In this article, the author discusses the question of how to evaluate delusions with religious or spiritual content from a theological perspective. How does a spiritual care practitioner listen to such delusions? The author proposes a theory of meaning that can account for both ordinary and extraordinary experiences and discusses a list of theological criteria in terms of which spiritual care practitioners can understand delusional and other extraordinary experiences and beliefs with spiritual content.
ArendsC. (2014). If Billy Sunday comes to town: Delusions as a religious experience? The biography of Anton T. Boisen from the perspective of foundational theology.
Lit Verlag.
2.
BassettA. M.BakerC. (2015).
Normal or abnormal?: ‘Normative uncertainty’ in psychiatric practice. Journal of Medical Humanistics,
36, 89–111.
3.
BerkhofH. (1985). Introduction to the study of dogmatics.
Eerdmans.
4.
BlomJ. D. (2010). A dictionary of hallucinations.
Springer.
BrandG. (2002). Speaking of a fabulous ghost: In search of theological criteria, with special reference to the debate on salvation in African Christian theology.
Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften.
7.
BrinkG. van den. (2020). Reformed theology and evolutionary theory.
Eerdmans.
8.
BrümmerV. (1981). Theology and philosophical inquiry: An introduction.
Macmillan Press Ltd.
9.
BrümmerV. (2001). The inter-subjectivity of criteria in theology. In OlivettiM. M. (Ed.), Intersubjectivité et Théologie Philosophique (pp. 187–190).
Cedam.
10.
CampbellJ. (2001).
Rationality, meaning and the analysis of delusion. Philosophy, Psychiatry & Psychology,
8(2–3), 89–100.
11.
CarsonM. (2006a).
Fine madness: Psychosis, faith and the rehabilitation of the Christian apocalypse. The Expository Times,
117(9), 360–365.
12.
CarsonM. (2006b).
Loving, discernment, and distance: Pastoral care in schizophrenia. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling,
60(3), 227–239.
13.
ClarkeI. (Ed.). (2010). Psychosis and spirituality. Consolidating the new paradigm (2nd ed.).
Wiley-Blackwell.
14.
DanboltL. J.MøllerP.LienL.HestadK. A. (2011).
The personal significance of religiousness and spirituality in patients with schizophrenia. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion,
21, 145–158.
15.
DeinS. (2017).
Religious experience and mental health: Anthropological and psychological approaches. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
20(6), 558–566.
16.
DrinnanA.LavenderT. (2006).
Deconstructing delusions: A qualitative study examining the relationship between religious beliefs and religious delusions. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
9(4), 317–331.
17.
DunnJ. D. G. (2006). Unity and diversity in the new testament: An inquiry into the character of earliest Christianity (3rd ed.).
SCM Press.
18.
FoggieJ. (2007).
Orthodoxy or heresy? A new way of looking at spiritual care for people with delusional beliefs. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy,
10(1), 23–26.
19.
Fitchett, G. (1993). Assessing spiritual needs. A guide for caregivers. Minneapolis: Augsburgs Fortress.
20.
FretheimT. (2015).
Many will come in my name: Spiritual care for persons with a delusion of grandiosity with religious content. The Covenant Quarterly,
73(3–4), 14–29.
21.
IvyS. S. (1987).
A faith development/self-development model for pastoral assessment. The Journal of Pastoral Care,
41(4), 329–340.
22.
IvyS. S. (1988).
Pastoral diagnosis as pastoral caring. The Journal of Pastoral Care,
42(1), 81–89.
23.
JaspersK. (1953). General psychopathology (J. Hoenig & M. W. Hamilton, Trans.). Manchester University Press. (Original work published 1913).
24.
JenkinsTuckerW. J.M. E.GrimJ. (Eds.). (2017). Routledge handbook of religion and ecology.
Routledge.
25.
KustersW. (2020). Philosophy of madness. The experience of psychotic thinking.
MIT Press.
26.
LenzH. (1983).
Belief and delusion: Their common origin but different course of development. Zygon,
18(2), 117–137.
27.
LucasS. (2017).
Assessing transcendental experiences vs mental illness. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling,
71(4), 267–273.
28.
MillerR.McCormackJ. (2006).
Faith and religious delusions in first-episode schizophrenia. Social Work in Mental Health,
4(4), 37–50.
29.
Melville, H. ([1924]/1976). Billy Budd, Sailor & Other Stories. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, p. 379.
30.
MitchellB. (1994). Faith and criticism.
Clarendon Press.
31.
MohrS.BorrasL.BetriseyC.Pierre-YvesB.GillieronC.HuguelerP. (2010).
Delusions with religious content in patients with psychosis: How they interact with spiritual coping.Psychiatry,
73(2), 158–172.
32.
NgF. (2007).
The interface between religion and psychosis.Australasian Psychiatry,
15(1), 62–66.
33.
O’ConnorS.VandenbergB. (2010).
Differentiating psychosis and faith: The role of social norms and religious fundamentalism. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
13(2), 171–186.
34.
O’HearA. (2013). Experience, explanation and faith.
Routledge.
35.
OuwehandE.WongK.BoeijeH.BraamA. (2014).
Revelation, delusion or disillusion: Subjective interpretations of religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
17(6), 615–628.
36.
OuwehandE.MuthertH.ZockH.BoeijeH.BraamA. (2018).
Sweet delight and endless night: A qualitative exploration of ordinary and extraordinary religious and spiritual experiences in bipolar disorder. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion,
28(1), 31–54.
37.
PattisonS. (1994). Pastoral care and liberation theology.
Cambridge University Press.
38.
PecheyR.HalliganP. (2011).
The prevalence of delusion-like beliefs relative to sociocultural beliefs in the general population. Psychopathology,
44, 106–115.
39.
PetersE. (2010). Are delusions on a continuum? The case of religious and delusional beliefs. In Clarke, I. (Ed.), Psychosis and spirituality. Consolidating the new paradigm (2nd ed., pp. 127–138).
Wiley-Blackwell.
40.
PesutB.ClarkN.MaxwellV.MichalakE. E. (2011).
Religion and spirituality in the context of bipolar disorder: A literature review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
14(8), 785–796.
41.
PierreJ. M. (2001).
Faith or delusion? At the crossroads of religion and psychosis.Journal of Psychiatric Practice,
7, 163–172.
42.
PlantingaA. (2000). Warranted Christian belief.
OUP.
43.
PruyserP. (1976). The minister as diagnostician.
Westminster Press.
44.
RørthC. (2017). De dag dat ik Jezus ontmoette [The day I met Jesus].
Wereldbibliotheek.
45.
RosenleitnerJ.RittmannsbergerH. (2013).
Zwischen Glauben und Wahn. Neuropsychiatrie,
27, 212–216.
46.
SaavedraJ. (2014).
Function and meaning in religious delusions: A theoretical discussion from a case study. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
17(1), 39–51.
47.
Siddle, R., Haddock, G., Tarrier, N. & Faragher, E. B. (2002). Religious delusions in patients admitted to hospital with schizophrenia. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 37(3), 130–138.
48.
SiddleR.HaddockG.TarrierN.FaragherE. B. (2004).
Religious beliefs and religious delusions: Response to treatment in schizophrenia. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
7(3), 211–223.
49.
SimsA. (2009). Is faith delusion? Why religion is good for your health.
Continuum.
50.
SuhailK.GhauriS. (2010).
Phenomenology of delusions and hallucinations in schizophrenia by religious convictions. Mental Health, Religion & Culture,
13(3), 245–259.
51.
SwintonJ. (2000). Resurrecting the person. Friendship and the care of people with mental health problems.
Abingdon Press.
52.
Van HoltenW. (2003). Explanation within the bounds of religion.
Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften.
53.
WaltmanS. (2013).
Cross-cultural considerations for differentiating between religiosity and psychosis. Health, Interprofessional Practice & Education,
1(4), 1–6.
54.
WilesM. (2009). The making of Christian doctrine.
CUP. (Original work published 1967).
55.
WittgensteinL. (1966). Lectures and conversations on aesthetics, psychology and religious belief (C. Barrett, Ed.).
Basil Blackwell.
56.
YpmaS. (2005). Tussen God en gekte. [Between God and insanity. A study in certainty and symbolization in psychosis and faith].
Boekencentrum.
