crocodile deathroll

Somebody may fill me in on this
I can recall a documentary on ABC Australia made many years ago about illiterate man who devoted his life to righting the word "Eternity" on every side walk throughout Sydney just after he had undergone some kind of religious experience.
Many many Sydneyites can often have memories of walking down the side walks an seeing the word "eternity" written in white chalk in nice flowing copperplate script written by this illiterate man and as a result had become some kind of cult hero for all of Sydney and there has been a special memorial built for him.
To me he behavior smacks of OCD and I speculated a litter further may a very high proportion of devoutly religious people like this man have this condition.

So I will leave you with this weblink I have just found on the very subject of OCD and the link made to religious piety
<a href="http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992339" target="_blank">Obsessive Compulsive Disorder linked to Piety</a>

philechat

People with OCD personality also tend to think in black and white terms, which religions provide an excellent framework.

The fear of environmental chaos is linked to the fear of uncertainties, and religions can serve as an excellent tool for eliminating the "distracting" uncertainties using a clear-cut authority system and a structured way of life.

Just my 2-cent interpretation, of course.

[ June 01, 2002: Message edited by: philechat ]</p>

Wyrdsmyth

It's sad to hear of this poor, mentally disturbed man trapped in a loop of obsessive behavior.

It's just odd that the city of Sydney would build some kind of memorial for him, on this basis.

DRFseven

I agree, Philechat. When I have referred, in the past, to religious behavior having a possible genetic link, the link is to personality structure conducive to habituation of religious behavior, not to religious behavior, per se. I don't mean to imply that religious people generally have OCD, of course; but religion is attractive to compulsive people. Religious behavior, itself, needn't refer to spirituality at all, but to a faithful or ritualistic practice of any sort.