Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Abstract
The interface between epilepsy and religiosity has been a long-standing matter of debate. Epilepsy has affected several religious leaders throughout history. Hyperreligiosity may be observed in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy as a component of the so-called Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome which involves other behavioral and personality traits such as hyposexuality, viscosity, philosophical concerns, sense of personal destiny, hypergraphy, emotionality, and irritability. Saint Paul, the Apostle, probably had temporal lobe epilepsy. He was a genius man of intellectual excellence and refined culture, whose life and writings exerted a decisive influence on Western history. The current paper investigates the elements of Gastaut-Geschwind syndrome in Saint Paul's life and Epistles and discusses the potential influence of these traits on Pauline theology.
Keywords
Epilepsy, Personality, Behavior
DOI
10.1590/1980-5764-DN-2024-0165
PMID
39697644
PMCID
PMC11654435
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
12-16-2024
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes