Posted on 08/28/2005 6:10:40 AM PDT by Esther Ruth
BTK pastor believes serial killer possessed Lutheran minister’s theology of evil altered by events
Posted: August 28, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Mark Ellis © 2005 ASSIST News Service
WICHITA, Kansas – He's faithfully visited notorious serial killer Dennis Rader every week at the county jail and still sees himself as his pastor. But the Dennis Rader he saw make a rambling final statement in court is not the same person he knows.
"The person I heard in the courtroom was not the real Dennis," says Michael Clark, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita. "There was someone else speaking from Dennis that day," he believes. "I personally think we’re dealing with some kind of possession."
Rev. Michael Clark of Wichita's Christ Lutheran Church
"From all that I’ve seen and the people I've talked with who have dealt with demonic possession, I feel there was something working there," he adds. "When I go back to the beginning when Dennis made his first statement to the public about his condition in the '70s he said, 'There’s a monster inside of me that I can’t control.'"
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
On Aug. 18 Judge Gregory Waller sentenced Rader to 10 consecutive life sentences – a minimum of 175 years in prison – with no possibility of parole. At the sentencing hearing Rader delivered a rambling 30-minute discourse in which he often compared himself with his victims. Rev. Clark observed the entire proceeding inside the courtroom.
"Sedgwick County has a monster," Rader told a rapt audience. "The old me started whatever it was – factor X – sexual predator," he said.
Rader described one murder victim, Marine Hedge, as "a neighbor, one I walked by and waved to, a gardener. I love to garden, flowers. She attended church, the same church I had been to with Boy Scouts."
One by one, Rader continued in a bizarre fashion to compare himself with the personal habits and hobbies, likes and dislikes of each victim. At one point in his discourse he described the afterlife as "smoke."
He even referred to his own compartmentalized personality. "When this happened, I was what I would say not total at one time. Part of me [was] only the thoughts that compartmentalize … and that has been my biggest wreck back and forth … I could switch back and forth fairly fast."
As Rev. Clark listened, he was struck by the inconsistency with the man he knew. "I honestly don't think it was the Dennis Rader I know who was a member of this congregation and who I worked with in leadership," he says. "It was a power, an evil force that was controlling."
On the Friday Rader was arrested, Rev. Clark had just finished his Sunday sermon when the doorbell rang at his church office. It was an officer and three detectives armed with a search warrant. When they identified Rader as a suspect in the BTK serial killings, Clark was stupefied.
"I had to ask at least three times to clarify what I thought I heard," Clark says. "It took me a half hour to understand what I heard," he says. "I was at the point where I couldn't say anything. I was speechless, and I haven't been that way too often."
Rader was president of their 11-member church council – a position elected by the congregation. "Dennis has been actively involved with this church for 20-30 years," Clark notes. "That's probably one of the pieces that has so many people reeling in disbelief," he says. "He's here all the time."
Growing up in the Lutheran tradition at another church in the Wichita area, Rader was confirmed as a teenager after completing his catechism, according to Clark. "He had to be confirmed in order to be a commissioned and active member of this church."
Rev. Clark still believes Rader is a Christian, but Rader’s shocking double life caused Clark to reexamine his theology of evil during the last few months. First Clark read C.S. Lewis' classic "Screwtape Letters" as well as M. Scott Peck's "A Glimpse of the Devil." Then he consulted with a retired Lutheran pastor who experienced demonic encounters in the mission field.
The readings and conversations altered Rev. Clark's views about Satan, causing a dramatic shift in his theology of evil. "You might say it has changed 180 degrees," he notes. "I've got a completely different perspective on evil than I had six months ago."
While Rader may need specialized treatment to address his condition, Rev. Clark is not sure he's the one to provide it. "I've learned more about the value and purpose of exorcism," he says. "I'm not sure I would get involved with that because it takes specialized training and skills."
"It's not something you play around with – it's very dangerous," he adds.
"We're so used to dealing with the psychological and scientific model," he continues. "We don't recognize the possibility of a spiritual explanation." He takes issue with those who would be quick to apply a label to Rader such as "psychopath" or "sociopath."
"We give people medications to deal with psychological conditions but we don't get to the core issue – the existence of the demonic," he adds.
Surprisingly, Rev. Clark's congregation has grown throughout this ordeal, but healing the wounds of the victims' families will take time. "We've got a long way to go," Clark says. "Because it gets so dark we can't see where God is at, it's like walking into a massive fog," he says. "But God is there and He's good – I'm certain of that."
"Because it gets so dark we can't see where God is at, it's like walking into a massive fog," he says. "But God is there and He's good – I'm certain of that." !!!
The monster wants redemption. If justice is to have any meaning, he won't get what he wants.
People are not freed from personal responsibility just because they're "possessed." That's a mistaken understanding.
I wonder what a Lutheran Exorcism is like...
Demon possessed? Or a creature in Christ......
I'd have to support the former.
"I (Rev. Michael Clark of Wichita's Christ Lutheran Church) personally think we’re dealing with some kind of possession."
Okay Rev, I'll buy that - so let's burn him at a stake!
Probably pretty much like a Catholic one. The rituals for exorcism were developed well before the Lutherans split from Catholicism, and I doubt that old Martin changed them.
Pretty much the same, except you use a plain cross instead of a crucifix and there is no guilt involved.
Unless there's pea soup involved, there's no demonic possession.
Hmmm a Luth`eran pastor who has never read The Screwtape Letters? Not very encouraging.
Ping and bump.
I've come to view Satan as God's loyal angel sent to test man, not as an adversary to God - since there can be none. I think John Milton really screwed up the Western view of Satan as some kind of cartoon character.
As for BTK, the point is moot. He is in the state's protective hands, so I highly doubt that real justice can ever happen.
I don't buy that. The Christian in him would have felt tremendous guilt and conviction in his soul. He would have been lead to turn himself in during those times he was able to play a Christian doing church work. This man obviously welcomed and sheltered any evil he was possessed with.
'The Devil made me do it' ping
I hope the Reverend doesn't give up on this matter. If Rader is indeed possessed, it will be interesting to see if an exorcism is performed.
Isaiah Chapter 14:12-15
"12": How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
"13": For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
"14": I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
"15": Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Probably includes red jello, a banana, whipped cream and the compulsion to sit in the back of every room.
Sounds too kinky for my in-laws but they're Missouri Synod. :)
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