Valet Kris was telling me about the movie The Exorcism of Emily Rose. He, of course, believes in evil spirits and his father, who is not prone to exaggeration, has apparently performed exorcisms wherein the demon has named him. Fascinating. Kris said that the demons went after her because she was Christian and I asked, “Where were her defenses? Where were her angels? Where was God?” He said that enduring the “possession” was her cross to bear and that, by showing the devil, she revealed the existence of, and need for, God in the world. Listening to Kris describe the evil spirits plaguing this woman I had to ask, could she have been mentally ill?
The Bible says that Jesus cast evil spirits out of people. I believe that people of his time, in their medical ignorance, believed viruses and illnesses to be evil spirits. If they housed evil spirits, they must have done something bad. Therefore, illness is the result of moral transgressions. At some level, we continue to believe this today.
Why do we associate illness with good and evil? Why is illness a moral issue? Do we really think that people with AIDS or cancer or TB (the cancer diagnosis equivalent of the past centuries) DID something to CAUSE their illness – that they brought it on themselves? Why do we think we can avoid getting these “moral” diseases by not talking about them or by avoiding them all together?
Simply by asking, “Why me? Why do I have this disease?” we are asking for a moral explanation. Perhaps there is no inherent meaning in illness. What if people just get sick – for no reason?
5 comments:
Or, what if people get sick because they have been victims of the poor choices we make in society ... pesticides on our fruit, toxins in our water, hazardous materials in our soil, materials in our buildings that once were useful, now toxic (ie. lead paint, asbestos siding, etc.) ... all of which are supposed to sustain us (food, water, shelter). But are they instead making us sick?
Just thoughts to ponder for this Friday morning ...
OMG (oh my god) I have missed reading your blog. I had no idea how much until just now.
The internet comes to my house one week from today. Maybe I'll make one of those paper ring chains to count it down.
bdoc-
I was watching a show on cable access about the Gershon Diet, which is supposed to "unpoison" us. It scared the hell out of me - all that talk of poisons in the environment that gets into our food. Possession by pollutants!
...this subject was just covered in the book I am reading "The Poision Wood Bible", by B. Kingsolver. The night the ants invaded the village. Or the night the Hurricane, the cancer or a plague hit were these devised by God as tests of our faith? No, she has no need to give us crosses to bear, we take care of that our lazy selves. By wanting someone else to grow our food and prepare it and cook.... Serve up some cause and effect, with a side of healthy natural action and reaction, and for desert Karma with a cherry on top. I think I am going to be sick. "Well go sit on the toilet!", Dad's favorite advice.
Wow! Jmtoo, that was... beautiful. Write me a letter! That's all I ask of you brother.
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