[April 2004 journal entry]
Last month another “God told me to . . .” tragedy occurred. A Texas woman stoned to death two of her young children. She was an active member of a fundamentalist church. The pastor was quoted in the newspaper coverage. As in other similar cases, psychiatrists concluded this woman was suffering from a psychotic break, a mental collapse. Instead, I can imagine the woman hearing stories in Jewish scripture and Christian scripture -- such as Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice Isaac in response to the voice of ‘God’ (which the Apostle Paul exalted in his letters) -- uncritically told/endorsed in sermons time and again. I would hold her ‘religious’ thought-world accountable for her tragic behavior.