Deconstructing Religious Experiences II

Lucy and Matt have been married for 12 years. They just moved to a new neighborhood, and into a new house that captures quite vividly the dream home they have imagined for a long time. For most passers-by, they are living the dream. Life is good, is it not? Matt is arriving home from work one day and his 10-year-old daughter rushes to meet and welcome him, full of glee and excitement. A few meters before she reaches him, she collapses on the lawn and begins to convulse violently, and foaming at her mouth. The words that slip from Matt’s mouth, while rushing in panic in an attempt to catch her before she slammed her head on the ground, were, “Oh Not Again!”, and calls out to his wife who got home earlier. Yes, not again, because this has happened before. This is an imaginary scenario. What do you think would have been the couple’s first reaction to help or save their daughter? And when it had happened the first time what would have been their initial impression of what might have been wrong with their daughter? Would the reaction have been thus, our daughter is having an epileptic seizure and then proceed to dial 911 and quickly rush her to the hospital or perhaps get her some drugs that have been prescribed for such a situation? Or would their reaction have been thus, our daughter is possessed by a spirit and then proceed to take her to the nearest chapel or prayer camp? Answer sincerely and in the meanwhile, let me draw your attention to a popular story set in the days of Jesus. A father’s reaction to the exact same condition was to seek out Jesus and when he found his disciples instead, proceeded to ask them to cast out a spirit from the child(Mark 9:17-27).

Question: On what basis could the father claim that his dear child was possessed by a mute spirit, given that the diagnosis was not pronounced by Jesus nor the disciples, but by the father himself? And it is worth noting that both the disciples and Jesus responded accordingly, ie they performed an exorcism as their method for healing the child. If my guess is right, your answer for our imaginary couple’s reaction would have been they would seek medical attention, and even if they were religious, at best they might be praying in their hearts while giving their child the best medical care they can afford. Maybe you might even have believed like the father and the people from the first century that a devil is behind the child’s predicament, despite seeking medical attention. And to that, I would ask if medical practice applies to the idea of creatures we call spirits or demons.

The essence of this post is not to argue about the validity of an exorcism during such a scenario nor to cast a slur on the personality of Jesus. I merely seek to point out that culture exerts a very defining influence on how people both interpret and communicate their experience of life. Our ancestors have known the powers of the leaves of the Neem tree long before the doctor of pharmacy program was introduced in our universities. Yet we know for a fact that such leaves, and similar crude methods EVEN THOUGH OUR ANCESTORS ATTRIBUTED THEIR KNOWLEDGE TO THEIR GODS, RATHER THAN INTUITION OR SCIENCE, DID, IN FACT, DRIVE AWAY THE SYMPTOMS OF MANY AILMENTS. By science, I meant simply having a hypothesis or idea and testing it through trial and error. It was an active process that even our forefathers who considered themselves medicine men also practiced, yet attributed their discoveries to revelation from the gods. The point is, just because a particular method seemed to work, does not necessarily imply that the way that method was understood or communicated was a true reflection of the underlying reality of that experience or what seemed to work.

This is what Deconstruction is about. By acknowledging the impact of issues like the culture on religious texts, we open ourselves to a more nuanced approach to interpretation that often challenges entrenched dogmatic positions. Was Jesus supposed to know about the many different things that could affect the brain and lead to epilepsy? Of what use would that knowledge have been to a superstitious generation that could see a child visibly shaking as though controlled by another unseen entity? The child’s father did not come to Jesus, seeking a diagnosis. In his mind, it was obvious what he thought it was, and everyone in his day and culture saw it that way. All he needed was a powerful exorcist to drive the spirit away and set his child, free. Today, treatment for epilepsy typically involves the use of antiepileptic medications, which are prescribed based on the individual's seizure type and frequency. These medications help reduce or prevent seizures in many cases. Other treatment options for epilepsy may include a ketogenic diet, vagus nerve stimulation, or in some cases, surgical interventions. Although, in about half of the cases, the specific cause may not be known; referred to as idiopathic epilepsy, it can still be managed and treated effectively.