We are not lions hunting for prey to survive. That is not even a related scenario to what I'm talking about.
There is no survival benefit for a mother to torture her child. So, yeah, I can't compare the two in your scenario. It is apples and oranges.
I get that there are mental imbalances that contribute to these actions, but they do not completely explain them. Because there are a lot of people that have psychopathy and schizophrenia and other disorders that choose not to act on their more base thoughts and desires. And it still does not explain the extreme degree of cruelty that is seen. Actions that are unfathomable and unimaginable. I've read a lot in psychological textbooks about psychopathy and it is still not well understood and the extreme actions of some are not well understood.
I agree that religious ideas are often easy answers for topics that are difficult to comprehend. I agree that it is a sign of intellectual curiosity to try to find the scientific answer and to do academic research. However, I also believe that philosophy and religious ideas have a place in our understanding of the world and of the human race. In our understanding of morality and love.
I want to believe in a loving, benevolent creator. To believe in a reason and purpose. Yet, if I think deeply about the madness and chaos in the world, it its hard to understand why God would let such things continue and I don't find the Biblical answer completely satisfactory.
I want to believe that this is not all there is. I want to believe that the 1 year old baby girl that was raped to death will live again and be loved outside of this cruel world. That the poor 13 year old boy that was caged, starved and beaten to death will know that he is valuable and his life does matter. His name was Christian and I'll never forget reading about him. I've kept him in my heart all these years. Hoping that someday in the resurrection I would meet him and tell him how loved he was and that I could be something of a mommy to him. This world is just such a heartbreaking place for so many innocents. I want to believe there is love, beauty and joy on the other side for them.