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| Zechariah in the Temple/ Bing Public Domain |
Zechariah Punished with Aphasia
In Luke’s
version of the Christmas story, Zechariah is punished with the loss of speech (aphasia)
for asking what would seem to be a reasonable question. I study the psychology
of religion and have conducted many neuropsychological examinations as a
psychologist so the description of the impairment struck me as looking like the
results of a mini-stroke. Check out the features of stroke in the story from
Luke 1.
Zechariah,
a Jewish priest, and his wife Elizabeth had a reputation for being faithful to
the law. As my friend Martin Mittelstadt, known for his scholarly
study of Luke,
points out, Luke presents his gospel in several contexts including recurrent biblical
themes. We see a record of angelic announcements and divine intervention in
cases of older barren women in the Hebrew Bible. Perhaps Luke is presenting the
new Christian tradition emerging from the womb of an elderly and barren
Elizabeth in a similar vein to that of Sarah.
We don’t
know how old the couple was but Luke give us a context like that of Abraham and
Sarah: “But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were
advanced in years (vs. 7, ESVUK).” So, it appears Elizabeth and Zechariah were
not childless because of disobedience, which is an important context matter.
Then as now, children are usually seen as a blessing. And religious people,
including Christians, see children as blessings from God. Alternatively, the
lack of children has been seen as a curse.
In the next
section, verses 8-16, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah (note in the Bible
that angels are male-like beings who walk or stand rather than female beings
winging their way through the sky). Something about the visit caused Zechariah
to be very afraid. Then he learns that his wife will become pregnant.
The
punishment scene follows in verses 18-23. Zechariah asks for evidence: “How
shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years (18).”
Gabriel asserts his authority and answers Zechariah’s question with a divinely
caused loss of speech because of Zechariah’s lack of belief. When junior eventually
arrives, Zechariah regains his speech after writing the child’s name on a
tablet.
I understand from Martin Mittelstadt that the event is known
as one of the punishment miracles in the Bible. I won’t attempt to be either a
religious scholar or theologian. I do know that, as in the past, religious
people include supernatural causes in the aetiology of illnesses and diseases.
We’ll never know if Zechariah suffered from a stroke or not.
But it sure looks like it. The temporary loss of speech is a common feature in
elderly men who experience a stroke. The loss of speech (aphasia) can last for
months as in the Bible story. And the loss occurred in the context of a man stressed
by fear and the eustress of becoming a parent. The links between stress and
stroke are reliable and strong. Also, the risk of stroke increases with age.
Fear and anxiety are commonly linked to strokes as well. Even his extra time in
the temple before coming out was noted by the crowd. The few seconds of the
reported dialogue would hardly be noticed—someone or some experience caused a
delay.
The Psychology of
Punishment
I mentioned that some scholars view the Zechariah event as
divine punishment or even a “punishment miracle.” Again, I won’t dispute that
perspective. I would like to add a behavioural perspective though. Punishment
is an important part of the way people shape behaviour. When punishment is
effective, a targeted behaviour is reduced or eliminated. There are many forms
of punishment and some are more effective than others.
In the story, Zechariah was punished for not believing God
since the messenger was delivering God’s word to him. Placing this story at the
beginning of the Gospel could function as a warning to Theophilus that he (or
they) should not question this Gospel, or they too might suffer a fate like
Zechariah did. So, I wonder, but do not know if Theophilus or the people in Luke’s
community were having some doubts about some aspect of the Jesus story.
Punishment is effective when it produces fear that the
punishment event will happen again if the person continues to perform the act
for which they were punished. But vicarious punishment can work as well.
Sensitive people can learn not to perform a certain act when they see someone
like themselves suffer harm for a specific behaviour.
Reflections on
Luke and Christmas
Luke’s narrative appears to be crafted to tell the story of
Jesus in a way that makes sense to a man (Theophilus) or group (lovers of God) many
decades after the birth events. It’s not just a history or a biography but a
spiritual story with a purpose.
Some progressive Christians (see
book list) have been trying to help intelligent Christians by
encouraging them to appreciate the metaphors in the Bible rather than leaving
the faith because some Christians present a magical or incredible
interpretation of biblical narratives. Thinking about the metaphors and symbolic
use of language may help understand old texts when literal interpretations make
little sense to contemporary readers. However, metaphors can mask an
appreciation of a culture where people looked at real events and tried to
understand the causes and cures. The fact is, many people still consider
problems of health and destructive storms to be the result of divine punishment
or at least warnings to repent of sin.
In a different vein, an evangelical scholar like Craig
Keener (e.g., see Christobiography)
seeks to help intelligent conservatives recognize the characteristics of
ancient biographies and histories. Keener does not claim the biblical histories
contain verbatim dialogues or video-like reporting of events, but he does
assert the writers report the truth about real events. I like that he’s mindful
of the problems with human memory and helping some readers avoid the pitfalls
of literalness.
I would add that thinking about human nature when reading the
biblical stories can help us appreciate the cultural views of real people
trying to make sense of unusual events. Perhaps a writer like Luke is
intentionally using literary devices to tell his story. Symbolism and metaphors
can enrich the understanding of an ancient text. But sometimes, we may be
reading a story passed along by people who accepted supernatural events as part
of the fabric of life.
I hope contemporary health care workers can appreciate the
long tradition behind the beliefs some hold that the causes and cures of
diseases and illnesses may have a divine origin.
Meanwhile, Christian leaders need to speak up to protect the
unwary from harmful responses to unhinged pronouncements about the causes and
cures of diseases, illnesses, storms, and so forth. Such prophets continue to
make news (see notes for an example).
Notes
Theophilus may mean loving God, loved by God, or friend of
God. Of course, some people are named Theophilus.
Many Christians believe in divine interventions or miracles.
I review some of this research in Counselling
and Psychotherapy with Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians.
Book reviews on Progressive
Christianity
Christobiography
by Craig Keener
Luke Acts by
Martin Mittelstadt
USA
TODAY Example of faith leaders dealing with questions about COVID-19
and God’s punishment
Psychology of aphasia APA link
A study about stress and stroke risk (verywellmind).
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