Why do Christians LIE about seeing visions of Jesus/Mary?

A General in Liberia who ate the flesh of children before taking his child soldiers to kill people claims Jesus came to him in person and told him to change his life. Another millionaire from the USA claims Jesus took him to see Hell and then asked him to be born again....why the lies and delusions?

Tater-T

it's not lying if they believe it.... everything you SEE is a halucination ... your brain is processing the signals your eyes recieve.. to create a vision in your head.. your brain can make stuff up, you would never know the difference..

fulltimestudent

I agree with Tater-T. The internalised 'image' can vary from reality, particularly when intense emotions exist in the mind at the same time. The mind will fill in 'missing' bits.

Of course, some people may be lying- to others and sometimes to themselves, and telling the story often enough, they may come to believe it and the mental image varies as that process happens.

It's interesting to look at the existing accounts of Constantine's vision of the 'cross,' and to see how they change over years.

prologos

tater t right. you "see" in the front of your head, but the vision processing part is in the rear, lots of brain in between to add/subtract. no surprise that brain generated stuff passes for eye generated "visions". think of the reality of closed eye dream visions.

Witness 007

So they are mentally ill?? I agree some seem to have convinced themselves it did happen.

Band on the Run

There is a link between religiosity and mental illness but I don't know the particulars.

I assume that most people sincerely believe they are seeing Christ or Mary.

It reminds me of people who have past lives readings, everyone has been a pharoah or an important prince. Women are princesses or queens. It is rare to find a serving girl. No one claims to be a lowly Hebrew slave. Napoleon is often a frequent figure.

I can see where it can make someone who has low self-esteem feel more important.

The Jesuses and Marys i n toast or grilled cheese are amazing. I believe the culture supplies the images.

Terry

I have my own strong theory about this.

Cognitive dissonance is very uncomfortable.

We are still rational creatures even if we are superstitious.

Unreality does not match reality.

Reality intrudes!

This discomfort can be disturbing to the point we must have PROOF!

For a JW it is the looming "reality" of Armageddon which would quickly allow the whole world to see we are RIGHT and our religion is TRUE! So, setting a date

is a way of making it happen.

For a Catholic it is hallucinating or badly misinterpreting a feeling, a vision or a piece of grilled cheese!

Confirmation or disconfirmation are certainties.

But believing things without proof is very agonizing!

fakesmile

it is an impossible claim to disprove and a good cover for attention whores. also, i have noticed that the people who hear or see "god", usually have no major accomplishments. hearing/seeing god is a nice way to be "special" without having any talent. BOTR said, "low self esteem". then there are those who actually believe it. holy shitcakes, these people need to be sterilized. another group would be opportunists. people who would tell you anything you want to hear for money, manipulation, or some sweet booty.

LouBelle

People may mistake a vivid dream for a vision. They have eaten shrooms and had visions. Your mind is a strong thing and can definitely 'create' visions. If you look at schizophrenics they see and hear people that may not be there. There could be a number of reasions - are they lying? Nope. They have seen it.

Am I lying when I say that I awoke to blood on my face without any explanation of how it got there? No. It happend, I tasted the blood, washed the blood off my face and I cannot explain how it got there (no scratches, no marks - nothing)

Why do Christians LIE about seeing visions of Jesus/Mary?

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