Summary: These 13 pages feature the stories of Kathy and Marcy, two women whom Dr. Peck treated over a larger period of time. The first was a young girl who because of her lust for infidelity decided she would have to die. A marriage with a man who was soon to turn gay, should not prove to be successful. This in addition to her strict Catholicism and demanding mother slowly drove her over the brink, and Dr. Peck would spend quite a few hours with this woman whose only conversation consisted of chanting "I want to die".
Marcia, another prospective candidate for a freak-show, also had her share of problems. Having grown up with very intellectual and atheist parents, she was in many ways a character in stark contrast to Kathy. Having been psychologically deprived during her childhood, Dr. Pecks challenge was mainly to make her see the colours of life. After finished therapy, she left the psychiatrist as a religious woman wearing more colourful clothes than ever before.
Reading note:
It is very difficult to identify with a woman who suddenly decides that it is time to stop living, especially when she chooses to express this through some sickeningly odd chanting. If one's lust for sexual contact slowly turns into an animalistic lust of such incredible intensity that one considers every single passer-by a real hunk, then it is certainly time to seek some help. Also, I must say it is awkward how a man can have an attractive wife like this at home, not wanting to have sex with her, but at the same time not realising that he is homosexual. Most men would very likely quit their job if they at home had a wife lusting for sex 24 hours a day .
What I am getting at is that Dr. Peck's book probably would have benefited from giving some less nutty examples. Hopefully the psychiatrists treating these weirdoes are doing a good job, it would be a pity if it should turn out that Howard wasn't really a homosexual after all, but that all their marriage needed was some sexy underwear.
Marcy is a less crazy example, but I think the two cases illustrate how much one's parents religious belief can influence one's own. Since my parents are Protestant and I was raised as one, considering a different religion now would seem almost unthinkable to me. That would be giving up too much of my identity. Luckily I am quite comfortable where I am, but my own situation makes it easy to understand how difficult it can be to break with one's deepest beliefs and the share foundations which one's life is based on. Still I feel it is wrong, in Kathy's incident, to put all the blame on the Catholic church and her mother. Obviously the young woman's maternal offspring did not encounter problems similar to those of Kathy, and religious rightists would probably try pointing out that Kathy's problems started just as she started breaking the commandments of her religion. Certainly marrying a homosexual didn't help, a young marriage will by all probability encounter serious problems if the sexual relationship is close to non-existent. Still I hope these stories will be made more relevant to me later in the book, otherwise they will remain nothing but impressive documentation on how some seemingly normal people can turn loonies in a matter of days.
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Summary:
The last part of section three opens up with "The Case of Theodore", a story of a man who in college became disenchanted with life, for so to retreat to the simple life of a hermit. Through therapy ranging over a period of many years, Theodore and Dr. Peck learnt that his problems originated much earlier than college. Still the key to the solution was for Theodore to face God, whose presence he had tried to denounce during his long period of isolation.
Dr. Peck then goes on to explain why there exists such a big gap between religion and science, and that atheism and belief in science can be just as dogmatic as any other belief. He also opposes the view that a sceptical atheism or agnosticism is the highest state of understanding at which human beings can arrive. Even though many bad deeds have been committed in the name of religion, Dr. Peck thinks humans are the ones to blame for this, God is not.
In the very last part of the section, Dr. Peck explains why scientists seem to suffer from what he describes as tunnel vision. Just as the church very often has had problems acknowledging scientific solutions, scientists have a disability to see the possibility for the existence of miracles. A belief in God does not exclude a belief in science, neither does the opposite. When searching for miracles, Dr. Peck believes one will be more successful finding them when looking at the ordinary day-to-day events. Yet is essential to keep our wits about us when seeking miracles, there is a middle way.
Reading note:
Theodore must have been very disappointed in life when retreating to life as a hermit. Usually when one faces problems and difficulties, they can be solved if enough energy and time is set aside. This should also turn out to be the case for Theodore, even though it would demand an awful lot of time. In this case as in so many others, it seems that the problem only got bigger while no effort was made to confront it. Wearing a mask to hide for others is unnecessary and sad; it deprives the world of many irreplaceable characters and human qualities. Still it is even more regrettable when a mask is worn for the protection of oneself. Theodore was neither willing nor able to face his relationship with God. Had Theodore done this, he could hopefully have discovered that he actually was not totally deserted, God was faithful as always. Living in self-denial should not be necessary, and every day doing so helps bury the truth under an ever-growing mass of lie.
Dr. Peck seems to possess a very liberal view on religion. It makes no difference whether one is Muslim, Hindu or Christian, according to the psychiatrist it seems like religion exists only to add some spice to our existence on earth. One can turn to God or Allah if that is beneficial, choose not to if that is one's preference. It is possible Dr. Peck chose to present this relativistic view to enable himself to reach a broader audience, a large number of us don't appreciate someone being preachy and proclaiming that something is wrong. Still there are limits for how tolerant and politically correct one can be; perhaps Dr. Peck could have gained more from taking a more confrontational viewpoint. The fact that he did not is probably one of the reasons why his book is used as reading material in so many different schools, from high schools in the U.S. to universities in Japan. When a book on religion can be deemed acceptable for students of so many beliefs and backgrounds, then it is bound to be extremely toothless.
Up to our highly modern times, religion used to be a means to help us through life and to get us through the ever so narrow gate of heaven. Life was very often extremely hard, and the presence of God was supposed to help lighten the situation (Marx meant religion made the proletariat politically and socially quiescent, Ernest Hemmingway said it was "the opium of the poor", but that is another discussion). God is still sought in times of crisis, when it is more difficult to survive without help. Yet his presence is different, and currently most will consider God to be, if anything, nothing but a mere addition to an already fascinating life. The view on religion has changed, but in my view the religions haven't. Islam still comes with the Koran, Christianity with the Bible. Most theologians will still claim that religion comes in a package, and that one can not only pick out the parts one prefers. Hitler considered Kirche to be almost as important as Kinder and KEhe. Still, very few of us would today consider the German dictator a good Christian. Still he was able to select qualities from religion which he deemed to be beneficial, but as Dr. Peck makes a point of, this is hardly a reason to blame God for nazism.
The presence of heaven has so far been remarkably absent in Dr. Peck's book. One of the church's main duties is still to light up the path to heaven, and there is still active debate on the presence of Hell. I am not totally convinced the commercialisation of religion, the take-what-you-want thinking, is all-good. An alternative to pure relativism is of course fundamentalism, and this with its sharia is the leading source of power in the Muslim world. Religious extremism has among other facts led to a prohibition against kite flying in Afghanistan, a prohibition against female drivers in Saudi-Arabia, and obviously to many of the problems we are seeing in places like Algeria. Still, an option somewhere between these extremes might be desirable to many of us. Who knows, perhaps even American children should be allowed to pray in school?
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