Introduction
Yes, you read that right. I said that Christianity confirms brain science. I say it that way, because, unfortunately, too many Christians are waiting for Science (with a capital S) to affirm and confirm their faith.
Now, certainly, it is incumbent upon anyone who considers himself to be a Systematic Theologian to attempt to incorporate ALL knowledge – including neurology and endocrinology and psychiatry – into his System. But, one mustn’t be too hasty in accepting The Latest. Because The Latest is often replaced with The Latest-er. So, Christians, like all other thinking people, ought to be slow to accept new theories – especially when theories or rough draft evidence contradicts long held precepts within the faith. Moreover, these findings must NEVER be used to pull us away from the essential doctrines of the faith expressed in the creeds. The things that meet Saint Vincent’s Canon are the things that no matter what Science says we are unflinching and unmoving. Those things are the beliefs that have been believed, “Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus” (everywhere, always, and by all).
However, as alluded to above, sometimes data come out which align with what the faith has always taught. The science and theology of the brain and free-will and impulsivity is a cluster of concepts I’m fascinated with and for which there is almost zero literature within theology. But, every now and then someone says something to which Christians can and should say, “Yeah, we know, we’ve been saying this LITERALLY for centuries!”
Today, I’d like to talk about an example of such a thing.
The Thing
For a while there has been a growing, albeit small, body of literature and thought on how stress and negative emotions are actually addictive. Now, everybody “knows” that people turn to addictions to relieve stress and negative emotion. But that’s not what’s being said. What’s being said is that people actually become addicted to stress and negative emotion!
In fact, not too long ago, Dr. Karlyn Borysenko made the case that Social Justice Warriors are addicted to negative emotion and that, obviously, this is not psychologically healthy (or particularly constructive for the body politic). Her scientific point is that when we experience any emotion, there is a hormonal release to the body. It doesn’t matter whether our emotions are valid or positive, the body receives these chemicals all-the-same. And, when people are in an environment where they are constantly pitted against stressors people become addicted to that stress, because they are addicted to the stress-hormones released whilst experiencing stress or stressors.
Now, here’s where it gets curiouser and curiouser. When the stressors are removed, people, at first, breathe a breath of relief. But only for a bit. After a while, the body is saying, “Hey! I want my stress hormones! Gimme some norepinephrine!”
So, says Dr. B, people create problems out of thin air so they can stir the pot and create stress so they can get a shot of those sweet, sweet, stress hormones. Mmmmm, epinephrine…
Now, I’ve said for YEARS that some people aren’t happy unless they’re miserable! And, it seems, science is on my side!
But why do I say that Christianity affirms this? Well, to answer the question of how Christianity affirms that people become addicted to negative emotions, we could go one of three ways: with an oversimplification (which though useful would leave too many questions unanswered); with an abstruse and technical treatise (see above for why this is a bad idea); or with a short, somewhat detailed, but readable essay for the layperson.
Let’s go with option 3. And to do option 3, let’s chop this thing up into pieces, like Shia LeBeouf on a Normal Tuesday Night. First, some Anthropology focusing on how the human person is comprised, vis-a-vis Christian thinking contra contemporary Secularism’s view. Get excited. Then, some more different Anthropology. This time focusing on the Sin Nature. Lastly a little more Anthropology, but this time it’s going to tie it all together.
The Human Person
OK, so, it’s worth saying that while the mind-body problem has existed for as long as people have noticed that there is a mind and a body. And people have proposed different answers on how to integrate the mind and the body. And there have been some pretty interesting (read: rather far-fetched) answers. For instance Leibniz believed in the Foreordained Harmony of the Universe. Or, Jonathan Edwards’ view which kinda says that…well, you can read it for yourself! The point is that the mind-body problem was a problem and continues to be a problem for serious thinkers.
But, it’s not a problem for Secular Atheists who’ve cut the Gordian Knot. They say there is no mind-body problem because the mind is the brain and the brain is part of the body. Now, insofar as they say that the mind is intrinsically (though Christians would not say inseparably) united with the body, they’re right. But to the extent that they argue that this means Biological Determinism, they are wrong. We’re not just shaved apes dancing to our DNA. And, thankfully, there is new Neuroscience rejecting Neurological Determinism.
But, like I said, the Bible has always affirmed that the Body is good and an intrinsic part of the human person. Indeed, the Body was made before man became a “living soul” a “נפשׁ חיה”.
“The Lord God formed the man from the soil of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7 (NET)
The Bible affirms that the body is not some disposable, or unfortunate, or evil aspect of humanity. That’s a pagan Platonic view. It’s not the Biblical view. Now, granted, influences from Greek philosophy and Gnosticism as well as a misunderstanding of what the “flesh” (“σάρξ”) is caused many Christians throughout history to hold a SUB-Christian view of the human person.
Now, now is not the time to debate Trichotomism, Dualism, or Integrated Wholeness. And, all these views have some merit. But the point is that Christian thinkers, the serious ones anyways, have had to wrestle with the fact that our bodies are not just part of us, but ARE us, and yet we will be separated from them and eventually given new (or renewed) bodies. How this works has many theories. But suffice to say, however the body is integrated with the mind and the spirit, they are integrated – and the body and mind and spirit are to some degree distinguishable, if not distinct.
Now, you might be asking why this matters?
Well it matters because from the Christian viewpoint, we should ENTIRELY expect that emotions affect our physical bodies and, we should anticipate that physical and environmental stimuli will affect the mental-emotional state. Christianity not only predicts, but Biblical Christianity INSISTS that the mind and body interact and interact causally!
The Sin Nature
So, I made the rather bold claim that Biblical Christianity INSISTS that the mind and body interact causally. And this, I admit, is a rather delicate point to substantiate. There isn’t a verse that says this in so many words. But let’s look at a variety of data points and see if we can’t outline a position.
First, The Bible acknowledges the reality and power of addiction. Paul warns Timothy not to permit people to hold the Office of Deacon if they were “addicted to much wine”. Granted the word doesn’t have to be interpreted as addiction, but when we consider the Bible’s take on alcohol abuse it becomes even clearer that the phenomenon of “addiction” was known, even if it wasn’t explicitly described with a formal term. And I, indeed, think that “addicted” is the best rendering of the Greek verb in question. But let’s look at some other places in the Bible where we see addiction described:
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
Those who linger over wine,
who go to sample bowls of mixed wine.
Do not gaze at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly!
In the end it bites like a snake
and poisons like a viper.
Your eyes will see strange sights,
and your mind will imagine confusing things.
You will be like one sleeping on the high seas,
lying on top of the rigging.
“They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?” Proverbs 23
The Bible recognizes addiction as a real thing, where there is a connection between body and mind and mind and body. People have impulses they cannot control due to addiction.
Second, the Bible recognizes the power of impulsivity. We see over and over how people react seemingly in out of control fashion when they are made very angry. For instance, Pharaoh refusing to let the Hebrews go, or Nebuchadnezzar ordering the Hebrew children into the Fire, or Herod’s Slaughter of the Innocents. What we see over and over in the Bible, which is confirmed by Proverbial wisdom is that people who indulge their impulses slowly hand over their agency. Proverbs 19:19 says: A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again. Proverbs 25:28 says: Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
Of course, the greatest example is Saul who tried to murder his own favorite son because of Jonathan’s alliance with David – the David he was pursuing because he thought David was a threat to Jonathan’s ascension to the throne!
The point the Bible makes is that impulsive people grow ever more impulsive – WITHOUT INTERVENTION. Discipline, like punishment that leads to introspection, can break the patterns of impulsivity. The Proverbs say that the rod drives folly out of children and (sometimes) fools. God punished Nebuchadnezzar and humbled him.
Christians ought to recognize that addiction and impulsivity are real things. The porn addict and the gambling addict are just as addicted as the heroin addict or the chain-smoker. But because of the way the mind and body work together, the will, human agency, goes on autopilot when facing the same stimuli. Normally in life this is good, it saves time. Mothers and fathers don’t have to think about responding to a baby’s cry. It’s automatic…well, sometimes. We put our brains on autopilot when we drive or do small tasks so we can think about greater and deeper things while engaged in the mundane (we normally call this meditation). Autopilot also makes us more efficient. A skilled carpenter can drive a nail or work hammer and chisel or run a powersaw without thinking because he’s done it so many times. And now he’s good at it.
But when we make a habit out of indulging in sinful behaviors and weakening our wills through impulsivity, the same autopilot mechanism is created. Just because an autonomous habit is negative, and self-destructive, doesn’t mean that it isn’t real. People resist this, because we fear saying that a criminal couldn’t help himself. We’re afraid that this abrogates moral responsibility. It does not. But that’s beside the point.
People say that they couldn’t help themselves when committing a crime or lying to their parents or watching pornography. I believe them. But they got into that position for two reasons. 1) Because of the Sin Nature and 2) Because they have weakened their will to the point where they cannot (apart from an external intervention) stop themselves from engaging in the impulsive behavior.
Third, the Bible recognizes that there are positive reward mechanisms associated with sin. Now, the Bible doesn’t say that when a woman picks a fight with her mom that the body gets a juicy shot of stress-hormone. But the Bible and Christianity are clear that people enjoy sin – even self-destructive sin.
Christians not only oughtn’t to be surprised by the finding that people can become chemically addicted to self-destructive and sinful behavior, but we recognize that Christian doctrine could have predicted as much!
What Does This Mean
So, does understanding the psychochemical mechanism whereby the Sin Nature manifests explain-away the Sin Nature?
Not at all.
Just because we have a slightly better understanding of HOW something happens doesn’t mean that we understand WHY it’s happening, or even WHAT’s happening. Description of phenomena doesn’t negate the existence OF phenomena.
Just because we can explain the chemical reactions that occur when a man kisses his wife doesn’t mean that we’ve explained-away love and romance. In fact, if we’re to take Genesis seriously we should be shocked and scandalized if there WEREN’T a complex chemical reaction which occurred when people get amorous. Similarly, if we take the teachings of the Christian faith seriously, and we really believe that we aren’t persons with bodies but that our bodies are our persons, then we should expect that reward mechanisms occur at a physical level. And if we believe that man is corrupted by Sin, and is totally depraved, then we should insist that these reward mechanisms exist and are perhaps most strongly tied to negative emotions and self-destructive and impulsive behavior.
A Prediction
I therefore predict that we will find that reward mechanisms CAN become stronger for positive emotions than negative and for positive and God honoring behavior than impulsive and sinful behavior. BUT these mechanisms are weaker in adults than in children and will require significant “reprogramming” to get the hormonal releases for holiness to be as powerful and addictive as those for evil and sinful behavior.
In short. The body’s hormonal-reward-mechanism is broken and it rewards us more strongly for sin than holiness, and this brokenness is more pronounced in adults than children. This can be changed, but it requires work. And from a Christian perspective this work requires the intervention of the Holy Spirit of God.
A Conclusion
So, how should we conclude this little essay? Perhaps let’s leave off where we started. Science has much to learn – as does theology. But true science will always affirm the truths revealed to us by God because God IS truth and He cannot lie. What we see in some new scientific research about human free-will, impulsivity, and brain chemistry may seem to undermine the Christian faith.
But fear not. The One who created the brain will not deceive us. He has given us accurate information about the human person and the Sin Nature. Good theology will, and must, incorporate the truths of all disciplines: including neuroscience and psychiatry. And sometimes this is difficult. But sometimes it’s easy. Sometimes we can say with absolute confidence, that Christianity confirms new research.