We've all heard about autistic "savants" with amazing mathematical, memory or artistic abilities. But could autism give you the power to kill 1,000 men armed only with a donkey bone?Samson was the original Chuck Norris. Granted mighty strength by God so long as he didn't cut his hair or shave, Samson's first act of heroism was ripping a lion to shreds with his bare hands. Then he moved onto people. According to the Book of Judges:
"And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men." - Judges 15:16Samson later bested even this achievement. Finding himself trapped in a building with over 3,000 enemies who were about to sacrifice him to their pagan god, Samson single-handedly demolished the building by smashing some pillars, killing everyone including himself.
What does this have to do with autism? Well, according to Indian neurologists Mathew and Pandian in a new paper, it shows that Samson had it. No, really.
One of the earliest incidents recorded from Samson's adult life is the journey to Timnath with his parents where he tears a lion with his bare hands. On his return, he finds a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion, which he eats, and offers his parents (Judges 14:8-9). Abnormal eating is one of the atypical behaviors noted among children with autism [ref].Hmm. Fair to say this falls into the "speculative" category. They also diagnose other Biblical characters with various disorders ranging from strokes to acromegaly but Samson's autism is certainly the most "interesting" of the bunch.
Throughout Samson's life, it is seen that he performed extraordinary physical feats... It is possible that Samson was able to perform these feats as he may have been insensitive to pain, which is occasionally seen among autistics [ref]. A study of hospitalized individuals carried out in Sweden had reached the conclusion that individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorders are prone to acts of violence [ref].
Link: This study also blogged at Autism Jabberwocky, an extremely good blog I only found out about yesterday. I've subscribed, you should too.
Mathew SK, & Pandian JD (2010). Newer insights to the neurological diseases among biblical characters of old testament. Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 13 (3), 164-166 PMID: 21085524
23 comments:
wow.. that's a new insight worth pondering.
What nonsense! These people have WAY too much time on their hands....
- rolls eyes -
You know the scary thing is I think Anon (above) has found hope. I wouldn't be surprised if he's torched his razor and bid an ass's jaw on ebay. Babe, calm down.
Am sure Samson's pecs, if we take an exegesis approach to the biblical text, was not part of the package deal. He would've had to work out to keep his he-man vessel in shape, lest it come from a demonic source. There's probably more documented cases of super abilities coming from possessions, you know, girl's with male voices, speaking different languages etc. Autistics are a mystery but they might also fit in with the prophecies. Too early to say though.
veri: Speaking of demonic possession, I was wondering if that was the source of your... oh never mind.
What's weird about this paper - well, beyond the obvious - is that they accept the Bible as an accurate account of what people did, but not of why they did it, which in most cases boils down to "God's will"...
what i find interesting about this study is that it contradicts theories that autism spectrum disorders are an artifact of modern social and academic constructs.
since i don't have access to the full article, do Mathew and Pandian address this idea? personally, i'm a proponent of the argument that most illnesses have been around a lot longer than we admit, but are not recognized because they are historically described differently... as demonics, or the hand of god, etc.
Excellent.
There's a cottage industry in diagnosing historical figures as autistic. Some are quite compelling. Others, the rationale seems to be "they did some things that were a bit odd, therefore they must have been autistic".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_figures_sometimes_considered_autistic
Also some autistic fictional characters
http://kspot.org/holmes/autism.htm
I guess it's a matter of faith which category you put the biblical characters in!
"what i find interesting about this study is that it contradicts theories that autism spectrum disorders are an artifact of modern social and academic constructs."
If autism is a social construct, then it exists solely in the head of the academic guy writing the paper. Academic guy ranting about the bible doesn't contradict anything. If academic guy sees things that aren't there in the modern world, its hardly surprising he sees things that aren't there in the biblical text.
@Neuroskeptic - "What's weird about this paper ... is that they accept the Bible as an accurate account of what people did"
I know, right?!
Also, unable to feel pain DOES NOT EQUAL invulnerable. You can still be killed or injured just like a normal person.
This is like the medical-literature equivalent of Immanuel Velikovsky's wacky ideas about Venus roaming around the solar system to explain the sun standing still in the Book of Daniel. The idea that these incredible stories might just be *stories* never seems to enter anyone's mind.
(I wonder if some academic in the future will try to come up with real-world diagnoses to explain Captain America or Spider-Man?)
Lindsay: Good point, it's just like Veilikovsky.
Anon: Ok. I may've rolled my eyes, but that don't mean my head revolves around at nights spewing vile. But I do question what would be more appeasing, a yapping wife or a revolving head in the bedroom. I wouldn't be surprised if the latter is a pleasant change for some macabre male folks.
I bet you like that freaky nonsense. Repent!
Hoodoo is real. Possessions are real. The Vatican has employed like 900 professional exorcists and the kind of cases taken up are referrals from medical professionals. I don't care if the bible was written by mushrooms or whatever. It works. That's what matters. If you start jibber jabbering Dan Brown's novel to a possessed entity, or chanting Hawking’s theories of the universe, it doesn't work. You don't think someone like me hasn't tried?
You must think pastors are like charity nutcases and the faithful are like totally brain damaged. It really isn't that simple. They’re not stuck in the Salem witch trials or political conquests like the Crusades. A lot has happened since then, like the church who built the first universities, Protestantism, Calvinism, secret fraternities etc. not everything flourishes mainstream. There are experts in the field of spirituality. They are just as professional when it comes to spiritual matters as that linguistics professor on linguistics.
The bible wasn’t written by academics. That’s why this study seems weird even though it may follow the protocol. I would go insofar as to say hermeneutical interpretations of the bible rocks because of its lack of empiricism. So I often wonder why people find it easier to believe a book with love spells than the spiritual power emanating from the bible.
Worship and solidarity across continents and cultures may’ve upheld the spiritual continuity in the bible for generations. Maybe that's why it still works. Who knows. So if you do encounter an off smelling individual spouting multiple intelligible languages, then I suggest you refer to the bible.
So, the first "suicide bomber" was autistic? Considering Samson seems to be a hercules/sun god mythic figure, this could have great insight into other gods. And heroes. Maybe the authors of the paper could look at, say, spider-man or wolverine? Wolverine doesn't get along with people - maybe he has ASD?
I agree - there are people with too much time on their hands.
veri: I want to go on record and state that I most definitely prefer revolving "head" in the bedroom....
Was Noah was aquaphobic?
Badger, no the first suicide bomber was creation itself, BANG! I'm sure there's a difference between comic books and the bible.
Jim, yeh absolutely, so were the fish.
Anon: dream on.
Well as The Onion taught us God is bipolar...
Go away Mabus. Or I'll set Samson on your sorry ass.
The author ended with a very dangerous comment:
"A study of hospitalized individuals carried out in Sweden had reached the conclusion that individuals with autism or autism spectrum disorders are prone to acts of violence"
If you follow his ref, that is not at all what the paper asserted or proved, even just through reading its abstract. Actually, the qualification in the given quote "hospitalized" is a tell in itself. But to the casual reader - or the wingnut echo chamber - it looks like asserting that people with ASD are dangerous.
Is veri the most awesome troll ever, or is he/she actually that verifiable insane?
They were Indians?
I say we go through the Bhagavad Gita, pick a suitable character and throw DSM-IV at him.
Was lurking on this site (wonderful blog, btw), I HAD to comment on this post. I am properly amazed at the kind of papers people write and the stuff they deem worthy of research (and spending funds on). And in the spirit of science they decided that the bible is a source of reliable data. Kenif is right. The great Ram was avoidant. Or something else. I am not a psychologist. But doesn't take one to know that something was wrong with him.
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