Man Talks to God, But Is He Nuts?

"In 2005, Peter Braunstein sexually abused a former co-worker. Braunstein insists that he has not only been talking to God, though, but that God has been talking back — and explaining that Braunstein is destined to die horribly. His defense lawyers insist that this proves Braunstein is a complete loon, but prosecutors deny this explanation.
What, exactly, makes Braunstein looney? Talking to God? Hearing back from God? Receiving information from God abut his destiny? No court could find in favor of any such conclusion without directly contradicting and denying the foundations of most Western religions. On the other hand, if Braunstein isn't nuts, it's hard to see who would qualify.

[...]

It's not his actions I'm focusing on here, because most religious theists don't engage in sexual abuse and arson, but his claims about his conversations with God. What reasons are there to think he has a "broken brain" but not Pope Benedict XVI? What about all the politicians who claim to know what God wants for America, American society, and Americans in their personal lives? What about all the religious believers who are convinced that God communicates to them in various ways? If Braunstein's brain is "just broke," how are other people's brains not "just broke"? "

Atheism.about.com, May 18, 2007