Angyson

Psychiatrists tell us that the demons Jesus was casting out were nothing more than mental illnesses then undiagnosable. Jewish scholars are concluding that King David probably suffered from bi polar disorder [ manic depression ] as expressed in his writings of Psalms. I am wondering if the visions [hallucinations ] reported by John, the author of Revelations, are symptoms of schizophrenia.

What think you ?

spin

Too bad psychiatrists can't cast out demons.

Perhaps, if David existed. But the text is firstly literature and must be dealt with accordingly first. Who in the scholarly world believes that a David wrote any of the psalms?

The writer of Revelation is writing in a well-defined genre as also evinced by all the Jewish apocalypses. Revelation is a literary product first and foremost, a product from a world in which visions were not so strange, and a product which has a religious intent.


spin

Chili

In John's clarity of vision it is impossible to hallucinate because he had noetic vision wherein the supernatural does not exist. To suggest that John was hallucinating is like suggesting that there exists a supernatural beyond the supernatural and that is not possible. Only humans with hyletic vision can have ecstatic moments of endearment or resentment with the supernatural and these we call hallucinations.

Garnet

I've heard conversations where it was suggested that Paul's vision of Jesus was a result of an eplileptic seizure. I've never researched it though. I might if I have some time today.

CX

Additionally its fairly well established in modern mental health that religious ecstasy can produce compelling experiences including visions without necessarily indicating mental illness.

Toto

Paul in his letters never describes this vision in terms that indicate an epileptic seizure. The epileptic seizure hypothesis derives from a scene in the Book of Acts, which is not historically reliable (for one thing, it has three different versions of this conversion scene), and probably derives from a previous literary work.

All that aside, it would not be unremarkable if Paul did have epileptic seizures. But there is no real evidence.

Chili

I saw a rather famous medieval painting once in "Newsweek" magazine about this vision of Paul. It clearly showed that Paul was riding a high horse on a sunny day and here the light rays from the celestial light came to him from nearly the opposite direction than those of the sun. Of course this doesn't mean much but it does indicate that Paul was still riding his horse when this vision came to him. Moreover if epilepsy can cause such vision we should all wish we were epileptics. Absurd.

Angyson

I was in no way seeking to downgrade the literature in Revelations. But I was wondering if you think the author was schizophrenic. No opinions ?

Angyson

I've heard that Paul was a mysogynist. That may have affected his viewson women in his letters.

Avatar

Take a look at this link:

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/9941/index.html

...and then tell me that religious ecsasty doesn't lead (or is not an indicator of) mental illness.