tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post5665157697573187798..comments2023-07-11T10:20:40.454+01:00Comments on Tessera: Bell, Book and CandleTKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02054609141955914429noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8425913358406411941.post-54740035613263217442017-07-20T14:31:06.966+01:002017-07-20T14:31:06.966+01:00My ex was a Pentecostal born-again type of Christi...My ex was a Pentecostal born-again type of Christian, from a small town family with similar views. She believed she had various 'gifts' including speaking in tongues and deliverance.<br /><br />Her sister believed she was possessed with something and so got my ex to do the casting out. This would happen after they were both quite drunk and had got themselves into a hyper-emotional state. This same sister would also claim she had M.E. and a host of other difficult to verify medical conditions. For background, she was also receiving medication and counselling for mental health issues. Another sister had been receiving medication for 'schizophrenia' and was an alcoholic.<br /><br />At the time, it was easy for me to scoff and ridicule, but I had not really grasped the seriousness of all three sisters conditions.and that mental health was the root cause of all their problems. The local ministers, pastors and wannabe exorcists exacerbated and prolonged their problems and ought to have encouraged them to seek professional help.<br /><br />All three sisters still indulge in old-time religion and have not resolved any of their respective medical or psychological issues. Our surviving children appear to have recovered from their bizarre upbringing, mostly because I took sole charge of them from early teens.<br /><br />The sooner religion is allowed to quietly extinguish the better.<br /><br />Great blog :-) It is a comfort to know there are rational and skeptical people willing to spend time debunking irrational beliefsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com