Narcissism: BIBLE Got There FIRST! (FULL VIDEO in Description)
1. Ancient Texts and Character Descriptions
- The speaker references the New Testament, a book written by Jewish scholars nearly 1,950 years ago, as a source describing human behaviors and character traits. This text is presented as containing a prophecy about “terrible times in the last days” and characterizing certain negative personality traits (e.g., selfishness, pride, ungratefulness) which align closely with modern understandings of narcissism. [00:00]
2. Biblical Description of Narcissistic Traits
- The Bible’s description includes people being “lovers of themselves, lovers of money,” boasting, being abusive, disobedient, ungrateful, unforgiving, and lacking self-control, among others. These individuals are said to manipulate others, particularly vulnerable people, highlighting characteristics similar to narcissists. The speaker suggests this description surpasses modern clinical manuals in capturing the essence of narcissism. [00:30]
3. Comparison to Modern Diagnostic Manuals
- The speaker compares biblical descriptions to contemporary diagnostic tools such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). They explain the DSM uses a checklist of nine traits, with a diagnosis when five out of nine traits are met. The ICD edition 11 lists traits like antagonism and dissociation but does not use terms like narcissist or psychopath explicitly. [01:35]
4. Geographic Usage of Narcissism & Psychopathy Terms
- Narcissist and psychopath diagnoses are predominantly used in North America (United States and Canada), as well as parts of the United Kingdom and Australia. The ICD does not formally recognize these terms as diagnoses, indicating regional differences in diagnostic terminology and classification. [02:45]
5. Structure of the Lecture
- The lecture is divided into two parts: the first part covers the phenomenology (description of the typical narcissist), while the second part is intended to address further aspects (not detailed in the transcript). This organizational structure mirrors a traditional Jewish two-part approach. [03:40]
