Letter: Religion - A Mental Illness?

by Bill Phillips

First of all, I have no illusion that I will “save your soul” as you put it or change your mind, just as your article did not change mine.  Also I have no desire to set myself up as a lightning rod for any self-glorifying cynic with his/her pet theory about agnosticism, or atheism.  However, I do not want to let your article go unchallenged.  Frankly, I was appalled at your sloppy mixture of half-truths, conjecture, ignorance and personal prejudice.      First of all, religions are not all alike.  Christianity alone has a savior who died on the cross for our sins.  Christianity alone believes that no matter how much we “behave” as you call it, or do good works, we are incapable of meeting God’s standards.  You said no one has yet, with any convincing evidence, come back from the dead.  Christianity alone has a resurrected Lord.  There is evidence, for those who take the time to look.

You also question how a God could “caretake a hundred billion galaxies”.  Well the simple answer to that is if he has the power and intellect to create them, he has the power to know and love all of its inhabitants.  Your question about a plane crash begs the old question, if God is good, how can he let bad things happen to good people?  The simple answer is that God gave man freewill.  Any amount of good or evil man can dream up, man can and does do.  As far as sparing the baby and killing 200 on the airplane, there is debate within the Christian community on the extent of God’s providence.  All Christians do not agree, neither do all skeptics. The bottom line is that Christ promised to be with us any time we ask for him for support and guidance.

You stated that desperate, oppressed people survive on the hope offered by religion; conditions that arise from the abuse of religion.  There is no disagreement between us that man in the name of Christianity has at times horribly abused it.  Again, any evil man can do, he sometimes does.  Christ, however, does not change.  And those who truly seek to follow his will, feel his love.

I am ignoring your claim that all religions are the basis of mental illness.  I have seen real mental illness and it  bears no relation to the strong people of faith and courage that I have encountered in my life.  Like you say, you know little of religion.