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[Detective]

Aren't we better off as a society now that "visions" and messages from God are seen as a sign of mental illness, and not taken seriously as divine revelation?

[jimwalton]

Actually, I'm not sure you can say that with confidence. The 20th century had more wars, death, and genocide than any century in history: Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao. Economies have staggered, suicide and depression and common, and the violence in the world only continues to increase. I'm not convinced that you can really claim we're better off as a society.

As you study the Bible, you'll learn that the prophets who had visions were well-respected advisors to the king (e.g., Daniel), cogent in matters of life, poets (Moses), military geniuses, and givers of wise counsel.

I did some Internet searching, and came up with this:

Hearing voices in itself is not a symptom of an illness, but is apparent in 2 – 4 % of the population, some research gives higher estimates and even more people (about 8%) have so called "peculiar personal convictions", that are sometimes called "delusions", and do so without being ill. Many people who hear voices find them helpful or benevolent (Romme & Escher, 1993). In a large study of 15,000 people it was found that there was a prevalence of 2.3% who had heard voices frequently and this contrasts with the 1% prevalence of schizophrenia (Tien, 1991).

Here's the source: http://www.intervoiceonline.org/about-v ... tial-facts