Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Albert Einstein wasn't always the perfect mate

Within a decade his first marriage, to Mileva Maric, a fellow math and science student, grew cold. In 1914, Einstein gave Maric a startling ultimatum, demanding that she "renounce all personal relations with me insofar as they are not completely necessary for social reasons," among other requests.
"That was one of the disappointing things about Einstein is how cold he was when he fell out of love with his first wife," Isaacson says. "But even though it's disappointing, it reminds us that the greatest of men are still made of flesh and blood."
Einstein later married his cousin, Elsa. Maric made out all right financially, as Einstein agreed to give her the substantial sum he earned from his Nobel Prize.

Biographer delves into life of Einstein

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

床單綁手腳 牧師強驅魔

桃園牧師劉文復、李明記等五人應邀為李姓婦人做神蹟治療,未料她反抗,五人竟將她強壓地上,還用床單綁住手腳進行禱告驅魔,事後被控妨害自由,桃園地院昨天判五人拘役卅至四十天不等,均可易科罰金。
牧師為人驅魔卻吃上官司,玄奘大學宗教系助理教授楊安仁表示,聖經裡確實有附魔的相關記載,但神職人員為人「驅魔」前,應先經專業評估,如果當事人無意願,更不能強制進行。
署立桃園療養院副院長孫效儒說,宗教儀式治療精神疾病無科學根據,很難說有沒有效果;但患者若有宗教信仰,在醫療和藥物治療下,再藉宗教儀式安撫患者心理,醫界不會排斥。
林口長庚醫院精神科醫師許世杰也說,如果罹患焦慮、憂鬱等心理性精神疾病,透過宗教儀式,有助安撫患者心理;但若罹患精神分裂、妄想等腦部病變導致的精神疾病,使用宗教儀式治療反而會加重病情。
高雄縣基督長老教會二集團教會牧師高順壽說,「驅魔」儀式由來已久;但當事人若無意願,神職人員卻強制進行,這是違反「聖經原則」。他並認為,當事人要有「意願」和「相信」,如此神職人員的祈禱才有力量。