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The Father of Every Narcissist
The father of every narcissist is, of course, the devil. He provides a perfect pattern card of narcissistic behavior, beginning with his fall from heaven. Just a precursory look at his words and behavior read like the DSM’s definition of narcissism. I have often had readers protest my Biblical analysis of narcissistic personality disorder. Their objection comes from the idea that NPD is a psychological term and, therefore, not Biblically valid. But depression is another clinical term often applied to Elijah, Jeremiah, and Jonah. It is a universal experience that afflicts most humans, if not all, at one time or another. So my response to the objection is that nothing…
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How Narcissists Misinterpret Scripture
Many of us misinterpret Scripture. It takes both the guidance of the Holy Spirit and serious study to figure out what the Bible is telling us and avoid misinterpretation. We all have our filters that obscure the truth, and translations are sometimes spotty at best. But the difference between a sincere Christian’s attempt to understand the Bible versus how a narcissist uses it for his or her advantage becomes apparent with a little digging. Any interpretation of the Bible that does not involve the Holy Spirit is bound to be inaccurate. But as unfortunate as that can be, the real danger lies in those who use it for their selfish…
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How Jesus Calls Out the Narcissistic Pharisee
The Pharisee pointed out by Jesus for his narcissistic prayer is just the beginning of Jesus calling out narcissism within the Pharisaic sect. But we can learn a lot about Pharisees from this short parable in which Jesus compares a publican or a tax-collector to a Pharisee. In the following verses, we see two men praying, but about what and to whom they pray is up for close observation. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed…