Call me Crazy

by Rebecca Bynum

Joy Behar on The View said of VP Pence, “When Jesus talks to you, that is mental illness.” This is the view of all atheists and is certainly not unique to Behar.

However, it is my belief that the Father speaks to all of us unceasingly, but we rarely hear the divine voice – usually only in times of great trial. Said Jesus:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

(…)

 (Matthew 10 NIV)

Indeed, I have clearly heard the divine voice at several crucial times in my life. In most, if not all, other times, I can calm my mind and feel the divine presence, his love and his ever-present guidance. I am sorry that Joy Behar cannot feel the divine presence, but she has no cause to mock those who do, or to deny the experience as “mental illness.” Experience is the essence of true religion and no one can say for certain whether the religious experience of another is false. I experience God as a loving spirit – as a person – a person who cares about me personally. Joy Behar can mock or deny this statement, but she certainly cannot disprove it.

Back to Matthew 10:

 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^{[b] 30} And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.