I’m beginning to wonder if some forms of schizophrenia are not actually a type of spiritual illness which is bleeding over into the physical realm. We know that mankind is actually a trifold, immortal being consisting of Mind, Body and Soul, so why do we treat mental illness as just a physical or chemical defect?
I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re dealing with more than just a schizophrenia patient here. He has issues that can’t be dealt with by using normal means.
Someone posted up-thread that the schizophrenia diagnosis is a catch-all.
There are some indications that it has an organic cause, such as the fact that it often develops in men between the ages of 18-22.
OTOH, there are indications that it is inorganic or extra-organic, such as the fact that schizophrenia often results in destructive or self-destructive behavior. Simple brain disfunction would presumably result in a wide variety of unpredictable behaviors --not necessarily and uniformly destructive ones.
As other posters have noted, schizophrenics are extraordinarily self-centered, and have wildly inflated opinions of themselves. But this can be explained by sin (pride).
I was told by a person who works with schizophrenics that a certain percentage could be possessed. It was a gut-level appraisal.
So... I think it's an open question.
But people should not rule out the destructiveness of malignant ideologies, such as "The Secret." If the previous century taught us anything, it's that bad ideas have bad consequences.