St. Paul and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.

* Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry with Practical Neurology
* Direct link to download Paper in PDF

SUMMARY: Evidence is offered to suggest a neurological origin for Paul's ecstatic visions. Paul's physical state at the time of his conversion is discussed and related to these ecstatic experiences. It is postulated that both were manifestations of temporal lobe epilepsy.

St. Pauls Disease, aka Epilepsy

St. Pauls Disease from © German Epilepsymuseum Kork - Museum for epilepsy and the history of epilepsy.

In old Ireland, epilepsy was known as 'Saint Paul's disease'. The name points to the centuries-old assumption that the apostle suffered from epilepsy.

To support this view, people usually point to Saint Paul's experience on the road to Damascus, reported in the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament (Acts 9, 3-9), in which Paul, or Saul as he was known before his conversion to Christianity, is reported to have a fit similar to an epileptic seizure: '...suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him: ''Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?''...Saul got up from the ground and opened his eyes, but he could not see a thing... For three days he was not able to see, and during that time he did not eat or drink anything.'

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Video, Temporal Lobes and Religious Experience

These are some youtube videos that have evidently been extracted from the longer BBC mini-series "Phantoms in the Brain" (Episode 1, Episode 2) featuring Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. They demonstrate the correlation between the brains temporal lobes and religious experience. Click "Read more >>" to access them.

Religious Experience Found in Multiple Categories of Neurologic Disorder

Professionals.epilepsy.com

Other changes highlighted in the literature include increased religious beliefs and a heightened concern for morality. Religious and moral themes tend to predominate when patients display hypergraphia, an increase in the volume of written material the person produces and a preoccupation with details within the content. The association of these behaviors to epilepsy, including TLE, is controversial.

Since the publication of such reports, a number of authors have questioned the linking of these personality changes with TLE. Indeed, various authors have indicated that such changes are not specific to patients with epilepsy but are also identified in other neurologic disorders. Furthermore, a recent review pointed out that patients with frontal lobe epilepsy are more likely to present these personality changes than those with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Video, Neurologist Discusses Seizures And Experiencing God

A Grand mal seizure is the most familiar type of seizure. It causes a complete loss of motor control, uncontrollable shaking, loss of consciousness, etc during the seizure. Some seizures do not cause loss of motor control but only occur mentally. These types of seizures sometimes result in a "God Experience". This video features Dr. Ramachandran, a world renowned neurologist. Click "Read more >>" to access it.

Video, Stroke Induced Spirituality

Neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor had a stroke which allowed her to study the brain from the inside out. In this 20 min talk she describes how she was able to call for help and the feelings of spirituality that came over her as the left side of her brain was malfunctioning.