The excellent BBC programme on Stephen Fry and his struggle with Bipolar Disorder impressed me very much. The thought that even though only about 1% of the population may suffer (if that is the word) from this ailment but that those 1% are perhaps amongst the greatest movers and thinkers of us all.
I could not help but think, when Stephen Fry and Professor Nick Craddock were discussing childhood and adult symptoms together with delusions of grandure, that the classic case of this was Jesus of Nazareth. Surely I was not the only one that noted the incredible ups (preaching to 5,000; confronting Jewish scolars; gathering apostles) and suicidal downs (40 days in the wilderness with the temptation to suicide; confronting the moneychangers; the submission at the garden of gethsemane) and perhaps even the delusion that he was he Son of God as the classic symptoms of Bipolar Disorder?
So what difference would it make if Jesus of Nazereth was not actually the Son of God but actually a “normal” manic depressive. What difference would that make to the world?
I have always admired the philosophy and teachings of Jesus and despised how that had all been perverted by (particularly but not exclusively) the catholic church to empower them to subvert the general population to their will. How did the teachings of Love and Forgiveness of a great and humble man lead to the slaughter of millions of men, women and children of different beliefs over the ceturies? But that is a Rhetorical question which is tending to lead me way from my theme.
There are a number of religious anomalies which have personally troubled me which would surely be cast asunder if it was acceptable that the Holy Trinity was the delusion of a troubled mind.
1. No Christmas. Does any sensible person accept that Mary was a Virgin when she bore Jesus? Another Rhetorical question, sorry. But if you wanted to put your candidate for Superman forward couple of Millenia ago, then a Virgin birth was a Must.
2. No Man can enter Heaven but Through Me. The ultimate dillusion of Grandeur? So a Moslem cleric who has done great charity and has humbly served his community through his life ends up in Hell, and Pope Gregory IX and his inquisitors and any Catholic who did any wrong (as long as he repented on his deathbed) go to eternal salvation?
3. Easter and the Resurrection. Well no, actually. I put this in as a paradox because there is no reason why the resurrection should prove, or disprove, that Jesus is the Son of God. There have been many recorded instances of persons supposedly dead and/or being in a deep coma returning to life without them being hailed as some sort of Super Being. I personally believe that Jesus came back to his fellows after a few days, it is about the only thing that all the Apostle writers seem to agree on.
4. Why was Jesus so inconsistent? Ghandi was humble, he was respected because he resisted the British Raj by Passive Resistance. He built up a huge following by preaching peace and reason. Jesus, on the other hand, was a bit of a hot-head. Drawing huge crowds, he preached and performed miracles then rode into Jerusalem on a donkey behind a crowd spreading palm leaves in his way. He goes into the market and causes a riot by up-turning tables and spilling money on the floor. Yet here was the man who was so full of self doubt that he spent forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, who for all his powers apparently did not say a word in his defence in front of Pilate and went mildly to the cross, completely humiliated.
4. Why was Jesus crucified? OK so he was popular and he did a few miracles and he caused a bit of trouble with the local Pharisees and money lenders in the market place. But that is no reason why the Jewish hierachy and aristocracy should look on him as such a threat as to risk making a matyr out of him. The reason why he was crucified was his persistent Blasphemy, that He claimed that He was the Son of God. In the sociey in which he lived, particularly because it was under occupation by the Romans, it must have been seen as essential that the Jews maintained there tradition. They had kept (and continue to keep) their way of life by utterly rejecting any reason, arguement, evidence, logic which may shake their belief in their inherrent superiority over the rest of mankind by reason of their being “God’s Chosen People”. The along comes the “Son of God” who tells them they are wrong: well he has to go.
So there are my thoughts, but this does not mean that I am not a Christian, merely that I do not accept the supernatural munbo-jumbo made up by the Church in order to control the masses. I believe that Jesus was a man, a very great and good man but just a man.
Here endeth tht lesson.
Hi,
We’re on the same page. Also, why do we don’t know much about Jesus’s life before his preach period/during his youth ? Probably because IT DID NOT MASTER HIS UPS & DOWNS and was rejected by the community as crazy. Mary herself, according to the Bible said sometimes that Jesus was crazy. Also in the oath over the mountain, Jesus denounces everyone who name his brother crazy. PROBABLY because he had to suffered the same prior to finding the balance. Happy to discuss this furhter…
Best regards,
Louis from France
he said what is written jesus is mad or bad or god
i suffer from bipolar disorder and I would definitley agree that Jesus did suffer from the same sorts of things bipolar affected people suffer, but to a far greater degree.
We do not know muich of his teenage and growing up years so it is hard to say but definitley know he WAS a man who had divine in him – he was not a ghost, he was someone people could see and touch, he was real.
I believe that he had the Christ energy, he was the first person in the world to have that sort of energy..and he sent it out for all of us to be saved from ourselves and others. When I have bipolar episode I am touched by this energy as well and people think I am mad or strange but I am just being myself as I would be if christian people understood me, however I have a lot of demons I have to battle with within myself and having jesus around helps me a lot.
It is not fair that bipolar people are told they have to keep taking medication especially when the side effects are so bad and toxic that many of us end up dying/killing ourselves because it is just not worth the pain. We suffer so much and we don’t really know why.
Jesus was very humble and would never say ‘I am the son of God’ as if he was better than everyone else to people who don’t understand the concept of God. If he did people would hate him for being so arrogant. But some people clearly thought so and that was why he got into so much trouble. We are all God’s children. Those are my thoughts.
I hope this helps.
Take care and God bless.
Selina
I hv bn thinking abt God snce I ws litl
my spir exps startd a cple wks aftr rdng a bk Give Me grace by Cynthia Rylant
I askd God many things
i askd him 2 spk 2 me
2 mke me a mess of pce
2 mke me a mess of hope & light
God ans my prayer
I hd premonitions
i wrte dwn the Messiah 911 Sep11 I wrt cracking the code I wrt This is the story of life the paper i wrt this on hs a pm on it abt Lve being wrapped inside a box lke a Gift
I hve bipolar
i hve a 3 mon olddd Alexandria LIGHT
Jan 13 i hd a panic atck so bd i thght the world was ending
n my ER rm th TV hd Angels on th Devil ws ther a house on fire 2 tms I hd manic pds i ws afraid of our house on fire on nxt ws ER 2 LV shows & Buffy Comm 4 Gifted Hands moms lve 4 hr chd & Dav Cde & Lgt so brgt its bldng my eyes I hrd ths mess i felt angels spekng 2 me LV Relax&Appr the gift of lve & lfe Buffy Someday somehow that wish will come tru ER Jesus is totally cool ER pt on fr & a char says theres a mess in it PLs hlp me tu
copyright2009 by Megan Fine
I wonder if the 1% of people with this disorder are the equivalent of a genetic mutation that either propels the organism (or, this case, a race of people) forward or it doesn’t. It’s the natural way to experiment and adapt. Whether or not Jesus was bipolar, he did arguably unify millions of people beyond borders, which may have been a net-positive for the human race. Given that possibility, are we eliminating the chances for “experimentation” by giving these 1% drugs to make them “normal”? What, pray tell, will we be missing as a result?
We will never know.
Great article!
Ian, have you read anything by John Dominic Crossan? If not, I think you’d find his scholarship enlightening, one that will give you a fresh perspective, relevant to the 21st century. I’ve met him twice and read many of his works. It is impossible to understand the life and death of Jesus without an understanding of the historical context.
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in my junior year of college, 1976. I’ve often wondered if Jesus and other biblical figures endured this condition.
I hope you’ll visit my blog. I’m a spiritual ‘mutt’ if ever there was one.
Thanks for your thoughts.
BLASTPHEMY
Jesus was a madman
Saint Paul prob’ly too
Somewhat controversial
Still most likely true
Both were BAD bipolar
Both were good and honest men
Both would be truly horrified
Had they known, what I know, then
You see I’ve felt the grip of mania
With its compelling numinous side
It carries huge charisma
Others swept before the tide
But in the cold light of reflection
When the prosaic truth is plain to see
Tell me who’s really of the Godhead
Is it Him or Icke or me?