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Sunday,
August 28, 2005
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."
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Rev. Michael Clark of Wichita's
Christ Lutheran Church
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"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.'"
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."
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