Wow -- funny thing is, I was just thinking sometime over the last couple of days about religion and mental illness and how dangerous it is to mix religion into the treatment of mental illnesses. Very odd coincidence (and I still have no idea why I was thinking along those lines in the first place).

Okay, so to answer the question: I'd have to say no. My parents are P/C up to a point. By that, I mean: they go to their COG services, are involved in the ministries, and believe most of the doctrine (within reason). But they also have and use their common sense, and that's probably what has kept us safe and sane.

Re Yates et al.: what kills me is that, as Christians, NONE of them caught on that God no longer demands sacrifice to prove anything. I'm sure that had these people been truly thinking rationally, they would have realized that at its core, Christianity holds that Christ's death was the final sacrifice .... God would not have demanded their children as an additional reparation. But there's the thing: THEY WERE NOT RATIONAL. And because of their religion, no one had the guts to say, "Hey listen, you need professional help. Preferably one that doesn't mix religion into it. One that will help you see your problems from a purely scientific standpoint. THEN once we get through all that, we can address the other stuff, if needed. And stop listening to the minister's ideas that it's demonic. IT IS AN ILLNESS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER PHYSICAL MALADY!"

(OOPS.... stepping off the soapbox now.... apologies; hot-button issue).