Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Ape · 03-18-2002, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Beelzebub:
<strong>I believe that religion was the framework that Andrea hung her insanity on. I also don't see atheism as a cure for insanity. I did have an a discussion with my wife on this subject and wnat to hear your thoughts.
Say I was to tell everyone I know that The Lord of the Rings was inerrant. I then started dressing in a suit with a waistcoat (no shoes) and converted my home into a turf house, complete with round door. I would carry a small sword and a vial that I claimed "sheds light into the darkness". If I annoyed enough people I could probably be judged schizophrenic and committed. However, if I do the same things only predicated on the Bible, I would be exercising my right to religion, and could cry persecution if people tried to get me committed. So, who is insane?
By the way, my wife is a "strong agnostic" and told me not to pursue this line of reasoning.</strong>

I would ask you:
Why Lord of the Rings? Does it fill some need in your life? If you had not read Lord of the Rings, would something else have taken its place? What if you had read Harry Potter first? Would you then believe that the Potter books are inerrant etc.?

Or...

What if you had been indoctrinated since birth into a cult called Christianity?

I would agree with others that Andrea would have substituted something else in place of the devil, but perhaps she would of expressed her illness in a different way?
I would also have to agree with Kaina that religion played a role in bringing the situation to the result it had.

Beelzebub · 03-19-2002, 05:50 AM

Ape- I think I wasn't clear. My belief is that anyone who finds reality so challenging that they need to believe in a fantasy world (be that fantasy LOTR, Harry Potter, the Bible or Moby Dick),is already neurotic. There is an old saying that neurotics build castles in the clouds, but psychotics try to live in them. I think this is what we have here. Religion played a part but it could have manifested itself in another venue (if she had tried to live in a different fantasy world). Would she have still killed her kids? Depends on the fantasy she chose.

atheistdave · 03-19-2002, 06:58 AM

Here is a link to an article about the Yates case. I wanted to post it earlier, but the article had not been available on the web at the time.

<a href="http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/ayates1.htm" target="_blank">http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/ayates1.htm</a>

Dave

repoman · 03-19-2002, 08:39 AM

Beelzebub, you forgot the punchline about castles in the sky... and Psychiatrists collect the rent.

Toto · 03-24-2002, 11:39 PM

Here's <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/32102_news_6pmyatespreacher.html" target="_blank">another article</a> on the Christian cult leader that Andrea Yates followed.

Quote:

Dr. Lucy Puryear is one of the psychiatrists who examined Andrea Yates. When we showed her this Woroniecki video, Dr. Puryear says Yates would have been mentally ill no matter what, but she says Yates would not have drowned her kids if she had not been exposed to such a twisted religion of damnation.

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03-19-2002, 05:50 AM	#22
Beelzebub Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Connecticut Posts: 554	Ape- I think I wasn't clear. My belief is that anyone who finds reality so challenging that they need to believe in a fantasy world (be that fantasy LOTR, Harry Potter, the Bible or Moby Dick),is already neurotic. There is an old saying that neurotics build castles in the clouds, but psychotics try to live in them. I think this is what we have here. Religion played a part but it could have manifested itself in another venue (if she had tried to live in a different fantasy world). Would she have still killed her kids? Depends on the fantasy she chose.

03-19-2002, 06:58 AM	#23
atheistdave Regular Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: Dana, IN USA Posts: 225	Here is a link to an article about the Yates case. I wanted to post it earlier, but the article had not been available on the web at the time. <a href="http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/ayates1.htm" target="_blank">http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/ayates1.htm</a> Dave

03-19-2002, 08:39 AM	#24
repoman Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Seattle Posts: 2,280	Beelzebub, you forgot the punchline about castles in the sky... and Psychiatrists collect the rent.

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