Could religious belief be considered a sign of mental illness? (page 2)

Jeffro

I will probably regret this, given the environment I'm in, but let me use myself as an example. I function in life very well. I am not plagued by destructive thoughts or "voices" and my life is totally normal. However there are times when I choose to participate in a spiritual service, during which I often experience phenomena which could be labelled "supernatural".

People can employ various techniques that involve controlling their breathing, heart rate, and so forth - sometimes with the aid of drugs but not necessarily - and an altered state of consciousness can result. (I am not convined that such states are necessarily healthy, mainly due to things like hypoxia rather than any risk of scary 'demons'.) I don't go in for that stuff. But I have a close friend who uses meditation a lot - crystals, power of the universe, that kind of thing, but not the drugs. She has described some of the experiences she's had while meditating and some are quite interesting. I don't believe that spirits are imparting things to her during these meditation sessions. I believe it fits into the category of altered brain chemistry due to deliberate actions, which sets it apart from mental illness. Just as the physiological state of being drunk is not a mental illness, neither are such meditative states.

real one

Gladiator, You must know these gods you have mentioned are false gods. Only Jehovah is the true God. You are not free of illusion if you think these gods will do anything for you. God is alive and actively working in my life. What are your gods doing for you? I will pray for you to Jehovah the All-Powerfull Mighty God!

THE GLADIATOR

real one

Now I am confused. You have Jesus and The Mighty Jehovah. I am impressed. Two Gods are better than one.

Still - Its not about size, it is a numbers game. Your Gods may be bigger but I have more. It would be ideal if we could get them all in the arena and let them fight it out God to God.

Please keep praying for me to your big God. He may stop me from becoming deluded or mentally ill.

May your Gods go with you

real one

Gladiator I believe in the trinity God the Father, the son Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit, any one of these Gods can take care of all of your gods with one breath.

Gopher

Real One,

You need to broaden your view a bit. Note that the topic of this discussion is "religious belief" and not "belief in the Christian God". Two-thirds of the world's population does not believe in the Christian God. Their view of God is quite different than yours. The topic of belief (or non-belief) applies equally to those outside the world's Christian population too, and it also would apply to the Romans and their gods in their day.

You're so sure that yours is the only possible god (or trinity of gods) that it's really off-putting.

Mr. Majestic

I have seen that faith can promote some ones emotional well being, which might signify good emotional health. But I wonder, deep down, at what cost might it be to others…….. e.g. JW family seems very happy and balanced, but they rejected their son for asking difficult questions. Son is therefore a scapegoat. Their denial costs the son his well being, despite him not being deluded…. Wouldn’t say that is emotional equilibrium despite outward appearances to the contrary…..

Faith does seem to have very similar characteristics to the denial seen in neurosis. Delusion tends to be a major factor in some religions sense of grandeur. I don’t know if it is a sign of mental illness per say but I would see that the potential of someone exposed to it for a prolonged period could suffer from mental illness, if they didn’t start off with mental illness in the first place. Delusion and denial, in any form, must indicate something that is either very close to, if not, a mental condition…

Question is, who doesn’t, in some way or form, suffer denial and delusion in some aspect of their perception….??

keyser soze

Gladiator, You must know these gods you have mentioned are false gods.

Why must he know this? Is the god of christianity any less ground in fantasy and superstition than gods of other faiths? Other gods are just as real to those who believe in them as yours is to you. If your god is so supreme and omnipotent, why is there a large portion of the world that has never heard of him? If he is so loving and just, why does he not afford them the same opportunity to be saved?

bigdreaux

Gladiator I believe in the trinity God the Father, the son Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit, any one of these Gods can take care of all of your gods with one breath.

my god can beat up your god. hahahahahahahaha what a douche

Homerovah the Almighty

JCanon , OBVES, Realone..... that should answer your question plainly , not to mention the folks in mental institutes that say they are Jesus Christ

wings

No.

Could religious beliefs be a significant part of delusions within mental illness. Absolutely!

wings (who knows a bit about mental illness)

Could religious belief be considered a sign of mental illness?

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