A Religious Look at Miracles and Mental Illness

Little girl with a demon coming to her in the forest

Personal and historical observations of mental illness from a Christian perspective.

If one reads the Gospels and analyzes the healings that Jesus did, approximately a third classify today as some form of mental illness. That was a large part of His ministry.

If anything, the copious narratives that resemble mental illness 2000 years ago are similar in percentage to the overall health of humanity today. The Canadian Mental Health Association has calculated that 21.3% of Canadians will have a mental health issue in their lifetime.1 It is an essential topic for the Christian community to address.

What exactly is mental illness and how to deal with it within a Christian framework is difficult to answer. Some say it is a demon, others that it is a biological problem, and most ignore the subject. A vast majority of ministers refer the mentally ill to skilled practitioners.

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Nazianzus' Tongues of Pentecost Paradox

Nazianzus’ two choices on understanding the tongues of Pentecost, and how this debate continued for almost a millennium.

Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost in English

An English translation of the texts relating to the Christian doctrine of tongues by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.

Table of Contents

  • Sermons transcribed into writing attributed to Augustine
  • References Untranslated

    • Introduction

    Augustine was one of the most prolific writers on the gift of tongues. This fact is largely due to his attack on the Donatists–a rival and popular African group who felt themselves superior because they remained pure during the Diocletian persecution. Augustine posits that one of their distinctions was speaking in tongues–a sign that they were the true church.

    For more information, go to Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost.

    The following are English translations of Augustine’s Homilies and texts that relate to speaking in tongues.

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    Augustine on the Tongues of Pentecost

    Augustine 354 — 430 AD.

    An analysis of Augustine’s writings on speaking in tongues.

    Augustine was one of the most prolific writers on the doctrine of tongues. He understood the complexity and varied definitions that surrounded the christian doctrine of tongues. Unfortunately, he did not attempt to simplify the matrix of explanations. Nor does he outrightly endorse a specific position. Regardless of this problem, his writings reveal vital clues about the christian doctrine of tongues and its progression.

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    Is Tyrannius Rufinus a Reliable Translator?

    A closer look at the reliability of Tyrannius Rufinus’ Latin translation of Gregory Nazianzus’ Greek work On Pentecost.

    Little attention, if any, has been directed towards his Latin translations of Gregory Nazianzus, but debate has surrounded Rufinus’ translation of his other works. Using these other established discussions as a guide, this article ventures into determining how Rufinus fits in the Gregory narrative.

    In a number of scholarly circles, the translations of Rufinus have been under careful scrutiny, and the consensus was that Rufinus’ translations were not reliable. However, this attitude is changing.

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