Skip to content
  • Explore
    • Explore All
    • Multimedia
    • Read
    • Watch
    • Listen
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to get Involved
    • Events
    • Online Learning
    • Our Chapters
  • About
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Store
  • Library
  • Login
  • DONATE
  • Explore
    • Explore All
    • Multimedia
    • Read
    • Watch
    • Listen
  • Get Involved
    • Ways to get Involved
    • Events
    • Online Learning
    • Our Chapters
  • About
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Contact Us
    • FAQ
  • Store
  • Library
  • Login
donate
  • Explore
  • Publication
  • Why Would God Allow a “Serial Killer” Genetic Mutation to Occur?
Crime,Concept,By,Police,Line,Tape,With,Blurred,Forensic,Law
Publication

Why Would God Allow a “Serial Killer” Genetic Mutation to Occur?

by Hugh Ross
May 21, 2021

Question of the week: The MAOA gene has been linked to extreme aggression behavior and to serial killers. Why would God allow this “serial killer” genetic mutation to occur?

My answer: God subjected the entire universe to a pervasive law of decay (Ecclesiastes, Romans 8:20–22), aka the second law of thermodynamics, to achieve multiple beneficial purposes which I discuss at length in Why the Universe Is the Way It Is. Most significant among these beneficial purposes is the eradication of all evil and suffering.1 With this presently existing law of decay, mutations in the genomes of life will occur. The vast majority of these mutations are neutral. They neither harm nor benefit us. There are genetic mutations that make some people more prone to alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual immorality, video game addiction, aggressive behavior, etc. However, none of these genetic disorders condemn individuals to such social disorders. There is always a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). We all have weaknesses, handicaps, and deficiencies. If we are aware of our weaknesses, handicaps, and deficiencies, we can take steps to protect ourselves. If we seek God’s help and make ourselves transparent and accountable to faithful Christians, we can overcome our proclivities.

A time will come when God will have eradicated evil and brought about the redemption of all the humans he intends to redeem (Romans 8:23). When that occurs, there will no longer be a need for decay/thermodynamics. In the new creation there will be no decay, no death, no pain, no suffering, no mourning (Revelation 21).

Endnote

  1. Hugh Ross, Why the Universe Is the Way It Is (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008), 165–181. 
Bible
Closing the Gap: A Scientist’s Response to the Gap Theory
Closing the Gap: A Scientist’s Response to the Gap Theory
The work of an apologist in some ways parallels the work of a scientist. Both seek to “prove” (as in “establish by testing”) the...
Bible
Reading, Human Exceptionalism, and Dyslexia
Reading, Human Exceptionalism, and Dyslexia
Only human beings read. The act of reading involves blending the sounds of letters to form words that symbolize ideas, objects, or entities (abstract...
Theology
Tool Use and Mental Well-Being
Tool Use and Mental Well-Being
If you ever watched Tim Allen on Tool Time, the handyman show within the television show Home Improvement, you saw a man who always...
Biology
  • Explore
  • Get Involved
  • About
  • Store
  • Library
  • Translations
  • Search
  • Login

Support Our Mission

Your support helps more people find Christ through sharing how the latest scientific discoveries affirm our faith in the God of the Bible.

Donate Now

facebook twitter instagram youtube tiktok
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • FAQ
  • Privacy Policy