Many may remember serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (1960-1994), who killed and mutilated at least 17 men and boys and was killed in prison by a fellow inmate. Less well known is the struggle he had (or claims to have had) over the issue of unguided evolution, whose most popular form is Darwinism.
A friend sends a transcript of a portion of Dahmer’s interview with MSNBC (1994) here, where this interesting comment appears at about 28:55 min, directed at his father, Lionel, who was present:
Thanks to you for sending that creation science material. Because I always believed the lie that evolution is truth, the theory of evolution is truth, that we all just came from the slime, and when we died, you know, that was it, there was nothing-so the whole theory cheapens life. I started reading books that show how evolution is just a complete lie. There’s no basis in science to uphold it. And I’ve since come to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the true Creator of the heavens and the earth, that it didn’t just happen. I’ve accepted him as my Lord and Savior, and I believe that I, as well as everyone else will be accountable to him. . . . If a person doesn’t think there is a God to be accountable to, then what’s the point in trying to modify your behavior to keep it in acceptable ranges?
(Viewer discretion advised.))
Caution: If Dahmer is a psychopath, we don’t know how much of this is an attempt to manipulate his audience. Not a “cynical” attempt, however, as the cliche phrase runs.
There is nothing cynical about it. The psychopath doesn’t experience moral convictions. So he doesn’t understand other people’s moral convictions, or how or why they have them. The best he can do is manipulate them. That doesn’t mean he could not have had a religious experience. But in that case, he fears that God exists and also has those moral convictions he cannot understand. He may be trying to manipulate God. He needn’t bother. God knows his limitations.
That said, Darwinism, in which – as prominent Darwinian philosopher Michael Ruse puts it – “Ethics as we understand it is an illusion fobbed off on us by our genes to get us to co-operate.”* is well suited to a psychopath. He probably did believe “we all just came from slime” and that life is cheapened thereby.
If you bought the DVD of the interview, you will find – according to a friend of UD who did – that this part of the interview was censored. He suggests Lionel Dahmer’s A Father’s Story as a useful resource.
Add this one to the files about the Darwin-driven Columbine shooter and Finnish school shooter. And Norwegian mass murder Anders Breivik, who tumbled a generous dollop of Darwin in with the Norse gods and stuff.
*[E. O. Wilson and Michael Ruse, “The Evolution of Ethics,” New Scientist 108 (17 October 1985): 50-52] and since confirmed: Michael Ruse, “Evolution and Ethics,” in Bruce L. Gordon and William A. Dembski, eds., The Nature of Nature: Examining the Role of Naturalism in Science (ISI Books, 2011); p. 861. There is nothing unusual about Darwinists offering circular file explanations about why that doesn’t “really” undermine ethics.
Follow UD News at Twitter!