Salty Moran's Journal: A Thin Line Between Religion and Dementia?

This woman threw three kids off of a peir into the San Francisco Bay because "god told her to", or so she claims:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/24/kids.tossed.ap/index.html

She also once claimed that God told her to jump out of a window and was previously diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic with delusional thought disorder.

My question is this: what separates a "true believer" from a mentally diseased individual? Who is to say that God DIDN'T tell her to kill her kids? As far as anybody who believes the Bible is concerned, it would hardly be the first time God demanded a parent murder his/her child(ren) or other family members.

Why is this woman "sick" while others who claim that God is a motivating force in their beliefs are simply stating their opinions?

When is that line crossed, and how could we ever know when we cross it?

I remember pondering this

[nizo]

As I watched the Joan of Arc movie awhile back, I kept thinking, "wow, if she was alive today, she would have been locked up and pumped full of thorazine". And if I start hearing voices in my head, the first thing I hope I consider is a visit to a shrink. My personal opinion is she was schizophrenic; however her schizophrenia allowed her to accomplish some rather amazing things. And of course one could always argue that God caused her scizophrenia so she could better do his bidding.... :-) Either way, I don