Is Epilepsy Demonic?
What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder characterized by recurrent seizures. The symptoms of seizures include muscle spasms, loss of consciousness, and abnormal behavior caused by sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain. It is possible to develop epilepsy due to a variety of factors, such as a brain injury, a genetic predisposition, or an infection. Medication is usually used to control seizures, but surgery or other treatments may be needed in some cases. (1)
Does The Bible Make Epilepsy Out to be Demonic?
Many skeptics of the Bible and even some Christian have claimed that the Bible makes it out that those who have epilepsy are demonically possessed. Is this true or simply an eisegesis of the text? Today we will be looking into this subject.
There are two instances of epilepsy in the Bible. The first of two instances are in Matthew 17:14–18, Mark 9:14–29, and Luke 9:38–42. Note that all these cites are in reference to the same event. Here, a boy and his father are in a crowd. The man calls out, “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water,” (Matthew 17:15 KJV). So does the boy have epilepsy? Well, the word for lunatic[k] is translated many ways in different translations. The actual Greek word is “σεληνιάζεται.” In the KJV and NASB1995, it is translated as lunatick; in the CSB, NET, NASB, ESV, NLT, and NIV it is seizures. Finally, translations such as the ASV and ISV translate the word as epileptic.
So what does it actually mean? Well, the word technically means moon-struck which makes the KJV and NASB1995 fairly on point, lunatic. We get the word lunatic[k] from a strange misconception that some had, as Merriam Webster notes, “lunatic, from Late Latin lunaticus, from Latin luna; from the belief that lunacy fluctuated with the phases of the moon,” (2). The belief was that the insane or people with seizures would change based on the cycle of the moon(full moon, crescent, etc). In other books of the Bible, we get more information on the condition.
“And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not,” (Mark 9:18 KJV). The Bible notes the boy teareth(tears, cries), he foameth(He foams, likely from the mouth), and gnashes his teeth. Foaming of the mouth(3) and gnashing of teeth can happen when one has a condition pertaining to seizures(4), so it is rather likely he did have epilepsy or some other condition which has seizures.
After the man calls out, we know Jesus rebukes the demon. “When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead,” (Mark 9:25-26 KJV). So we know there was a spirit in the boy, Jesus rebuked it, and he was cured.
At the current state, one would assume that Jesus and his disciples believed those with seizure conditions are possessed, however, Jesus and his disciples never claim this. Merely that this specific boy had a demon; did anyone say all did or something similar to it? No, it doesn’t, what is most likely is that being possessed can cause these symptoms or this condition, not that every person who has these symptoms are possessed. Many illnesses may have similar symptoms, but that does not mean they are the same thing.
For example, having the flu and covid can both make you throw up, cause headaches, etc. However, that does not mean they are the same. We even see in Matthew 4 that there is a separation between being possessed and being epileptic. As he writes, “And his(Jesus) fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them,” (Matthew 4:24 KJV). Those who are possessed by devils(demons) and those who are lunaticks(remember this word means seizures) are classified as different groups in this scenario. It would not make sense to say he healed the same group in a list speaking on who he healed.
Works Cited:
(1) Epilepsy (2022) National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/epilepsy?search-term=epilepsy (Accessed: January 7, 2023).
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(2) “Lunatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lunatic. Accessed 7 Jan. 2023.
(4) Meletti S, Cantalupo G, Volpi L, Rubboli G, Magaudda A, Tassinari CA. Rhythmic teeth grinding induced by temporal lobe seizures. Neurology. 2004 Jun 22;62(12):2306-9. doi: 10.1212/wnl.62.12.2306. PMID: 15210903.
(3) Tonic-clonic (Grand Mal) seizures (2021) Tonic-Clonic (Grand Mal) Seizures | Johns Hopkins Medicine. John Hopkins Medicine. Available at: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/epilepsy/tonic-clonic-grand-mal-seizures#:~:text=When%20the%20tonic%2Dclonic%20seizure,foam%20coming%20from%20the%20mouth. (Accessed: January 7, 2023).