The Devil Made You Feel It: Christian radio host Jesse Lee Peterson claims that depression and thoughts of suicide is caused by sinning, and that “a true Christian is never depressed or has suicidal thoughts.”

Discussing the recent suicide of megachurch pastor Jarrid Wilson, Peterson explained that depression is caused by sinning, and that a true Christian is never depressed, and never commits suicide.

On his radio program Peterson said:

A true Christian is never depressed or has suicidal thoughts. There are Christians who believe that you can be born-again of God but still sin. Anyone who sins are subject and are slaves to those things and so, if you still sin and call yourself a man or woman of God, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. Christ came so that you should not sin once you are born-again because sin is of your father, the devil.

Peterson added:

One of the reasons that you are seeing all of these Christians who are depressed and [having] suicidal thoughts and committing suicide and living just like the world is because they are still of the world. Satan is still their daddy.

Peterson continued:

When you don’t sin, folks, you are not going to have all those issues. Perfect and holy people do not commit suicide, they are not depressed, they don’t deal with depression and all that stuff. Anyone who is dealing with that stuff, Satan is your daddy.

Of course Peterson is wrong. The guy is a religious idiot, speaking to other religious idiots. Depression has nothing to do with “sin,” or any other manner of religious superstition. Depression is a medical condition that can strike anyone, anytime, and should be treated as such.

Indeed, the claim that depression is caused by sin, and that a “true Christian” never experiences depression, is an ugly reminder of the real damage Christianity causes on a daily basis. Imagine all the poor, ignorant Christians who believe this anti-science, superstitious nonsense, and live their lives in pain and quiet desperation, blaming themselves for a medical condition they are not responsible for, and living in misery, believing that their medical condition is the result of their failure as a Christian.

However, Peterson is no stranger to controversy. Previously Peterson argued that educated women make bad wives and mothers, declaring:

Women, God has given you the gift of being the assistant of the man, to watch over his children, to make sure things are well at home, to be there when the kids come home, to cook, clean, provide in that way. There is no greater job for a woman than that. And I don’t know why these men would marry these women if they don’t have that mindset. It’s like being married to another man. It’s selfishness, it’s not love. … Men, you need to come back to your proper state of being so God can give you the right kind of woman to marry. I wouldn’t recommend you marry these educated women with these degrees; they don’t make for good wives and mothers.

The stupid, it burns.

Bottom line: Christian radio host Jesse Lee Peterson claims that depression is caused by sinning, and that “a true Christian is never depressed or has suicidal thoughts.”