The Narcissist, Psycho/Sociopath

Preface:

One of the things that have interest me for some time now has been human nature. What motivates people to do and say the things they do and say. From the Biblical perspective it is black and white. A person is either under the power of Satan or under the power of the Holy Spirit. Put another way, they're either guided by the spirit of this world, i.e. the spirit of darkness (Satan is the prince of this world) or the spirit of light.

One simply needs to observe people's behaviour and speech to know which of those two 'spirits' they are operating under. After all what is in the heart is what will come out of our mouths and our actions. That is what Jesus meant when He said "you shall know them by their fruits."

Understanding human nature is integral to the work those of us do; not only in ministry, but also in secular work - especially if we are in positions of authority where we have others working under us.

I cannot remember the first time I began researching the subject of psychopathy/sociopathy or why I started but it may have been connected with an inmate (from my prison ministry) that I was trying to comprehend. It opened my eyes into what the field of psychiatry terms an "incurable" disease. Personally, since the Bible does not call evil a disease, I see psychopathy/sociopathy as demonic. That is, the individuals affected by this condition are under the power of Satan and are therefore demonics.

Now, Humanists say that we're all a bit psychopathic - after all we're fallen creatures prone to sin. However, the narcissist, psycho/sociopath is more so than the normal average "human". The normal average person with a conscience will have that (their conscience) as a check and balance in place. The psycho/sociopath does not have a conscience to operate as a check and balance within them. Therefore they are more apt to do acts that the other's conscience won't allow them to.

So how does that relate or translate to the Christian life and walk - or does it even correlate? In other words can a narcissistic psycho/sociopath be a Christian? Can they be saved? Do they even have a soul?

Two things determine whether one is a Christian or not and both must be evident in the Christian's life and conduct: (i) One's theology determines whether one is a Christian or not. That does not mean that one has to be educated in a seminary. It simply means that their theory of who God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit are in relation to them must align with what Scripture says. (ii) They must be walking in obedience to that theology. Put another way. What makes a Muslim a Muslim?

The Apostle Paul speaks about the conscience of the unbeliever bearing witness for or against them, perhaps excusing them, etc. These words of Paul have a lot of implications behind them. For, I believe, that if such a person (with a conscience) would hear the Gospel (properly presented - to meet them in their specific condition), they will be apt to be convicted of sin and turn to Christ, as opposed to the person without a conscience (the psycho/sociopath) who cannot be convicted.

Conviction is the heart condition required for the gift of repentance to be received in order that one may be saved. I don't know if you're following me here - but I'm driving to a specific point regarding the psycho/sociopath and whether they can be saved or not, (remember in the field of psychiatry they cannot be cured). Can a being without a "soul" or "conscience" be saved? Is not the Holy Spirit in the business of saving "souls" i.e. convicting sinners, and conviction is done to the 'conscience.'

So what is the Christian to do? First of all, Christians need to be discerning. Sadly, today's Christians are not even being discipled on how to live the Christian life victoriously, much less on how to deal with evil when confronted by it. I am sure if you've read thus far by now, you are either spooked or in denial. As you will see from some of the quotes below, our modern secular world is a breeding ground for this type of 'human' and normal human beings are ill equipped to deal with these 'humans' because they do not even know about the diabolical nature of this evil and how to recognize it - except in some extreme cases.

Secondly, these people can be your own loved ones. They could be your brother, sister, mother, father, child, or spouse. They could be your coworker, boss, neighbour, teacher, doctor, or the nice little lady at your supermarket check out counter. Anyone.

Psychos are charismatic people. They act normal most of the time (they do need the occasional break to wallow in the mire). They can present themselves as the most sweet, caring, people you ever met. Here is the ugly, scary part. I have NEVER met a psycho who does not believe in a God!

Finally, Christian, as you know, the moment you were saved you embarked upon a spiritual warfare that ends only when you breathe your last. Well, who are you fighting? And what are your weapons of warfare? We know that Satan operates through people who are under his control. Our enemy is unseen, but the manifestations of his evil works are not unseen. If our weapons of warfare are POWERFUL for the pulling down of strongholds - and they are. Why are those strongholds not coming down? Indeed they just seem to be going up in greater numbers daily.


A couple of links on the subject are listed below:

http://www.cassiopaea.com/cassiopaea/psychopath.htm

http://saferelationshipsmagazine.com/women-who-love-psychopaths-book-center

And some quotes found at the first link are listed below:

"In other words, psychopathy is being recognized as a more or less a different type of human."

"One very interesting aspect of the psychopath is his "hidden life" that is sometimes not too well hidden. It seems that the psychopath has a regular need to take a "vacation into filth and degradation" the same way normal people may take a vacation to a resort where they enjoy beautiful surroundings and culture. To get a full feeling for this strange "need" of the psychopath - a need that seems to be evidence that "acting human" is very stressful to the psychopath - read more of The Mask of Sanity, chapters 25 and 26. "

"Being very efficient machines, like a computer, they are able to execute very complex routines designed to elicit from others support for what they want. In this way, many psychopaths are able to reach very high positions in life. It is only over time that their associates become aware of the fact that their climb up the ladder of success is predicated on violating the rights of others."Even when they are indifferent to the rights of their associates, they are often able to inspire feelings of trust and confidence."

The psychopath recognizes no flaw in his psyche, no need for change. "

"Our world seems to have been invaded by individuals whose approach to life and love is so drastically different from what has been the established norm for a very long time that we are ill- prepared to deal with their tactics of what Robert Canup calls "plausible lie." As he demonstrates, this philosophy of the "plausible lie" has overtaken the legal and administrative domains of our world, turning them into machines in which human beings with real emotions are destroyed. "

"The truth - when twisted by good liars, can always make an innocent person look bad - especially if the innocent person is honest and admits his mistakes. "

"It has often been noted that psychopaths have a distinct advantage over human beings with conscience and feelings because the psychopath does not have conscience and feelings. What seems to be so is that conscience and feelings are related to the abstract concepts of "future" and "others."'

"In short, the psychopath - and the narcissist to a lesser extent - is a predator."

"But in many instances, such as love relationships or faked friendships, it is not so easy to see what the psychopath is after. Without wandering too far afield into spiritual speculations - a problem Cleckley also faced - we can only say that it seems to be that the psychopath ENJOYS making others suffer. Just as normal humans enjoy seeing other people happy, or doing things that make other people smile, the psychopath enjoys the exact opposite. "

"It should be emphasized that psychopaths are interesting as all get out - even exciting! They exude a captivating energy that keeps their listeners on the edge of their seats."

"At the same time, psychopaths are good impostors."

"Psychopaths make their way by conning people into doing things for them; "

"Manipulation is the key to the psychopath's conquests. Initially, the psychopath will feign false emotions to create empathy, and many of them study the tricks that can be employed by the empathy technique. Psychopaths are often able to incite pity from people because they seem like "lost souls" as Guggenbuhl-Craig writes. So the pity factor is one reason why victims often fall for these "poor" people."

"Even more amazing is the fact that when psychopaths do get exposed by someone who is not afraid to admit that they have been conned, the psychopath is a master at painting their victims as the "real culprits."

The article talks about "John Wayne Gacy" and his run for political office and how his supporters rallied around him even as he was being convicted of murder. It gets better. Our modern westernized societies are not only breeding grounds for this type of "human" it is also a vista for them to thrive in. They tend to be the doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc., of the new world order. Scary.

Conclusion:

I first shared this blog as an e-mail with a psycho (I've expanded on it for this article), just to see what their response would be. It was interesting. Without getting into the details, they finished their response by saying, "Let's keep free of psychopathics by holding on to the Savior's hand." Yup!

My response to that, in part, was: 'That is impossible for the true Christian because from the moment one gets saved one embarks upon a Spiritual Warfare that does not end until death... Not to mention, protect myself from psychos when they cross my path as they will most definitely do as I walk in this wilderness that is the world. So while I may not be able to be free of psychos this side of eternity, I hang on to my Lord's hand for dear life. He is my life. My Saviour and my Protector. The One who fights for me - and always wins. He is the Victor...

As Christians, we will encounter people under the influence of the evil one. Whether those people are psychos (demonics) or normal (non-demonics). Whether they are our own loved ones or not. We cannot avoid them, as long as we live and interact in this world. We are certainly not seeking them out. However, we will encounter them in our lives and we need to be equipped to recognize and deal with them - and win. He secured the victory for us at Calvary, there is no reason to live in defeat.'

Here is one of the clearest discussion of this condition that I have read from the perspective of evil and the spiritual dimension by Doug McManaman, Narcissism and the Dynamics of Evil.