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Old 05-04-2020, 11:04 AM   #1925
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I was listening to this debate recently between YouTube celebrity Matt Dillahunty and internet Christian apologist David Wood...



I watch A LOT of online debates, and when it comes to Christian apologetics most are pretty much the same. But what struck me about this particular one is that part of David Wood's argument for a theistic model of ethics is his own personal experience as a convicted, violent felon, and a diagnosed psychopath. Wood projects from past behaviour a caricature of atheism, but this is not what grabbed my attention in this debate.

What I found myself drawn to was Wood's conversion experience, and what we might learn from him about the relationship between psychopathy and god-belief. Not that theists are psychopaths, but rather, Are diagnosed psychopaths more or less drawn to theism?

I think it is an interesting question: a belief in higher power, submission to supernatural authority and the consequences of non-belief would seem to map fairly seamlessly onto a pre-existing condition which is characterized by anti-social behaviour, the absence of empathy and engrained narcissism. In other words, when I listen to David Wood it makes perfect, logical sense to me that a person like him would gravitate towards theism—especially the sort of highly organized reformed theological system that he promotes.
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