It took a while to read all the parts (so many small children running around!) but here goes:
My background is in this field and I was also saved about 3 years ago. I've also taken my fair share of psychedelics, so I have first-hand experience with hallucinations. This author is incredibly spot-on. His best argument IMO is that the voices have a pattern to them, they are not random/mixed as one would expect with hallucinations. The content also has a sinister, destructive element to it which results in social alienation and destruction of one's support systems (ie divorce, loss of job, homelessness).
Then there's the strange phenomena of medication non compliance. If the symptoms are that distressing, why would they not take their meds regardless of the side effects? For comparison, depression meds have the side effects of loss of libido, weight gain, and feeling dull or numb, and I would argue that depression is not nearly as bad as hearing disembodied voices with the most negative content, but depressed people still take their meds because the benefits outweigh the side effects.
On the Christian side of the house, there's a preacher who also works in this realm, Frank Hammond, who wrote Pugs in the Parlor which is his argument that schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are demon possession. TL;DR bad experiences in childhood open you up to destructive coping mechanisms that invite demons. He has a deliverance process but I haven't gotten that far yet.
Finally, the industry of mental health and social work is so ineffective and stubborn, you have to wonder if the proponents don't have their own agenda. Keep people sick -> more loosh/continued insurance payments?
It took a while to read all the parts (so many small children running around!) but here goes:
My background is in this field and I was also saved about 3 years ago. I've also taken my fair share of psychedelics, so I have first-hand experience with hallucinations. This author is incredibly spot-on. His best argument IMO is that the voices have a pattern to them, they are not random/mixed as one would expect with hallucinations. The content also has a sinister, destructive element to it which results in social alienation and destruction of one's support systems (ie divorce, loss of job, homelessness).
Then there's the strange phenomena of medication non compliance. If the symptoms are that distressing, why would they not take their meds regardless of the side effects? For comparison, depression meds have the side effects of loss of libido, weight gain, and feeling dull or numb, and I would argue that depression is not nearly as bad as hearing disembodied voices with the most negative content, but depressed people still take their meds because the benefits outweigh the side effects.
On the Christian side of the house, there's a preacher who also works in this realm, Frank Hammond, who wrote Pugs in the Parlor which is his argument that schizophrenia and other mental illnesses are demon possession. TL;DR bad experiences in childhood open you up to destructive coping mechanisms that invite demons. He has a deliverance process but I haven't gotten that far yet.
Finally, the industry of mental health and social work is so ineffective and stubborn, you have to wonder if the proponents don't have their own agenda. Keep people sick -> more loosh/continued insurance payments?