Is Addiction a Disease or Sin PART 1

 

The religious and secular worlds seem to have different views of addictive behavior.  The religious world sees destructive behavior as sinful being a result of sinful choices.  The secular world sees destructive behavior as a disease.  To see destructive behavior as sin due to sinful choices places responsibility on the person that engages in the behavior.  To see destructive behavior as a form of disease removes responsibility from the person using the behavior. 

The religious world can site many passages from God’s Word to support their points (Gal 5, Rom 13 and 1 Pet 4).  They back up their position with the very real fact that God’s Word is inspired. The secular world has the position that if a person wants to stop a behavior, making an all out maximum effort which results in failure, something else must be involved besides choice.  Therefore, the secular world concludes that it must be some disease not fully understood by man.  They support their claim with case studies of patients that choose not to engage in a behavior but continue to do so repeatedly. 

The religious world boasts that their position is the right one because it is supported by the inspired Word of God.  Yet it violates common sense to dismiss documented case studies in the medical world as having no value.  Also, compassion passages in the Bible cannot be taken lightly (Gal 5, John 3 and 1 Pet 3).  Christ came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.  The fact that He died for all cannot be dismissed either.

This article was written by Ron Wilkins and edited by Jimmy Hill.  The second part will be posted on February 23, 2010. Be looking for it!