Quote:
Originally Posted by votivesoul
Look: when a person is mentally ill, the fact of the matter is this: their inner man and his perceptions are warped, damaged, and/or deranged, so let's just call it like it is!
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We often engage in a discussion assuming we all agree on terms and ontological definitions. Here's an example wherein we don't. You wrote that, "their inner man and his perceptions are warped, damaged, and/or deranged".
I disagree with that ontological assumption.
The inner man is one's "spirit". It is the part of a person that is the originator of one's intuition, and spiritual awareness. It is distinct and largely hidden from the conscious mind. This the core of an individual. It has no human language and relates through emotion and symbolism. It is one's living essence, one's "breath of life", as the ancients would say. Sometimes it is called the "heart". It can be effected by spiritual practice. Metaphysics and spiritual practices are processed through the body/brain (through senses) and filtered through the soul (mind) to effect the spirit. It speaks no human language and largely processes and communicates through symbolism and deeper core spiritual senses. Occult practices, demonism, spirituality, religion, can effect the spirit though the energies, symbolism, and ritual they contain. This part of us is where we interface with God and the spiritual realm. It is beyond the reach of doctors, medicine, psychologists, and psychiatry. It is spirit, and so it is only able to be affected by that which is spiritual. It is eternal and cannot be damaged or destroyed, although it can suffer. It can suffer much anxiety and stress resulting from continued sin. It can suffer from being alienated from God. It can suffer spiritual torments from demonic forces that seek to possess it. But it cannot be damaged or destroyed.
What you are talking about seems to describe what I understand as being, the "soul". Soul, or psuche (in the Greek), is the psyche. It is the mind. It is the seat of reason, will, memory, and personality. It is your conscious and subconscious self. Being the mind, it interfaces with your body through the brain. Thus if something affects the brain, it can scramble, effect, distort, or hinder the proper function of reasoning, will, memory, emotions, and personality; therefore it can be said to effect the soul. Life experiences in body are experienced through the body and are filtered into the soul through the five senses (touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing). Therefore, some experiences can effect the soul, effecting reason, will, emotion, memory, and personality. This is where psychological problems reside. The subconscious is a barrier, and secondary filter for that which is experienced, so that it can be processed and properly interpreted for understanding and then passed on to spirit. In this way, it also offers protection to the core of your being...and so this is the interface between your soul (mind) and spirit. Psychiatry and mental health sciences involve the psyche, or soul. At this time, this is the deepest science can go into the immaterial part of man. It's still largely uncharted territory and we're learning something new and amazing about this "conscious reality" every day.
It is important to note that the relationship between the soul and the inner man can be one of tension. For the born again believer, the inner man has experienced regeneration and is united with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit. However, the soul (mind) has been conditioned to appease the flesh. One's mind is therefore carnal by nature. However, the believer is challenged to reshape the mind/soul through Christian disciplines such as reading the Scriptures, studying the Scriptures, prayer, and meditation on the Scriptures. By doing this we put on Christ, or assume "the mind of Christ". When we put on the mind of Christ our soul and our spirit are in alignment or agreement. However, whenever we become of a carnal mind the conscious mind (soul) is no longer acting in alignment with the regenerated inner man (spirit). This causes great stress, anxiety, feelings of guilt, shame, depression, condemnation, etc. These motions cannot be resolved unless one realigns the soul and spirit through repentance.
The reason why this happens is because when one is born again, the inner man (or spirit) partakes in the divine nature of the Holy Spirit who comes to indwell the human spirit. This is what brings regeneration. As a result, the inner man (or spirit) becomes purified, sanctified, and sinless. It has the impartation of a new nature - a divine nature. Please note, one's mind (or soul) is still unchanged. It must be changed by the washing of water with the Word. This is why so many Christians are often so distressed and wonder why they can have such carnal thoughts and impulses that wish to feed the desires of the flesh, even after they are born again. They fail to realize it is their "spirit" or "inner man" that has been made sinless through the new nature imparted by the Spirit. Their soul is still very much unchanged. In fact, due to the conditioning of a lifetime, the soul will nearly always default back to wanting to please the flesh. Therefore it is important to renew the mind through Scripture reading, prayer, and meditation every day.
Once the relationship between soul and spirit is properly understood we see how we can be sinless and have a new nature... while also having sinful thoughts, impulses, and desire to please the desires of the flesh at the same time. Only the part of us that is spirit has experienced regeneration at present. The soul (or mind) must be renewed daily through the Word and prayer. The flesh is still fallen, subject to hormones, sickness, aging, disease, and death. The flesh will not be regenerated until the resurrection. And the soul will not be entirely set free from having to manage the fallen desires of our sinful flesh until this regeneration takes place. Yes, our most intense battle isn't with Satan or demonic spirits. Our most intense battle is with ourselves. It is our flesh vs. our spirit... and our soul is in the middle granting one or the other victory in a given circumstance... and so God will be righteous and just when He judges the soul.
Improper ontological understanding distorts the realities of the new birth and the Christian life. And since it involves the soul (or mind) it can also distort the way we view psychology and like sciences that peer into the soul.
The chart I've attached a some charts that explain what I'm trying to describe perhaps better than my words.
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