Both interesting links, RAZD, and relevant to a lot that comes up on EvC threads.
The suggestion that the seers, prophets and visionaries of all religions, the invententors and perpetuators of religions, may well have been epeleptics and schizophrenics is frequently made, and I suspect that the idea may be as old as religion itself.
By this I mean that for every mystic visionary, there would also be the cynics (or realists) around who would dismiss claims like "I'm speaking the word of God" by replying "you're crazy, mate."
In fact, the "you're crazy" brigade actually win out in the overwhelming majority of cases, but if the madman is charismatic and not too obviously crazy, and perhaps in the right time and place where there's public dissatisfaction and desire for something new, then a major or minor prophet can be born.
This view of things won't be too popular amongst the religious, but there's probably something in it.
So is religion madness, a kind of infectious psychological virus?
Good idea for a thread, if there's never been one on the subject.
Edited by bluegenes, : No reason given.