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Uniqueness of Triune God and Jesus: Is Trinity and Hypostatic Union compatible with Dissociative Identity Disorder (D.I.D)?

byA Christian Thinker 12/30/2021 10:44:00 PM

 


Is Trinity something like Split personality? Did Jesus have Dissociative Identity Disorder?

Psychology vs Christology

 

Note: This article will not deal with Trinity and Hypostatic Union. Readers are requested to go through my peer reviewed articles and videos on these doctrinal subjects.

In this December, one of my friends from India was discussing about Nestorianism i.e. Jesus had two persons: divine and human. Usually, this seems logical to our finite mind with modern analysis of psychology. Therefore, I thought to weigh both Trinity and Christology in light of psychology and present the case that both Triune God and Hypostatic Union of Jesus are Unique. Readers are requested to bear with me as I shall be going with analysis of psychology with interesting illustrations from few psychological movies and finally our main case.    

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior. According to the American Psychological Association. Psychology is a multifaceted discipline and includes many sub-fields of study such areas as human development, sports, health, clinical, social behavior and cognitive processes.[1] It is really a very new science, with most advances happening over the past 150 years or so.  However, its origins can be traced back to ancient Greece, 400 – 500 years BC.

The APA adds that it “embraces all aspects of the human experience, from the functions of the brain to the actions of nations, from child development to care for the aged.”[2]

The emphasis was a philosophical one, with great thinkers such as Socrates (470 BC – 399 BC) influencing Plato (428/427 BC – 348/347 BC), who in turn influenced Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC). Philosophers used to discuss many topics now studied by modern psychology, such as memory, free will vs determinism, nature vs. nurture, attraction etc.

The field of psychological analysis is growing today. Many mysteries, to which traditionally people used to label as demonic or divine interference, has now been explained psychologically. When one insane or agnostic or skeptic mind tries to look up Trinity or Hypostatic Union of Jesus, they might think of it as some sort of psychological issue as observed in human. To resist anti-intellectual explanation, they might analyze it as having psychological disorder. But is it?

A mental health condition, people with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have two or more separate personalities. This mental malfunctioning used to be known as Multiple Personality Disorder or Split personality disorder until 1994.[3]

The majority of people with DID have been through severe trauma in childhood, and dissociate as a way of coping with a situation that is too violent or traumatic for their conscious self to handle.[4]

DID can cause gaps in memory and other problems.[5] Dissociative identity disorder is associated with overwhelming experiences, traumatic events and/or abuse that occurred in childhood.[6]

1.      These identities control a person’s behavior at different times. Each identity has its own personal history, traits, likes and dislikes. The “core” identity is the person’s usual personality. “Alters” are the person’s alternate personalities. Some people with DID have up to 100 alters.[7]

2.      Alters tend to be very different from one another. The identities might have different name, age, genders, moods, memories, vocabulary, ethnicities, interests and ways of interacting with their environments. The attitude and personal preferences (for example, about food, activities, clothes) of a person with dissociative identity disorder may suddenly shift and then shift back.

3.      The identities happen involuntarily and are unwanted and cause distress. People with dissociative identity disorder may feel that they have suddenly become observers of their own speech and actions, or their bodies may feel different (e.g., like a small child, like the opposite gender, huge and muscular).[8] Often, these personalities are completely different from each other. A new personality will see themselves differently. These fragmented personalities take control of the person’s identity for some time.[9]

4.      A person also maintains their primary or host identity, which is their original personality, and will answer to their given name. Their primary identity is generally more passive, and they may be unaware of the other personalities. The various identities may deny knowledge of one another, be critical of one another, or appear to be in open conflict.[10]

5.      For many people, switching between alters is not a choice, while others have some control over switching.[11] Some people also experience ‘co-consciousness’ where they stay partly aware while different alters are dominant, while others may experience memory loss (dissociative amnesia) at these times. An episode of amnesia can occur suddenly and may last minutes, hours, or rarely, months. Some people may also experience ‘partial’ DID. Partial DID is very similar to DID, but alters do not frequently take control of a person’s consciousness and functioning.   

For instance, someone assigned male at birth may have an alternate identity as a woman. They may experience themselves with female biological sex characteristics.[12] A person may feel like one or more voices are trying to take control in their head. Often these identities may have unique names, characteristics, mannerisms and voices. People with DID will experience gaps in memory of every day events, personal information and trauma.[13]

These sorts of mental illness have been demonstrated even in some Bollywood or South movies such as Houseful 3, Aparichit, Bhool bhoolaiya, etc.

From movie Aparichit:

It shows how over anxiety about laws, loss of a sister and incapable to achieve loved one Nandini makes a sincere and honest man Ambi suffer split personality. The main character has three distinct forms:

1) Law keeper and punisher with extreme physical power called Aparichit,

2) A romantic person Remo who continues in a romance with the man's beloved girl,

3) The man Ambi himself

The man is absolutely unaware about his alters. Each has their own roles. The man gets aware about his alter personality later but couldn't control voluntarily until his full recovery. However, Aparichit and Remo were aware of Ambi. The chief psychiatrist Vijaykumar declares that Remo will cease to exist if Nandini reciprocates Ambi's feelings, but Anniyan will cease to exist only when the society reforms. Nandini accepts Ambi's love and Remo disappears.[14] It is evident that he is one man but becomes entirely three distinct persons at different times and situations but one alters excludes the other. At the end, Ambi successfully blends his personalities into one instead of eradicating them.

 

From Houseful 3:

Akshya Kumar has depression due to financial crisis. A single word "Indian" makes him turn to another alter about whom he is aware but cannot control voluntarily. He is aware that the word makes him a monster. Here with two distinct alters, he becomes entirely two persons under switching.

 

From Bhool bhulaiya:

Akshya Kumar discovers split personality disorder in Avni. She dives deep into story of Manjalika from the old palace where she interacts. She then begins relating herself with Manjalika and adopts her personality within herself. She then learns Bengali language and dancing singing automatically that she is foreign with. She replaces her self-identification with Manjalika and turns to another person. Here also two distinct persons but under switching and one overrides the other. Agni is unaware about Manjalika.

Is this case with our Lord and Savior Jesus? Or is this case with which we are ought to understand our Almighty Triune God? Nestorianism was a heresy that described Jesus was two persons.[15] Modalism is a heretic form of trinity that teaches one God functions as three different modes. These might seem logical or typical case from our common understanding but these are misguided teaching from scriptural truth.

In trinity:

1. Three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit and their identities are distinct[16]

2. Each of them are aware of the other[17]

3. Each have same essence and attributes

4. Each are simultaneously working and not switching modes

5. Each communicates and interacts with one another

6. All three persons are inter-dependent i.e. none Christians can say they would only worship a particular person or they would like to exclude one

7. Father and Holy Spirit always manifested separate from Jesus.[18] Only Jesus incarnated. All of them were equally responsible and active during Jesus’ life-time  

 

In Jesus[19]:

1. Two natures in one person

2. Not two persons i.e. human Jesus and Divine Jesus

3. Two natures do not mix but distinct

4. Not two personality but two natures in unity

5. Jesus was aware of his both natures and conscious of his works from both natures. He claimed his deity and offered overwhelming evidences for it. He also demonstrated he was a normal human like us but sinless by his life-time practical living.[20]

6. Jesus had no situation of trauma from his childhood

7. Jesus was crystal clear about his mission as divine-human united role on the earth[21]

8. There was no dominance of either human nature or divine nature in Jesus[22]

9. Jesus knew his prophecies from the Old Testament[23]

10. In his temptation, he was made to cope with human struggle and desire by the adversary devil. Yet, Jesus knew who is was as Son of God and used the scripture correctly and didn’t misuse divine powers  

11. Jesus died as pure human sacrifice for humanity but fulfilled the justification of Father as divine[24]

12. Jesus had two identities: divine and human but they were inter-related theologically.[25]

It is evident from the scripture itself that neither triune God nor Jesus’ hypostatic union come closer to any sort of symptoms of DID. However, "He who would try to understand the Trinity fully will lose his mind. But he who would deny the Trinity will lose his soul." - Lindsell and Woodbridge. His statement is true according to scriptural revelation of God’s triune nature.  

Hence, it is rather opposite! If we try our best effort to comprehend trinity and Jesus’ hypostatic union, we’re likely to get some sort of mental disorder instead! God is really him who he claims to be and the way he has revealed himself and Jesus is really him who he claimed to be!

 

Peer Review: Abhisek Vical[26], Er. Sabin Panta[27]

Acknowledgment: Christian Apologetics Alliance group on facebook

 

Used resources:

1.      https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9792-dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

2.      https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/dissociative-disorders/what-are-dissociative-disorders

3.      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/split-personality#what-it-is

4.      https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder

5.      https://www.nami.org/About-Mental-Illness/Mental-Health-Conditions/Dissociative-Disorders

6.      https://www.sane.org/information-stories/facts-and-guides/dissociative-identity-disorder

7.      https://www.simplypsychology.org/whatispsychology.html

8.      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154874


[16] The Father distinguishes Himself from the Son and the Spirit. (Deu 14:1; 2Sam 7:14; 1Ch 28:6; 1Ch 29:10; Psa 68:5; Psa 89:26; Isa 63:16; Isa 64:8; Hos 1:10; Hos 11:1; Mat 3:17; Mat 5:45; Mat 6:4; Mat 6:6;)

 

The Son distinguishes Himself from the Father and the Spirit. (John 1:1; Phil 2:6; Titus 2:13; Matt 2:43-45; cf. Rom 10:9, 13 and Joel 2:32; Rev 19:16; John 1:3; Col. 1:15-20; Heb 1:3-4; Matt 1:23; John 5:25; John 5:27; John 14:26; 15:26; Matt 16:18; Matt 14:33; Heb 1:6; Phil 2:10, Isa 45:23).

 

The Spirit is God (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 5:3-5) and yet distinguishes from the Father and the Son. (2 Cor 13:14; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matt 19:4-5; Titus 3:5; Gen 1:2; Job 26:13; 34:14-15; Psalm 104:29-30; Heb 9:14; 1 Cor 2:10-11; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:19-20).

[17] One instance was Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration. Luke 9:35, Matthew 3:17, Isaiah 48:16, etc.

[18] Consider the special day of Pentecost in Acts 2

[19] Many points here are analytics from the scripture itself. One should study Hypostatic Union to comprehend the analysis. Refer to: https://apologeticsimpact.blogspot.com/2021/06/the-incarnation-series-birds-eye-view.html

[20] John 8:46, Heb. 4:15, 2 Cor. 5:12, 1 John 3:5, 1 Peter 2:22, etc.

[21] Luke 4:16-21, 2:49

[24] For detail, refer ‘Fifty Reason Why Jesus came to Die’ by John Piper


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A Christian Thinker

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Hey it's me Apologetics Impact Nepal dedicated to facilitate Christian enthusiast esp. teens & youths in theology, apologetics & ethics.

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