JohnGill
Puritan Board Senior
Some questions I've been thinking about for a while now with regards to psychopathy & sin and how psychopathy should be defined under Christianity, if at all. And of course how someone who is classified as a psychopath would change if saved. Would such a person necessarily "feel" empathy after salvation or would they instead look to scripture for guidance on how they should behave in certain situations and act accordingly though never feeling the empathetic? Would their inherent boredom with life in general be replaced by finding an intellectually stimulating part of Christianity to master, a sort of seeking for puzzles? Or should a person who meets the mental health definition for a psychopath be labelled under the generic title "sinner" and the title of "psychopath" be reserved for those who fall under the category mentioned in Romans 1:21-32; Hebrews 6:4-6?
I've also been thinking about how to define the motivation for a criminal behavior. Psychology being based on evolutionism and its inherent rejection of Christianity has not, and cannot, provide a reliable foundation for the why of criminal behavior. Criminal profiling has for years been shown to be nothing more an example of subjective validation and about as scientific as the lie detector test or tarot card reading. Profiling is about as reliable, and sometimes less so, than consulting a psychic. Pick a serial killer and I bet he lives or has lived near a body of water. Ironically some "psychics" have had better hits than the FBIs BSU. Another example of the Barnum effect at work. And then, directly contrary to the doctrine of original sin, there is the assumed goodness of human nature which often causes law enforcement to ignore a valid suspect and pursue an untenable suspect because of confirmation bias.
How could we as Christians bring the field of forensic pathology or criminal detection under the authority of Christ? How do we think God's thoughts after him in such a field? Or more broadly, how do we think God's thoughts after him in joining one idea to the next while avoiding such things as subjective validation, confirmation bias, and self-deception?
Anyone have any ideas?
I've also been thinking about how to define the motivation for a criminal behavior. Psychology being based on evolutionism and its inherent rejection of Christianity has not, and cannot, provide a reliable foundation for the why of criminal behavior. Criminal profiling has for years been shown to be nothing more an example of subjective validation and about as scientific as the lie detector test or tarot card reading. Profiling is about as reliable, and sometimes less so, than consulting a psychic. Pick a serial killer and I bet he lives or has lived near a body of water. Ironically some "psychics" have had better hits than the FBIs BSU. Another example of the Barnum effect at work. And then, directly contrary to the doctrine of original sin, there is the assumed goodness of human nature which often causes law enforcement to ignore a valid suspect and pursue an untenable suspect because of confirmation bias.
How could we as Christians bring the field of forensic pathology or criminal detection under the authority of Christ? How do we think God's thoughts after him in such a field? Or more broadly, how do we think God's thoughts after him in joining one idea to the next while avoiding such things as subjective validation, confirmation bias, and self-deception?
Anyone have any ideas?