Transgender Terrorists, Demons, and Psychotic Entelechy

 

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.

And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:13-16 NKJV)

 

 

 

It is now no longer a question of WHETHER transgender culture tends to lead one to commit violence/terrorism. The question this post seeks to (at least, partially) answer is WHY? It happened again, last week. On August 27^th, Robin/Robert Westman, a transgender terrorist opened fire on another Christian school—this time, the Annunciation Catholic Church and school in Minneapolis—killing two children and injuring 17 other individuals. Amazingly, the mainstream media remains puzzled about the motive for this mass shooting in Minneapolis, despite the fact that Westman had his motives written all over his weapons and ammunition. The comments “Israel must fall,” “Burn Israel,” and “6 million wasn’t enough” indicate that Westman hated Jews and wanted to continue the holocaust. The comments “Kill Trump Now!” and “Kill Donald Trump RIP & TEAR” indicate that he held extreme anti-Trump views.  Even though he chose to shoot up a Catholic school, his antisemitic comments indicate that he is an equal opportunity religious hater. Furthermore, Westman left a graphically illustrated manifesto related to his intent to terrorize. One specific illustration has captured the attention of the public: a drawing of the shooter looking into a bathroom mirror and seeing the face of a Baphomet reflected back at him.

One day after the Minnesota school shooting, Snihal/Sasha Srivasta, a man believing himself to be a woman, killed the father of a six-year-old whom he had just dropped off at school, in Massachusetts.  https://wltreport.com/2025/08/30/more-trans-violence-transgender-man-mrders-innocent-father/?utm_source=PTN&utm_medium=mixed&utm_campaign=PTN  In March of 2023, transgender Audrey/Aiden Hale shot and killed three students and three staff members at (the Christian) Covenant School in Nashville, TN. On November 19, 2022, Anderson Lee Aldridge, who identifies as nonbinary and uses “they/them” pronouns, killed five people and injured 40 others at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO. On May 17, 2019, one student was killed and eight others injured at a STEM high school in Colorado. One of the two perpetrators, Alec McKinney, was a transgender-identified female. On September 20, 2018, Snochia Moseley, who identified as a transgender man (as emails from 2016 showed) shot and killed three individuals and injured three others at a Rite Aid warehouse in Aberdeen, MD. https://thepostmillennial.com/these-are-all-the-mass-shootings-committed-by-trans-people-in-the-us

It would certainly be a gross overstatement to classify all transgender-identifying individuals as terrorists (just as it is an overstatement to suggest that all Muslims are terrorists), but an emerging sense exists that an inordinately high number in each category is prone to terrorism. Even the Democrat political party has become an implicit element of transgender terrorism (consider Westman’s comments “Kill Trump Now!” and “Kill Donald Trump!) It is commonplace to hear Democrat politicians and legacy media hosts dispute the notion that an inordinately high number in the transgender category are prone to terrorism, but consider even their argument: Briana Keilar of CNN points out that of the “32 school mass shootings that have occurred in the country since 2020, only two others were carried out by perpetrators who identified as transgender or gender-diverse.” Nevertheless, “only” two out of 32 still amounts to 1/16^th of all school mass shootings, which is “inordinately high” since transgenders represent less than 1/100^th of all adult Americans. Even one out of 32 would still be “inordinately high.” I believe that a psychotic entelechy motive is strong in this group. While the source of the Islamic psychotic entelechy is a far too common interpretation of the Koran, the implicit rhetorical source of the transgender psychotic entelechy may be the symbol known as Baphomet.

Is Baphomet a Demon?

Brittanica.com states:

“The first known mention of Baphomet was in a letter written in 1098 by Anselm of Ribemont describing the Siege of Antioch during the First Crusade. Anselm stated that the Turks ‘called loudly upon Baphomet.’ Most scholars believe that the name is an alteration of “Mahomet,” or Muhammed, the founder of Islam.

… In his book Dogme et rituel de la haute magie (1854–56; The Doctrine and Ritual of High Magic), the influential French occultist Éliphas Lévi created the Baphomet that has become a recognized occult icon. The book’s frontispiece was a drawing of Baphomet imagined as a ‘Sabbatic Goat’—a hermaphroditic winged human figure with the head and feet of a goat that is adorned with numerous esoteric symbols. Lévi describes the meaning of each element of the drawing, which is defined by its profound and pervasive duality. … More recently, the Satanic Temple commissioned a statue of Baphomet, which was unveiled in 2015 and then moved to various places as a protest against displays of Ten Commandments monuments in public spaces.”

Turks calling on the name of Muhammed does not indicate that they believed in a demon. Muhammed was an actual human (considered a prophet by Muslims, although Christians and Jews generally consider him to be a false prophet). Making Baphomet into an occult icon and later a symbol of the Satanic Temple might tend to move him toward the demon category, but the fact that he was first mentioned in 1098 and first pictured by Éliphas Lévi in 1854 suggests that he was not a demon from biblical times. The demons from the New Testament period did not have their own personal physical characteristics. They were “non-physical.” They unanimously acknowledged that Jesus was the Son of God (See Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 2:20, 3:11, 5:1-17, 8:31, and Luke 8:26-33) and submitted to him. Mt. 4:23-25, 8:14-17, Mk. 1:29-39, and Lk. 4:38-41 write of several unspecified cases of demon-possession.  All demon-possessed individuals knew who Jesus was. They also believed in the one true God (James 2:19). By contrast, the Baphomet of the Satanic Temple appears to defy the Ten Commandments. Perhaps, this connection of Baphomet defying the Commandments explains why one who identifies with Baphomet might be motivated to “kill” and violate others of the Ten Commandments. Except for the “evil spirits” who rejected the Jewish exorcists in Acts 19:13-16, cited at the first of this post, demon-possessed individuals do not inflict harm on others (such as carrying out terrorist attacks and other violence). They do, however, at times, harm themselves.

In my book Angels and Demons: The Personification of Communication (Say Press, 2020), derived from my M.A. in Hebrew thesis at Indiana University, “Anamartetous Fallen Angels,” I point out that both the Apostle Paul and John the author of Revelation teach that demons do not exist as actual entities. (The term “anamartetous” means “sinless.”) On page xix of Angels and Demons, I write:

“In I Corinthians 10:18, Paul asks a rhetorical question: ‘What then is my suggestion--that an idol offering amounts to anything or that the idol itself is anything?  No, but that what they sacrifice, they are offering to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to fellowship with demons.’  Paul has made ‘idols’ equal ‘demons’ and has stated (rhetorically) that ‘idols’ are ‘not anything.’  Earlier, in I Corinthians 8:4, he had stated, ‘We know that no idol really exists; that there is no God but one.’”

On page 203, I point out:

“John the author of  Revelation (in 9:20) appears to agree with Paul—that demons (like idols) are nothing.  He writes of unrepentant men who worshiped the ‘works of their hands’—'demons and golden idols, and silver, and bronze, and wooden, which are not able to see, nor hear, nor walk.’”

Demons are not found at all in the Old Testament or in John’s Gospel. Some argue that the Old Testament mentions a demon called Azazel. I correct this notion, however, on page 7 of my book on angels and demons:

“One attempt at identifying fallen angels in the Old Testament centers on the Day of Atonement as discussed in Leviticus 16.  The Berkeley Version of Leviticus 16:7-10 mentions a certain ‘Azazel,’ which some have identified as a fallen angel:

‘He shall take the two he-goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the Dwelling and Aaron shall cast lots over the two he-goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for Azazel.  Aaron shall bring the goat on which the lot for the Lord fell and shall prepare it for a sin offering; but the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement with it by sending it for a scapegoat into the desert.’

Notice that this scripture passage does not contain any mention of angels or demons.  A footnote in the Berkeley Version states: ‘The name Azazel is derived from Azalzeh (dismissed one) thus properly thought of as a scapegoat.’”

It is entirely possible, however, that this reference to a “goat” (incorrectly thought by some to be a demon) served as the inspiration for Éliphas Lévi’s Baphomet: the drawing of Baphomet as a “Sabbatic Goat.” Actually, the concept of demons came from the Greeks, not from the Jews. I comment on page 197 of my book:

“Demon (δαιμόνιον))is a Greek concept, not a Jewish concept.  They are not even always bad or evil, in Greek thought.  Socrates, with a positive air, claims, in his Apology, to have a demon.  At his trial, he says he is not an unbeliever, because he hears a voice that is a demon instructing him to be a philosopher.  The Greek word for ‘fortunate’ is EUDAIMŌN (εὐδαίμων)—meaning ‘(having a) good demon.’  That the Apostle Paul—who has received an education as a Roman citizen—would reject the existence of demons on the basis that they are the same as idols is not surprising.”

So, what then are demons? They are lies that are believed by the ones who are affected by them. I write on page xviii:

“John’s gospel quotes Jesus (8:44): ‘You have the devil for your father and you wish to practice the desires of your father; . . . he could not stay in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he tells a lie, he speaks according to his nature; for he is a liar and the father of liars.’  Jesus is probably referring to Satan’s role as a tempter.  In a sense, all believed lies have the power of demons.”

It is in that sense (only) that I suggest that transgenders are affected by “demons.” They believe (falsely) that they are members of the opposite sex. This false belief takes hold on them. It is powerful. Finally, when one such as Robin/Robert Westman admits (as he does) that he regrets “his effort to ‘transition’ into a girl when he was a minor, according to handwritten notes he displayed in a YouTube video before the attack”—he wishes “I never brainwashed myself.” According to a partial translation of notes written in Cyrillic and published by the New York Post, he wrote: “I regret being trans,” and added: “I wish I was a girl. I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.” (https://www.ncregister.com/cna/minneapolis-church-shooter-expressed-regret-about-gender-transition). But, since the term “demon” is so misunderstood, these days, I refer to Westman’s problem not as demon-possession, but as being the product of psychotic entelechy, terminology that I coined, based on Kenneth Burke’s discussions of entelechy.

What is Psychotic Entelechy?

In my book Psychotic Entelechy (University Press of America, 2006), I document and explain the psychotic entelechy that produces Islamic terrorism (which is based upon bin Laden’s and others’ interpretation of the Koran). In my academic article "Waco and Andover:  An Application of Kenneth Burke's Concept of Psychotic Entelechy" (August, 1999, in The Quarterly Journal of Speech), I define the concept of “psychotic entelechy” and apply it to David Koresh’s Branch Davidian cult in Waco, TX. In my Ph.D. dissertation at Purdue University (1995) and my book Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke’s Extension of Aristotle’s Concept of Entelechy (University Press of America, 1998; reprinted by Say Press), I explain the underlying concept of entelechy, itself. I am rather knowledgeable concerning the phenomenon and how it works.

On page 10 of Psychotic Entelechy, following Burke and Aristotle—I define entelechy as: “the process of changing from what something is into what something should become, which process is directed by an internal principle of change that allows the thing to possess internally the final form toward which the thing is changing.” Accordingly, a seed (kernel of corn, for example) contains within itself from the very beginning all of the entelechial steps it must go through in order to become a fully developed plant (corn stalk with blades and husks and tassels and ears which develop new kernels) with new seeds, each of which is capable of starting a brand new entelechy. For transgenders, the symbol Baphomet may serve as a seed, of sorts, driving the (present and future) behavior of the transgender. On page 13 of Psychotic Entelechy, I define psychotic entelechy as: “to the tendency of some individuals to be so desirous of fulfilling or bringing to perfection the implications of their terminologies that they engage in very hazardous or damaging actions.”

Just as David Koresh’s interpretation of Revelation led him to expect a fiery ending to the world just before the New Heavens come (and, therefore, he encouraged his faithful to hunker down in their burning compound, awaiting victory). Bin Laden interpreted passages (such as the following) in the Koran to mean that Muslims should hate and kill Christians and Jews:

• "O believers, take not Jews and Christians as friends; they are friends of each other. Whoso of you makes them his friends is one of them. God guides not the people of the evildoers." (I:136)
• "Let not the believers take the unbelievers for friends" (I:76)
• "O believers, take not the unbelievers as friends instead of the believers." (I:121)
• "They are unbelievers who say 'God is the Third of Three.' No god is there but One God." (I:140)
• "And fight in the way of God with those who fight with you… And slay them wherever you come upon them and expel them from where they expelled you; persecution is more grievous than slaying. But … slay them--such is the recompense of unbelievers." (I:53, italics mine)
• "Fight them." (I:54, italics mine)
• "Prescribed for you is fighting … and whosoever of you turns from his religion, and dies disbelieving-- … those are the inhabitants of the Fire; therein they shall dwell forever." (I:57-58)

Likewise, some transgenders appear to be following the implicit elements of psychotic entelechy (tautologically) connected with Baphomet:

·         Androgynous/Hermaphrodite: Éliphas Lévi’s Baphomet is a hermaphroditic winged human figure with the head and feet of a goat defined by its profound and pervasive duality. Transgenders can easily identify with this symbol. Not only does the Baphomet have both female breasts and male whiskers, the tying together of a human and a goat also expresses duality. Transgenders, likewise, see themselves as dual individuals, both male and female.

·         Goat: Once the trans individual identifies with the Baphomet, a connection to the (faux demonic) goat (Azazel) of Leviticus 16 comes into play. The trans individual identifies with the demonic world.

·         Islamic anti-Christian, antisemitic terrorism: Since Baphomet is the entity to which Muslims in Antioch appealed, Muhammed/Baphomet and the associated Islamic terrorist behavior joins the mixture. Comments of Westman (such as comments “Israel must fall,” “Burn Israel,” and “6 million wasn’t enough”) become operative. Christian schools become targets.

·         Anti-God: “Where is your God?” was scrawled on one of Westman’s rifle magazines. Since Baphomet became a prime symbol of the Satanic Temple, the entelechy has a true ultimate end in mind—fighting against God.

Is there a cure?

Yes, there is a potential cure for psychotic entelechy. In my article “Waco and Andover:  An Application of Kenneth Burke's Concept of Psychotic Entelechy,” I unpack the approach. There, I comment:

“Just as Christian scholars Tabor and Arnold were able to persuade David Koresh that his own interpretations might be flawed, Islamic scholars may be able to persuade many Muslims that there are significant questions pertaining to the interpretations of the Koran supplied by bin Laden.  By questioning whether the specific passages referring to holy war are correctly interpreted as referring to modern-day Christians and Jews, recalcitrance may wear down the psychosis.”

Similarly, a more reasonable transgendered person (perhaps, someone like Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner) may be able to persuade many transgenders that there are significant questions pertaining to their interpretations of Baphomet and how the symbol is affecting them. They might be encouraged to, as Benjamin Franklin recommended at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, doubt a little bit of their own infallibility. Recalcitrance may wear down the psychosis. On page 171 of Psychotic Entelechy, “I recommend the ‘what if’ treatment to avoid the dangers of psychotic entelechy.  Whenever dangerous or damaging results will be produced by any behavior, try asking yourself:  What if I am wrong?”

·         Start with the Baphomet issue. What if Baphomet is just a lie—a demonic factor—that is influencing me? What if it was just a mistaken sound first heard in the Crusades? What if it really did (as scholars say) refer to the cry of Muslims to their dead prophet, Muhammed?

·         What if the Baphomet image of an androgynous/Hermaphrodite is just the creation of some weirdo named Éliphas Lévi? Am I living life based upon some lie?

·         What if my (typically teenage) interpretation is mistaken and the biology is correct? What if God knew what He was doing when He made me into a specific sex? Westman admits that he regrets “his effort to ‘transition’ into a girl when he was a minor … wishing “I never brainwashed myself.” His notes written in Cyrillic say: “I regret being trans,” and “I wish I was a girl. I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.” Westman is not the only transgender who realized (too late?) that he shouldn’t have transitioned. Others are detransitioning. According to Sarah Jorgenson, a pharmacist and Ph.D. student at the University of Toronto, “The full extent of regret and detransition in young people transitioning today, under vastly different circumstances than in the past, will not be known for many years.”  (published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior). https://bigthink.com/health/transgender-detransition/

·         For that matter, what if there really is a God? What if morality is a real thing that can save me from a life of pain and disappointment?

Isn’t shooting up Christian schools, STEM schools, coworkers, or even LGBTQ nightclubs a moral issue, at the very least? If one does not consider such murder to be wrong, then there is very little chance that one would consider any sexual choice or behavior itself to be immoral. Gender dysphoria or confusion often stems from the difficulty of adhering to societal norms. Who died and made society God? Why does society get to dictate the acceptable norms? Who gets to write the laws pertaining to male or female traits and activities? Is that the prerogative of society? Is sensitivity always “female”? Is aggression always “male”? Should females play contact sports, like boxing, wrestling, or football? Should males try to excel at finesse activities, like ballet or gymnastics? Should females always be passive? Should males always be the ones who take the initiative? Should males not want to sing in the choir or play in the band? Who says so? Consider the movie/TV programs “The Odd Couple” or “Maude.” Is there an authoritative source for gender behavior—to tell us how males and females should behave? For two thousand years, globally, society has been increasingly (and successfully) dependent on the mores of the Bible (as the basis for morality) as the God of Abraham, His Son Jesus, and (perhaps, even) Islam have offered moral guidelines by which children of either sex can behave socially, with confidence. The Bible does not stipulate the types of sports (and other activities) to be engaged in by the two sexes. There is no condemnation of “tomboys” or “sissies.” The judge Deborah sent Israelites into battle. Perhaps, even counterintuitively in modern-day norms, in the Bible, men were typically the singers and the players of musical instruments. Consider the psalmist (singer/songwriter) King David, who also fought with giants and led armies. There is, however, guidance regarding sexual behavior that applies to all males and females who have reached puberty and beyond. God forbids adultery, same-sex intercourse, transvestitism, rape, and prostitution. Beyond those hard-core parameters, the Bible is fairly silent. There appears to be room in biblical morality for wide-ranging varieties of traits and activities for both men and women. Saving individuals from the confusion over their sexual natures is a simpler matter than society has made it out to be. Even eunuchs (men who are subjected to genital mutilation) and those who choose to be life-long virgins can find a place of importance within the sexual morality of God (Acts 8:26-40). What if all of society simply chose to follow the morality of God? No more sexual confusion. No more hating Jews and Christians, please! No more bloodbaths in the schools and workplace, please! No more psychotic entelechy.