David Murray, Christians Get Depressed Too

Reformation Heritage Books, 2010, 112 pgs.

Summary: David P. Murray, former pastor and current professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary gives biblical, practical, balanced and pastoral insights on a subject that has often failed to receive such treatment.  Dr. Murray writes as one who has seen depression first-hand in friends and those whom he loves most in this world and as one who pastored twelve years in areas in the northwest of Scotland that have some of the highest rates of depression in the world.  This immensely practical book is divided into six chapters:  The Crisis, The Complexity, The Condition, The Causes, The Cures, and The Caregivers, with an appendix on the Sufficiency of Scripture.

“The Crisis” gives eight reasons why it is important for Christians to study depression.

“The Complexity” gives two helpful “avoid-seek” principles for interacting with depression:  Avoid dogmatism and seek humility and avoid extremes and seek balance.  The dogmatism and extremes Murray advises against are assuming that the causes of depression are all physical, all spiritual, or all mental.  It is here that he offers an evaluation of the Nouthetic Counseling Movement (as represented by Jay Adams) and the Modern Biblical Counseling Movement (as represented by CCEF).

“The Condition” seeks to answer the question, “What is depression?” by considering five areas: Life situation, thoughts, feelings, bodies, and behavior.  “The Causes” of depression are considered under five headings:  Stress (brought on by life events or lifestyle), psychology (the way we think), sin, sickness, and sovereignty (“Hard though it may be to accept, the ultimate cause may be, ‘It pleased God.’” [p. 66]).

“The Cure” for depression is considered through the correction of the four areas of lifestyle, false thoughts, brain chemistry, and spiritual life.

“The Caregivers” are advised to study depression to avoid making common mistakes, to be sympathetic, to offer support by talking, listening, or praying, to reduce the stigma associated with being depressed, to maintain confidences, and to encourage the depressed person by reminding him or her of their usefulness and God-given ability.  Also in this chapter, Dr. Murray offers the general rule “to listen much and speak little” (p. 98) followed by a list of what not to say.  In addition, the reader is reminded “that there are no easy answers and there are no quick fixes in dealing with depression” (p. 100).

Dr. Murray handles the issue of the sufficiency of Scripture in the appendix by arguing that though the Scriptures are a sufficient guide in all of life, the Bible does not tell us everything we need to know about all aspects of life.  The subtitle of the appendix is “‘Salvation, Sanctification, and Spectacles’ because the truth regarding salvation is expressly set down in Scripture; the truth regarding sanctification is expressly set down or may be deduced from Scripture; and knowledge in this world must be checked by Scripture or read through the lens of Scripture” (p. 109).

Benefits/Detriments: An easy-to-read, very helpful contribution to developing a Christian understanding of a difficult topic, bringing a biblical and historical perspective for the assistance of the church today.  On the church bookstall.