Faith Lifts Minds

                                                                                                                                                          Vol. VI, No. 7, September 1993

Followers of "that old time religion," may have the last laugh: Their faith gives them a strong mental health edge. Fundamentalists ... are far more optimistic than followers of moderate or liberal religions, a new study suggests. "We know optimistic people are less vulnerable to depression, and optimism correlates with high achievement," says psychologist Sheena Sethi of Stanford University. Sethi and Martin E. P. Seligman, University of Pennsylvania, separated 623 members of nine sects into three groups: fundamentalists, moderates, and liberals. Most optimistic were fundamentalists; least, liberal religionists. Most pessimistic of all: the one-third of Unitarians who didn't believe in God.... "What we found was exactly the opposite of what we expected," says Sethi. [USA Today, 2 August 1993, p. I D]

[Editorial Comment: Miss Sethi's concluding statement says nothing about the study but much about her own bias. Banner readers will not be surprised by either aspect of this study. What basis does an atheist have for optimism? If this life is all there is, if my only reliance is upon my own strength, if we are but the most highly evolved animal, if there is no purpose to life, if there is no future beyond this life but only a dark desert of nothingness, any reasonable person would be pessimistic. Praise God that none of these "ifs" are true and we face eternity with complete faith and assurance in the saving power of our loving Lord Jesus.]