The question of whether thehistorical Jesus was in goodmental health is asubject of consideration for multiple psychologists, philosophers, historians, and writers. The first person, after several other attempts at tackling the subject, who broadly and thoroughly questioned themental health of Jesus was FrenchpsychologistCharles Binet-Sanglé, the chief physician ofParis and author of a four-volume workLa Folie de Jésus (The Madness of Jesus, 1908–1915).[1][2][3] This view finds both supporters and opponents.
The assessment of the sanity of Jesus first occurs in the gospels. TheGospel of Mark reports the opinion of members of his family who believe that Jesus "is beside himself." Some psychiatrists, religious scholars and writers explain that, according to the gospels, Jesus's family (Mark 3:21),[4] some followers (John 7:20,[5] see also John 11:41–53),[6] and contemporaries, at various points in time, regarded him as delusional,possessed by demons, or insane.[2][3][7][8][9][10]
And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for people were saying, "He is beside himself". And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed byBe-el′zebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons".
The accusation contained in theGospel of John is more literal:
There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, "He has a demon, and he is mad; why listen to him?" Others said, "These are not the sayings of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
— John 10:19–21, RSV[12]
Justin Meggitt, a lecturer at theUniversity of Cambridge,[13] suggests in his article "The Madness of King Jesus: Why was Jesus Put to Death, but his Followers were not?" (2007)[8] and in his bookThe Madness of King Jesus (2010)[14] thatPilate and otherRomans regarded Jesus as an insane lunatic.[8] According to theGospels, Jesus was presented to Pilate and sentenced to death as a royalpretender, but the standard Roman procedure was the prosecution and execution of would-be insurgents with their leaders. Therefore, to suggest that Jesus was put to death by the Roman authorities as some kind of royal pretender does not explain sufficiently why he was executed, but his disciples were not.[8][15]Jean Meslier (1664–1729) had similar thoughts in the 18th century. In chapters 33 and 34 of hisTestament, he argues that Jesus "was really a madman, a fanatic" (étoit véritablement un fou, un insensé, un fanatique).[10][16]
Challenging the sanity of Jesus continued in the 19th century with thefirst quest for the historical Jesus.David Friedrich Strauss (Das Leben Jesu, 1864)[17] claimed that Jesus was a fanatic.[2][3][18]Lemuel K. Washburn opined in apamphletWas Jesus insane? (1889) that "Jesus was not divine, but insane".[19][20]Oskar Panizza introduced Jesus as apsychopathological andparanoid case.[21][22][23]Oskar Holtzmann inWar Jesus Ekstatiker? (1903) presented Jesus as "ecstatic", which he described as apathologically-strong excitability of theimagination and the power of will.[24][25]Henry Leffmann claimed in 1904 that Jesus was a megalomaniac with episodes of frenzy and auditory delusions.[26]Georg Lomer [de] (as George de Loosten, 1905) attempted toretrospectively diagnose Jesus as generally mentally ill, similarly to Jean Meslier.[2][3][27]Emil Rasmussen [ru] (1905) determined Jesus to be eitherepileptic orparanoid. Using a few examples, he developed a description of the typical pathologicalprophet ("Prophetentypus") and applied it to Jesus.[2][3][28]Julius Baumann [sv] (1908) hypothesised that theabnormalities he found in Jesus' behaviour could be explained by anerve overstimulation (Nervenüberreizung).[29] However, it was not until the publication ofCharles Binet-Sanglé's four-volume workLa folie de Jésus from 1908 to 1915 that the topic was extensively and visibly discussed. Binet-Sanglé diagnosed Jesus as suffering from religious paranoia:[10][30]
In short, the nature of the hallucinations of Jesus, as they are described in the orthodox Gospels, permits us to conclude that the founder of Christian religion was afflicted with religious paranoia.
— (vol. 2, p. 393)
His view was shared by the New York psychiatrist and neurologistWilliam Hirsch [de],[31] who in 1912 published his study,Religion and Civilization: The Conclusions of a Psychiatrist,[32] which enumerated a number of Jesus' mentally-aberrant behaviours. Hirsch agreed with Binet-Sanglé in that Jesus had been afflicted with hallucinations and pointed to his "megalomania, which mounted ceaselessly and immeasurably".[33][2][3] Hirsch concluded that Jesus was just a "paranoid":
But Christ offers in every respect an absolutely typical picture of a wellknown mental disease. All that we know of him corresponds so exactly to the clinical aspect of paranoia, that it is hardly conceivable how anybody at all acquainted with mental disorders, can entertain the slightest doubt as to the correctness of the diagnosis.
— (p. 103)
Hirsch claims that Jesus, as a typical paranoid,[neutrality isdisputed] applied prophecies about the coming of the messiah to himself,[34] and had a deep hatred towards anyone who disagreed with him on everything.[35] The Soviet psychiatrist Y. V. Mints (1927) also diagnosed Jesus as suffering from paranoia.[10][36][37] The literature of theSoviet Union in the 1920s, following the tradition of thedemythologization of Jesus in the works of Strauss,Renan, Nietzsche, and Binet-Sanglé, put forward two main themes: mental illness and deception. That was reflected inMikhail Bulgakov's novelThe Master and Margarita in which Jesus is depicted byPontius Pilate as a harmless madman. It was only at the turn of the 1920s and the 1930s that themythological option, the denial of the existence of Jesus, won the upper hand inSoviet propaganda.[38] Jesus' mental health was also questioned by the British psychiatristsWilliam Sargant andRaj Persaud,[39][40] and a number of psychologists of thepsychoanalytic orientation, likeGeorges Berguer [de] in his studyQuelques traits de la vie de Jésus au point de vue psychologique et psychanalytique (1920).[41][42]
Władysław Witwicki, a rationalist philosopher and psychologist,[43] in the comments to his own translation of the Gospels ofMatthew andMark,Dobra Nowina według Mateusza i Marka[44] (The Good News according to Matthew and Mark [pl]), which is in fact apsychobiography of Jesus,[45] attributed that Jesus hadsubjectivism,[46] an increased sense of his own power and superiority over others,egocentrism[47] and the tendency to subjugate other people.[48] He also had difficulties communicating with the outside world,[49] as well asdissociative identity disorder,[50] which made him aschizothymic or evenschizophrenic type (according toErnst Kretschmer'stypology).[51][52][53]
American philosopher and science skepticPaul Kurtz, in one of his most influential writings,The Transcendental Temptation (1986, chapterWas Jesus disturbed?), notices that some passages in the gospels suggest that "Jesus was a disturbed personality." However, he notes, "It is difficult to be certain, since we have no way of submitting him to intensive psychiatric diagnosis." He states that if Jesus had any claim to divinity, "then he was deranged." According to Kurtz, Jesus "kept preaching that doomsday or the last days were at hand." In this context, he cites Matthew 16:28[54] and 24:34–35.[55] He also quotes passages in the gospels in which Jesus' family (Mark 3:20–21)[56] and other contemporary Jews (Mark 3:22,[57] John 10:20)[58] accused him of demonic possession and insanity.[59][60]
The American theologian and psychologist of religionDonald Capps, in his bookJesus: A Psychological Biography (1989, 2000),[61] diagnosed Jesus as a utopian-melancholic personality (he looked forward to a coming kingdom of God) withsuicidal tendencies.[62][63] New Testament scholarAndrew Jacob Mattill Jr. [Wikidata], in his essay contained inThe Book Your Church Doesn't Want You To Read (1993),[64] draws attention to the ever-increasing megalomania of "John's Jesus" (described in the Gospel of John 6:29, 35, 38, 40, 47-58; 7:38; 8:12; 11:25-26; 14:6, 13-14),[65] and concludes:
The more trust one puts in the Fourth Gospel's portrait of Jesus the more difficult it is to defend the sanity of Jesus.[2][3][65]
The English psychiatristAnthony Storr in his final bookFeet of Clay; Saints, Sinners, and Madmen: A Study of Gurus (1996)[66] suggested that there are psychological similarities between crazy "messiahs" such asJim Jones andDavid Koresh and respected religious leaders including Jesus.[67][a] Storr tracks typical patterns, often involvingpsychotic disorders that shape the development of theguru.[70] His study is an attempt to look at Jesus as one of many gurus. Storr agrees with most scholars of historical Jesus, who are inclined to the hypothesis ofJesus as apocalyptic prophet:
It seems inescapable that Jesus did share the apocalyptic view that God's final conquest of evil was at hand and that God's kingdom would be established upon earth in the near future.[71]
Storr recognises Jesus' many similarities to other gurus. It was, for example, going through aperiod of internal conflict during his fasting in the desert. According to Storr, if Jesus really considered himself a deputy forGod and believed that one day he would come down from heaven to rule, he was very similar to the gurus whom he had previously described as preachers of delusions possessed by mania of greatness. He notes that Jesus was not ideal in family life (Mark 3:31–35,[72] Mark 13:12–13).[73] Gurus often remain indifferent to family ties. Other similarities, according to Storr, include Jesus' faith in receiving a specialrevelation from God and a tendency toelitism, in the sense that Jesus believed that he had been specially marked by God.[74]
Americanneuroendocrinology researcherRobert Sapolsky in his essay included in the bookThe Trouble with Testosterone: and Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament (1997, 1998)[75] suggests the occurrence ofschizotypal ("half-crazy",p. 248) behavior and metamagical thinking in shamans, Jesus and other charismatic religious leaders:
Oh, sure, one can overdo it, and our history is darkly stained with abortive religious movements inspired by messianic crackpots. (...) However, if you get the metamagical thoughts and behaviors to the right extent and at the right time and place, then people might just get the day off from work on your birthday for a long time to come.
— (p. 256)
Then Sapolsky notes that "plausible links can be made among schizotypal behaviour, metamagical thought, and the founding of certain religious beliefs in both non-Western and Western societies." (p. 256) According to him: "The notion of the psychopathology of the shaman works just as readily in understanding the roots of major Western religions as well." (p. 255)
In 2012, a team ofpsychiatrists,behavioral psychologists,neurologists andneuropsychiatrists from theHarvard Medical School published a research that suggested the development of a new diagnostic category of psychiatric disorders related toreligious delusion andhyperreligiosity.[76] They compared the thoughts and behaviors of the most important figures in theBible, such asAbraham,Moses, Jesus, andPaul,[76] with patients affected by mental disorders related to thepsychotic spectrum using different clusters of disorders and diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV-TR),[77] and concluded that these Biblical figures "may have had psychotic symptoms that contributed inspiration for their revelations",[78] such asschizophrenia,schizoaffective disorder,bipolar disorder,delusional disorder,delusions of grandeur,auditory-visual hallucinations, paranoia,Geschwind syndrome (especially Paul), and abnormal experiences associated withtemporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). According to the authors, in the case of Jesus, it could have been: paranoid schizophrenia, bipolar and schizoaffective disorders.[7] They hypothesized that Jesus may have sought death through "suicide-by-proxy" (indirect suicide).[79][b]
Opinions and publications questioning the sanity of Jesus, especially Georg Lomer, Charles Binet-Sanglé and William Hirsch, caused polemical reactions. They were first challenged byAlbert Schweitzer in his doctoral thesis,The Psychiatric Study of Jesus: Exposition and Criticism,[81][2][3] (Die psychiatrische Beurteilung Jesu: Darstellung und Kritik, 1913)[82][83][30][84] and by the American theologianWalter E. Bundy [Wikidata] in his 1922 book,The psychic health of Jesus. Bundy summarized his defense of Jesus′ sanity:[85][2][3]
A pathography of Jesus is possible only upon the basis of a lack of acquaintance with the course and conclusions of New Testament criticism and an amateur application of the principles of the science of psychiatry.
— (p. 268)
Earlier the mental health of Jesus was defended by: the German Catholic theologian, professor of apologetics at theUniversity of Würzburg,Philipp Kneib (Moderne Leben-Jesu-Forschung unter dem Einflusse der Psychiatrie, 1908)[86] – against the arguments of Holtzmann, Lomer, Rasmussen and Baumann;[87] the German evangelical theologian andpastorHermann Werner [Wikidata] (Die psychische Gesundheit Jesu, 1908)[88] – against the arguments of Holtzmann, Lomer and Rasmussen;[89] and also by the German psychiatrist, chief physician of the Friedrichsberg Mental Asylum in Hamburg,Heinrich Schaefer [Wikidata] (Jesus in psychiatrischer Beleuchtung: eine Kontroverse, 1910)[90] – against the arguments of Lomer and Rasmussen.[91]
The mental health of Jesus is defended by Christian psychiatrists Olivier Quentin Hyder,[92] Pablo Martinez, andAndrew Sims.[93][94]Christian apologists, such asJosh McDowell andLee Strobel,[95][96] also take up the subject of Jesus' sanity defense. The defense of Jesus' mental health was devoted to an editorial in the magazine of Italian JesuitsLa Civiltà Cattolica, published November 5, 1994.[97] To the title questionE se Gesù si fosse ingannato? ("What if Jesus had deceived himself?") the editors replied in the negative by arguing that Jesus was not a fanatic or megalomaniac but a mentally-healthy and very realistic person. Therefore, he did not deceive himself by saying that he was themessiah and theSon of God.[98]
American biblical scholarJames H. Charlesworth, in his essayJesus Research and the Appearance of Psychobiography (2002), discusses previous attempts to write a psychobiography of Jesus. In the final reflection, he suggests that earlier (created at the beginning of the 20th century) images of a mentally disturbed, paranoid Jesus with hallucinations resulted from comparing him to paranoids in the clinics of their creators and applying Freudian psychology to ancient sources. According to the author, Jesus' intentions should be examined in the context of his place and era, using historical research.[99]
Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his bookJesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration (2007):
A broad current of liberal scholarship has interpreted Jesus′ Baptism as a vocational experience. After having led a perfectly normal life in the province of Galilee, at the moment of his Baptism he is said to have had an earth-shattering experience. It was then, we are told, that he became aware of his special relationship to God and his religious mission. This mission, moreover, supposedly originated from the expectation motif then dominant in Israel, creatively reshaped by John, and from the emotional upheaval that the event of his Baptism brought about in Jesus′ life. But none of this can be found in the texts. However much scholarly erudition goes into the presentation of this reading, it has to be seen as more akin to a "Jesus novel" than as an actual interpretation of the texts. The texts give us no window into Jesus′ inner life – Jesus stands above our psychologizing. (Guardini,Das Wesen des Christentums).[100]
American philosopher and Christian ministerRobin Meyers devotes the first chapter of his bookThe Underground Church: Reclaiming the Subversive Way of Jesus (2012)[101] to defending the mental health of Jesus. According to him, "many of those who questioned the mental health of Jesus did it to render claims about him suspect and thus dismiss the gospel as nonsense" (p. 28). Further (p. 32) the author quotesThomas Merton in reaction: "The whole concept of sanity in a society where spiritual values have lost their meaning is itself meaningless."[102]
C. S. Lewis famously considered Jesus' mental health in what is known asLewis's trilemma (the formulation quoted here is byJohn Duncan):
Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma. It is inexorable.
Theagnostic atheist New Testament scholarBart Ehrman wrote on his own blog:
And he may well have thought (I think he did think) that he would be made the messiah in the future kingdom. That may have been a rather exalted view of himself, but I don't think it makes Jesus crazy. It makes him an unusually confident apocalyptic prophet. There were others with visions of grandeur at the time. I don't think that makes him mentally ill. It makes him a first-century apocalyptic Jew.[103]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)O. Holtzmann presented Jesus as through and through an ecstatic character
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Perhaps, even earlier, Jesus Christ might simply have returned to his carpentry following the use of modern [psychiatric] treatments.
Two thousand years ago Jesus received a crown of thorns. Today the Messianic have electro-convulsive therapy.
You can only do post-hocforensic psychiatry on Koresh and Jones, butCharles Manson is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. But get it just right, and people are gonna get the day off from work on your birthday for millennia to come.
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)Indeed, John's gospel even records a tradition that Jesus was thought to be suicidal (although this was not thought to necessarily be an indication of mental illness in this period).
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