Posts Tagged belief
Faith or Psychosis? A Case Study
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on April 16, 2012
Abraham is an elderly male presenting with symptoms of acute psychosis. Physical exam, taken upon admittance, is normal. Psychiatric evaluation shows severe mental and behavioral distortion. Below is a transcript of the evaluation (P= Psychiatrist, A= Abraham).
Patient exhibits strong signs of psychosis, including delusions of grandeur and reduced capacity to recognize reality. Recommend treatment with antipsychotics, and need for increased patient awareness of disorganized thought processes. Talked with patient’s wife about the condition, explained the dosage of medication and need for increased vigilance toward mental wellbeing. Patient agreed not to make any big decisions until treatment takes effect. Patient will indefinitely postpone moving his family.
Patient also agreed to follow-up with psychiatrist in two weeks to discuss medication and other long-term prevention and self-care methods in the event of a repeat severe psychotic event. Prognosis is good. Patient has sufficient family support and shows initial compliance with treatment plan.
Which is it: FAITH or PSYCHOSIS? Sometimes it can be hard to tell…
“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8).
(This post was inspired by Genesis 12 from the Bible, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschal.)
changes ahead
Posted by annaldavis in Everything Else on November 11, 2010
Lately I’ve been a cyberhermit and have done very little blogging of my own or reading other blogs. There are several reasons for this: things are pretty busy around here, I’ve become more involved in real life and ministry, and I’ve needed more time for introspection. Also, when I make time to write it’s usually for other projects instead of this blog.
The bottom line is that I’m beginning to feel like this particular blog format has run its course, and I’m not sure what will happen next with my writing. I’m open to where God wants to lead me.
Until the path becomes clear, here are a few of my favorite posts from the past few years – posts that changed me in some way, either through the writing process or through your comments.
Spiritual, Supernatural Things (Part 2). The events described in this post and the comments that follow dramatically shaped my awareness of the spiritual realm, as it relates to questions of belief and atheism.
Pluralism and the End of the World. Studying the end-times has always fascinated me, but this particular train of thought (Babylon, pluralism, etc.) stretched me to dig deeper into the Word and the theology of last-days events.
The anti-babylon. A recent post that describes where I am now, as I become more involved in ministry. Lord, keep me from all that complicates and distracts. Help me draw near to the Kingdom of God as I help others do the same.
What has God done in your life recently? My first post, written in May 2008. I began this blog as a tool to market my book The College Precipice, but it became so much more than that for me. Strangely, a section from this post describes my current status:
Can you see God at work in your life when you remember the past four years? Now here’s the question of the day: Can you see God at work in your life in the next four years? (Hebrews 11:1 –Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.) And that’s what this blog is about — trusting God to take you into the unknown future.
So I guess I should take my own advice now, right?
rescued
Posted by annaldavis in Coffee, Everything Else on October 13, 2010
“I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God.” Mario Sepulveda, freed Chilean miner.
I’m currently sitting in a padded club chair at the back of my neighborhood Starbucks. There is a laptop computer nestled on my crossed legs (as my kids would say – “criss cross applesauce”) and a mostly empty tall house blend coffee on the round table beside me. I kicked off my flipflops some time ago and they are on the floor by my red purse, the smaller one that has forced me to cut down on what I carry around with me.
Clearly I have very little in common with the 33 miners in Chile who, as I type, are being pulled from their temporary home 2,000 feet below the earth’s surface. And yet as I read the story this morning on the web, I felt an immediate sense of identification with Sepulvada, the second miner to emerge. I was with God and with the devil. And I reached out for God.
I experience this feeling any time there is a big spiritual and/or emotional event in my life – usually when God is working to heal me and bring about some kind of rebirth in my heart. This kind of heart-work is always opposed, the enemy is always waiting in the wings to kill, steal, and destroy.
For example, last week I ran into someone from my past – someone I haven’t seen in at least 16 years and certainly didn’t expect to see while on a routine shopping trip to a nearby mall. After a brief and cordial exchange, I walked away to continue my shopping. That’s when the thoughts flew into my head – guilt-laden accusations and old negative “tapes” – a noisy din that grew increasingly louder. And then the still quiet, steady voice of Jesus – “that’s where you were. Because of Me you are no longer there, you are here with Me.”
I reached out for God then, in the midst of that noise when the devil accused me. I’m still reaching out, and my whole life is the story of His love bringing me to the surface. Back home to His Kingdom.
Let’s continue to pray for the miners as they adjust to life after this crisis. And may this event help us all to remember that our hearts have their own mine collapses, and to appreciate what Jesus has done – the depths to which He has gone – to free us.
Reach out for Him. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here (Romans 13:12).
