C.A.R.E. Educational Articles - Does the Body of Christ Suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder?

As we learn more and more about the internal conflicts of someone who experiences DID, I marvel at the comparison I see to the Body of Christ. Is it possible that our DID clients are a microcosm of the Body of Christ? Someone suffering from DID exhibits some of the following symptomology:

no awareness between personalities as to what the other is doing

working against each other

little communication between personalities

no trust between personalities

judgmental internal attitudes toward the host personality, the one responsible for the body (the pastor in the Body of Christ)

hostility and prejudices

superior attitudes built on an internal hierarchy

territorialism

divided on issues concerning the body

little productivity

strong fear bonds

no sense of family

inability to do relationships (external or internal)

does not know how to work in unity

trying to serve two masters

lack of submission and obedience to Christ

Do these symptoms sound familiar? How many churches have had or are currently experiencing “personality splits?” If you have ever been a part of this you know how painful and dysfunctional the situation becomes. Is it possible that the DID church and client can heal using the same basic healing process? In I Corinthians 12:12-27 there is a description of how the Body is supposed to function. What is missing in the divided body? There are three essential elements missing from the divided body that must be in place for the body to function as whole: LOVE, RELATIONSHIP and UNITY. Love is one of the most necessary ingredients in any relationship. Love comes from God alone. Nehemiah understood this when he said “O Lord God, I cried out; O great and awesome God who keeps His promises and is so loving and kind to those who love him and keep his commands.” Nehemiah 1:5

John understood the love when he said “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16. Love is about a relationship with God. Our relationship with Him teaches us how to love one another (I Cor. 13:4).

In fact love is SO important to God that He goes on to state in verse 8 “all the special gifts and powers from God will someday come to an end, BUT LOVE GOES ON FOREVER.” Love is the answer for both the survivor and the Body of Christ.

Relationship is also a necessary ingredient to healing. “And now this word to all of you; you should be like one big happy family, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap back at those who say unkind things about you. Instead pray for God’s help for them, for we are to be kind to others and God will bless them for it.” God gives us an understanding about how relationships should look like. Is this the relationship we experience in the Body of Christ? If the answer is yes, then you are enjoying an Acts 4:32-35 experience:

“All the believers were of one heart and mind and no one felt that what he owned was his own, everyone was sharing. And the apostles preached powerful sermons about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and there was warm fellowship among all the believers, and no poverty - for all who owned land or houses sold them and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need.”

This is a description of a fully functional Body of Christ as well as of a healing survivor who is developing equal relationships internally, submitting and helping one another for the good of the body. The Body of Christ as well as the survivor cannot become productive and functional without establishing internal and external relationships.

When love is working within the healthy context of relationship you have unity. Unity is the goal of love and relationship. Paul noted how important unity is to the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 1:10: “I appeal to you, brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” This is one of the primary goals of therapy when working with Dissociative Disorders, that the client experience no internal divisions and that she/he may be “perfectly united in mind and thought.” We have found that a “spirit of division” keeps the core (mind, emotions and will of the DID person) separated just as the spirit of division keeps the Body of Christ separated! Peter said in I Peter 3:8: “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another, be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” Healing for the DID client and the DID Body of Christ centers around love, relationship and unity. “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:5-7).