Compassion rather than condemnation: Stob lecturer calls for a change of perspective Andrea DeKoter More than 100 people turned out for the Henry Stob Memorial Lecture which took place in the seminary auditorium on Tuesday, November 4. This year’s guest lecturer was Dr. J. Harold Ellens, a well-known research scholar, minister, and psychologist. The topic of Ellens’ lecture was “Sin or Sickness: The Problem of Human Dysfunction.” Ellens began by exploring what he referred to as the “blame-justification equation” of relationships between God and humans. This old Christian worldview equates human dysfunctions such as depression or mental illness as a moral problem. He challenged Christians to treat people who suffer from these illnesses with compassion because we must “get over our legalistic notions.” He also described the “grace-wholeness equation,” which makes a relationship with God “real for all sinners.” In his attempt to provide a fresh look at God and the human predicament, Ellens emphasized that it is up to the Church to lead the way in developing ethical proposals for seriously dysfunctional individuals. Ellens maintained that Christians must take responsibility for the mentally ill in our society.