David's words go beyond affirming the permanence of death to show his expectation of future fellowship with his son. David revealed that although babies are sinful from the womb, God has a place for them in heaven. But how? Rather, Scripture indicates that only those who have a knowledge of good and evil—regardless of age—have the responsibility to repent Genesis ; Deuteronomy ; Isaiah As Christians, we know that Christ's death paid for all sins and that God extends forgiveness to all who believe in His Son.
But what about infants and mentally disabled individuals who cannot believe in Jesus? God's merciful and compassionate character suggests that grace is applied to them as well Matthew ; Romans — In fact, Jesus called the children to Himself, actively taking a role in their well-being Matthew With these factors in mind, we can affirm that an infant's or mentally disabled person's inability to articulate faith in Jesus does not prevent God from saving him or her.
And God, in His compassion and mercy, would draw these individuals to Himself in heaven based on the sacrifice of Christ for all sins. This increased religiosity may take many forms—some more subtle than others and not all are indicative of psychosis.
Here are some examples using hypothetical patients :. Terri's doctor may provide an immediate diagnosis of having religious delusions. But in the cases of Janie and Ed, a psychiatrist might feel such a diagnosis would be premature.
And in Jerry's case, at this point, his beliefs appear to be supportive rather than problematic. As psychiatrist Harold G. Koenig , professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University, wrote in his review of the literature on the subject, "While about one-third of psychoses have religious delusions, not all religious experiences are psychotic.
Koenig found that some spiritual approaches may be of benefit to the patient—as in Jerry's case. When religious delusions aren't immediately obvious, the treating clinician needs to examine the patient's religious beliefs and behaviors carefully, Koenig concluded.
Delusions are defined as false beliefs firmly held, and different types include paranoid or persecutory delusions , delusions of reference , delusions of grandeur , delusional jealousy and others. Two of these, in particular, may express themselves in a religious context. Here are a few examples:. Religious paranoid delusions: "Demons are watching me, following me, waiting to punish me if I do anything they don't like," or "If I put on my shoes, God will set them on fire to punish me, so I have to go barefoot all the time.
Religious delusions of grandeur: "God has exalted me above you, normal people. He tells me I don't need help, don't need medicine. I'm going to heaven and all of you are going to go to hell," or "I am Christ reborn. A meta-analysis of 55 studies examined the relationship between religious delusions RD and religious hallucinations RH in countries around the world.
In the United States, a study found that the level of religious involvement predicted the severity of religious delusions, and that Protestants were more likely to experience RD than Roman Catholics. In , a study in England reported a higher association of religious belief and religious delusion in subjects with schizophrenia. Koenig reported that "Persons with severe and persistent mental illness often come for treatment with religious delusions.
Many patients with psychotic disorders consider spiritual faith to be an important coping mechanism. For those who are not delusional, religious beliefs and activities as coping mechanisms have been found in some studies to be associated with better outcomes for the illness as a whole. Conversely, having religious delusions has been found to be associated with a more serious course of illness and poorer outcomes.
Research has shown that patients with religious delusions had more severe psychotic symptoms, a longer history of illness, and poorer functioning prior to the onset of a psychotic episode. You can see why, then, it's essential for clinicians to be aware of these differences. Doctors ought to include a patient's beliefs in evaluating the patient as a whole and use care in distinguishing between strong religious beliefs and delusions.
Despite the conflicting research on whether the culture of a country has an effect on the incidence of religious delusions, it is certainly an area of interest for further study.
If there's one thing that researchers do agree on, it's that those who treat people with psychoses need to be sensitive to a patient's non-delusional religious beliefs, both in distinguishing them from delusions and in evaluating how helpful they are potentially to the patient. Dealing with racing thoughts? Untreated people with schizophrenia will often speak in nonsense and jump rapidly between unrelated topics.
Ordinary Learning vs. Supernatural Knowledge Demons in the New Testament would speak through people to convey knowledge that otherwise could not have been known to the possessed individuals. Those with NBD have no such ability to know facts which they have not acquired by normal learning. Normal vs. Occultic Phenomena. There is an aspect to demon activity that is just plain spooky ex. These have an impact on others in the room not just the possessed. With schizophrenia, the effect of the disorder is only on the disordered, not others.
The claim to be possessed Authors who have clinical experience both with demon possession and mental illness, believe those who claim to be possessed are very likely not possessed. Demons wish to be secretive and do not voluntarily claim to be present. Effects of Therapy. If prayer solves the problem, then it was probably not schizophrenia. If medicine helps alleviate the problem, it was not demon possession. For a free copy of the book donations appreciated , contact Dr.
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