Christianity and Mental Illness

The dictionary defines delusion as, "A false belief strongly held, in spite of invalidating evidence."

The prevailing view of religion is that it is harmless even if it is delusional. That turns out not to be the case. America is the most religious country of those studied in the developed world. America also has the biggest problems in terms of things like homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion.

American President George W. Bush especially is under the influence of Christian delusions and is implementing imperialist policies that are extraordinarily hypocritical and contradictory to both the teachings of Jesus the Christ and the democratic values for which the United States of America is supposed to stand. These delusions and this hypocrisy are shared by many believers of fundamental Christianity and Americans. I call these Christian beliefs delusions, because they are false and were not taught by Jesus himself and are contrary to Biblical teachings.

Christians believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and on the third day Jesus appeared to his apostles and other disciples. Christians also believe that God is spirit, an uncreated, omnipotent and eternal being, the creator and sustainer of all things, who works the redemption of the world through his Son, Jesus Christ.

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by impairments in the perception or expression of reality, most commonly manifest as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions or disorganized speech and thinking in the context of significant social or occupational dysfunction.

Impairments in the perception of reality.

I've come to realize that after the crucifixion of Jesus and numerous Christian beliefs developed that most psychologists could only describe as delusions. Commemoration of the last meal that Jesus shared with his twelve disciples before his execution became a ritual in which the participants professed to believe that wine was transformed into blood and bread into the body of Jesus, a practice that is still held in church service around the world.

This delusion was adopted as a way of getting people to believe that Jesus had died for their sins rather than for some people in his own time. This enabled religious authorities beginning with the apostle Paul, to promise converts that their sins were already removed by the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross.

Believing in these delusions may give some Christians an excuse for committing sins, because they think that just by believing in Jesus, who died for them, that they will be saved, so they lie, cheat and steal till their hearts content and then tell their God that they're sorry. This mocks the laws of God, that we each are responsible for our actions.

Schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are very serious and need immediate medical attention. Gone untreated, a mental illness can destroy lives. The lives of the sufferer and their family and friends. When this point of the illness is reached, the patient finds the need for answers, so they turn to religion. This gives them an avenue for denial, acceptance in a limited society where blame can be placed on an imaginary entity called "The Devil" and by placing all your faith in his arch nemesis, Jesus Christ, you can overcome this illness, giving people a dangerous false sense of hope.

Religion is a delusion. A planet full of delusional people is certainly not healthy and is dangerous. Christianity, as a religion is merely an appalling superstition that is little more than mental illness passed from generation to generation through the forced indoctrination of unthinking children.