The image of the whore of Babylon in Rev 17-18 has often been used to support the idea of the prostitute as the ultimate sinner. This attitude may be contributing to a lack of involvement by Christians in counteracting contemporary sex-trafficking. Recent feminist scholarship has rightly pointed out the insidious nature of such interpretations of the passage. However, their focus on gender rather than the idolatrous greed which the whore represents, and which is the underlying cause of sex-trafficking, could unintentionally hinder effective campaigning and add to the suffering of victims.

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A parallel is drawn between responses to the Christian Apocalypse and people who suffer from psychosis. Historically, both have been abused, shunned, and silenced. Liberationists recognize the ability of Revelation's ‘otherness’ to speak to the marginalized. Can the church learn to value and welcome the ‘otherness’ of the mentally ill?

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As a contribution to a wider discussion on moral discernment in theological anthropology, this paper seeks to answer the question “What is the impact of mental illness on an individual’s ability to make moral decisions?” Written from a clinical psychiatric perspective, it considers recent contributions from psychology, neuropsychology and imaging technology. It notes that the popular conception that mental illness necessarily robs an individual of moral responsibility is largely unfounded.  Most people who suffer from mental health problems do not lose the capacity to make moral decisions, and mental illness on its own rarely explains anti-social or criminal behaviour. Moreover, the assumptions of some scientists, that recent developments in neuropsychology and brain imaging suggest biological determinism, must be treated with caution.