For God knows that on the day that you eat thereof, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like angels, knowing good and evil.
genesis 3:5
[note: since this post, it has been reported that the interaction listed below was that of an actual law enforcement officer. it was quite astonishing at that casual language that was used by the officer. this episode may reflect the need for law enforcement to assess how to communicate during an active shooter event.]
in modern times, the concepts of good and evil are perhaps dated. the bible impresses human’s ability to discern between the two. the bible further impresses that good and evil exists in this.
psychology is the science based attempt to describe human behavior. one’s upbringing, medical conditions, altered states, and intoxication are factors to consider. psychology’s bible is the “diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders” or dsm. dsm, over the years, has gone through revisions and there are multiple versions. psychiatrists, psychologists and other mental health practitioners employ it to classify patients’ psychological conditions. examples of such conditions are depression or anxiety. these items can have gradations with modifiers attached, i.e. major depressive disorder
the recent michigan school shooting had a terrifying scene worthy of analysis.
after the shooting had started, students hid in classrooms. a student recorded the following incident:
“sheriff’s office. it’s safe to come out,” a male voice can be heard saying tentatively from behind the door of the oxford high school classroom during the shooting that left three students dead and eight others wounded, the postings say.
a dozen or so frightened students seen on the clip inside the room are immediately skeptical of the supposed authority figure.
one girl is heard whispering, “we don’t know who that is.”
a student standing by the door replies sternly to the voice on the other side, “we’re not taking that risk right now.”
the male voice pleads, “ok, well, just open the door, and look at my eyes, bro.” nypost.com
the students realized the ruse, did not open the door, and went to escape from the room.
from the exchange, the shooter apparently was baiting the students to open the door for the purposes of murdering them. the shooter’s statements, as reported, evidence a conscious intent to commit murder. the shooter employed cold calculated rational thought in their attempt to cause further harm. the actions were no delusion, no irresistible impulse, no spontaneous moment; it was pure evil.
society must appreciate, in that brief moment, that it has truly witnessed something that cannot be explained otherwise. many eyes have now been opened to understand and appreciate the nature of pure evil.
when the american psychiatric association gets together to work on their next version of the dsm, considerable discussion and debate should occur as to what happened in michigan. perhaps, they will need to look towards the bible and consider that there may in fact be the basis for a diagnosis of “evil.”
be well!!
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