Jared Loughner: The Anomaly ?

Everyone is talking about Jared Loughner, the Tucson shooter. A troubled young man, he clearly has what Dr. Charles Krautheimer (a psychiatrist) says is a "thinking disorder." Others are trying to establish that he is a product of Right-Wing hate speech.

So, who is Jared Loughner? We'll find out over the next few months. But don't be surprised if nothing really stands out!

There may be reports of parental neglect or abuse. There has already been reports of drug use. One of his Community College teachers thought him 'spooky' enough to get him removed from his class. A female student said she deliberately sat close to the door because she thought he would erupt in violence, at some point.

Society will be found to have failed Jared. He will probably be judged insane, which he appears to be, and spend the rest of his life in a Mental Hospital or in jail.

Where do "Jareds" come from? Our secular philosophy doesn't have a concrete answer. It can simply guess. And 70 years' of guessing has taken us on a wild ride!

Sigmund Freud guessed it related to sex. Margaret Sanger (and other psychiatrists) guessed it was evolutionary. Taking her lead from another 'guesser,' Charles Darwin, she and her fellows worked to sterilize undesirable traits from the human genome. They called it Eugenics.

Adolf Hitler's psychiatrists applied Eugenics to non-Arian races, especially Jews. The world was, and continues to be, horrified with the result.

Dr. Spock guessed at how to raise children, apologizing in the late 1960's for his error. Many others have (and are) guessing at who we are, why we do what we do and how to fix it.

I think we'll find that Jared was raised in a permissive home, that his parents were not engaged, that his father was angry and abusive [one neighbor has already said as much], that Jared was a 'troubled child' and this event was simply the boiling-over of all these factors.

But Jared is just one more "Sign-Post" that our secular, psychological, marxist society is ill-equipped to accomplish what it promises.

The Triumvirate of Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin have set us on the road to destruction. They saw men and women as incapable of governing themselves. Marx saw a centralized government of the Elite, making all the important decisions. Freud saw the human body as simply a compilation of chemistry and impulses, while Darwin robbed us of our humanity, making us animals only slightly higher than brute beasts.

So, after 150 years, we get Jared. Is there a difference between Jared and the average child you see in the store or in the restaurant, badgering his or her parents, insisting on having his or her own way, at the top of their voice?

Only in the result.

The Bloom is off the Rose! But the Elite among us: the social architects, politicians, scientists, psychiatrists and psychologists and even the preachers don't seem to 'see it.'

Give it some time and these folks will be back 'out there' buffing up that rose. Jared will be a blip on the radar. An anomaly. An exception.

Until the next time! Or, until it is discovered that the majority of us think very much like Jared. Then watch the door of personal freedom slam shut!

Things We Can't Say

We can't say that abortion is murder, homosexuality is aberrant, Jesus is the only Way, Darwinian evolution is a flawed theory or that criminals are 'bad.'

We also, apparently, can't call bullies 'bad.' We can say that bullying is unacceptable behavior, or that it isn't 'nice.' But no one is permitted to call any childhood behavior bad, let alone the person doing the deed.

All this leads us to 'therapies' and 'counter measures,' to help children learn how to get along with one another. But it does nothing to actually solve the problem!

What happened to linking bad behavior with character? Some things are constructive while others are destructive. Can't we point out the destructive nature of stubbornness, obsessiveness, being critical, apathetic, self-indulgent, callous, willful, or any number of negative character qualities?

Why do we have to separate the behavior from the attitude that stimulates it?

Oh, I know! Because no one is BAD!!! Only behaviors are bad. People are good.

Here's a News Flash: If you don't know what's wrong, you can't fix it!

Parenting is about training little people who have no values. If we let them simply express what they feel, don't be surprised if they develop a destructive value system.

Some people simply have no empathy toward anyone. They are self-centered and narcissistic. Tell them a particular behavior hurts the other person and they will have no sympathetic response. Psychology calls this Anti-Social Behavior Disorder.

Isn't that nice? They have a disorder of the 'mind.' It's not their fault. Of course, the mental health community has no idea what 'the mind' is, nor do they know why it's disordered! They believe the mind to be the brain, judging from all the brain studies and chemicals applied to make the it work better. Think about that! Seven pounds of grey matter, sitting on top of your neck is running your life. No wonder nothing is my fault.

The Bible says the mind is a function of the heart and that the heart is desperately wicked, beyond anything anyone can 'know.' [Jer. 17:9] Calling this kind of wickedness "unacceptable behavior" isn't attacking the real problem.

Here's another good reason to keep your children out of the State School System. They might get hurt.

You Be The Judge

Jennifer Keeton is a Christian enrolled in an Augusta State University Graduate Course in counseling. She is also a Christian and does not believe homosexuality to be normal. Her instructors do not believe her position is consistent with current psychological theory and have presented her with a remediation plan to make her more sensitive to the gay population. This is a condition for her graduating from this Course of study.

Jennifer views it as a violation of her rights and has the support of the Alliance Defense Fund to be able to finish the Course without changing her convictions.

Can I tell you: I agree with Augusta State University!

If the tables were turned, would a person who believed homosexuality was inherent and/or natural to some people be granted a Degree from a Biblical Counseling Department? In today's climate, maybe. But they should not!

Until the 1970's, the Mental Health community viewed homosexuality as 'abnormal psychology.' By a vote of the committee developing the DSM IV, homosexuality became 'normal psychology.'

No scientific breakthrough. No objective evidence. Not DNA nor brain chemistry studies. Nothing except the opinion of a majority of the 70, or so, committee members: all respected psychologists / psychiatrists.

Now, you can't even imply that homosexual behavior is wrong on any level. To do so makes you a bigot.

The real question is: Why would a Christian want a Secular Counseling Degree?

Psychological Theory is rooted in a pagan anthropology and a completely secular, humanistic philosophy of life. There is nothing whatever biblical about their premise nor their treatment.

In their world, aberrant behavior is the product of a "Mental Disorder." You are broken! It's not your fault. You cannot be cured. It can only be managed.

The term, "Mental Disorder," sounds very medical, doesn't it? But what is the 'mind?' And how is it 'disordered?'

They tend to see the brain as the mind. That's why there are so many brain studies and brain chemistry medications. For the Mental Health community, the way our physical systems interact to produce feelings or behaviors is somehow twisted or non-functional.

But the Bible teaches us that the 'mind' is a function of the heart. It is the mind that makes the decisions of life, not the brain. The Bible teaches that feelings follow behavior, behaviors following choices, choices flowing from hearts that are either sinful or 'made new' by God's grace.

Maybe there will be more Jennifer Keetons and true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will stop trying to wed the pagan philosophies of psychology with The Bible! Maybe they will actually begin to study God's Word in order to help folks with social or emotional problems.

One can only hope! And Pray!