14 ALFRED T. SCHOFIELD^ M.D,, ON CHRISTIAN SANITY. 



forces, that were originally the results in varying degrees of the 

 entrance of spiritual light into the soul of man, at first no doubt 

 produced such a violent and permanent disturbance of the 

 pre-Christian balance, that observers had no option but to declare 

 Christians mad. It will be remembered in " Flatland that 

 the dweller in Two dimensions when shown by a messenger in 

 Three dimensions the glories of the solidity of the higher sphere, 

 was perforce accounted mad and placed in an asylum, when on 

 his return to Flatland he persisted in proclaiming the wonders 

 he had seen. 



Our Lord Himself, the Source and Exemplar of the New 

 Revelation, did not escape. It was at Capernaum, in the middle 

 of His ministry, that three estimates were simultaneously made of 

 Him. For not oidy did His own people declaim in so many words 

 " He hath a devil, and is mad (S. John x, 20), but His own family, 

 alas! (S. Markiii, 21) would have placed Him in confinement, for 

 " they went out to lay hold on him : for they said, He is beside 

 himself.'' It is instructive to note that at the same time the 

 Third, the Divine estimate of Christ was " Behold my servant 

 whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul is well 

 pleased " (S. Matthew xii, 18). 



One must, with such a warning, be very careful that in this 

 paper our conclusions on Christian Sanity do not conflict with 

 the Divine judgment. 



John the Baptist was also declared to have a devil. The first 

 Christians (Acts ii, 13) were believed to be a noisy company of 

 drunken men, if not mad. Later, Rhoda (Acts xii, 12), a Christian 

 maid, was declared mad, because she told believers that their 

 prayers were answered. Festus declared Paul was mad (Acts 

 xxvi, 24). Church assemblies with miraculous gifts might be 

 (and doubtless were) often accounted mad (i Cor. xiv, 23), and 

 lastly it is stated definitely that there are heights of spiritual 

 life when the Christian is " beside himself " (ii Cor. v, 13) towards 

 God, though towards man he is sober enough. 



It is indeed small wonder that at such times the balance of 

 the human equipoise should be temporarily disturbed, though 

 in no true case leading to insane or unbalanced actions. 



This word " sober " is really a key word that will unlock much 

 of the subject of this paper. It is in Greek " aQ)(f)povL(7fi6<; " 

 and denotes " soundness of mind " or " sanity." " %a)(j)po)v " 

 means "wise'' and o-cocfypoo-vvr]'^ wisdom. It is the only 

 word used for sanity, and connotes both sanity and wisdom. It 



