Mark of the Beast Makes News Again

According to a January 9, Associated Press news report, when the sheriff's arrived at the Haydon, Idaho home of a man in his mid-twenties, this past Saturday (January 5, 2008),they found a hand cooking in the microwave. The hand belonged to the man in the home who was described by sheriffs as calm. He had put a tourniquet on his arm before using a circular saw to cut off his own hand. Apparently he believed the "mark of the beast" was on his hand, even though the sheriff's found no tattoos or markings on his hands.

This story is reminiscent of the January 1, Palm Beach Post report of a 'Possessed' Haitian Man in Florida who not only hit his girlfriend in the head with an iron, but also began biting her on her back in order to release the demons that were inside of her. He also bit the fingertip off of his 80 year old mother when she tried to intervene, then he began to pull out his bottom teeth. 44-year -old, Oswald Varemond was apparently praying with his girlfriend and his mother when they saw him change. He was still chanting, "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus," when the police arrived.

In November of 2005, a 21-year-old Canadian admitted to killing his friend, a 19-year-old pregnant woman because he believed at various times that he was the angel of death, the son of Satan and Jesus. At other times he thought that the 19-year-old woman and her unborn baby were the serpent which he had to crush to death in order to walk as Jesus, according the Edmonton Journal.

Michael Nielson, PhD of Neilson's Psychology of Religion Pages (at http://www.psywww.com/psyrelig/index.htm) says conclusions about religious delusions are still incomplete. The authors of a study of Religious delusions in patients admitted to the hospital with schizohphrenia, published in 2002, in the Social Psyhiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Journal agree that more research is needed in this area of mental health. However, both sources say that there is preliminary evidence that religious groups may have a higher incidence of schizophrenia than other groups do, and those examined, who had religious delusions seemed to be more severely ill. With the rise of serious injuries and deaths due to religious delusions, not only does mental health need to be given more serious consideration, but more research should be done to determine the relation between religions and mental health.

19ActionNews.com - Idaho man sees "mark of the beast," cuts off and microwaves hand - Associated Press

The Detroit News (detnews.com) - Associated Press

Montana's News Station - Associated Press

Kevin Deutch and Veronica Martinez, 'Possessed' Hatian accused in fracas -Palm Beach Post.com

Karen Kleiss - Accused thought he was son of Satan; Jared Baker says pregnant woman was carrying 'Lucifer's baby' - The Edmonton Journal

Ronald Siddle, Gillian Haddock, Nicholas Tarrier, E.Brian Faragher. Religious delusions in patients admitted to hospital with schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. March 2002 v37 i 3 p130.

Michael E. Nielsen, PhD. Mental Health and Religion Pages.