow what they say. If we do not study, it for ourselves then we lack knowledge and will be deceived to turn away from God. The principle we are to follow is for us to "Prove all things by the Word of God” (1 Thess 5:21). That includes all ministers, teaching, preaching, doctrines, sermons, writings, opinions, and practices. Examine all by the light of the Bible. Any teaching that is not 100% supported by the Scriptures you are to reject wholly. The real problem in trying to read and understand God’s Word is that mankind has created more than 450 different English translations which have thousands of differences between themselves. So which version should you be studying if they are all saying different things? How much easier would it be to study God’s Word if an English New Testament translation existed which took each of the original Koine Greek words and applied the original meaning along with the original parsing assigned to each of those words? This is something that even the King James scholars did not do because of the constraints placed on them by King James, their lack of knowledge of Greek, and their time constraints. The Pure Word is a New Testament reference that does just that! It is the perfect resource that every Christian should have to dive into God’s Word to "Prove all things by the Word of God” (1 Thess 5:21) as a Berean (Acts 17:11). The Pure Word is a Resource All Christians Must Have! The Pure Word is a NOT a translation as all "translations" are interpretations by man who decide what each verse should say. Rather, The Pure Word is a word-by-word extraction from the Textus Receptus Koine Greek to English and it also incorporated the original Greek Parsings which the King James scholars almost entirely ignored because they didn’t understand them. The King James Version is an amazing translation, but the scribes didn’t go far enough because they simply couldn’t because of lack of knowledge and the Kings command not to contradict "The Bishops' Bible". At the time of the 1600’s no one understood the majority of the Koine Greek root words used in the New Testament nor did they understand nor use the Greek parsings. It took another 260 YEARS before the Greek words were separated into their root components which was published by Strong in 1890. Without identifying the root words, the meanings they assigned to words in different verses constantly varied and had little to do with the true meaning of each word. The Pure Word has taken the combined knowledge of the last 400 years and each of the 5,624 Koine Greek root words, taking the single primary meaning at the time of Christ of each word and directly substituting it into each use of the same root word. In addition, the precise parsings of each of the 115,000 words were applied to each word. This process removed all known discrepancies and provided a clarity of meaning that was never before possible! Every Christian who desires to follow the Lord, should obtain a copy of The Pure Word and use it as an invaluable reference alongside your favorite Bible version to see the original meanings and open your eyes like never before. May our Lord Bless you and lead you into a deeper understanding and relationship with Him. Revealing the Original Depth of Meaning as Written by the Apostles Over 1,900 Years Ago! | 
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