Narcissism and evil

According to M. Scott Peck, M.D. in his book” People of the Lie,” page 80, “Narcissism or self-absorption takes many forms; some are normal in childhood, but not normal in adulthood. Narcissism is characterized by an unsubmitted will. All human being who are mentally healthy submit their will to God or something stronger than themselves. If we come to the evil people, we will find out that they have extra and

     unordinary willfulness and desire to control others”. (80)

I agree with the author, as narcissism is extreme pride and that is what the evil people suffer from, unrealistic confidence and extreme pride. The willful failure of submission characterizes narcissism. Narcissism is characterized in the story of Satan and God in the Holy Quran and in the Holy Bible:

When God Almighty ordered all the angels to bow to Adam, his first creature, all angels bowed except Satan, as he refused the order of God believing that he was better than Adam.  (Holy Qura’n 2:34)

The submission of Satan to God Almighty was impossible because he saw himself as better than Adam because Adam was created of clay and Satan was created of fire. He could not bow to him, and that is the same case with narcissists; they refuse the order and the will of God Almighty.

We can conclude that all narcissists are rebellious. We can say that Satanism and narcissism are synonyms. The narcissists are evil, just like the twelve steps program followers (alcoholic anonymous, narcotic anonymous, adult children of alcoholics, children of alcoholics, overeaters anonymous, gamblers anonymous, and many others). They carry the same characteristics which the author is speaking about. The twelve steps program followers refused the will and the judgment of God. They destroyed their life by wild drinking and drugging, and other evil deeds. When the time comes to pay for their crimes and to execute the judgment of God, they choose to refuse the order and the will of God.  They choose to go in the path of Lucifer. They choose to worship Satan, believing that Lucifer has a better solution for them. Nay, they will have eternal hellfire and unbearable torture for eternity in the day of resurrection and judgment.

Now we have a question: what is narcissism and arrogant self-image? Why does it affect some people and not others? The author continues saying,” it seems to me that evil run in families.” (Peck 79). But I disagree with him at this point, as evil could not be inherited from a father to a son, like sin could not be inherited either. We can find the black sheep among the white ones, and the opposite is correct, we can find the white sheep among the black ones. I believe it is our choice to be good or evil. It is our choice to walk in either path. Maybe some circumstances affect us greatly towards a certain path, but still we have the free will to choose what we want and which way we should go.

The author affirms, there are two options for every human being either to submit your will to God or to be rebellious against his will and everything else. (Peck 81).

When you chose the second option, which is to be rebellious against God and destiny, you become evil and narcissist. We must ultimately belong to God or Satan, with the freedom to accept or reject.

The author explains,” Normal people always do what god wants them to do rather than what they would desire.” (Peck 79).

I totally agree with the author at this point because surrendering one’s will to the will of God makes a person stable psychologically and emotionally, makes one a happier person and easy going individual. As Christ said, “Thy will be done.” It is not our well, but God’s will. What if you do not accept the will of God? The answer is clear, you become a narcissist, an evil person, Lucifer worshiper, Satan follower.

The author continues, “Another leading theory of narcissism is that it is a defensive phenomenon; normal children grow up in a loving environment; their parents are the source of their love. If the children were born to cruel and unloving parents, then they develop narcissism as a fortress against the cruelty of their parents”. (Peck 81).

I think that might be true to a certain extent, because most of the emotionally ill people who visit psychiatrists regularly have been in trauma or have suffered a lot during their childhood and mostly from the closest people to them, their parents. We can conclude that with Almighty God, there is victory in this life and the life to come, there is a healthy life, and there is happy life. With him, there is no suffering, there is no pain. There is eternal life in heaven. There is neither narcissism nor emotional disturbance. With him, none can lose.

Comments on;

  Peck, M. Scott., People of the Lie.    

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.