(Note: This article isn't about whether religious people today are mentally ill but whether said religions arose from the delusions, obsessions & tics of mentally ill people thousands of years ago, a question I've rarely if ever seen asked).
If there's one constant throughout human history, it's mental illness. Even though they weren't always recognized as such, disorders like bipolar disorder, depression, schizophrenia, OCD, psychopathy/Anti-Social Personality Disorder ("sociopathy") & all the rest have stalked Homo sapiens since we crawled down from the trees & set out on our mission to discover fire & invent the wheel. As stated, we didn't always identify mental illness as a disorder originating in the brain--the mentally ill were called eccentrics, witches, shamans, hermits & demons and treated in any number of ways... most of which were terrible. A few Indigenous cultures like the Maori of New Zealand believed schizophrenia to be a generational spiritual gift among other things. But the proof that these conditions have always been with us exists across time & geographical locations.
When laypeople think of mental illness, they often imagine a disheveled homeless person mumbling to themselves & pushing a shopping cart. But this is only a tiny fraction of the mentally ill population. Some are extremely charismatic, have a magnetic manic energy & great persuasive powers but can turn aggressive & punishing on a dime. Think Jim Jones or David Koresh. Others are quiet & introverted with a need for control over their immediate environment (germophobes, OCD, agoraphobics, socially anxious folks).
There are endless types & severities of mental illness, and you don't always need a degree in psychology to spot them. Think of mental illness as an extreme form of normal human behavior that interferes with some aspect of a person's life, be it work & finances, health & hygiene, interpersonal relationships or all of the above. While most symptoms of mental illness cause distress, there can also be a few positive aspects, such as hypomania in bipolar disorder--which can cause increased productivity & euphoria--or depressive realism in those with clinical depression.
Mental Illness as the Seed of Religion
 |
| It's okay... Rorschach Jesus can't hurt you. |
If you look at the 3 major Abrahamic religions, you see some very obvious threads of mental illness running through them--particularly the need for control, externalized. In Islam this takes the form of intricate hand-washing rituals which are a textbook sign of OCD, not to mention all the other "purity" rules dictated in the Quran. The Old Testament of Judaism & Christianity forbids wearing mixed fabrics, eating shellfish or picking up sticks on the Sabbath (punishable by death!), which points to an extreme need for order & control. Just look how extremely detailed this entry on cleanliness is (Numbers 19:1-22).
On a more general level, the overarching effect of organized religion on society--creating social hierarchies (God > Man > Woman > Child > Dog) is all about keeping order. The more conservative or orthodox a religious person is, the more concerned with controlling the behavior of others they usually are. The freedom of others to use drugs, get an abortion, marry/love any consenting adult they want, dress how they like & enjoy other freedoms greatly bothers these people. This need for control & order can be part of a larger pathology and is seen in many abusive relationship dynamics.
Hyper-religiosity is an intriguing symptom of various mental illnesses. It can take many forms, such as a false belief that an individual is God or that every inconsequential event has a deep spiritual or mystical meaning. Disorders in which hyper-religiosity has been observed include bipolar disorder (Kanye, you reading this?), schizophrenia spectrum disorders and more serious neurological conditions like Frontotemporal Dementia, temporal lobe epilepsy & Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis. In severe cases it can spin out of control & lead to deadly outcomes. Child killers Lori Vallow & Andrea Yates both experienced religious hallucinations & delusions in the days/weeks leading up to their crimes.
The resurrection of Christ sounds a lot like a case of Folie à deux, or "folly of two". In this bizarre & rare condition, hallucinations or delusions become contagious, spreading from one person to another like an infectious illness. (Below is a particularly disturbing case caught on tape in which two sisters ran into traffic for no apparent reason). Whoever saw Jesus raise from the dead was likely experiencing something akin to mania or psychosis, either organically or perhaps due to lack of sleep, dehydration or even ingestion of a hallucinogen. Perhaps they were bipolar or schizophrenic, or maybe just misinterpreting events like seeing the rock in front of his grave moved. In any case, the other people who came along experienced Folie à deux when they became convinced by this person's complete & total conviction & the rest is history.
Motorway Madness - Swedish Twins (Folie à Deux)
There's also the very real (if controversial) possibility that some of these saviors & messiahs were deliberately deceiving their flocks due to a desire for power & adulation. Ask yourselves why it is that we can identify modern cult leaders as crazed manipulators but religious leaders from ancient times get the benefit of the doubt. The Rajneesh is a laughable con artist but the Buddha was sooooo enlightened & zen? Okay. Mohammad openly slept with children as young as 9 (Aisha), yet Muslims fly into a rage if you so much as question this. Many so-called moderate Muslims were silent when the fatwa was issued on author Salman Rushdie for his "crime" of writing The Satanic Verses, a book critical of Islam. Ditto when the horrific attack at Charlie Hebdo happened as a result of another "thought crime" against Islam. Crickets.
And let's not forget when Fox News host Bill O'Reilly issued his own fatwa of sorts against abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, referring to him as "Tiller the Baby Killer" on 28 episodes of his national TV show in the hopes that some psycho would do what psychos do. And eventually they did: Dr. Tiller was shot in the head at church in front of his wife & congregation by a "pro-life" Christian extremist. O'Reilly suffered no legal or professional repercussions whatsoever. One of Dr. Tiller's colleagues, Dr. LeRoy Carhart, was targeted by these same maniacs, having his home & barn full of horses burned down by another domestic terrorist acting in the name of their lord & savior. Two family pets & 21 horses were killed in the terrorist attack on the Air Force-trained physician. The media was silent.
Bill O'Reilly issues fatwa on Dr. George Tiller
The negative effects of organized religion on society are endless while the positives are... well, can you think of any? Aside from causing tribalism/division, reinforcing social hierarchies, promoting scientific illiteracy & spiritually abusing children by sparking fear of eternal damnation, I can think of nothing religion contributes to modern society. Not one damn thing.
The fact that so many (I'd even wager most) religious leaders are preaching political topics at the pulpit puts them in direct violation of the Johnson Amendment that forbids such behavior. This means their tax exemption should be revoked at once according to the law. Why isn't this happening? Attempts to influence elections, bully churchgoers into not wearing masks in a pandemic, pass or defeat certain bills & similar behaviors are outright illegal. Yet damn near every church in the South and Bible Belt is doing it, including many megachurches. It's not a secret. Where the hell is our government? The IRS?
TL;DR - If you can identify $cientology as a cult but believe Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Taoism, Sihkism or Shintoism are legitimate religions, your bias (and ignorance) is showing. The only difference between a religion and a cult is the number of followers & how long ago it was created. If you have a need for control in your life, start (and stop) with yourself. Any relationship with the divine/universe/creator does not require a middleman telling you what God REALLY meant & asking for donations, the majority of which will be used to line their own pockets rather than helping the needy. You know, the very thing that made Jesus flip the table 2,000ish years ago.
Hi! ✌😀 Like this article? Drop a donation in one of the accounts below. Google AdSense does not support "drug-related" content so I rely on your contributions to keep this blog running. It's hard out here for an independent freelance writer in the digital age. Thank you!
cash.me/$apphicomrade
BITCOIN:
18cwb3qFkGghVqqzNSX59EFypzzF8Dd7Vg
BITCOIN CASH:
qz84t4ua2achx90a7yk8efelvufggflhu5tzalry7l
.jpg)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment