I do not doubt that unconfessed or unforsaken sin can cause depression (“Your Views,” Feb. 4). However, I would caution against the assumption that this is the major source of depression. There are many causes for depression.
I am a North American Mission Board-endorsed hospice chaplain, and I can assure you that pain is a great source of depression. Prolonged, unrelenting pain – whether physical pain from a chronic or terminal illness, or emotional pain from watching a loved one suffer – can cause great depression. Repressed memories from childhood traumas or post-traumatic stress disorder from combat or other violent events (I am a retired Army chaplain) can also cause severe bouts of depression.
We should be very careful in making quick judgments about those who suffer with depression. It is usually much more complicated than we at first imagine.
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