I wrote this in response to something written by a friend of a friend. He’s a nurse. He was comparing mental illness with faith. Despite his doubts, he wrote that he still believes in God.

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I agree that people shouldn’t be unwilling to express doubts in long-held beliefs. Blind, unchallenged loyalty to a set of ideals or beliefs is indeed foolish, but not all loyalty is blind or unchallenged.

It’s interesting to me that you’re equating faith with mental illness. I used to hear voices, legitimately debilitating auditory hallucinations. I spent time in a psych ward, and I took anti-psychotic and other meds for seven years. One day I went to church, and the voices just vanished. I know how this sounds, but I kid you not. It’s possible that you’ll write this off as a manifestation of some other form of mental illness on my part, but I know that it isn’t. I’m sure you know that high-functioning mentally ill people are remarkably self-aware. This is necessary for survival, for day-to-day living. And even before I became ill, I had always subscribed to Socrates’ idea that the unexamined life is not worth living. I’m pretty sure I can distinguish between my sanity and my insanity, but if you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe my doctors — I’m off all meds now.

Of course I wondered if this was all just placebo effect. And I had plenty of other questions, some of which I’m sure you’ve also considered (you mentioned Darwin etc.). You hit the nail on the head when you wrote this: “Today, if a homeless person spoke of such things and claimed to be a prophet, would his words be believed by millions the same way John the apostle’s were? How would any person from the Bible be treated today, would they be revered and worshipped or placed under a long term involuntary admission into La Casa Psychiatric Health Center?” That is precisely the choice that we all have to make. Either you decide that Jesus (not John; John was human) had no credibility and was insane for claiming that he was the Son of God, or you believe what he said about being “the way, the truth and the life.” The thing is: Jesus rose from the dead. No other religious icon or spiritual teacher has demonstrated such a feat. For more on this subject, I recommend the following books: The Case for Christ, written by a formerly atheist investigative journalist named Lee Strobel; and God’s Not Dead, by Rice Broocks. (The latter discusses Darwin.) Jesus’ resurrection is the singular event upon which Christianity hinges. It’s also one of the most well-attested events in history. Here are two more names: Simon Greenleaf and Lionel Luckhoo. Greenleaf, a co-founder of Harvard Law School and the author of A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, was challenged to examine the evidence for the resurrection. He emerged from that exercise no longer atheist. Luckhoo is identified by Guinness World Records as the most successful lawyer. He also investigated the resurrection and emerged a Christian. I encourage you to keep asking “what is the truth” as you are doing. It seems to me that you’re unsure. There are some things of which it’s arrogant to be certain, but I think it’s possible to be a bit more sure than you currently are about the difference between faith and mental illness.

Unfortunately, it’s true that many self-professed Christians do not actually live according to Jesus’ teachings. And I agree with the point in one of the comments about people using God as an excuse to renounce personal responsibility. But these aren’t how real Christians should be living. That is to our shame, but, well, we’re human. Ultimately, I hope you’d look not at us but at God.

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He replied to me. Just “thank you” and a few kind words.