Exorcism?

Another thought of the day:

I’ve been reading about the Romanian nun, who was schizophrenic that was crucified because “she was demon possessed”.

The craziest thing about it is that this type of thing is just as prevalent in the United States, even in this day & age….I read about an 8 year old autistic boy who was killed in the U.S. during an exorcism…and not too long ago an epileptic kid died during a seizure because his parents took his medicine away & tried to have demons expelled from him.

As a Christian, I believe in demon possession; however, with the medical knowledge of our times, you would think that mental illness would be discovered before a person was thought to be overtaken by a demon. I’ve heard of demon possessed people who could speak languages that they had never learned…now, that’s not a mental illness, that’s just down right freaky. I would certainly hope that if I started speaking in Russian like I had lived there all my life someone would figure out that I needed help that medicine couldn’t provide….and certainly, I would hope that I would not be killed in the process.

The monastery where the nun was killed was pretty much in the middle of nowhere, with no running water or electricity. The priest that killed her had lived there for 4 years. Maybe he went nuts or something?

This kind of thing makes me want to get active in NAMI (The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) or something. I think I will.

This is from the NAMI website:

NAMI StigmaBusters is a group of dedicated advocates across the country and around the world who seek to fight the inaccurate, hurtful representations of mental illness. Whether these images are found in TV, film, print, or other media, StigmBusters speak out and challenge stereotypes in an effort to educate society about the reality of mental illness and the courageous struggles faced by consumers and families every day. StigmaBusters' goal is to break down the barriers of ignorance, prejudice, or unfair discrimination by promoting education, understanding, and respect.

There’s also information to contact your representatives on many issues that pertain to the mentally ill. The website is www.nami.org If anyone knows any other sites, please post them. I think amnesty international does some stuff for the mentally ill that are in prison. Anyway, that’s my mission of the day…find some way to fight stigma. I'm riled up.