The one adjective I hear repeatedly connected to pathology is the word ‘evil.’ Spiritual, unspiritual, heathens, pagans, Christians, Jews, Buddists – it doesn’t matter. The word ‘evil’ is the chosen adjective-of-choice to describe pathology. But what IS evil? Is it more psychological than it is spiritual? Or is it a spiritual issue that has been picked up and defined psychologically? Are they the same thing?
I am not going to translate the lists below for you. They are self explanatory. I have taken the list from Old Testament (of the Jewish faith) and New Testament (of the Christian faith) as examples of the definition of ‘evil.’ You could most likely find similar definitions of evil in other religious texts.
Draw your own conclusions
| Description from the DSM About Socio/Psychopathy & Narcissism | Descriptions of Evil (Lucifer, Satan, etc.) |
| Grandiose, self important and pre occupied with self | Wants people to worship him |
| Fantasizes about power, brilliance, success, and money | Says to God “I WILL ascend, I Will Rise…” Showing power fantasies |
| Requires excessive admiration | Says “You WILL bow down to me” |
| Is entitled | Wants the same power as God, feels he’s as powerful as God |
| Exploits all relationships | Tries to lure others to do his dirty work in the world |
| Lacks empathy | Envious of others |
| Arrogant | Fails to follow laws or rules/uses unethical, unlawful and immoral behavior |
| Deceitful, lies, cons for fun or profit | Impulsive, wants it/takes it, sees it/does it |
| Aggression | Disregard for the safety of others, puts others at risk |
| Irresponsible–bad with supporting others | Lack of remorse, rationalizes stealing, lying, etc |
Other Characteristics (also mentioned in the Women Who Love Psychopaths book)
| Description from the DSM About Socio/Psychopathy & Narcissism | Descriptions of Evil (Lucifer, Satan, etc.) |
| Pretends to be wonderful, helpful, supportive | Masquerades as the ‘Angel of Light’ |
| Powerful | Often beautiful or handsome; Lucifer called ‘the most beautiful’, name means ‘the shining one’ |
| Superior attitude toward others | Is superior to other angels in power and authority |
| Contempt for others, especially authority figures | Fights against God and wants His power |
| Uses power and authority over others | Called the Prince of Power |
| Prideful | Heart is filled with pride and contempt |
| Splits people against each other | Turned 1/3 of the angels against God and took them |
| Often rejected, expelled, dismissed, broken up with because of behavior | God expelled him from Heaven |
| Places are created to contain them: jail, prison, mental institutions, probation | God created a place to contain him in the future–Lake of Fire |
| Fights against any rules and others who try to make him conform | Fights against God to ruin and hinder His plans |
| Destroy and deceive others (and enjoy doing it) | Called ‘The Destroyer’ and “Deceiver” |
| Masquerades as anything you want him to be | Masquerades as the ‘Angel of Light’ |
| Likes to scare others and show power so others fear him | Prowls like a roaring lion |
| Looks for someone to overpower and control | Prowls like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour |
| Bold, cunning, self ambitious | Boldness, subtlety in his cunning |
| Self willed and strong | Prideful self will |
| Narcissistic – wanting to be better than everyone else | Said “I will be like the Most High” |
| Fakes being wonderful, helpful, virtuous | Many false prophets have gone in the world (like him), performs lying ‘signs and wonders’ |
| Accuses others | Called ‘The Accuser’ |
| Adversary, enemy to any who turn against him | Called the Serpent or ‘Adversary’ |
| Liar, tempter, thief | Referred to as a liar, thief and tempter |
| Motives are destructive to others | Motives are to deceive and afflict |
It is clear in some spiritual texts that spiritual evil has almost no separation from psychological evil, or vice versa. There are some things we don’t totally understand such as how the spirit realm can affect the psychological realm, or how one’s pathology may taint their spirit. But it has been clear to me, and hundreds of survivors, that ‘evil’ straddles the vocabularies of both psychological definitions and spiritual ones as well.
The spiritual union of souls when united to a psychopath, is like none other. Those who have united in the spiritual realm can attest to the evil witnessed in that sharing.
There is still much to learn about how psychology and theology meld. A large portion of one of the chapters in Women Who Love Psychopaths as been devoted to this issue. Please check the chart in the book for a better grasp of this concept.
