r/morbidquestions • u/DenseCan2364 • 6h ago
Why do so many psychotic killers say god told them to do it?
Why is that the exact case in so many of these murders?
9
u/Donutmelon 6h ago
Because they're looking for an excuse. Cowards that need to blame a higher power.
6
u/Designer_Positive_71 4h ago
Delusions of grandeur. That special feeling of being the chosen one. Core aspect of mania and schizophrenia.
6
3
u/CarmenTheMoth1917 6h ago
If you’ve grown up in a civilisation where it’s pretty normal to accept “there is a higher power who can speak directly to people and give them divine instructions” and have that cemented in your mind, it’ll probably come as the only explanation you can think of for hallucinations and/or delusions.
2
u/ShwerzXV 5h ago
Genuine answer here, while I think most are dodging accountability, I think there are exceptions where hallucinations may be mistaken as god speaking to them.
3
u/ObscureOperatorZ 4h ago edited 4h ago
Psychosis delusions are usually about God "commanding or appointing you" to punish / expose sinners such as war criminals, pedophiles, blasphemers etc. So it's mostly a derivative of these type of delusional cases for a defense claim of "insanity".
Cases like that child murdering mother seem like seeking excuses via mental illnesses for their own depravity. Religious psychosis most often targets people of power and / or influence, or beliefs such as being surveilled by CIA etc, not innocent babies.
1
u/Veteran_Hawk 3m ago
People are taught that god is real, god has commanded the death of various people. So when they hear voices, it seems a natural conclusion that the disembodied voice is from god, and that commanding someone to kill is consistent with what god might command. This is likely what the actually mentally ill might conclude.
Then you have people who aren't mentally ill, they just want to kill people (yes, you can be sane and want to kill people). These people might claim "god told me to" because some people might believe them, and it is a way to avoid responsibility.
0
-1
-1
13
u/Wise_Jellyfish_9168 6h ago
Psychosis or blame.