If fundamentalists had the chance, would they replace therapy and medication for schizophrenics with exorcisms

Question

............and for other mentally ill people?

It seems exorcisms that do get performed are actually just people who need therapy and medication for their problems

Answer 1

the whole world is madness and insanity!

Answer 2

Oh yes ... for sure. Fundamentalists like Haggard and Falwell and those who follow in the that twisted right-wing sect of Christianity are Christofacists.

The Roman Catholics has a group somewhere in St. Louis I believe that studies exorcisms. Fr. Malachai Martin, PhD ... a Jesuit who died in 1999 is the hands down authority on exorcisms. He's written a number of books. Of course you have the fundamentalist nutters, too.

Actual cases of demon possession are extremely few and far between. Most "demon possessions" can be accounted for by other means . . . mental health issues and fraud.

Personally, I believe all fundamentalists are the only ones truly demon possessed . . . but that is a personal opinion . . .:-).

Answer 3

I don't think they'd often recognize mental illness. Hearing voices? It could be god or a demon or something. Making weird sounds and acting funny? Speaking in tongues & filled with the spirit. That's why people like Andrea Yates and Dena Schlosser and Deanna Laney fall through the cracks.

Edit to theclosedserpent: Good thing no one cares about your opinion. Look at this:

(CBS) Why would a 28-year-old man, described as sweet, kind and gentle, take a knife to his mother one morning in 2003 and stab her over 70 times?

Jeremy Perkins, who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, came to believe that his mother, Elli, was evil and out to get him. Experts say the brutal murder might never have occurred, had he received proper treatment to control his psychotic delusions. But Jeremy’s parents were devout Scientologists and their religion strongly opposes psychiatric treatment.

No need for medication? You're uneducated in psychology.

Answer 4

I love it....few actual accounts of demon possesions? First of all, catholics call it an exorcism while christians refer to it as a deliverance and I have been privy to a few in my day, since I know someone very close to be who has done well over 200. Its real. Demons are real. Dont believe me? Next time you hear voices in your head, or are visited by an imagenary friend, who go to a haunted house, ask out loud who Jesus is, and enjoy the show.

Answer 5

No. My pastor is a fundamentalist Christian (Church of God of Prophecy) and he is also a licensed counselor and has recommended some of his clients for mental health care at the hospital. He never performed an exorcism.

Answer 6

God created medicine and doctors, first seek God's healing through pray and see your doctor second. Doctor Jesus will provide the cure either through miraculous healing like spoken of in the Bible or through medical doctors or psychiatrists.

Yes I do believe can be demon possessed but I also think there can be clinical reason for people to be mentally ill.

Answer 7

I think mentally ill people have no need of medication. We need to stop people develping mental illnesses. I would be interested to see a credible study on whether exorcisms work among believers. Its possible the placebo efect may be better than drugs in their case

Answer 8

No, but we would replace disobedience to God with obedience to God so the curse of sin would not be the cause of disease. Sin is not only incurred by the sinner, but inherited from ancestors.

Answer 9

Wow. What a concept. Of course not, you ditz!

Answer 10

Holy crap, that guy above just said he believes in demons....Holy crap, oh my gosh, this is awesome. Primoa, you made my day.