Mark 6 (Walk on the Water)….Does It Teach that Jesus Believed in Ghosts?

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

If you are a Christian and believe in ghosts, are you open to changing your mind if the bible teaches otherwise? I certainly hope so…He demands absolute submission in all areas of life, including what we believe.

It has surprised me the number of seminary trained Christians whom I respect who point to the text in Mark 6 as proof positive that Jesus believed in ghosts. They say it is the clearest text of Jesus affirming the existence of human spirits/ghosts populating the earth, and that Jesus Himself believed in ghosts because He did not correct his disciples when they thought/said Jesus was a ghost as He walked on the water. Though I dealt with this in my book, I want to address this again in more detail. What I want to do is take the cumulative evidence to show that Jesus was NOT affirming the existence of ghosts. As we shall see, the Holy Spirit's intent for this text is antithetical to the notion of ghosts.

To interpret a passage correctly you have to understand the context, and what the Holy Spirit’s intent was/is in writing this story of Jesus walking on the water.

"Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid." 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened."

1.It is important to put this text in context. Mark, spokesman for Peter, wrote this "docudrama" in order to persuade people to be followers of Jesus--words and actions of Jesus are presented by Mark to draw true disciples to our Divine Messiah.
This episode is "hooked" into the preceding narrative of Jesus miraculously feeding over 10,000 people by using the word "immediately".(5,000 was just the men) Jesus is trying to show his obtuse disciples that He was the "greater then Moses" by giving us eternal Bread, and not ephemeral manna.The parallel text in Matthew 14, which includes Peter walking on the water, is also followed by the word "immediately". This is important because the authors want us to connect what had just happened (empirical evidence of Jesus' deity as seen in miracle of feeding of large multitude)The disciples were eyewitnesses of this profound miracle.
In order to interpret this text correctly, we must remember that didactic/teaching texts interpret historical narratives.Both in the OT and NT followers of God did and said many wrong things, which are not always corrected by the editor. The classic case is Jepthah (Judges 11:30--who vowed to kill the first thing that came out of his tent, if God gave him victory. His daughter came out of his tent to congratulate him and was condemned to death. Jepthah had made an unbiblical vow--which the bible had made provisions for him to repent of. However, it seems that he did not repent and felt obliged to follow through with his horrible vow--he killed his daughter. However, the editor does not explicitly condemn this act. The inspired editor assumed prior knowledge of his readers. Anyone conversant with Leviticus/Deuteronomy would know  that wrongful vows should not be acted upon, and that Jepthah SHOULD have known human sacrifice was repugnant to God. The editor assumes this prior knowledge, but does not give commentary. That is that danger of drawing doctrine from the silence of historical narrative. The same is true of the NT.Many evil words and actions are recorded in the historical books of the bible but are not always condemned. It is HISTORY….a record of events In the NT there are numerous examples of the disciples saying/doing wacko things prior to Pentecost,but Jesus did not always correct them (e.g. Transfiguration experience where Peter stuck his foot in his mouth, again)....a precedent of the disciple NOT being rebuked by Jesus for saying stupid things.

2. What was the Holy Spirit's intent in above text? Was it to prove the notion of ghosts? NO!! This text, and its parallel text in Matthew 14. was included to prove that Jesus was Yahweh! How sad and ironic that it is used to "prove" that Jesus believed in ghosts.
Jesus intentionally "walked by them" in order for them to see Him, and thus give empirical evidence that He was the Creator of Heaven and Earth. By walking on the water Jesus wanted them to see Him walking in the midst of a ferocious storm to show He was the Lord of creation. "it is I....."ego eimi"...I AM" echoing Exodus 3:14 )By walking on the water in a furious storm He was demonstrating that He was Lord over creation, and that there was no need to be afraid.
Not only Jesus' actions but His words were designed to show the disciples that He was/is God Almighty. The Septuagint uses the same word for "passed by" when Moses experienced God "passing by" him) Exodus 33:19,22....giving Moses/disciples a glimpse of God's glory. In Mark 6:48 "walking on the sea" echoes the Septuagint Job 9:8 where "God trampled upon the sea"....same Greek words. The Holy Spirit's intent in this text is to accent the deity of the Lord Jesus--King over creation (see Mark 4).

3. First century Judaism was rife with superstition and theological confusion. For example, Jewish leaders believed in salvation by good works, and the popular superstition of a plentitude of ghosts was rampant, as it has been since the dawn of time. Peter and the rest of the disciples were deeply effected by common superstition, and were very slow to change until after Pentecost.

4. Why would they call Jesus a "ghost" when they had just seem him a few hours earlier...very much alive? Was He a ghost of a living Person? Perhaps they were terrified because they thought this was a demon trying to deceive them? That is an option not often mentioned. Either way, with an abundance evidence for Jesus' deity, why would they call Him a ghost? How could God be a ghost?!This is (and the parallel text) is the only place that "phantasm" is used, which can mean superstitious imagination.

5. Recall that the Holy Spirits intent was to exalt the deity of Jesus, and the disciples de-exalted Him by calling Him a "ghost".

6. So, why did not Jesus correct them?  First, we do not know if Jesus corrected them or not because in many cases the entirety of what Jesus said is not recorded. But my guess is that He did not correct them....not then, anyway. Why? They were deathly afraid! He was keen on comforting them, and not correcting them.It is an argument from silence to say that Jesus must have agreed with them since He did not correct them.The most common negative command that Jesus uttered was, "Do no be afraid!"
If your child was drowning, and you jumped in to save them, what would be your first words to them?

7. In a context in which the deity of Jesus is being accented, it must have broken Jesus' heart that His disciples responded so faithlessly. He "walked by" in a manner to empirically display His Lordship over the storm, but the lesson was lost on them. Instead they became wild-eyed with fear, and superstition enveloped them like a cocoon.

8. To say that Jesus must have believed in roaming human spirits because He did not (that we know of)correct His disciples, is an argument from silence--a logical fallacy. Jesus/apostles did warn us of Satan and demons, but they never warn us of roaming human spirits. This is NOT an argument from silence because knowing who populates the spirit realm is utterly necessary for discernment and victory in spiritual warfare. In the gospels we have many instances of Jesus casting out demons. However, there is not a single instance of human spirits seeking their Creator to send them to the light, nor did Jesus have a ministry in which He sought to help earthbound spirits. And neither do the epistles address the issue as something we should be involved in. It seems paranormal investigators have more knowledge or more compassion than Jesus did.

9. Not all historical narratives are bereft of teaching or editorial comment.v.52 is an inspired editorial commentary on this whole episode--they were afraid and their hearts were hardened. Faith Vs fear, and teachability vs hardened hearts. Unlike many historical narratives, this one is concluded with an editorial comment. This is extremely important in interpreting this text accurately. Everything...EVERYTHING...the disciples did and said has a shadow cast over it. Everything they said and did was compelled by fear and hard-heartedness. Their comment re: Jesus being a ghost was an expression of both fear and hardness of heart. They did not learn from the feeding of the 5,000 (or the 4,000) that Jesus was God almighty. How utterly tragic that they would call Him a ghost, when what He was doing and saying displayed that He was the culmination of the I AM". It is difficult to over-state the significance of this concluding comment...it renders the ghost comment utterly suspect.

10. The epistles were written largely to interpret the actions and words of Jesus.

To those who are unduly affected by the fact that the bible does not mention Jesus correcting their comment that He was a ghost, was He a ghost in that text? NO! As parents, do we correct our kids EVERY TIME they make a mistake? The bible says that would break their spirits if we do. If your child was in danger of drowning and was frightened, would you feel the need to immediately correct them of anything dumb they may have uttered in their terror? I hope not....rather we would embrace them.

With an issue as significant as ghosts, we cannot camp on a text in which we are told explicitly that they were full of terror and hardness of heart, which casts a long shadow over everything they said. It is much more plausible that their cry of "ghost" was fueled by superstition.

It saddens me how folks who do believe in ghosts assert that those of us who don’t believe in ghosts are allegedly “close-minded”. As disciples of Christ, our minds are to be ’held captive by the word of God’. That is, we are to rightly divide the word of truth….interpret the bible correctly and believe what the bible says/teaches. To make this text into something it is not, is an example of close-mindedness.

If you believe in ghosts, are you ‘open’ to having your mind changed if the bible teaches otherwise? My observation is that many Christians who are fascinated with the paranormal are not teachable re this issue. The result is that they have one foot in the Word and the other foot in the occult. When that happens one cannot avoid getting hurt. It is out of compassion that I plead with you to let the paranormal loosen its hold on you. The only disembodied spirits are in heaven or hell. Call it simplistic or close-minded, but it is what Genesis to Revelation teaches.

This text, rightly interpreted, does NOT infer the existence of ghosts. Rather, the Holy Spirit wants us to see that Jesus is the Divine Messiah…Yahweh!

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

The Mountain of the Dead and Other Musings from Deuteronomy

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

My guess is that a good percentage of you have seen the recent documentary which explores the terrible deaths of a dozen Russian young people in 1959. An American explorer and a Russian interpreter--Mike and Maria--spent time investigating the alleged Yeti deaths of these young people (25 years old and younger). "Yeti" is the generic term for the dozens of names for "Bigfoot". In this documentary was real footage of the doomed outing in the Ural Mountains. I must confess it was some of the most disturbing film/audio I have ever seen or heard. These dozen young adults fled their tent mostly in their underwear, despite the sub-zero weather conditions. The sound of the attacker raised the hair on the back of my neck....it was a horrific howl. Watching the blurry, eye-witness video of them screaming and running away was heart rending. All of them were torn apart by a force much greater then anything we know of in the natural realm.The last pictures they snapped were of an odd light in the sky....and then then blood curdling screams of men and women fleeing in utter terror....with this unnatural scream/howl in close proximity.

Mike and Maria discovered that all of this occurred at he base of the "Mountain of the Dead".

Even though there are many undiscovered species, I am convinced that Yeti/Bigfoot is demonic.I have seen almost every episode of search for Bigfoot (Bobo, Cliff, etc.), and there are two things which seem certain--Something is really there (so many sightings), and this Something cannot be captured...Despite thousands of searchers it remains elusive. That is problematic.

While reading Deuteronomy recently, I was struck by how spiritually polluting human death was/is....Death did not just render one unclean, but death (especially murder) polluted the land. Despite all the differences in the paranormal community, one constant is that human death opens a door...it spiritually pollutes the area. The difference lies in...WHY? HOW?. The Mountain of the Dead or any area where human death has occurred or corpses are laid to rest will act as a magnet to the demonic. They are spiritual vultures and are drawn to the human remains of their "prey".That is why it is suicidal to investigate a cemetery.

Let me shift gears to Deuteronomy 18, where the Holy Spirit juxtaposes the occultic sins of of trying to "pass through the veil" on our own, and the means God has sovereignly ordained for knowing God's will (passing through the veil)--via the prophets....TRUE PROPHETS.  This chapter is exceedingly important in the whole paranormal/ghost debate. One argument goes like this--"God would not have forbidden attempts to speak to the dead, unless it were possible." On the surface, it seems plausible, but it commits numerous fallacies. The Argument from Silence...the text does not affirm the existence of trapped human spirits--one has to construct it from silence, which is fallacious. In addition,  the teaching of ALL SOULS APPEARING IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THEIR JUDGE THE SECOND THEY DIE would be contradicted....Further, to push this logic consistently would lead to all kinds of heresy and weirdness. For example, to be consistent, we would have to admit the existence of false gods (other gods) since we are told not to worship the "gods of the pagans". Why tell us to not worship other gods unless they exist? Why disallow speaking to psychics unless they have the ability to speak to the dead? There are dozens of horrible inferences that could be made if we followed this line of logic. The problem is that even theologians are not trained in critical thinking.Many people have fallen prey to the fallacious reasoning--God would not have forbidden attempting to speak to the dead unless it were possible to communicate with the dead. Following the rules of basic interpretation, we know that alleged other gods and alleged trapped spirits are both demonic.

"They sacrificed to demons that were no gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger." (Deuteronomy 32:17)

The notion of Yeti and (more certainly) the notion of trapped spirits are demonic. Sightings of both are escalating quickly....you will NOT capture a Yeti and and you will NOT capture a ghost---demons don't dig being captured.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

The Mountain of the Dead and Other Musings from Deuteronomy

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

My guess is that a good percentage of you have seen the recent documentary which explores the terrible deaths of a dozen Russian young people in 1959. An American explorer and a Russian interpreter--Mike and Maria--spent time investigating the alleged Yeti deaths of these young people (25 years old and younger). "Yeti" is the generic term for the dozens of names for "Bigfoot". In this documentary was real footage of the doomed outing in the Ural Mountains. I must confess it was some of the most disturbing film/audio I have ever seen or heard. These dozen young adults fled their tent mostly in their underwear, despite the sub-zero weather conditions. The sound of the attacker raised the hair on the back of my neck....it was a horrific howl. Watching the blurry, eye-witness video of them screaming and running away was heart rending. All of them were torn apart by a force much greater then anything we know of in the natural realm.The last pictures they snapped were of an odd light in the sky....and then then blood curdling screams of men and women fleeing in utter terror....with this unnatural scream/howl in close proximity.

Mike and Maria discovered that all of this occurred at he base of the "Mountain of the Dead".

Even though there are many undiscovered species, I am convinced that Yeti/Bigfoot is demonic.I have seen almost every episode of search for Bigfoot (Bobo, Cliff, etc.), and there are two things which seem certain--Something is really there (so many sightings), and this Something cannot be captured...Despite thousands of searchers it remains elusive. That is problematic.

While reading Deuteronomy recently, I was struck by how spiritually polluting human death was/is....Death did not just render one unclean, but death (especially murder) polluted the land. Despite all the differences in the paranormal community, one constant is that human death opens a door...it spiritually pollutes the area. The difference lies in...WHY? HOW?. The Mountain of the Dead or any area where human death has occurred or corpses are laid to rest will act as a magnet to the demonic. They are spiritual vultures and are drawn to the human remains of their "prey".That is why it is suicidal to investigate a cemetery.

Let me shift gears to Deuteronomy 18, where the Holy Spirit juxtaposes the occultic sins of of trying to "pass through the veil" on our own, and the means God has sovereignly ordained for knowing God's will (passing through the veil)--via the prophets....TRUE PROPHETS.  This chapter is exceedingly important in the whole paranormal/ghost debate. One argument goes like this--"God would not have forbidden attempts to speak to the dead, unless it were possible." On the surface, it seems plausible, but it commits numerous fallacies. The Argument from Silence...the text does not affirm the existence of trapped human spirits--one has to construct it from silence, which is fallacious. In addition,  the teaching of ALL SOULS APPEARING IMMEDIATELY BEFORE THEIR JUDGE THE SECOND THEY DIE would be contradicted....Further, to push this logic consistently would lead to all kinds of heresy and weirdness. For example, to be consistent, we would have to admit the existence of false gods (other gods) since we are told not to worship the "gods of the pagans". Why tell us to not worship other gods unless they exist? Why disallow speaking to psychics unless they have the ability to speak to the dead? There are dozens of horrible inferences that could be made if we followed this line of logic. The problem is that even theologians are not trained in critical thinking.Many people have fallen prey to the fallacious reasoning--God would not have forbidden attempting to speak to the dead unless it were possible to communicate with the dead. Following the rules of basic interpretation, we know that alleged other gods and alleged trapped spirits are both demonic.

"They sacrificed to demons that were no gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger." (Deuteronomy 32:17)

The notion of Yeti and (more certainly) the notion of trapped spirits are demonic. Sightings of both are escalating quickly....you will NOT capture a Yeti and and you will NOT capture a ghost---demons don't dig being captured.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

The Heart Of Deuteronomy

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

It would seem that one of Jesus' favorite books was Deuteronomy, as He quoted from it so often. As a little boy, He was instructed in the Torah.

I have had computer problems so I need to make this short.

What is the HEART of the book that Jesus had such affection for? LOVE....for God and man.

Many folks do not realize that the Great Commandment is found in Deuteronomy, first and not in the New Testament.

ALL of the major temptations in wilderness were responded with quotes from Deuteronomy.

Three weeks ago I was clawed in my shoulder for the first time--it was very unnerving. That night I had cleansed a person/house......

I was left with the need for human tenderness and not counsel or advice. Please keep that in mind.

Lastly, this book has the most profound comment re why God saved/loved us....He loves us because He loves us. A GOLDEN CIRCLE.....there is no reason on our end as to why God would be drawn to us....He loves us because He loves us--that is far back as you can go in the divine counsel.

Let us love God and be tender to those hurting.

"Seeing Ghosts through God's Eyes" (also in a Kindle edition)...please consider purchasing my book which uses science, logic, and the bible to analyze the true source of power behind paranormal activity.

Demon Voices or Mental Illness?

Demon Voices or Mental Illness. This is an article written by Stephanie McCrummen, published by the Washington Post, and reprinted in a magazine “The Last Word”. As you read this article keep asking yourself is this Demon Voices or Mental Illness that the family is dealing with.

This is just a sample of what we have to decide when contacted about if this is Demon Voices or Mental Illness. We always fast and pray for God’s wisdom and discernment as we approach each client that comes to us. Take notes as you read along, as at the end we want to hear your viewpoints, and perhaps even tell us what you would do if you were on our staff. Demon Voices or Mental Illness

The mother drives her son everywhere because he is not well enough to drive. He sits next to her, and at the red lights she looks over and studies him: how quiet he is, how stiffly he sits, hands in his lap, fingers fidgeting slightly, a tic that occasionally blooms into a full fluttering motion he makes with his hand, as if clearing invisible webs from his face. He is 19 years old, 6 feet tall, 250 pounds. His eyes are more steady than bright at this particular moment; his mouth is not set in a smile or a frown but some line in between.

It has been 10 years since Spencer Haskell began thinking his classmates were whispering about him, four years since he started feeling angry all the time, and two years since he first told a doctor he was hearing imaginary voices. It has been 20 months since he was told he had a form of schizophrenia, and 15 months since he swallowed three bottles of Benadryl and laid down to die, after which he had gotten better, and worse, and, for a while, better again, or so Naomi Haskell had thought until an hour ago, when they were in the therapist’s office and Spencer said that his head was feeling “cloudy.”

Cloudy was the big, flying red flag that she had learned to dread. It might simply be a side effect of one of his five medications. But it could also be the quiet beginning of her firstborn son falling apart again, of hallucinations, or a dive into depression, or some other dimension of his illness that Naomi has yet to fathom.

This is what it is like to be the mother of a son with a severe mental illness — an hour-to-hour, minute-to-minute vigil. At a time of increasing public concern about the role mental illness might have played in mass shootings in places like Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., Naomi’s worry on a Tuesday in Texas is different. It’s about keeping her son well.

So what Naomi is thinking about now is helping Spencer make it until Friday, when he has another therapy appointment, and when the effect of a new medication he has just started taking might become clear.

They drive to the apartment where he moved in January, when Naomi had thought Spencer was stable enough to leave the home where he had been living with her, his stepfather, and his younger brother. He had made it through the busy Christmas season working as a cashier, handling his symptoms with promising self-assurance, telling a customer who wondered who he was talking to not to worry, he just had a thought disorder.

Naomi knew that he wanted to get back to everything he had been doing his senior year in high school, when he was first told he had early-stage schizophrenia, a diagnosis later refined to schizoaffective disorder, bipolar subtype with obsessive-compulsive elements. He wanted to study math, go to college, go out with girls. He wanted independence, and Naomi thought the apartment would be a step toward that.

Then the first week he was there he got the cloudy feeling. He said that his brain felt like it was “under a hair dryer.” He told Naomi he felt “unsafe.” He checked himself into a psychiatric hospital.

When he was released 11 days later, he insisted on returning to the apartment rather than home, because he wanted to keep moving forward. Naomi’s 70-year-old mother moved in with him, setting up a single bed in the living room.

Naomi parks the car. She watches her son trudge up the three flights of open-air stairs, a slow, lumbering figure in jeans and a sweatshirt.

The signs she looks for: how he walks, whether he is quick or slow or heavy or aimless. How he talks — crisp or sluggish, or perhaps angrily to no one, as he had done in December, when he yelled “Stop following me!” down an empty hallway. Spencer had become deeply religious during the advent of his illness, and Naomi checks his Facebook page to see how many posts are there about Revelations, or Deuteronomy, or other biblical arcana. More than two or three is a warning sign, not because it is religious but because it is obsessive.

At lunch, she glances at the news blaring on the TV. A young man has just stabbed 14 people at a community college campus.

She is sure that in the coming days, it will come out that the young man had an untreated mental illness, and that the parents had tried to help or didn’t know. With Newtown, Aurora, Tucson, and so many other violent episodes, she had felt the same, horrible way. She felt devastated for the victims’ families. And she felt devastated for the parents who, she imagined, had struggled in their own way just like her to save their sons.

But she doesn’t see that kind of violence in Spencer, not at all. She has read statistics that show her son is more likely to be a victim of violence than a perpetrator of it. She has also read about the elevated risk of violence among people with schizophrenia, and knows the statistics that show their risk is higher if severe symptoms such as paranoia or hallucinations are not controlled, or if they have a history of violence or drug abuse. But that isn’t her son.

As she says one day when he is not there: “I don’t see that in him. And I hope I’m not fooling myself. What I see is a kind, loving, empathetic boy struggling to regain his footing in this world. That’s who my son is.”

Wednesday morning, he lumbers down. He piles into Naomi’s car in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and they drive toward the psychiatric hospital near Houston for his electroconvulsive therapy appointment, a treatment for severe depression.

First comes the anesthesia through the IV, which he can feel moving through his hand and up his arm and then dissolving through his system. He had tried to resist sleeping before, but the feeling was so uncomfortable that he has learned to just give in. Next comes the gel, which is swabbed on his head, and then the electrodes pressed into the gel, and the electrical current, which triggers a controlled seizure, which requires placing a guard in Spencer’s mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. The seizure, it is hoped, will trigger a change in his brain chemistry that might bring some relief.

On Thursday morning Spencer doesn’t see his mother. Instead, while she is away, he talks about his life.

He says it’s been almost three years since a miracle happened. He says he was a junior in high school and developed a crush on a girl who was a Christian, which led him to become a devout Christian himself, which allowed him to begin to see his intense, manic anger and paranoid thoughts as “delusional beliefs,” which opened the door to understanding he had an illness.

He says it has been two years since he first heard voices — what he describes as “whispers” that would come mostly at night, along with brief flashes of images he describes as demons. If his mother was afraid of him, he says, it was because he had become terrified of himself. He says he tried to manage by working out, by doing martial arts, not because he enjoyed beating people up but because it felt good, somehow, to get beaten up, and when nothing worked he asked his mother to take him to the doctor, where he heard words like “psychotic,” which terrified him even more.

He says he was angry at his mother, at his teachers, at everyone for not figuring out what was wrong with him sooner.

He says he moved briefly to Austin to attend college and study math, because he had somehow managed, even as he was becoming sicker, to get the highest score on the most difficult Advanced Placement calculus exam. But then he says he started “freaking out” that the world was going to end, which led him to think he should learn carpentry to help Jesus rebuild after the apocalypse, which he now understands was one of his first psychotic episodes.

He says he understands why, when his mother found out, she went to a court and convinced a judge that her son was a danger to himself or others, then tricked him into getting on a bus back to Houston, where he was handcuffed and taken to the psychiatric hospital, where he began to accept that he would have to manage delusions and paranoia and mania and depression for the rest of his life.

He says his medication was changed and he got better, and then he got much worse, and all the bad feelings came rushing back.

“I looked at the past and the future and I decided there was no way out of it,” he says, and that was why he walked out of the facility one December day into the freezing cold and kept walking 15 miles to a Target, where he bought the Benadryl, and then went to a Wendy’s, ate several burgers and chicken sandwiches and washed down three bottles of the pills with a Diet Coke, and then went to a mall and walked in circles until he got sleepy, then looked for a place he could die, and went into a dressing room at Sears.

He says he was found vomiting and seizing, and that four days later he woke up in an intensive care unit. He says people told him it was the best Christmas present ever, but he was not so sure. He says he came home, which is when Naomi told him about what she did in the days before:

She had made sure the gun at home was locked in its safe. She had put away the kitchen knives and then found herself wondering whether she should also remove the forks, and maybe the cleaners, until she started to see everything as a hazard — the trees in the yard, the car, the traffic on the road. She told her son that she loved him, and that she wanted to help improve his odds of surviving his illness, but that she knew that she could not ensure it, that it was ultimately up to him.

He says he understands that, which is why he is willing to bear the electrical currents, the pills, the constant shuffling to doctors and the constant scrutiny, and why he wants also to pull away from all that, to get in shape, to be better, to get back to studying math, to college, to driving, to everything he was doing when he first got sick.

He says he wants to reach the point that he knows is possible for people like him, where he can manage his illness instead of the other way around.

“I’m really not afraid of breaking down anymore,” he says. “I’ve gained a lot of knowledge and control. I’m not afraid I will relapse into chaos.”

©2013 by The Washington Post. Reprinted with permission.

Sometimes people need help from God, doctor’s and support from the church sfprs.org/

Now you decide, is this a case of Demon Voices or Mental Illness? Write us with your knowledge and experience, and put yourself on our staff and explain how you would handle the circumstances above.