There are a few strands of thinking that I’ve pursued and engaged with over time on faithroots. You may pick up particularly that I’ve written extensively on concupiscence and also on depression. One of my concerns about the concupiscence (desire, temptation and sin) debate was that it seemed heavily focused on questions around gender and sexuality, specifically same-sex attraction. So, I thought it might be helpful to bring the two conversations together and think about concupiscence and depression (as an example of mental illness).
One of the reasons why there is a stigma that prevents us talking about depression and from there to talking about suicide and suicidal thoughts is that at times we have seen a collapsing in of categories from “depression is a cluster of symptoms that may have any number of causes from a cluster of potential causes” to “depression is itself sin.” I think we can see a potential root map for the collapse, “depression is a cluster of symptoms that may have any number of potential causes” becomes “depression is a cluster of symptoms that have been caused by sin” and indeed that might be paired with “depression is itself a sinful response to causes” and from there we are a short step away from “depression is itself sin.”
And remember that if we treat each statement as possible factors, none of them are wrong in and of themselves. Sin can be one possible cause of depression and it is possible for us to respond sinfully in our emotions to our experiences and circumstances. However, the problem comes when we make those statements exclusive absolutes.
Now, do you see where concupiscence fits into this. I someone has a propensity towards depression and they hear some of the collapsed in formulations of concupiscence then instead of identifying disordered affections and recognising them as an aspect of fallen nature, that person hears that depression is itself a form of “affection”, a kind of desire or appetite and that this itself is sin, in the sense that they are morally culpable, they that is going to affect their self-perception.
Then it becomes even clearer and more significant in terms of safeguarding and pastoral care when we come to suicide, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. You see, Christian theology has tended to hold to a consensus that the act of suicide is itself sin but not the unforgivable sin. Further, it is true that people can in effect entertain and ruminate on suicidal thoughts (and remember I include in that category the kind of suicide that is not physical but involves a willingness to shipwreck relationships or careers and to escape and walk away from a particular type of life). At the same time, many people report experienced unwanted and intrusive thoughts.
At this point you should be able to spot the immediate and real danger. The categorisation risks making the subjects of depression and suicidal thoughts taboo. This increases the likelihood that a person may seek help in the wrong places or closing up completely and feleling unable to talk honestly about their feelings.
So depression and suicidal thoughts help provide us with an important example of why it matters that we get our understanding and language concerning temptation, desire and sin correct.
