soundtracktotodaysentryismechanicalbride

Am I Normal?, earlier tonight, on "the fine line between religious belief and psychological disorder" – When is "voice hearing" a mental illness and when is it a religious experience? Is religious retreat just denial?

One hour of talking to nuns, street preachers, faith healers and the like, and where did it get us? Nowhere.

And all they needed to do was put up one quote…

"When one person suffers from a delusion it is called insanity. When many people suffer from a delusion it is called religion." [Robert M Pirsig]*

…and then for the rest of the hour, they just could have played some light music, or shown some film of some badgers, or something.

There were some interesting strands explored, but none of them taken through to any logical conclusion.

For instance: an evangelical minister in Pennsylvania was given a brain scan whilst "speaking in tongues", which showed that there was little frontal lobe activity during it – suggesting that it wasn't a willed activity – not one that he was choosing to "put on" – but something pre-consciousness over which he had little control.

Did they then compare those same brain scans with those of a schizophrenic in a run-down London hospital who insists that Vladimir Putin has planted a radio in his head? No.

Certainly there's interesting questions to be asked about what is "madness" and what is "reality"; where one draws the line and hands out the pills; and how much these essential questions are exploited by those out for money, power or other advantage; but no answers were given, only more and more questions…

* Though Pirsig also says; "It's not my intent to bring religion down to the level of insanity. It's my intention to illuminate insanity." His interpretation asks where insanity ends and Zen enlightenment begins…

…but that's a whole book in itself… [Lila, Robert M Pirsig]

PS: This is my 500th post on here! Woot!