Life Meets Doctrine

Over the past few months I have been reading through books that teach on sin.  It all began with Ed Welch’s Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave.  I had originally purchased the book a couple of years ago, but only recently read it – due to some recent circumstances in my family’s life.  My first reason for reading the book was to understand and identify with what some friends of mine are going through.  But as I read through the book, I found myself repeatedly asking God for mercy…for me!  It did help me to understand my family and friends, but the Holy Spirit was also quite pleased to illuminate sin, sinful patterns, and sinful roots in my own life.  By the end, I was actually enjoying the primer on sin and the expose on my sin.  I will start at the beginning, though, and see if I make it through.  The first parts deal more with definitions than practical application, but it it essential.

“As used in this book, addiction will be used to describe certain experiences and behaviors.  At least initially, I will try to distinguish descriptions of behavior from explanations for behavior.  …What is a description of addictions?  How do addicts feel?  Addicts feel as if they are trapped and out of control.  …They feel desperate hunger and thrist for something.  They feel like they can’t let go, clinging even when the addictive behavior yields very few pleasures and a great deal of pain.  They feel like they are in bondage.  Addicts fell out of control, enslaved, stuck, and without hope for freedom or escape.  Something or someone other than the living God controls them, and the controlling object tells them how to live, think, and  feel” (pp. 11-12).

When focusing on his particular subject matter, Welch explains, “What unites these and most other activities or substances described as addictions is that they deliver a bodily experience.  With them we feel more alert, more calm, less shy, or more powerful.  Furthermore, most addictions change our physical experience and they do it quickly, working within seconds or minutes rather than days or weeks” (p. 13).

Ed does an excellent job of building a solid understanding of sin, not giving in to the easy out of saying that an addiction is merely a sickness.  Along those lines, he highlights that, “to ignore something wrong in ourselves would be to practice self-deception, and this, especially when we talk about addictions, is exactly what we want to avoid” (p. 20).  Furthermore, on sin he says, “Sin is ultimately against God.  It is any failure to conform to the law of God in either action or attitude.  [Many addicts] have no awareness that what they are doing has anything to do with God.  The problem, they believe, is simply within themselves.  It is neither against God nor others.  …[Scripture] teaches that we sin much more than we think, and it teaches that sin is our primary problem (p. 20).

Welch moves on to build his argument that the Bible actually has a lot to say about addictions. The many Scripture passages related to drunkenness apply strongly to all addictions.  He sees drunkenness as a prototype for other addictions.  After sharing multiple texts about the effects of drunkenness, he answers a probable question: “But this accumulation of proof texts [on the sinfulness and negative effects of drunkenness] is not persuasive to everyone.  ‘You are talking about drunkenness, I am talking about alcoholism.  Alcoholism is a disease.  The alcoholic has a disease, not a moral flaw, and the only hope is never to take that first drink again.’  The way we respond to this dilemma makes a huge difference in our own victory over addictions and in helping other gain victory over addictions.  More than drunkenness is in view: also think of pornographic/sexual addictions, anorexia, bulemia, food addictions, relational co-dependencies, addictions to spending money, and many others.  So Welch answers the questions carefully: “Is there a difference between a drunkard [as the Bible would view him/her] and an alcoholic [who would claim it is just a disease]?  Scientifically, no.  There are no medical tests or brain scans that distinguish them, and their behaviors are identical.  Both terms refer to those who have been repeatedly intoxicated and show a loss of self-control with alcohol.  The main difference is that drunkard is an old-fashioned word and alcoholic is a more recent word…” (pp. 24-25).

But still other might have push-backs even on this.  (And I want to linger here because it seems to me that the relevance of the Bible is at stake here, and, therefore, a massively important argument to understand.)  Even if someone agrees with Welch’s statements above, they might still say that “loss of control” is the primary issue, that is, “an addict is helpless before alcohol in the same way that a sick person is helpless before an invading disease.“  This is the crux of the disease-understanding of addictions.  And this is precisely what Welch is urging his readers to not buy into.  He goes on to explain: “In other words, how can we suggest that something is sin when we didn’t choose to do it?  …The majority opinion [is that] if we do something wrong and we do it purposefully, self-consciously, and in control, then it is sin.  If we do something that might be considered wrong, but we do it without apparent intent or even in spite of our intent, then it is a disease.  Therefore, drunkenness, heavy drinking, or alcoholism – whatever we call it – is a disease.”  (If you stick with me, I really think this will be helpful.)  “The theological dilemma is this: how do we reconcile the out-of-control nature of addictions and the apparently self-concious, intentional nature of sin?”  Welch maintains that disease-explanations are not sufficient.  They’re just not comprehensive.  Instead, he says, “The cravings and desires at the core of the addictive experience are not quite the same as an invading virus.  If you catch a virus, you have no choice.  You don’t want it, and you would be glad to be rid of it.  Heavy drinking [and other addictions], however, doesn’t just happen to us.  Instead, the drinker feels there are payoffs – however temporary – to drunkenness [or giving in to whatever addiction they may have].  …In other words, addicts make choices to pursue their addiction.  …Their drinking is purposeful.  …This is not to deny either the feeling or the reality of being taken captive by an addictive substance or behavior.  It is just to say that, for the addict, slavery with the object of desire is sometimes preferable to freedom without it” (pp. 25-27).

That last line is huge.  Slavery to the addictive substance or behavior is preferable to freedom without the addictive substance or behavior.  The addict has chosen, is choosing, and keeps on choosing.