We Need More Mental Evaluations!

I saved for comment this odd story and, thankfully, from what I can tell no one was seriously harmed (no doubt it was emotionally traumatic to those involved).

It seems that in Russellville, Alabama a senior citizen named Jean Timms broke into a family's home and, well, let me quote from the story:

Officials say the homeowner was awakened by the break-in and confronted Timms, who first said he was Jesus Christ and was there to have sex with his wife and daughter. They say that a few minutes later, Timms identified himself as Elvis Presley and pulled his pants down to his knees.

Police were called, and they say Timms ran out but was quickly captured. He was being held without bond at the county jail.

Well, doubtless this fellow has some mental issues, just like the guy I posted about yesterday. So he is now awaiting his mental evaluation.

While I'm sure this will be a controversial suggestion, I have to say that I think mental evaluations are in order for anyone claiming to be divine. Jim Jones, David Koresh, and Marshall Applewhite all made claims to be Jesus, and they led others with them to premature death because of their delusions of grandeur. These tragedies could have been prevented, but usually nothing is done until an actual crime has been committed.

Wikipedia has this interesting list of people who have claimed to be Jesus. It is worth looking over and following the links just to get an idea of how harmful to the general welfare this problem is.

And I have to go further and say I worry about those who claim that God talks to them. Maybe like Oral Roberts and Pat Robertson, they will do nothing more than bilk the gullible out of their hard-earned cash - which is bad enough and should be criminal. But who knows how far a megalomaniac will go?

I don't wish to come across as anti-religious. I'm not. But there are elements in religion that deserve more scrutiny than they get because, especially in our nation, the subject holds such a lofty place in the public imagination and is deemed almost beyond reproach. With that I strongly disagree.