On Aug. 23, 1973, a 32-year-old man named Jan Erik Olsson Olsson stormed into a bank in Norway, pulled out a sub-machine gun, and started firing into the air, while screaming "The party's starting! Everyone, face down!" He took four employees hostage, demanding three million Swedish crowns ($730,000) and the liberation of his friend from prison. The hostage situation dragged on for six days.

But, strangely, on a number of occasions the hostages had chances to escape but they chose to say with and even defend Olsson—much to the dismay of their family members and the police. An American psychiatrist dubbed this phenomenon—when a hostage sides with his captor—the "Stockholm syndrome." It occurs when the victims begin to feel more united with their captor than the people who really love them and want to rescue them.

Possible Preaching Angle:

Biblically speaking, it sounds like the entire human race might have a bad case of "Stockholm syndrome."