Mental health of Jesus

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The question of whether the historical Jesus was in "good mental health" has been examined by several psychologists, philosophers, historians, doctors and writers. The first to openly deny that Jesus acted rationally was the French doctor and psychologist Charles Binet-Sanglé , chief physician in Paris and author of the book La Folie de Jésus . This view found supporters and opponents through the ages.

Depiction of Jesus as mentally ill

As early as 1898, the doctor and writer Oskar Panizza in Christ described Christ as a psycho-pathological case and a paranoid in a psycho-pathological light . Charles Binet-Sanglé diagnosed Jesus with "religious paranoia " in 1908 :

"In short, the type of hallucinations of Jesus as described in the Orthodox Gospels suggests that the founder of the Christian religion was affected by religious paranoia" (Volume 2, p. 393).

His view was shared by the New York psychiatrist William Hirsch in a study published in 1912 ( Religion and civilization; the conclusions of a psychiatrist ). Hirsch agreed with Binet-Sanglé that Jesus was plagued by hallucinations and pointed to his "megalomania", which had increased incessantly and immeasurably. Hirsch concluded that Jesus was "paranoid". He added:

“But Christ offers a perfectly typical picture of a known mental illness in every way. Everything we know about him corresponds so closely to the clinical aspect of paranoia that it is hard to imagine how someone who is at all familiar with mental disorders can have the slightest doubt about the correctness of the diagnosis. ”(P. 103)

The literature of the USSR in the 1920s, following the tradition of demythologizing Jesus (based on the works of David Friedrich Strauss , Ernest Renan , Friedrich Nietzsche, and Charles Binet-Sanglé), brought up two main themes - insanity and deception. This was reflected in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel “ The Master and Margarita ”, in which Jesus (by Pontius Pilate ) is portrayed as a harmless madman. It was not until the turn of the 1920s and 1930s that Soviet propaganda gained the mythological option of denying the existence of Jesus.

Jesus' mental health was also questioned by British psychiatrists William Sargant and Raj Persaud. Also by a number of psychologists with a psychoanalytic orientation, e.g. B. Georges Berguer in his study "Quelques traits de la vie de Jésus: au point de vue psychologique et psychanalytique".

The Gospel according to Mark ( Mk 3,21  EU ) tells of the opinion of members of the Jesus family who believe that Jesus is out of his mind (“beside himself”). Some psychiatrists and writers state that they viewed Jesus as crazy.

“When his family heard of this, they set out to bring him back by force; because they said: He is out of his mind. "

Władysław Witwicki , a rationalist philosopher and psychologist, in the comments on his own translation of the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Mark ("Dobra Nowina według Mateusza i Marka") is attributed to Jesus , the feeling of his own power and superiority over others, of subjectivism Egocentrism and tendency to subjugate other people is increased, as well as difficulty communicating with the outside world and dissociative identity disorder , making him a schizothyma type or even a schizophrenia type (according to Kretschmer's constitutional typology ).

The English psychiatrist Anthony Storr suspected in his last book Feet of Clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus (1996) that there are psychological similarities between mad "messiahs" like Jim Jones and David Koresh and respected religious leaders like Jesus. Storr follows typical patterns, which often involve psychotic illnesses that shape the development of the guru . Storr's study is an attempt to see Jesus as one of many gurus. He agrees with most scholars of the historical Jesus and leans towards the hypothesis of Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet :

"It seems inevitable that Jesus shared the apocalyptic view that God's final conquest of evil was imminent and that God's kingdom would be established on earth in the near future."

Storr names many similarities between Jesus and other gurus. For example, there is a time of inner conflict while fasting in the desert. If Jesus really saw himself as a substitute for God and believed that one day he would come down from heaven to rule, he was much like the gurus he had previously described as delusional preachers obsessed with a mania of greatness. He notes that Jesus was not an ideal for family life (( Mk 3:31–35  EU ), ( Mk 13,12–13  EU )). Gurus often remain indifferent to family ties. According to Storr, other similarities include Jesus' belief in receiving a special revelation from God and a tendency toward elitism in the sense that Jesus believed he was marked by God in a special way.

In 2011, a team of psychiatrists, behavioral psychologists, neurologists and neuropsychiatrists at Harvard Medical School published research suggesting the development of a new diagnostic category of psychiatric disorders related to religious deception and hyperreligiosity. They compared the thoughts and behaviors of the main characters in the Bible ( Abraham , Moses , Jesus Christ and Paul of Tarsus ) with patients suffering from mental disorders associated with the psychotic spectrum using different clusters of disorders and diagnostic criteria ( DSM-IV-TR ). As a result, they came to the conclusion that these Biblical characters may have had psychotic symptoms that helped inspire their revelations, "such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder , manic depression , delusional disorder , megalomania, auditory-visual hallucination, paranoia, speed- Syndrome and abnormal experiences associated with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The authors also suggest that Jesus sought a situation in which He would be sentenced to death ("suicide by proxy").

Opinions in Defense of Jesus' Mental Health

The opinions of William Hirsch, Charles Binet-Sanglé and others who questioned Jesus' mental health were supported by Albert Schweitzer in his doctoral thesis (1913) "The Psychiatric Assessment of Jesus: Presentation and Criticism" and by the psychiatrist Walter Bundy in his book ( 1922) "The psychic health of Jesus" rejected.

The mental health of Jesus is defended by psychiatrists Olivier Quentin Hyder, also by Pablo Martinez and Andrew Sims in their book (2018) “Mad or God? Jesus: The healthiest mind of all ".

Christian apologists , such as Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel , also take up the topic of Jesus' defense of reason.

New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman , who describes himself as an atheist and agnostic, wrote on his own blog:

“And he may have thought (I think he believed) that he would be made the Messiah in the future kingdom. That may have been a pretty lofty view of yourself, but I don't think it drives Jesus crazy. That makes him an unusually confident apocalyptic prophet. At that time there were others with notions of size. I don't think he's going to get mentally ill. It makes him an apocalyptic Jew of the first century. "

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charles Binet SANGLE: La folie de Jésus ( fr ), Volume 1-4. A. Maloine, Paris 1908-1915, OCLC 4560820 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Don Havis: An Inquiry into the Mental Health of Jesus: Was He Crazy? . In: Atheist Alliance Inc. (Ed.): Secular Nation . April-June 2001, ISSN  1530-308X .
  3. ↑ Oskar Panizza: The criminal psychosis called Psichopatia criminalis. Auxiliary book for doctors, lay people, lawyers, guardians, administrative officials, ministers, etc. to diagnose political brain disease. With forewords by Bern Mattheus and with a contribution by Oswald Wiener. 2nd, unchanged edition. Munich 1985, pp. 205-224.
  4. ^ In: Zürcher Diskuszjonen . Volume 1, No. 5, 1898, pp. 1-8.
  5. ↑ Jürgen Müller : Oskar Panizza - attempt at an immanent interpretation. Medical dissertation Würzburg (1990) 1991, pp. 248-256 (on Christ in psicho-patological lighting ).
  6. ↑ a b Alan Gettis: The Jesus delusion: A theoretical and phenomenological look = Der Jesus-Wahn: A theoretical and phenomenological look . In: Springer (Ed.): Journal of Religion and Health . 26, No. 2, June 1987, ISSN  1573-6571 , pp. 131-136. doi : 10.1007 / BF01533683 . PMID 24301876 .
  7. ^ William Hirsch: Religion and civilization; the conclusions of a psychiatrist = religion and civilization; the conclusions of a psychiatrist . Truth Seeker, New York 1912, OCLC 39864035 .
  8. ↑ Надежда Дождикова: Чем был недоволен Берлиоз? О романе М. А. Булгакова "Мастер и Маргарита" and "проблеме Христа" . In: Нева . No. 7, 2009, ISSN  0130-741X . Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  9. ^ William Sargant: The movement in psychiatry away from the philosophical . In: The Times . August 22, 1974, ISSN  0140-0460 . "Perhaps before that, after using modern [psychiatric] treatments, Jesus Christ could have simply returned to his carpenter's shop."
  10. ^ Raj Persaud: Health: A madman can look a lot like a messiah: There is no easy way for cult followers to tell if their leader is sane, says Raj Persaud . The Independent. April 27, 1993. Retrieved March 25, 2019: “Two thousand years ago Jesus received a crown of thorns. Today the messianics have electro-convulsive therapy. "
  11. ↑ Georges Berguer: Quelques traits de la vie de Jésus: au point de vue psychologique et psychanalytique = Some characteristics of the life of Jesus: from a psychological and psychoanalytic point of view . Edition Atar, Genève – Paris 1920, OCLC 417009760 .
  12. ↑ Evan D. Murray, Miles G. Cunningham, Bruce H. Prize: The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered . In: American Psychiatric Association (Ed.): Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences . 24, No. 4, September 2011, ISSN  1545-7222 , pp. 410-426. doi : 10.1176 / appi.neuropsych.11090214 . PMID 23224447 . "Mark 3:21 confirms an occasion on which Jesus and his family viewed him as crazy or" beside themselves. "
  13. ^ William Hirsch: Religion and civilization; conclusions of a psychiatrist . Truth Seeker, New York 1912, p. 135, OCLC 39864035 : "That the other members of his own family thought he was insane is clearly stated because he openly stated," He is beside himself. "
  14. ↑ Gene Kashmar: All the obscenities in the Bible = All obscenities in the Bible . Kas-Mark Publishing Co., Brooklyn Center, MN 1995, p. 157: “He was considered insane by his own family and neighbors, when his friends heard about this, they went out to arrest him; for they said: He is beside himself ... (Mark 3: 21-22) - The Greek existemi means “insane and witless”. The Greek word ho para translates "friends", also "family". "
  15. ^ Władysław Witwicki: Dobra Nowina według Mateusza i Marka = Good news according to Matthäus and Markus ( pl ). Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Warszawa 1958, OCLC 681830910 .
  16. ^ Jan Szmyd: Psychologiczny obraz religijności i mistyki: z badań psychologów polskich = Psychological image of religiosity and mysticism: from the research of the Polish psychologist ( pl ). Wydawnictwo Naukowe WSP, Kraków 1996, ISBN 978-8-3868-4154-7 , p. 197.
  17. ↑ Amadeusz Citlak: Psychobiography of Jesus Christ in view of Władysław Witwicki's theory of cratism . In: Scientific Society KUL (Ed.): Journal for Perspectives of Economic Political and Social Integration . 21, No. 1-2, 2015, ISSN  2300-0945 , pp. 155-184. doi : 10.2478 / pepsi-2015-0007 .
  18. ↑ Karina Jarzyńska: Jezus jako egocentryczny schizotymik ( pl ) Racjonalista.pl. April 10, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  19. ^ Obituary: Anthony Storr ( en ) The Telegraph . Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  20. ↑ Feet Of Clay: The Power and Charisma of Gurus ( en ) Storytel. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
  21. ↑ Anthony Storr: Feet of Clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus = feet made of clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study by Gurus . Free Press, New York Paperbacks 1997, ISBN 0-684-83495-2 , p. 142.
  22. ↑ Anthony Storr: Feet of Clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus = feet made of clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study by Gurus . Free Press Paperbacks, New York 1997, ISBN 0-684-83495-2 , pp. 143-146.
  23. ↑ a b c d e Evan D. Murray, Miles G. Cunningham, Bruce H. Price: The Role of Psychotic Disorders in Religious History Considered . In: American Psychiatric Association (Ed.): Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences . 24, No. 4, September 2011, ISSN  1545-7222 , pp. 410-426. doi : 10.1176 / appi.neuropsych.11090214 . PMID 23224447 .
  24. ↑ Albert Schweitzer: The psychiatric assessment of Jesus: Presentation and criticism . JCB Mohr (Paul Siebeck), Tübingen 1913, OCLC 5903262 .
  25. ^ Walter E. Bundy: The psychic health of Jesus = The mental health of Jesus . The Macmillan Company, New York 1922, OCLC 644667928 .
  26. ↑ Olivier Quentin Hyder: On the Mental Health of Jesus Christ . In: Biola University (Ed.): Journal of Psychology and Theology . 5, No. 1, December 1, 1977, ISSN  0091-6471 , pp. 3-12. doi : 10.1177 / 009164717700500101 .
  27. ↑ Pablo Martinez, Andrew Sims: Mad or God? Jesus: The healthiest mind of all = Angry or God? Jesus: the healthiest spirit of all . InterVarsity Press, Westmont 2018, ISBN 978-1-783-59606-5 .
  28. ↑ Andrew Sims: Mad or God? A senior psychiatrist on the mental health of Jesus . Christian News on Christian Today. July 17, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  29. ↑ Josh McDowell: Lord, Liar or Lunatic? . In: More Than a Carpenter = more than a carpenter . Living Books, Wheaton, Illinois 1977, ISBN 978-0-8423-4552-1 , pp. 22-32.
  30. ↑ Lee Strobel: The Psychological Evidence . In: The Case for Christ = The case for Christ . Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 2013, ISBN 978-0-3103-3930-4 , pp. 154-166.
  31. ↑ Bart D. Ehrman: Were Jesus' Followers Crazy? What hey? Mailbag June 4, 2016 . The Bart Ehrman Blog. Retrieved March 25, 2019.

Web links