Stories
of Jesus casting out devils (Matthew 8:28-34, 9:32-34,
12:22-28, 17:14-20, Mark 1:23-28, 32-34, 9:14-29, Luke
4:31-36, 40-41, 8:26-39, 9:37-42, 11:14-15, 24-26) hampered
the development of humane ways of dealing with mental illness
and epilepsy.
Fortunately,
respectable clergy avoid talking about demon possession, even
though there's a lot in the Bible about the followers of
Jesus having the power to cast out devils. (Matthew 10:5-7,
Mark 6:7, and 13, 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 5:12-16).
In
A History of the Warfare of Science
with Theology in Christendom, A.D.
White gave an account of the gradual progress of scientific
ideas about mental illness against this dangerous
superstition.
