Infant Behaviour Now whilst the results of this test can only be considered to be a result of some
statistical relevance, it nonetheless can be argued that it shows a preponderance for good over evil preferences in humans
who have had virtually no experience of life. Therefore good or evil tendencies could be argued as an innate function of the
early human spirit. Traditional psychology could not even consider that possibility. Check out this link and judge for yourself:
http://danapress.typepad.com/weblog/2011/09/are-you-good-or-evil.html Interestingly scripture recognises the innocence
of children as having no knowledge of good and evil: 39 Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your
children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it,
and they shall possess it. (Deuteronomy 1) 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land
that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. (Isaiah 7) In this regard, the man Adam was also a child until he deliberately disobeyed his father Jehovah and chose to carry
out a disobedient act. It was this enactment that was deemed the knowledge of good and evil, not that Adam could not recognise
good from evil prior to his sin: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2) 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Genesis 3) So it may be with today's infants. Discerning good from evil at an early age
provides the basis of our having a free choice to enact evil in defiance of one's conscience or parental advice in later
life. It is this latter choosing between acting for good or for evil which is when we truly begin to have the knowledge of
the angels. Indeed this knowledge should grow with our years as we should be adding wisdom to that knowledge as we have more
experience of life. In recognition of this Paul had this advice to give for the Hebrew congregation's ministry: 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need
of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness:
for he is a babe.
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by
reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. (Hebrews 5)
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Marine Training Looking at the various web-sites on the internet covering the subject of US Marine
training, it would appear that the boot camp methodology attempts (apparently very successfully) to overcome the natural brotherly
love that man feels for man. This is in the interest of building human killing machines that have no moral dilemma in killing
other human beings, including those who are not their direct enemies such as non-combatants. This training regime would seem
to confirm that nurture can successfully over-ride nature in that it has clearly been proven (if you care to check out
the following web-links) that the marine boot camp is highly successful in creating killing machines from previously normal
humane citizens:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-08-13/opinion/17308069_1_kill-human-brain-soldier
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/America/Training_Killers_Military.html
http://www.waldorflibrary.org/Journal_Articles/RB6201.pdf
One problem (apart from the evil practice
itself!) is that it would also appear, that once this negative nurture has been applied, it does not appear to be easily capable
of being switched off. At least we do not seem to know today how to do this although I am sure our Lord will know how in the
Kingdom.
Since there is clearly the need to
carry out this harsh regime of kill training on all marine recruits, this would support the previous section which argues
that the majority (if not all) of humans are born with an innate preference for good over evil. Boot camp obviously can overcome
this innate attribute. If we take these first two sections together at face value they seem to indicate that human spirits
are mostly naturally good in their natures but can be turned evil through time and circumstance. My feeling up to writing
this paper is that we are all tested in this regards throughout our lives and the decisions we make will determine to our
Lord the overall nature of our heart condition. However we will not be tested beyond our reasonable ability to pass any test
that our Lord chooses to give us: 13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]. (1Corinthians 10) I suspect
therefore that if a previously righteous man were trained as a marine, and wantonly killed innocents as a direct result of
that training, that the Lord would look at his record of behaviour prior to that training. To expect a viciously trained killer
to obey God's sixth commandment would not seem to me to be a fair test of that Marine: 13 Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20) I suspect this individual would find himself in the Kingdom under a suitable programme
of rehabilitation to the human race whilst his drill instructor will likely find himself on the wrong side of the judgement
even if that one had not actually killed anyone directly with his own hands. As we have found elsewhere on this web-site,
the Lord judges us by our heart condition: 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his
stature; because I have refused him: for [the LORD seeth] not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but
the LORD looketh on the heart. (1Samuel 16) Perhaps
a killer marine had a good heart condition, prior to his training, which will be how God judges that one. I would not wish
to explore exactly how the dehumanising training programme of boot camp actually works on the brain/spirit complex but it
is possible that, throughout all of it, the spiritual heart of the man remains intact. It may be the spiritual conscience
that gets impacted and God will judge us all by how we obey our consciences. What knowledge we have right now would suggest
that the art of ‘killology' would appear to circumvent the fore-brain and desensitise the mid-brain either of which
effectively takes the conscience out of the marine's killing decision-making. Whatever the truth of the matter, God is
quite capable of judging each of us, almost regardless of our external behaviour, in ways that are completely outside of our
grasp. Mind you I would have to ask what righteous man would be a willing recruit for the marines if he had the full prior
knowledge that he will be turned into a remorseless killing machine.
The Psychopathic Killer
It would appear that psychopathic killers have a common brain scan profile which, worryingly for the neuroscientist
presenting the Horizon programme, he actually shares with them: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127888976 According to current neuroscientific thinking,
we can see that the three ingredients of an inactive orbital cortex, high aggression variant of the MAO-A gene (monoamine
oxidase A) together with an abused childhood can lead to the owner of that brain becoming a psychopathic killer arguably outside
of his own control. So, in comparison to our boot camp trained killers above, these ones are a product of both nature and
nurture whereas the marines are products almost entirely of a targeted nurture. The result, however, would appear to be the
same in the creation of a remorseless killer. Clearly this provides a dichotomy for mankind's justice; even in God's
Old Testament Laws murder is a capital offence without excuse or qualification and I repeat: 13 Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20) The orbital cortex would appear to be the part of the physical human brain that
processes the conscience element of the human spirit. If that is damaged then the owner of that brain cannot truly be
regarded as guilty of his serious crimes. Mankind is not capable, however, of perceiving this lack of guilt easily beyond
the physical proof of murder. It would appear, however, that neuroscientists are now beginning to enter their evidence
in as mitigating circumstance. In one sense this is a little worrying in that this is yet another example, in our current
times, of man playing god by building further on his scientific tower of Babel. I would feel much more comfortable if we just
abided by God's law as laid down with Moses and left the true justice of the spiritual heart with our God until judgement
day. The long Christian view of the human justice system is that it is only a temporary arrangement that will be superseded
by the perfect justice of our God when He once again rules over mankind in the Kingdom. Who is the ‘thou' of Exodus 20:13. I would argue that it is the spirit
of the murderer whilst it is actually that spirit's soul that is punished for the act of murder: 30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer
shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.
31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death:
but he shall be surely put to death. (Numbers 35) 21 And thine eye shall not pity; [but] life [shall go] for life, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deuteronomy 19) 23 And if [any] mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
24 Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
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Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. (Exodus 21) So the bible-prescribed punishment of the Old Testament is that the taking of a life should be met by the loss of
life of the murderer. This seems like justice for a deliberate and conscious murder, but what if the murderer is a psychopath
which neuroscience is leading us to believe does not have the biological hardware to allow his spirit's conscience to
function properly? Well if we take the bible at its face value then it is still telling us that the psychopathic soul must
also die. Man is not able to make a precise enough judgement to determine guilt beyond that degree. In God's purview, however, this matters not a jot. A psychopathic soul, complete
with its faulty hardwiring will die (or suffer life imprisonment) in punishment for a murder but the spirit will be preserved
intact for God's own later and perfect judgement. So it would seem that man's justice is intended to be rough and
ready in these matters since it could not be anything else. Arguably, even in murder cases proven as psychopathic in nature,
some punishment rigorous enough to prevent a repeat murder should be taken. Whether that be the death penalty as dictated
by scripture or incarceration without hope of parole, either would still seem suitable. A life for a life is a soul for a
soul or, more precisely, a body for a body; there is no loss of spirit either in the original crime or in the ultimate punishment.
All is redeemed in the final analysis. It
looks like I have just justified the death penalty in cases of proven murder; this was certainly not my intention at the outset
of writing this paper!
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