I have OCD and suffer from blasphemous thoughts. Should I stop confessing these thoughts?

Question:

I am a Christian who suffers from OCD. I just read your website on OCD and feel extremely comforted by your knowledge of the illness. I have blasphemous thoughts, and I keep confessing this as sin over and over and over again. Maybe all that confessing is my OCD. Can I stop confessing, or do I need to confess blasphemous thoughts at least periodically? I have been on the computer all night reading your website, and I thank you very much for all the information. Maybe I will get better now; I really do suffer.

Answer:

As I mentioned in I have OCD-Religion and obsess over bad thoughts. Is there anything you can do to help me? the problem is really about distinguishing a "pop-up" thought and those that you purposely think about. You cannot truly count these pop-up thoughts as being your own -- you reject them, you disagree with them, and you don't desire them. Understanding that these are not your thoughts, but the result of a short-circuit in your mind. They would be wrong if you were purposely thinking about them and accepting them. Since this is not the case, you are not sinning. Going to God in prayer about something you have not done is a useless, compulsive act. Leave your prayers to real things -- things you have actually done wrong.

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