- I saw something unusual in the woodshed.
The…Jerusalem syndrome is the phenomenon whereby a person who seems previously balanced and devoid of any signs of psychopathology becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem.
Why wasn’t I warned? Isn’t it enough that we live without air conditioning?
Ask any city-dweller and you’ll hear that Jerusalem is overrun with stray cats and crazy people. (Some believe there is hope for the cats.) But the Jerusalem Syndrome, the clinical explanation of why so many people claim to have “a religious experience” when they visit here, cannot be the entire answer, if an answer at all.
It’s true that scores of people walk the streets of Jerusalem eager to share visions or claiming to be Messiah, but the Jerusalem Syndrome is not about them. The Jerusalem Syndrome hopes to explain why historically mentally healthy people leave the rails once they visit here. The explanation assumes that something must be wrong with them. Read a little about it (here and here if you like) and see if you don’t agree that it embraces the following assumption…
If one claims to experience the supernatural, he or she is mistaken.
Oh? Really?
It’s (soft) science, after all, and expecting a scientist to explain religious experience is a lot like asking the Pope to inspect a nuclear plant–but at least the Pope would concede that nuclear power exists.
Schrodinger’s Cat Was a Sissy.
Limiting reality to include only those things which can be measured dismisses everything spiritual at the start. Regardless, rational people continue to visit Jerusalem and to experience things immeasurable. One may claim to hear from God at the Western Wall, another may see a vision in the Judean Hills.
We’ve met some of these people. Some have moved here, lived happily and never looked back. They do not seem to have lost their minds.
Don’t put me in a (cat) box.
When Marcia and I met Miriam, our landlady, she warned us, “I’m not so normal as I look.” She explained that she seems led to care for a number of cats; usually around a dozen. She takes in strays as the need may arise and gives them love, food and veterinary care.
I don’t like people, but I love food.
Now and then, because of how brutal it is for strays on the streets and despite Miriam’s efforts, one dies. Miriam allows that her purpose is simply to help those strays who find her to be comfortable as long as she can. She is not alone.
Others in our neighborhood are led to put out cat food every morning on fences along the streets. (It doesn’t necessarily help the population problem but their hearts are in the right place.) Some here cannot pass a beggar on the street without giving him or her a shekel. Some preach on the streets and some live here simply to pray continually for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem.
Can they all have lost their minds?
How many Jerusalem Syndromes can there be?
Miriam
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More cats:
Legleg (note his “dead” tail)
.
Kitler’s girlfriend. (Eva?)
.
You can run AND hide
Just now reading this and I really needed it after the horrible outcome of our election. I am so depressed that we have such dishonest and dishonorable people running our country right now. The beautiful pictures of the cats and your Miriam (how I would love to meet her) were like medicine for my soul. I always feel refreshed after “visiting” with you. I hope you are making this all into a book.
Love you
I am a firm believer that the USA must support Israel in every way and abundantly so. It is our purpose and reason for the favor God has bestowed on this country. A country such as ours, founded on Christ should know it has to for Kingdom’s sake. If we do not this country will suffer miserably for it…as we somewhat are now because of our unbiblical handling of the Israel/Palestine situation. Shaky politics aside Israel is the spiritual center for all followers of Christ Jesus. It is the epicenter of the Lord’s move here on earth. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have survived and even thrived as you wrote with hands tied behind their backs. they have managed to maintain a distinct identity even though scattered to the four corners of the earth for ages. It was the convenant blessing and favor of God on the people and the land that brought them back together. Prophecy deemed a future with all eyes on His chosen children, the Jews and the land, Israel, in particular on Jerusalem. That time is here and becoming more evident. Yes, God’s Word and Will is coming to fruition but first in Jerusalem.
Just what I needed! A smile and laugh! Just tired, but my spirits were lifted. I look forward to the Jerusalem syndrome.
Beautiful words and pictures.
Thank you Cliff and Marcia
This is very good writing. The Jeurusalem syndrome is real. I have seen it on several ocassions, manifest as you state in this article, and in also other parts of the land. Real excitement just to actually be in the land for the first time, when most experiences this phenom.