-Caveat Lector-
6/14/99
If there is only one almighty truth in this universe, it's that
religion
causes insanity. Religion is the only communicable mental illness.
Thank god I'm an atheist!
Joshua2
=================
Das GOAT wrote:
>
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> Doesn't take much to unhinge a "fundy jeezoid" (thanks, Ric!).
>
> 2000 May Fuel Jerusalem Syndrome
>
> By LAURIE COPANS
> .c The Associated Press
>
> JERUSALEM (AP) - Jerusalem Syndrome strikes with little warning: After a few
> days in the holy city, seemingly normal pilgrims imagine they are biblical
> figures, sing psalms at the top of their lungs, preach to passers-by or dress
> up in hotel bedsheets.
>
> Jerusalem clergymen and officials came together Monday to discuss ways to
> spot and deal with the mental illness, which one psychiatrist says may strike
> as many as one in 100 pilgrims and disrupt Jesus' 2000th birthday
> celebrations.
>
> About 4 million Christian pilgrims are expected to visit Israel and the
> Palestinian areas in 2000.
>
> ``There are feelings (in Israel) that this could turn a national celebration
> into a national nightmare,'' said Clarence Wagner, director of Bridges for
> Peace, a group that advocates close ties between Christian groups and Israel
> and sponsored Monday's discussion.
>
> Trying to allay such concerns, Monsignor Richard Mathes, the Vatican's
> cultural attache in Israel, said that in 20 years in Israel, he had only seen
> two Catholics suffering from the syndrome.
>
> Protestants are more vulnerable, apparently because their beliefs are less
> structured than those of the Catholics, Mathes said.
>
> The Jerusalem mental health commissioner, Dr. Yair Barel, who first diagnosed
> Jerusalem Syndrome, predicted about 40,000 millennium pilgrims might suffer
> from religious delusions.
>
> Of those, some 600 to 800 pilgrims may need to be hospitalized and some may
> become dangerous, Barel said.
>
> ``The danger exists that someone will try to do something very violent,''
> Barel said. ``But the appropriate authorities are thinking about this and
> dealing with it.''
>
> Israeli authorities had a taste of religious extremism fueled by millennial
> fervor when a Denver-based cult, the Concerned Christians, moved to Israel
> several months ago.
>
> Police kept the group under surveillance, suspecting its members were
> plotting to carry out violent acts near holy sites to hasten an apocalypse
> and the Second Coming of Christ.
>
> Cult members, who have denied wrongdoing, were eventually detained and
> deported to the United States, but have pledged to return.
>
> One of Barel's recent patients, a Cincinnati school teacher, began showing
> symptoms after visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where tradition says
> Jesus was buried and resurrected.
>
> Two days after arriving in the city, the teacher began washing himself and
> shampooing his hair in a desperate frenzy to make himself pure. He fashioned
> his hotel sheets into white clothing and began shouting psalms.
>
> The man recovered after a few tranquilizers and calls home, Barel said.
>
> In Jerusalem's City Hall, officials deal with Jerusalem Syndrome as seriously
> as they do with traffic jams and overcrowded holy sites.
>
> ``We are very aware that some people may take (violent) actions,'' said
> Michael Wiel, a consultant working with the municipality. He would not
> provide details.
>
> Mathes said that a visit by Pope John Paul II, which Israeli officials say is
> set for March, could bring more religious fanatics to Israel.
>
> ``We fear radical groups may use this visit to do something,'' Mathes said.
>
> However, he said he believed the Israeli authorities are well prepared and
> will be able to prevent any violence at holy sites.
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