During my angry atheist phase, I went on an Islam bashing rampage on forums, citing all the hadith that they had to justify. They were giving examples of good hadith, and I told them how it's bullshit by researching the methodology of hadith collection. Then realising, if the good is bullshit, then so is the bad. Then I chilled out, and realised that all hadith are potentially wrong or fabricated, the methodology I once assumed was rigorous and complex. I grew up hearing about the 'science' of hadith. But actually looking at Bukharis methodology, it's shockingly amateur, and considering it's over a hundred years, to 200 years after, listening to what is frankly gossip - I came to a realization, I had no idea who Muhammad was. We might as well ask someone in the year 2150 what Churchill was like as a person, purely from their memory of stories told from their grandparents, who learned from their grandparents.
Honestly, using the methodology, it is sahih that Obama is a Muslim, and that NASA going to the moon, is disputed.
The only thing I can say with confidence is that Muhamamd created a unified Arabia by trying to unite monotheistic religions. Having a unified nation with Jews calling Jesus a fraudster and Christians calling Jews Christ killers is difficult.
Islam: Jesus was sent by God, but not divine, Jews didn't kill Jesus after all. Maybe a talented warrior poet, who had schizophrenia and genuinely heard voices. My theory is command auditory hallucinations.
"Acting on Command Hallucinations: A Cognitive Approach
Beck-Sander, A., M. Birchwood, & P. Chadwick. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, Feb. 1997, 36(Pt 1):139-48.
This study explores factors influencing compliance with command hallucinations. The most widely acknowledged factor is the content of the command. Three categories of command content were found to be discrete in terms of compliance: "innocuous' commands, "severe' commands and commands to self-harm. This study takes a cognitive approach and highlights the importance of the beliefs individuals hold about their voices. Beliefs appear to be important in determining whether or not individuals comply with commands and the affect generated. A belief that the voice is benevolent was associated with compliance with both innocuous and severe commands. In addition, participants who believed they retained subjective control over their voices were less likely to comply with all types of command. Furthermore, qualitative evidence suggested that several other beliefs may influence compliance with command hallucinations such as beliefs about the effects of transgression, beliefs about the power and authority of the commander, beliefs about the social acceptability of the action (which may be closely correlated or synonymous with severity) and its effectiveness in achieving a valued goal. Further research is necessary to investigate the importance of these beliefs and their interrelationships more fully."
http://www.julianjaynes.org/related-articles_command-hallucinations.phpDoes the above not sound like divine revelation in the 7th century desert? People often assume, one is either telling the truth, or is false. Often, one can do both at the same time.
60% of schizos will attempt suicide at least once, mostly male. Muhamamd is said to have done so.
There has been no general agreement on the definition of late onset. Some studies chose 40 years of age as the cutoff,
http://www.acnp.org/g4/GN401000138/CH135.html--------------------------------------------------------------------
No way of testing obviously, but there is enough written stuff that has no MOTIVE for fabrication (a suicide attempt isn't really good PR) to gain some insight.
I was working on this hypothesis for a week, a year ago. Quite an experience being Muhammad's therapist.
Topic: Tonight's BBC2 documentary on muhammed