HE WANTS INTENSELY TO MAKE US HAPPY

                             By Fr. William Most

For each other kind of creature, our Father has provided satisfaction
and pleasure suited to that creature. But for us, whom He even calls
His children, He is not satisfied with giving us a human happiness:
He wants us to have a really divine happiness. So in 1 John 3.2 we
see that "When He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him
as He is". It means that we will be able to know Him as He knows us
-- not with the same infinite fullness, but in the same directness.
It means that we will be able to love Him as He loves us, again, not
with the same infinity, but in the same way. Only a being partly
divine could do these things. So 2 Peter 1.4 is right in saying that
by grace we become "sharers in the divine nature."

We are going to explore two facets of the picture, first, the
immeasurable strength of that will to save, second, some fraction of
the designs of infinite wisdom to make that will come true in
reality.

Strength of the salvific will: Jesus once said: Only the Son knows the
Father, and only the Father knows the Son, and anyone to whim He
wills to reveal Him." Within the Holy Trinity the Father speaks one
Word. But it is not a passing ripple in the air such as we speak: it
is substance, it is another Divine Person. Between Father and Son
there is infinite Love. That love is a Person, the Holy Spirit. 1
John 4.8 also says: "God IS love." We cannot say that He has love-
that would be a duality, but He is completely simple. So we must say:
He IS love.

To love is to will good to another for the other's sake. The Father
wills to the Son the good of divine nature: that will is effective,
it constitutes the Son, by love. Father and Son together will that
same good of divine nature to the Holy Spirit. That will constitutes
Him. So We can begin, only begin, to see that God is love.

So when The Father says in 1 Tim 2.4 that He wills all men to be
saved, it really means that He loves them, for He wills them good,
even divine good. He wills that we be able to get in on the infinite
streams of infinite knowledge and of infinite love that flow within
the Holy Trinity.

Does He want this strongly? Romans 5.8 says God proved His love for
us. He did this in two ways.

First, when we love, there are three steps. First, we see something
fine in another. That leads us, secondly, to will or wish that so
fine a person may be well off. Then, thirdly, if that will is strong,
we will not be content to merely say I wish, but will act to bring it
about.

But if someone starts out to bring well-being and happiness to the
one loved, and a small obstacle can stop him - that love is small.
If it takes a great obstacle to stop him - that love is great. If
even a measureless obstacle, literally immense, cannot stop him -
then that love is measureless.

What obstacle did the Father surmount to bring us this divine
happiness? Nothing less than the terrible death of His Only Son.
This is a staggering thought. Plato (<Symposium> 203) had said that
"No god associates with man."Aristotle (<Ethics> 1.5) said that no
friendship is possible between a god and a man, since the distance is
too great. What would these great minds have thought had they heard
that God not only <became> man, but even was willing to suffer so
horribly for us. No wonder St. Paul told the Corinthians (1.24) that
Christ crucified is "a stumbling block to the Jews (who had heard in
Dt 21.23 "God's curse in upon every one who hangs on the tree"), and
nonsense to the Greeks." So in this way we can begin to see that His
love is measureless for us.

Further, since in Isaiah 55.8-9 He had said: "As high as the heavens
are above the earth, so high are my thoughts above your thoughts, and
my ways above your ways" --in view of that He knew we could not
understand Him or feel at home with Him unless He in some way told us
what He is like. So He did that in His Son, and by way of the New
Covenant that Son brought to us. In a covenant, the two sides each
give something and receive something. What they give is of course of
the same greatness as that which they receive. The Father accepted
the infinite price of redemption, the death of His Only Son. So in
accepting that infinity, He pledged, obligated Himself to offer
forgiveness and grace infinitely, with no limit other than that which
we might place, in rejecting His advances.

If we used legal language, we would say that He created an infinite
objective claim or title to forgiveness and grace without limit for
mankind. But is it just for mankind in a block, as it were? It is
that, but far more. St. Paul in Gal 2.20 wrote that "He loved me, and
gave Himself for me." Was that just for St. Paul, a very special
person? No, Vatican II, Church in Modern World 22 assures us: "Each
one of us can say with the Apostle: The Son of God loved me, and gave
Himself for me."

So for each one of us, individually, there is an infinite claim or
title to all forgiveness and grace. That does not imply a man could
set out on a spree of sin, and intend to pull up just in time. No,
when he did pull up, there would be no change of heart, it would be
all preplanned . And so no real change of heart, no contrition.
Further, much sinning brings hardness or blindness. Then God would
indeed be glad to offer grace, gut the an would be closed off,
incapable of taking it in.

In Psalm 118 the refrain is: "For His love is everlasting." Yes, that
is true, but we should add that it is also without measure.

We have tried to find gauge the immeasurable, we have found it
absolutely beyond our poor measures.

So we must <explore a second facet>: How in practice does He work to
arrange to bring about this infinite happiness for us? The
measureless wisdom of the Father has devised truly marvelous plans.
We can penetrate only some part of them, but let us make the effort.

His marvelous Wisdom has found ways to make use of every possible
opening to save souls. Some of these might seem to us beyond help.
But His wisdom knows how to say, in varying measures: They know not
what they do."

For example, there are people called <sociopaths>, who seem almost
unable to grasp any moral principles. Is there any hope for them?
Definitely yes, in His marvelous plans to reduce responsibility in
accord with variations in human conditions. Myriad are the means He
uses to help souls towards salvation.

First of all, there is such a thing as <somatic resonance> - a term
from modern psychology. Since we are made of body and spirit, and yet
the two are so closely joined as to add up to one person, the result
is that if we have a condition on either one of the two sides, there
should be a parallel condition, called a resonance, on the other
side. For example, a person in deep black depression sometimes thinks
he is losing or has lost his faith. But the bad chemistry of his
disease can interfere with the biochemistry that should serve as the
somatic resonance to his faith. This does not expel faith, but can
keep it from functioning normally, so that the person thinks he has
lose it or is losing it.

Different conditions in the brain can serve as the somatic resonance
to different conditions. Thus, <Science News> of April 16, 1994, pp.
248-49 reported that PET scans of persons with autism showed that
normal persons have a cooler anterior singulate compared to the
active anterior singulate of the withdrawn person.  The brain
portions involved seem to be the somatic resonance to the mental
conditions. Further, Science News of August 20, 1983, pp.  122-25
reports a chemist from Argonne laboratories took hair samples of
violent criminals, found strong correlation between certain highs and
lows in trace elements and violent behavior. It does not mean they
had no free will. It does mean their somatic resonance could strongly
predispose them in an evil direction. Cf.  <Discover> magazine,
August, 1992, pp. 11-12 for similar results.

There are numerous applications of this principle. <Science News> of
Oct 14, 1989, p. 250 reported men who had committed murder without
clear premeditation had the lowest levels of the breakdown product
[of serotonin] known as 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid of 5- HIAA.
<Science News> of April 16, 1994, pp. 248-49 shows that PET scans of
a normal brain processing glucose show considerable differences
compared to the scan of a brain of a person who has trouble relating
to others. And there are numerous other instances.  Again, <Science
News> of Aug 20, 1983, pp. 122-25 reports a chemist found notable
differences in highs and lows of certain trace elements in the hair
of violent criminals. (The appendix gives many more scientific
details on the workings of this somatic resonance).

These things do not deny free will. But they show that a person may
be much inclined in an unfortunate direction by abnormal chemistry.
God who so greatly wills all to be saved, surely makes full allowance
for these things.

Furthermore, there are <two marvelous spiral processes> or patterns
that show how God's mercy and justice can be identified in practice
in these processes. The bad spiral appears when a soul sins much over
a period of time. It grows less and less able to perceive spiritual
truths. Suppose we think of a man who has never been drunk before,
but tonight he becomes very drunk. The next morning he will have
guilt feelings - for this was the first time. There will be a clash
between his beliefs and his actions. Something will give in time. If
he continues getting drunk, his beliefs will be pulled to match his
actions, so that a confirmed drink can hardly understand there is
anything wrong with it. Further moral truths may be dimmed in this
way.

Now we can see <both mercy and justice> here. The fact that the man
is losing light is justice, he has earned that. But at the same time,
what he does not understand <at the time of acting> can lower his
culpability. He may lose even the ability to see some doctrinal
truths. Thus Dignity, the group that defies the Church on the
immorality of homosexuality, published a statement before the Pope's
appearance in Denver in the summer of 1993 saying: The Pope is only
titular head of the Church, We <are> the Church.

Yes, there is a <responsibility taken on at the start of the
decline>, when and if the person sees himself declining, and consents
to it. But at the later times of acting, responsibility may be
diminished.

We should notice also the reduced responsibility that comes from the
fact that people may have <mental frameworks>, sets of ideas already
in their minds. If something that does not fit tries to get it, it
usually does not.

For example, Galen a second century Greek anatomist wrote a
description of all parts of the body without having fully dissected
one. Centuries later, Fabricius, the anatomy professor of William
Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood, in dissecting
found some things contrary to Galen - he refused to believe his own
eyes, held instead to Galen.

Teilhard de Chardin, S. J. , called variously a theologian or a
paleontologist, not only believed in evolution of the human body, but
also of intelligence and morality, so that just before the return of
Christ at the end, he said most of our race would be joined in a
unity like that of a totalitarian state, by love.  Compare Luke 18.8:
"When the Son of Man comes, do you think He will find faith on the
earth?" Or Matthew 24.12: "Because sin will reach its peak, the love
of most people will grow cold". Or 2 Timothy 3 which at the start of
the chapter gives a dreadful list of what people will be like then.
And there is more in Scripture, which did not penetrate at all into
De Chardin.

Then there is Ignaz Semmelweis, M. D. one of the discoverers of
germs. He told other Doctors to use antiseptic precautions. They said
he must be crazy, put him in a madhouse for the rest of his life.

And our Apostles, because they firmly believed in a militarily
conquering Messiah, did not grasp the predictions of Jesus of His
death and resurrection. When they happened, they acted as if they had
never heard of such things.

Here too is much room for much reduced responsibility. So we need to
pay attention to Matthew 7.1: "Judge not." Which does not forbid us
to state the objective moral rating of an action, but it does say we
must not claim to know the interior of the one who does such things.

<His arrangements in Holy Scripture> are similarly marvelous. Holy
Scripture is a great gift to us, but in its very difficulty and
obscurity we see the workings of God's wisdom in still another way.
Actually, God wills <some obscurity in Scripture>, to mercifully be
able to say: "They know not what they do". How much responsibility is
dimmed in a given case, only He can judge.

We can notice the principle working out especially in the case of the
<parables>. Early in His public life, if we follow the chronology of
St. Mark, His enemies charge He casts out devils by the devil, then,
as all three Synoptics report, Our Lord turned to parables, and told
the Apostles: To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of God, but to the others in parables, so that seeing they may not
see, and hearing they may not understand.

Now of course He did not deliberately blind them - if He had done
that, He would not have wept over Jerusalem later. Rather it means
that parables are a divinely established means for dividing people
into two groups. One group, by living vigorously according to what
faith says, that the things of this world are worth little compared
to eternity, will get a little light at first, and then more and
more, light. The other group will become more and more blind -- we
are speaking again of the two spirals, mentioned above, in two
directions.

But it is not only parables that cause this effect: <God wills that
Scripture in general be difficult>. If we make allowance for
differences in language, culture, literary genre etc. in
understanding, after all that there is still a lot of difficulty not
accounted for. That part is willed by God. St. Augustine thought God
wants it that way, to get us to work harder, and so get more. Pius
XII agreed (EB 563). So again, God has a means of mercifully allowing
a person to become less responsible as he loses light.

To turn to still another facet of His plans: <An established mental
framework can cause> difficulty in understanding, that is, a set of
established ideas. For example, the Apostles had an firm idea that
Jesus was going to restore the kingship to Israel - just before the
ascension they asked when He would do that! (Acts 1:6). That is why
they did not understand His predictions of His death and resurrection
- such things could not fit with their notion of what sort of Messiah
He was. Similarly, since the Old Testament predictions, as we shall
see fully later, of the gentiles streaming to Jerusalem were easily
understood to mean that all gentiles would become Jews - and not that
they would be accepted by God as gentiles and become part of the
people of God (cf. Ephesians 3:3-6, where that fact is revealed for
the first time by Paul). As a result, Peter and others were painfully
slow to understand the command of Mt 28 to go and teach all nations.
So Jewish Christians in Acts 10 were shocked that Peter would even
speak to gentiles - though Jesus had ordered precisely that.

Such lack of comprehension fits, as we said above, with the words of
Our Lord Himself."Father forgive them, for they know not what they
do."

So we can see then some of the myriad ways God has devised to make
salvation possible for all.

In addition, as we saw above, He bound Himself by the infinite price
of redemption in the new covenant, to make available forgiveness and
grace infinitely, without limit. The only limit imposed is the
receptivity of the one to whom the grace is offered.  Still further,
as we learn from St. Paul in Gal 2:20,"He loved me, and gave Himself
for me", the Father has established this infinite title or claim not
just in favor of the world as a whole, but in favor of each
individual man. Vatican II (<Gaudium et spes> 22) tells us: "Each one
of us can say with the Apostle: The Son of God loved me, and gave
Himself for me." So He will do everything possible for the salvation
of each individual.

Hence we see how unfortunate it is to say that God gives "sufficient"
grace to all to be saved. That sounds as if He doles it out, gives
just enough: a man had better use every bit or he will be lost, and
God will not care.

<No salvation outside the Church> is a defined doctrine that has
caused immense confusion, and what amounts to denial of the goodness
of God. Some, like L. Feeney, have said that if a person has never
had a chance to even hear of the Church he will be damned for not
entering it. That makes God to be a monster! The same people insist
that God sends to hell innocent babies who died without baptism,
again, with no fault. This is sheer blasphemy!

<Can Protestants and pagans be saved>?: "The Church has said yes many
times over. Pius IX (DS 2666) wrote: God in His supreme goodness and
clemency, by no means allows anyone to be punished with eternal
punishments who does not have the guilt of voluntary fault." The Pope
did not explain the <how>, but he did state the fact. Similarly,
Vatican II, in LG 16: "They who without their own fault do not know
of the Gospel of Christ and His Church, but yet seek God with sincere
heart, and try, under the influence of grace, to carry out His will
in practice, known to them through the dictate of conscience, can
attain eternal salvation" Again, we see the fact, not the how.
Further, since membership in the Church is needed for salvation,
these two texts imply that somehow that requirement is met, without
explaining how. John Paul II, in his Encyclical on Missions #10 said:
"Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely
available to all... . many do not have an opportunity to come to know
or accept the Gospel or to enter the Church... . For such people
salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while
having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them
<formally> members of the Church." We underlined the word formally,
since it implies that some lesser kind or membership, we might call
it substantial, can suffice.

We can try to fill in on what these documents imply even though they
do not speak explicitly. St. Justin the Martyr, writing c.  145-40,
said, in <Apology> 1. 46 that some in the past who were thought to be
atheists, were really Christians, since they followed the divine
Logos, the Word. In <Apology> 2.10 he adds that the Logos is in each
person. Now of course that is not a spatial presence. A spirit does
not take up space, but is present where it causes an effect. What
effect? We turn to St. Paul, Romans 2.14-16: "The gentiles who do
have the law, do by nature the things of the law. They show the work
of the law written on their hearts." And according to their response,
are saved or not.

It is the Spirit of Christ (or of God, or the Holy Spirit- all are
the same) who writes the law, that is, makes known to them interiorly
what morality requires. Justin had said that Socrates was one who did
this. So Socrates (1) read what the Spirit wrote on his heart and
believed it. (2) He had confidence in it. (3) He obeyed, carrying out
the 'obedience of faith" of which Romans 1.5 speaks. Now those three
things are a definition of faith as St.  Paul means it. So Socrates
was justified by faith. We add: Romans 8.9 says that if one has and
follows the Spirit of christ, he <belongs to> Christ. But that phrase
means to be a member of Christ, which means to be a member of the
Church, His Mystical Body. So Socrates did have a substantial, not a
formal membership.  Hence their is no problem

The same applies also to Protestants and pagans, and Jews who reject
Christ, if they fill the same three requirements.

What if one of these persons who is justified by faith in this way
later commits a mortal sin? Of course, perfect contrition will clear
it. But we may <speculate> that there is a different way of doing it.
In Ezekiel 18.21 God says:"If a wicked man turns from all his
sins...and keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right,
he shall surely live." No perfect contrition is addressed to God who
is goodness itself; but the change of heart in the wicked man, of
which Ezekiel speaks, is addressed to God's justice: the man sees
what he has done is wrong, resolves to do it no more. But just as God
is identified with love, so also He is identified with His other
attributes, including justice. Hence we may speculate that this will
explain what Ezekiel says, that a person might recover the state of
grace in that way. Such is God's goodness, who wants all to reach
eternal happiness, and gladly accepts whatever good will He finds.

In fact, although a pagan or some other person who follows the
worship of some body other than the Catholic Church, does not reach
salvation <by> such worship, yet God will accept the good will shown
in trying to do what the man things God wills, what is right.

How does God make His assignments of persons to certain places in the
world? Let us imagine that God is looking over the world before
history begins to roll. Let us imagine He sees a huge checkerboard.
There is one square for each human of all ages. God notices that
there are three kinds of squares: 1)Class 1 has all the external
means of grace:Mass and all Sacraments; 2)Class 2 has some
Sacraments, but not all; 3)Class three contains those out in
paganism, without any external means of grace. But God has bound
Himself by the infinite price of redemption, as we saw above, to
offer forgiveness and grace with no limit except the rejection of
grace by the human being.

Why are there these three kinds of squares? The founder of a heresy
may well be in mortal sin. But the later generations born into his
heresy are unlikely to be in sin: they have grown up that way and see
no reason for changing. It would take quite an impetus to get them to
even ask if they should consider the situation. Further, the Gospel
naturally took long centuries to reach everywhere in the world. So
unless God were to multiply miracles everywhere, there would have to
be these three kinds of squares.

Next, He looks at all humans. He finds no difference on the side of
positive goodness: they will each have what He gives, as St. Paul
says in 1 Cor 4.7. But He notices great differences, which they made,
not He, in their resistance to grace, leading to sin.

He looks also at that negative side, resistance to grace, leading to
sin. Some are so perverse that no matter what kind of squares He puts
them in, they will be eternally lost. Of course, He will not waste
the class 1 squares on them, for there is not an infinite number of
those squares.

But others could be saved if they get the right kind of assignment.
Some of this latter group need all the means to be saved: then He
gives them the squares of class 1. Others can be saved with something
less. He gives them class 1 or 3 squares.

We see then, that there is at least one way - perhaps He has a much
better way - for Him to so arrange thing by His Providence so that no
one is lost because of the kind of position God assigns Him to.

We must consider too the more pleasant topic of reaching spiritual
perfection. The Church teaches that a person in any walk of life can
reach spiritual perfection, even though the means available in some
states, such as abstinence from marriage, are <in themselves> more
powerful than those outside.

We said "in themselves", because the goodness of our Father has
placed wonderfully powerful means of spiritual growth in marriage
too. Hence Paul VI once said that marriage is a long path towards
sanctification (on this cf. W. Most, <Our Father's Plan>, pp. 145-
49). God has sugar-coated the situation, to get people to as it were
register for this course in sanctification. During courtship, the
very large differences in male and female psychology are all heavily
papered over by emotion. But when after some time in marriage, the
feelings subside to a more normal level, then they find out. Each one
can honestly say: I need to give in most of the time to make this
work. That is spiritually splendid, the opposite of selfishness. And
if children come, the generosity of even rather ordinary parents to
children is really phenomenal. So Paul VI is very right: Marriage can
be a long path towards sanctification.

Does God love some more than others? Some say yes, chiefly those who
hold the older views on predestination. But let us explore.

To love is to will good to another for the other's sake. To will our
salvation is of course the major part of that will/love.

Since He wills that all reach final salvation, He wills all a good
that is beyond measure, in a sense infinite, in that it leads to
union with the Infinite Good. There is no greater good He could will
to them.

We saw above the measures, as it were, of that will: 1)The obstacle
He overcame in seeking to give us that good was the terrible death of
His Son. 2) In the covenant, in accepting the infinite price of
redemption, He obligated Himself to make available to all men
forgiveness and grace without any limit - except that which is placed
by their rejection of His grace. As St. Paul told the Romans in 8.32:
"He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him for us all, how will
He not give all things with Him?"

Further, the same St. Paul in Gal 2.20 says that,"He loved <me>, and
gave Himself for me." That this applies to each individual man is
clear from Vatican II, GS 22: "Each one of us can say with the
Apostle: the Son of God loved me, and gave Himself for me." So there
is an infinite objective title to all forgiveness and grace for each
individual man.

We conclude: God wills to every man, the infinite good of eternal
happiness. There is no greater good He could will them. And He has
bound Himself as just explained to make available to each individual
man forgiveness and grace without limit - other than that imposed by
the rejection by the man.

What greater good could He will anyone? What greater means could He
pledge to offer to every man? Then, since to love is to will good to
another for the other's sake, He does not love one more than another.

What of the fact that some attain a higher degree of glory than
others? The difference in degrees is due not to God's holding back on
that which He has pledged - it is due to the rejection, in varying
degrees, of His graces by the human.

What of extraordinary graces?

We distinguish: a) the extraordinary sort of grace needed to cut
through or forestall resistance in hardened sinners.  b)extraordinary
interventions such as the conversion of St. Paul.

In regard to extraordinary grace to convert hardened sinners: As we
explained above, He cannot make the extraordinary ordinary. But He
can grant such extraordinary things in view of extraordinary, heroic
work in penance and prayer by another. He gladly does that then.

In regard to extraordinary interventions, such as the conversion of
St. Paul: These things He gives not just for the sake of the
individual, such as St. Paul, but for the benefit of all who profit
by St. Paul's works and writings. Again, He cannot make the
extraordinary to be ordinary. But He can at times, by way of
exception, make use of such means. That He does, for the sake of
benefits to all. We notice too the case of St. Margaret Mary, who
received the great Sacred Heart revelations. They are of immense
benefit to all. As to her personally, she reports that He told her if
He could have found anyone more wretched than her, he would have
chosen that one. Sister Josefa Menendez reports the same sort of
words from Him.

What of the statement of St. Thomas (I.20.3), that no one would be
better than another if He did not will a greater good to that one?
We distinguish with St. Thomas (body of article):"On the part of the
more or less intense act of the will [of God]: In this respect, God
does not love certain ones more than others: for He loves all in one,
simple act of His will, which always has the same attitude." He adds
that as to the good itself, He can be said to love one more than
another if He wills a greater good. But that does not mean He
loves,"with a less intense will."

It merely means this: No one has any good at all except what God
gives. St. Paul expresses this in 1 Cor 4.7; "What have you that you
have not received?." That is: Every bit of good that you are or have
or do is simply His gift.

But He does not as it were blindly decide to give a greater or lesser
good. No, He has, as we saw, bound Himself by the infinite price of
redemption to make available grace without any limit to everyone. His
Son has even, as St. Paul says in Gal 2.20 offered His death for each
individual man, and so each individual man has an infinite objective
title or claim to grace and forgiveness.

St. Thomas expresses this distinction well in what he says about
God's antecedent and consequent will. In antecedent will, that is,
before considering anything, He does will that all be saved. But in
consequent will, that is, in view of their rejection of grace and
sin, He does not actually will that all reach final salvation.

What of the words of God in Malachi 1.2-3 cited by St. Paul: "I have
loved Jacob and hated Esau." First, He hates no one at all.  More
importantly, Hebrew and Aramaic both lack the degrees of comparison,
such as good, better, best. We would say: He loves one more and the
other less. But in what respect? St. Paul in Romans 9 is speaking of
God's decision to give or not give the special benefit of full
membership in the people of God - which is a great help to final
salvation, but does not predetermine it.

That decision really falls within the principle of the checkerboard,
which we explained above.


<Appendix of Details on Somatic Resonance>

1. <US News & World Report>, Nov 8, 1993, pp. 76-79. Personality
changes seem to come from some antidepressants. Serotonin, a mood-
elevating brain chemical, normally flows from the synapses... into
the cells where it is deactivated. SSRIs such as Prozac and Pamelor
block the brain's natural ability to deactivate Serotonin, thereby
resulting in more Serotonin effect. Can cause drowsiness or lowered
sexual desire. -- Due to modification of somatic resonance.

2. Discover magazine, Oct, 1993, pp. 30-31;"Violence in the Blood" by
Sarah Richardson. A perfect correlation between inclination to
violence seems to relate to a defect in men on the short arm of the X
chromosome, a marker known to code for an enzyme monoamine oxidase A
which should break down three important neurotransmitters, including
norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine.

3. <Science News> of Oct 14, 1989, p. 250 said: "Men who had
committed murder without clear premeditation had the lowest levels of
the breakdown product [of serotonin known as 5- hydroxyindoleacetic
acid or 5-HIAA. In addition, men who had killed more than once had
lower levels of 5 HIAA than did one-time murderers... In a study of
violent offenders and impulsive arsonists... Linnolla's team again
found abnormally low levels of 5 HIAA. Men in this group who went on
to commit additional violent offenses or arson during an average
three-year follow-up period after prison release had the lowest
levels of 5-HIAA. Studies measuring 5-HIAA levels in the
cerebrospinal fluid of suicide attempters show that individuals who
used violent means, such as guns, tend to have lower levels than
those who took pill overdoses... In autopsy studies, other
investigators have linked low brain concentration of 5-HIAA to a
aggression in Alzheimer's patients. In contrast, note thomas R. Insel
of NIMH, some studies of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder
show that these individuals have slightly higher-than-normal levels
of 5-HIAA...  Linnolla cautions that 5-HIAA is only an indirect
indicator of serotonin function."

3. <Science News> Oct 14, 1989, p. 246:"With the help of
antidepressants, Ann finally conquered the guilt and despair that had
overwhelmed her for two years after her husband's death in 1984. The
62-year old woman said she felt 'as if a cloud had been lifted. '
Then, in early 1988, Ann took part in a medical experiment. She and
20 other patients recently recovered from depression drank a
chocolate-flavored concoction of amino acids that drastically lowers
blood levels of a precursor of serotonin...
. three hours after drinking the liquid, Ann began sobbing 
uncontrollably. She slept little that night and mourned her husband's
death as if it had just happened. The following evening, the episode
ended as abruptly as it had begun. She stopped crying and told the
doctors she felt back to normal... Thirteen other participants
experienced similar setbacks after drinking the liquid." COMMENTS:
even though the patients knew it was just a chemical change, yet
their feelings seemed real.

4. <Scientific American:> Feb. 1974, pp. 84-91 reports low levels of
serotonin go along with increased sexual activity and insomnia.

5. <Science News> Oct 9, 1971, p. 249. An infusion of Lactate
triggers anxiety attacks in those prone to anxiety. cf. Ibid, July
16, 1983 pp. 45-46. Shows anxiety is linked to biochemistry.

6. <Science News> August 20, 1983, p. 122-25. A chemist from Argonne
lab took hair samples of violent criminals at Stateville prison in
Illinois, found highs or lows of certain trace elements tended to
correlate with tendencies to violence.

7. <Discover> magazine, Aug. 1992. pp. 11-12: Louis Gottschalk a
neuro-psychiatrist at U of C at Irvine took hair samples of 193
rapists, murderers, armed robbers and other violent criminals - and
also took samples from normal persons."On the average violent
criminals have almost five times more manganese in their hair." He
had set out to reproduce an earlier study that had found elevated
levels of lead, cadmium, and copper in criminal hair. Those results
did not hold up, but the manganese connection did.

8. <Science News>, by Tina Adler,"Comprehending Those who Can't
Relate", vol 145, April 16, 1994, pp. 248-49. Finds that autistic
persons have difficulty in relating to others a PET scan of a normal
brain processing glucose, compared to a socially withdrawn person
shows in a normal person, a cooler anterior singulate compared to the
very active anterior singulate of a socially withdrawn person. The
socially withdrawn persons may have fine logical ability, but lack
social interactive skills.


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