What do Osama bin Laden, Adolph Hitler, David Koresh, Jim Jones, Gene Applewhite, and the slayers of abortion doctors all have in common? All of them based their dangerous and destructive actions, to a large extent, on a message they believed they received from God. The receipt of messages from God is known by many religions as "spiritual gifts theology."

In his earlier book, Implicit Rhetoric: Kenneth Burke's Extension of Aristotle's Concept of Entelechy, author Stan Lindsay presented the concept of psychotic entelechy, which is based on Burke's writings. In this new work, Lindsay expands upon the concept of psychotic entelechy by analyzing the religious motives behind the dangerous behavior of some individuals and organizations. Psychotic Entelechy also illustrates the curative aspect of the Burkean methods and presents key indicators of psychotic entelechy. The hope, and ultimate goal, is that as readers learn to identify psychotic entelechy in their own lives and/or the lives of those whom they influence or who influence them, the dangers will be diminished.