Where in the Bible does it talk about the mentally ill being exempt from punishment?

I am not sure that there are a whole lot of Biblical scholars in this group.

Did you try googling “Bible quotes mentally ill” and see what comes up?

They may refer to it as “feeble” or something like that, language we wouldn’t use today. Try googling.

@jca2 Yes. I only get children as exempt from punishment.

Then maybe it’s not in the bible.

@smudges OK. Or I miss quoted again? I read it in the bible when I was a teenager.

I don’t know of anywhere in the bible that it talks about mental illness as we know it today. And I know of no verses where it says it is a way to be exempt from punishment. There are very few verses that even talk about mental illness as we might recognize it. There is one in Deuteronomy that talks about people that refuse to stop worshipping the Canaanite god will be stricken with what sounds like mental illness. There are a number of characters of the bible that fought with anxiety, fear, doubt, confusion, etc which might be interpreted as mental illnesses of a sort, but none of these were exempt from punishment. There is even the story of the two madmen that were terrorizing the area. Jesus took the demons from the two men and put them into a herd of pigs and the pigs then drowned themselves (the men were healed).

@all maybe it isnt punishment? It could be exempt from church or conversion? I don’t know. *Update * coming soon

Update I think that I found them. Google ” mentally ill children. ”

What about infants, and mentally disabled individuals who cannot belive in Jesus?

[God’s grace extends to them.]

I had some Bible quotes suggested and I didn’t see the relivence to my question.

I’m not aware of any Bible verse that exempts one group of people from their actions, whether it be mental illness or even children. I think each person is judged on their ability to comprehend if they are doing wrong and if they try to do better. Not that Christians are judged on works, but if somebody just does not have the mental capacity to understand the concept of salvation, I’m not sure God would hold them accountable. Same thing with young children. A baby cannot comprehend that it needs to confess its sins and repent, if it even sins at that age. But all men are born into sin since Adam and as people grow in knowledge, they are held accountable. I don’t speak for God though, and only he knows the answer.

@RedDeerGuy1 It isn’t that the infant or the mentally ill person believes in Jesus, He believes in them. From Matthew 18:

“18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin![b] For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell[c] of fire. 10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[d] 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my[e] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

The severely mentally challenged and small children are innocents. They don’t do things with malice in their hearts.

https://www.christianpost.com/news/is-the-gospel-closed-to-the-mentally-disabled.html

https://www.insight.org/resources/article-library/individual/can-infants-and-mentally-disabled-individuals-go-to-heaven

Have you looked into passages pertaining to the casting out of demons? I take that to be a reference to mental illness.

I think it falls under innocence, as @seawulf575 mentioned. Though there is a difference between mentally ill and mental incapacity (like having a child like mind). There are mentally ill people who are evil, so I think it comes down to innocence. Only God would truly know if someone is innocent at heart or corrupt. Even children can be corrupted. Abused children can become abusive for instance. So I don’t think it’s a blank statement. Let’s take suicide for example. The 10 commandments says murder is wrong. Only God can decide when one should or shouldn’t die. So suicide is murder of yourself. Now suicide is often affected by mental breakdown but for many years up until recently, (people who committed suicide) they could not be buried on Blessed ground or have a Christian burial.

On the other hand several times suicide is mentioned in the bible but it doesn’t speak of consequences. Saul committed suicide to avoid being captured and tortured and he wasn’t mentally ill. So my point is whats to say that suicides are even affected by mental illness. My point is that what we may see or think sometimes as being mentally ill may not be. So actions that people take may really depend on what is in their heart and ability to understand.

I don’t remember anything in the bible about the mentally ill being exempt from punishment. The mentally ill drowned in the flood along with everyone else. As I understand the Day of Judgement however, it is a personal appraisal by our maker and what we call mental illness may well be taken into account.

Until fairly recently, there was no concept of mental illness. As @Jeruba poiints out, what we tcategorize as mental illness was viewed as possession by demons. I would guess that possession by demons might have been related to following Satan, so the mentally ill would in that case be seen as facing eternal damnation.

@Jeruba… like the movie The Exorcist!

I do not think the concept of mental illness had been concieved of when the Old and New Testaments were written. More likely, symptoms of what we call mental illness were viewed as evidence of being possessed by a demon.

Good point @Bill1939. They were just nuts or crazy…or sooo crazy they were posessed.
Even in 60s is was just women’s hysteria.