NOT THE BULLFROG

Robert in his latest post quotes Jeremiah from the Book of Jeremiah verses  20:10-13

'I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.”
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!'

I'm not sure why he's quoting this loony who is obviously demonstrating bizarre and paranoid obsessions. In today's study of psychiatry Jeremiah would be diagnosed as being bi-polar (previously labelled as paranoid schizophrenic) and be either institutionalised or prescribed some serious  antipsychotic medications like risperidone, quetiapine, olanzapine, ziprasidone, paliperidone,  aripiprazole or clozapine. Interestingly enough I've been prescribed some of these, not because I'm a loony but because they also assist in back and hip pain. Needless to say, after trying them I stopped taking them and improved my condition through exercise although a dose of gabapentin last year worked wonders for me.

Moving on.

Jeremiah, going by his ravings that Robert has latched on to certainly shows the two symptoms that can involve paranoia - delusions and hallucinations.

These are persistent false beliefs. A person who has a delusional belief usually won't change their mind even if faced with strong evidence. Delusions involving paranoia are often "persecutory," which means a person believes that someone is trying to harm them or negatively affect their life.
Hallucinations are events a person imagines (usually in the form of something that a person hears or sees). A person who has a hallucination typically can't tell that what they're experiencing isn't real. These commonly feed into delusions by giving the person additional "evidence" to confirm that someone is trying to harm or upset them.

'I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.

Says Jeremiah, probably while wearing a paper bag on his head.

The silly old bugger, even after berating his god and being in no doubt that God had deceived him because he thought he was in for a glamorous assignment, had the shock of his life and, in desperation,  became accusatory - “O Lord, you deceived me when you promised me your help" - then did an about face and called out "Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD".

I rest my case.

After this belief that old goddy had sorted things out for him Jeremiah later regressed (should've stayed on the meds) and in Egypt he rebuked his fellow exiles.
Jeremiah probably died about 570 bce. According to a tradition that is preserved in extra-biblical sources, he was stoned to death by his exasperated fellow countrymen in Egypt.

Is Robert attempting allegory here?

Does he feel put on by Richard and me when we challenge his beliefs?

What was that photograph about new priests at St Patrick's college about? Does he feel that he missed out and that god has let him down?

Maybe he will tell us in future posts. In the meantime let's hope that he doesn't get stoned (not in a nice way).