“Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is epileptic, and suffers grievously; for he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. So I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him.” Jesus answered, “Faithless and perverse generation! How long will I be with you? How long will I bear with you? Bring him here to me.” Jesus rebuked him, the demon went out of him, and the boy was cured from that hour.
Epilepsy is caused by evil spirits inhabiting the body.
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The cited passage
What current science says
Epilepsy is a neurological disorder caused by abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Neurons misfire in synchronized bursts, kind of like a power surge shorting out a circuit board. We can literally see seizures happening on an EEG machine — it's electricity, not entities. About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and it's treatable with medication that regulates brain chemistry, not exorcisms.
What the text says
This comes from Matthew 17:15-18. A boy described as a 'lunatic' with seizures is cured by 'rebuking the devil' — attributing epilepsy directly to demonic possession.
Three honest ways to read this passage
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As history
The text records how its authors understood the world with the knowledge they had. Read this way, a difference from modern science is a window into the ancient mind, not a failure.
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As accommodation
The text speaks to its first audience in their own terms, to make a point that isn't mainly about physics or biology. Read this way, the scientific detail is the vehicle, not the cargo.
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As contradiction
The text makes a claim about the physical world that modern findings dispute. Read this way, the difference is a genuine factual disagreement worth naming.
GEBible doesn't pick one of these for you. Each entry shows the passage, what it says, and what current science says — nothing more.