Veritas numquam perit

In response to a request or two, I am providing the Word documents that made up my doctoral dissertation, An Integration of Biblical Anthropology and Neuropsychology and Its Implications for Christian Education and Discipleship. You may read online or download them, if you like: please give me credit if the materials are used in presentations, lessons, books, articles, etc.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Psychology and Theology

Chapter 2 - A Model of Human Nature

Chapter 3 -General Revelation and Christian Psychology

Chapter 4 - Bible- and Brain-Based Learning

Chapter 5 - Conclusion

The Soul - diagram

The Heart - diagram

The Mind - diagram

Bibliography

William Meisheid (WM) at Beyond the Rim has me reclining on his couch once again with his insightful question/comment,

Mike, would say that your mother’s death [several months ago as of this writing] threw you back into ‘Moratorium’?”

He has his own thoughts on spiritual formation in a post, Your Christian Identity, at his site. I would encourage you to read it before going any further in my post (although, if you’re like me, you won’t do that) because I’m going to interact with some of his thoughts as expressed there.

At the moment, however, let me provide the remainder of WM’s comment to my original post before responding, elaborating, and interacting with his comment and post.

In investigating this further it would be interesting to know if secondary moratoriums (subsequent periods of questioning) are different in character from the first and primary moratorium (the initial period of questioning) or just in degree.

“I have an intuitive sense that the first moratorium is the most dangerous while the subsequent ones have a bit of a safety net of the former settled identity. If you will, there is a bias toward the foundations of your accepted identity, so that Schaefer was not at the same risk as a teenage Baptist going through their first grasp at identity. In addition, there [are] the many touchstones the Holy Spirit has placed in our life that give us something to hold onto when the winds on the mount of exploration and question get too blustery.”

To begin, I’ll answer WM’s initial question, i.e., did my mother’s death in October result in another moratorium for me? The short answer is no, it did not, for reasons that will become apparent later.¹ Actually, if anything had been able to hurl me back into moratorium, it would have been the realizations as reflected in my post of Aug 19 of last year, Losing My Way. But, in my view, even that horrific, gracious congealment of slowly developing thoughts² did not lead to a regression into moratorium.

WM also asks, albeit indirectly, if “secondary moratoriums (subsequent periods of questioning) are different in character from the first and primary moratorium (the initial period of questioning) or just in degree.” I would rephrase the implied question to, “Are there differences between the initial moratorium, subsequent moratoriums, and the final, immutable move to identity achievement?”

Before expounding on my own question, I need to quote from WM’s post (since you probably didn’t read it when I told you to!):

An interesting analogy I once toyed with was looking at a Christian’s life like a remodeling project. God doesn’t come in with a bulldozer and just scrape the ground clean. He knocks at our door, comes in when invited (Revelation 3:20) and sits down with us, taking up residence. Then like a skillful remodeler He begins working with us to redo our abode, who we are, all the while never destroying what it was that made us us the unique person we are. However, remodeling requires demolition, tearing down some of the who/what we defined ourselves as being and often this is related to our acceptance of how others defined us and established us in who we were. When the construction begins on the replacement portion, it makes that part of us truly our own, built with our own hands, by our own decisions, albeit through the grace and sovereignty of God. (I guess this is where I expose my tendency to lean, at least a little bit, towards a more eastern co-operative view of God’s sovereignty).

“From my viewpoint this remodeling goes on until the end of our days here on this earth. Many people only do some minor painting and wallpapering. Others tear out a wall or two or redo a room. Some gut the kitchen or bath and do a major overhaul. A few go all the way and systematically over the course of their life rebuild the whole structure, even to the point of tearing out some of the early efforts now that they have gotten better at seeing what needs to be done.”

The analogy of a house is a good one, having been used before (if I’m not mistaken) by our Lord. WM is discussing the process of sanctification, not salvation (hence his referral to Rev 3.20), in his illustration, but I would go back a bit further.

Allow me to begin by answering the last part of my own question posed above concerning “the final, immutable move to identity achievement.” There is but one enduring, permanent move from moratorium to identity achievement, and that is the moment when a person irresistably chooses to accept his or her election and expresses saving faith in the substitutionary, atoning work of Jesus Christ. That, as Christ says, is the equivalent of

a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.” - Mt 7.24-25

Prior to commitment to Christ, there can be any number of moratoriums for people whether due to necessity or other reasons. This is reflected in other observations of Christ at the conclusion of His sermon on the mount:

Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall.” - 7.26-27

If a house (one’s sense of identity) is built on sand, it can be destroyed by life or demolished willingly by the owner of the house. Each time involves a move back to moratorium to re-evaluate and then reconstruct one’s fragile sense of self.

Not so, of course, with the believer who has built upon the True Foundation, which is Christ (1 Cor 3.11). That foundation is immovable and indestructible: nothing can undo the foundation which has been laid through faith in Jesus as the Christ. If it is not obvious by now, then let me state clearly that I believe in the eternal security of the believer, based on the powerful preservation and promise of the Savior. Once that foundation is in place, there are no subsequent true moratoriums.

But that is not to say that there are not periods of doubt, searching, and struggling. Once again, the Bible provides the explanation of and the answer for such periods of time. As WM notes, God is at work in us - with our cooperation - to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ so that we may approach (but never attain in this lifetime) practically what He has already declared us to be forensically: perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (Jas 1.4), a bride “having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless” (Eph 5.27).

Our problems arise not due to the foundation which is Jesus Christ, but due to our own misunderstanding, immaturity, and inability to build upon that foundation with the foundational teachings of the apostles and prophets (Eph 2.20) as recorded in Scripture. Due to the sinful world in which we live and the sin nature which wrestles with the Spirit who is in us, we create structures upon the foundation of Christ that are not always - or ever - wholly desirable.

What happened to me over the course of the last five months was not a regression into moratorium but a visit from my indwelling Housing Inspector - the Holy Spirit - who spilled His light onto my superstructure, revealing something that was terribly out-of-line with not only His blueprint for me but the one to which I had committed myself over 31 years ago. The house did not fall - the foundation would not allow it - but I was suddenly face-to-face with my careless construction. The house could not serve the purpose for which it had been designed because I had deviated from the blueprint.

To say I had deviated does not mean that I was unfamiliar with the blueprint but that I failed to apply that which I knew about the plans to the actual construction of my life. I had built walls in unnecessary places and failed to build walls where they were critical. The exterior decoration and appearance of the house that I am was, for many years, acceptable to and approved by me and those around me; the illuminating inspection, however, brought to light my structure as being garish, indulgent, fat, lazy, and ugly. Horrific as it was to see what I had built - both inside and out, regardless of the world/church said - it was the love and grace of God that opened my eyes. Now I will seek to be content with “a dry morsel and quietness with it” instead of clinging to “a house full of feasting with strife” (Pr 17.1).

All of this is to say that, while it may feel like another period of moratorium, such is not possible for the true believer in Jesus Christ. Painful illuminations are possible and even desirable, but to abandon the foundation itself - our achieved and settled identity in Jesus Christ - is beyond the ability of the believer.

_______

¹ At the time, my mother’s death was more a relief than anything: she had been slowing dying for over two years, subject to many strokes and unknown numbers of TIA’s. The week spent in Indiana following her death - which included a lot of time with my wife and two daughters - was a much needed respite from my “dark night of the soul,” i.e., my indulgence in narcissistic self-flagellation and relentless introspection.

²My “collapse” emerged (submerged?) on Aug 19; three days before I sank I wrote, of my difficulty in writing at that time, “I do know that something is rumbling deep down but it defies articulation right now.” It didn’t take long to make itself known.

The following are some quotes I found intriguing. They are taken from The Physics of Consciousness by Evan Harris Walker; you can click the link in the sidebar to order it. He is not overtly Christian (at least to this point). He has a Ph.D. in physics; he is not a philosopher, or at least from the school of philosophers.

He writes:

We weave daydreams, play lotteries, and plunge each evening into the TV screen. It takes us floating into a world of illusory concerns and escapist fantasy. We know it is illusion. But so is the rest. All the things that control the mind - books, magazines, letters, placards, posters, e-mail, faxes, data - all the things that tell us what to think are all a part of our world of fantasy. They are today’s religion. Where do we go for salvation?”

Physics is the cornerstone of our scientific knowledge. In the realm of actual knowledge, it provides us with the foundation, with the procedures, with the means for confirmation that we need if we are to search out and find the answers to those age-old questions . . .

“It is the path we have to take so that we may discover reality opened up to our vision, naked, like a lovely woman whose beauty and allure are at once mystery and revelation. Physics is the tool we must use to learn about reality. But it has its hazards. If we are not careful, she will ensnare us. If we are not careful, we may begin to believe there is nothing else but this physical reality” . . .

Modern physics as no place for any deity, and the message rings even in the ears of the vandal in the street: ‘There is no sacrilege - only the moment, only the event’ . . .

“Today people need proof in order to believe, and they deserve that proof. The degeneration in the values of our society is not due to the waywardness of the people or to the affluence that permits a lax morality. It is not the secular city or drugs or a rebellious youth that has caused society to drift away from God. It is, instead, the message of science borne on the wings of our fast technology. It is the thinking of intellectuals of a century ago that has come down to the streets. The ideas that are today a matter of academic speculation begin tomorrow to move armies and topple empires.

“It is the perceptions of our science, the tenets of modern physics so well summarized by Davies, that now instruct our futures - into the streets. But it is all wrong.

Harvey Cox writes, ‘I have tried to make clear that metaphysical operations cannot be muted by the secular age, but that the metaphysical systems will neither again integrate whole societies nor still men’s persistent questions as once they did.’ But Cox is dreadfully wrong. There are answers. The truth does exist, and when the truth is honestly sought, with a mind that is ready to accept the truth, whatever the truth turns out to be, then the answers do come, and the answers change people.”

We will gaze through an open doorway, looking beyond the lifeless forms that our lives have become - looking beyond, into the very face of God.”

Adam at In the Agora has been wrestling with the mind-brain dilemma and its biomedical ramifications, specifically with regard to human cloning. He attempts to connect the presence of a person’s soul (I’ll clarify some terms in a minute) with particular brain functions. His first post is here; his second, here.

First, a little by way of introduction. According to the ITA site, Adam is a first-year grad student at UC-San Diego in cognitive neuroscience - which, if I had it to do over again, is exactly what I would study in addition to theology. I am glad he is asking hard questions and seeking to come up with viable and applicable answers.

As for terms, Adam uses “soul” to describe the immaterial dimension of an individual. This is unfortunate and confusing from a biblical perspective, since both the Old and New Testaments present a monistic view of anthropology: we do not have souls, we are souls. I have argued elsewhere (here and there) for a nonreductive physicalism - different from that advocated by Nancey Murphy and others - that does not divide or section a person into dichotomous or trichotomous existence. The spirit and soul are distinguishable functionally, but irreducible and indivisible in essence.

This distinction is partially a result of my Christology: the Second Member of the Godhead existed spiritually prior to the Incarnation; in the embodied state, His personality was no different than it had been previously. Personality, it would thus seem, is a function of the spirit and not the soul. The spirit is that which animates a soul (i.e., the body, including the brain) but cannot be separated from it in this lifetime. Hence, the monistic view of human nature.

For these and other reasons, therefore, wherever Adam has used the word “soul,” I will replace it with the more appropriate term “spirit.”

While it is possible that Adam holds to either pre-existence of what I would regard as the human spirit (as do Mormons) or reincarnation , he instead (if I understand him correctly) takes a creation approach to the soul. That is, God creates a soul for each individual either at conception, birth, or some point in between. (This is in contrast to the traducian understanding of the soul, which would see the soul as included in the process of people reproducing after their kind: the soul is inherent in reproduction. Both creationism and traducian views of the soul may be biblically supported, although I find the traducian perspective the stronger of the two.)

Adam writes,

. . . when does the [spirit] actually fuse with the brain? There is no obvious point in the development of the fetus when the brain makes a quantum leap from mere automaton to functioning human . . . I’m simply going to say that at some point, between when the fetus has no brain (up to about 21 days) and when the fetus is fully developed, the [spirit] somehow makes contact with the organism and it becomes a person. Up to that point, no matter how much our senses may be fooled into thinking that the fetus resembles a person, it is a soulless clump of matter. When, at the end of life, the cerebral cortex no longer functions, the soul has already left the body; again, though, it’s impossible to say when exactly that might happen.”

From this premise, Adam goes on to argue for the appropriateness of biomedical cloning. His conclusion notwithstanding, however, it is important to investigate his premise more closely and - most importantly - to examine his anthropology biblically.

Such scrutiny, I am convinced, reveals that his conceptualization of a person’s immaterial nature is biblically untenable.

(more…)

In a previous post, I reviewed the various positions of four theologgers who have written about the constitution of the person and what happens immediately following death. In this post, I will present my own positions on these two issues that are determinative in plotting a course of action in such difficult situations as Terri Schiavo’s.

Nonreductive Physicalism

I have written in depth - and length! - elsewhere my understanding of the nature of the human constitution. Rather than send you to another site (you can do that later, if you like, or now: I don’t want to tell you how to live your life), I’ll quote some of it here:

The position taken in the present work concerning the nature of the mind-brain connection is nonreductive physicalism. It is physicalism in that all of human nature and experience is understood to be dependent upon human physical existence: apart from the temporary state after death (wherein existence depends upon the special, sustaining activity of God), there is no sense of personhood apart from connection with the physical body.

The position is nonreductive in that the immaterial aspect of human nature cannot be explained by or reduced to physical properties of the body: the activity and properties of the neurons firing in the brain do not explain the existence of such experiences such as faith, hope, or love. In this view, there is more to being a person than can be explained by physical attributes or activities.

What constitutes the human brain is easy to describe: the neurological section above identified what the brain is, how it operates, and how it contributes to human existence. It is not so evident, however, what the mind is.

Negatively speaking, the mind or [spirit] is that dimension of human existence which cannot be explained by the physiology of the brain . . . Nobel laureate Roger Sperry has stated, “The meaning of the message will not be found in the chemistry of the ink;” in the same way, what it means to be a person cannot be explained simply by looking at neurology . . .

That there is a connection between the mind and the brain is well-established. The previously described tragedy of Alzheimer’s Disease illustrates the link, as does the remarkable story of an accident in 1848 involving a young man named Phineas Gage:

(more…)

Spurred by the ongoing tragedy that presently wears the face of Terri Schiavo, several theologgers have reflected upon and discussed the nature of human existence following death. Four in particular have examined the biblical presentation of what constitutes the soul and what transpires after death:

All these posts are well-written and reflect serious, theological considerations of a few of the issues undergirding the discussion about Terri’s situation. Hers is a situation that cannot be handled with a knee-jerk, one-size-fits-all approach to the ethical difficulties posed in such dilemmas, although sadly it frequently is. The church in general and every Christian in particular needs to think through such complicated and emotionally-charged matters.

What follows is my attempt to do just that. I do this because my own mother has been neurologically hijacked for the past few years and a stranger now seems to inhabit her body. As her best friend of 60-plus years said after leaving her hospital room,

(more…)

One of the books that I’ll probably never get around to writing, one of the men’s retreats that I’ll likely never have an opportunity of doing, would be based on these two premises:

You’ll never be a man until you understand your father’s heart;
You’ll never be a godly man until you know your Father’s heart.

That’s what I would write about and talk about, though, because I’m convinced that both statements are absolutely true. It took me the better part of 40 years to figure out the first one; it’s taken more than 30 years to realize the last one.

Until you, the son, look into your earthly father’s heart, seeing all that is there and all that is not there, you will never be a man; you will remain your father’s boy. Looking into your father’s heart means seeing all that your father was and is, and understanding how he came to be that way. It is knowing just as clearly who your father wasn’t, and why he wasn’t. It’s knowing who your father might have been and who he never could have been.

It means examining how the man that was your father affected you, for better and for worse. How his drives, passions, views, and values impacted you and molded you, one way or the other. It’s finding your father in you, and then deciding what to retain and what to discard. It means growing up and becoming your father’s equal in every way.

. . . loving father, loving son

It is a two-edged blade: loving father should depict who your father is and what he does; loving father should also be what you do. Implied in this is that your father should love you as his son and that you, as his son, love him.

You need to believe that your father loved you - all of us do: a yearning for your father’s love is something I believe God has instilled in all of us, a deep belief that we are loved deeply by our father. You believed it; if you had a good father, you hopefully still believe it.

Some fathers are loving, some are not. But we all need to believe when we are boys that our father loves us. And if he does not or did not, then you believe the reason for that is either something you did, failed to do, or something lacking in you. Worse, you may conclude that there is something fundamentally wrong with you (which there is, of course, but it doesn’t have to do with your father’s responsibility to love you).

A father’s love fills your heart as a boy. It gives you a sense of safety, strength, confidence, and hope. It makes you know that you are valuable, and that you are valuable to the most important male in your life. It instructs you on how to treat others. A father gives you knowledge and models wisdom. Later, what he has done makes you feel good and positive about being a man. Responsibilities and duty rest lightly on your shoulders. They feel good and right.

Not all fathers are loving, though, and you may have grown up without a solid foundation for the structure of your life. You may now waste time trying to get blood from a turnip, seeking for the right thing in the wrong place. Or you have detached from him and rejected him, trying to relegate him to the landfill of your past hurts. The fact is that not all fathers have the capacity to love: some fail because their own fathers did not love them, others because of willful sin that is reflected is selfishness, immaturity, and self-absorption.

This does not absolve you, as a son, from loving him. But to love him you must understand him first.

(more…)

(This post is a compilation of five previous posts that have been archived. I have reposted them for convenience so that they do not have to be tracked down individually.)

PART ONE

In a previous post (”Why Pray?”), I made mention of how I conceptualize the work of the Holy Spirit in the brain of the Christian during prayer. This series of posts will expand on, clarify, and further explain my view. In a tedious and unpublished blog (actually, the dissertation for my Doctor of Ministry degree), I have gone into my understanding of the integration of spirituality with our present knowledge about the dynamics of the brain; for humanitarian reasons, I am not subjecting you to it here.

This series is meant to be a more concise and narrow examination of the subject. But it will include significant portions of the dissertation - humbly entitled, “An Integration of Biblical Anthropology and Neuropsychology and Its Implications for Christian Education and Discipleship” - so be prepared. You might want to have a gallon or two of coffee nearby.

There are five important factors at play in my model of sanctification: the brain, the human spirit, the mind, the Holy Spirit, and the Bible. Each will be discussed in order and then an attempt to describe the dynamics of sanctification with be offered.

This initial post will discuss the human brain. The sources and references for much of the information are not included but may be obtained (1) by contacting me and (2) for large sums of money.

The Brain

Although not always evident in some of us and a matter of conjecture in others, everybody has a brain. It is an unimpressive-looking, three-pound mass of grayish-pink, jelly-like tissue consisting of 10 billion neurons (nerve cells); as many as 100 billion supportive, glue-like cells called neuroglia; vascular (blood-carrying) tissues, and various other tissues. It does not look good to eat, unless you have an appetite for roadkill jellyfish or squid.

From the outside, the brain appears as three distinct but connected parts: the cerebrum (the Latin word for brain) – two large, almost symmetrical hemispheres; the cerebellum (“little brain”) – two smaller hemispheres located at the back of the cerebrum; and the brain stem – a central core that gradually becomes the spinal cord.

Two other major parts of the brain, the thalamus and the hypothalamus, lie in the midline above the brain stem underneath the cerebellum. Since they are hidden in the midbrain, you can’t see the thalamus or hypothalamus unless you have access to a CAT scan or a chainsaw.

The neocortex (also referred to as the cerebral cortex or cerebrum), which accounts for 85 percent of the brain’s weight, is the outermost part of the brain and gives to it its wrinkled, walnut-like appearance. The folds in the brain, caused by growth and the limitations of the skull, hide almost two-thirds of the brain’s surface: if the neocortex were unfolded, it would cover the floor of a 16 square-foot room. (Or maybe a room 16 feet square: I’m not sure which it is. Either way, it would still be ugly.) In the various lobes of the cerebrum takes place most high-level brain functions.

The frontal lobe of the neocortex, directly behind the forehead, is vital for speech (Broca’s Area), movement, planning, and mental representations; at the back of the head, the occipital lobe is involved in vision. The olfactory bulb, which produces the sense of smell, is tucked under the frontal lobe, behind and slightly above the nose. Just above the occipital lobe is the parietal lobe, which processes signals from sensations throughout the body; on each side of the head are temporal lobes that contain processes for memory, hearing, and, on the left temporal lobe, comprehension of language (Wernicke’s Area).

As mentioned above, beneath the cerebral cortex are the thalamus and hypothalamus: the former serves as a relay station for the senses while the latter is responsible for emotions and physical sensations, as well as serving as a junction for the nervous and endocrine systems.

There are two major types of brain cells: neuroglia and neurons. The neuroglia are perhaps ten times as numerous as neurons, but neurons are responsible for all electrochemical communication in the brain. Neuronal communication occurs either electrically or chemically: when transmitting an impulse within a neuron, it is conducted electrically; when communicating between neurons, across a gap (or synapse), it is done chemically. A single neuron may make as many as 10,000 connections with other neurons in the neocortex, resulting in the possibility of one hundred trillion (100,000,000,000,000) such connections in the brain. I personally have not counted them, but I trust the number because it’s too big to be made up. It may be off by 1 or 2 connections, but not much more.

Neurons do not exist in isolation, awaiting activation by a chemical transmission from another isolated neuron; rather, they exist in vast neural networks, columns, or schemas in the brain. A neural network is an affiliation or connection between millions of neighboring neurons that are involved in similar activities; schemas are networks or columns of networks throughout the brain which have established connections for processing information.

The more frequently a schema is activated, the stronger the connection between neurons becomes. Such schema and networks are critical for memory and, especially, learning.

The existence of schemas provides individuals with a mental system or grid through which to experience the world: if one’s experience of the world is consistent with existing schemas in the brain, then the information is assimilated (filed away in existing patterns) and the schemas are reinforced. If, however, one’s experience is not consistent with existing schemas, then accommodation takes place (a new pattern is established): the particular schema – and all schemas connected with it – is adjusted to allow for the new, previously inconsistent information. Schemas, or neural networks, are the building blocks of mental activity, as well as the foundation and key for learning

So, as you’re reading this, I’m literally messing with your brain. Too late now. Oops, there’s another new connection! Stop it!

With me so far? I recognize that this may be nothing new to many of you, very confusing to others, and quite possibly some of the driest reading since college, but it is important for what follows. If we are to understand how God may - repeat, may - be working in our brains, then we have to have a basic understanding of the brain. And when we do, then we can more actively participate in and facilitate the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

So the brain is a network of neurons that processes electrical and chemical signals. A single thought or feeling can have innumerable connections to various parts of the brain, developing a complex network supporting and facilitating the specific thought or feeling. And remember: the more often the neuropathway is activated, the stronger it becomes and the more likely it will be followed again in the future.

PART TWO

In our first episode (CotB - P1), I provided a rudimentary overview of the major parts of the brain and how thoughts and feelings are transmitted. Hopefully, the explanation was more illuminating than obfuscatory; if not, let me know and I’ll try to do a better job (i.e., I’ll go back and re-do the post). Assuming that everything is sufficiently clear, however, let’s plunge ahead to the second of the issues to be examined.

So we have a brain. Now what? Well, now the question is: what causes brain activity? The answer is threefold, but only the last one is of interest to us for the purpose of this discussion. The first two sources of brain activity are external and internal stimuli. The brain is activated by external stimuli whenever our senses detect something in the environment, i.e., in the external world. Looking at this blog is triggering your optic nerve, which in turn is setting in motion a host of dynamics in the brain that result in such things as recognition that these curious little markings are letters and that these letters form words and sentences and paragraphs that are supposed to be a coherent thought.

Brain activities outside the realm of consciousness or awareness also occur. Your eyes move back and forth across the page without you having noticed (until now) or having told them to do so. This is a result of learning, and there are some strong pathways in your brain that cause your eyes to move from left to right and up and down in order to see what the next word is going to be. At the same time, the stimulation of the optic nerve may result in other, unexpected things happening - such as yawning, or a sudden craving for coffee or something else to do besides read this.

Internal stimuli are triggers that are independent of the environment. For example, when your stomach begins to contract because it no longer has enough food - or, if not food, then something from McDonald’s - when that happens, then it sends a message to your brain (via neurons and the nervous system) to do something about it. When you do finally shove something into your mouth, other things begin happening: saliva is produced, swallowing is activated, your stomach is happy (but doesn’t stop with the signal just yet), blood is re-allocated, etc.

Your body is a busy, busy place, always doing things - like breathing - that are usually outside your awareness. And some things that are always outside your awareness (try, right now, to be aware of what your inner ear is actually doing at this very moment as it keeps you from falling over as you read this). You can perhaps be aware of the effects of some of those activities, but you can’t sense it happening unless something goes wrong.

In our discussion, however, it is the third stimuli that is of primary interest. This third activator of thought, feeling, and behavior is the human spirit. Our human spirit is what enables us to think about things that have nothing to do with our immediate environment or physical existence. It is responsible for the capacities to will to do something, to meditate, to think original thoughts, to create new associations or connections between old networks or constellations in our brains.

The human spirit is not the electrical or chemical signal or transmission within the brain, but is a spiritual dimension of our makeup that instigates such activity.

The human spirit is also that which gives us what the psychologists call temperament, or our particular predispositions in life. Temperament is described by terms such as introverted or extroverted, dominant or compliant, active or passive. It is said that temperament is roughly 50 percent of who we are, although I have no idea how anyone can come up with such a figure.

I would further argue that personality resides in our spirits and that the makeup of the mind (the subject of the next post) is largely the resulting configuration of our brains growing out of the accommodation, assimilation, and compensation due to the interaction of our spirit, our physical constitution, and our experiences. I believe this because of the Incarnation.

When the Second Member of the Godhead took human form, He did not develop a personality that was different than what it had been previously. God doesn’t change, remember? So who Jesus was is who Jesus is and is who Jesus will always be. His Spirit took up residence in human form - He became actual flesh and blood - and it was His Spirit that manifested itself through His brain, mind, and body.

Unlike Jesus, of course, our human spirits are not pre-existent but are formed at the moment of conception (naturally, I believe, not by a direct act of God). Our personalities are largely set at that time, although modified later through experiences, drugs, or by coming in contact with rapidly moving blunt objects aimed at our heads.

Our human spirit not only initiates brain activity but also supervises or superintends conscious thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Our spirit decides how to respond to some of the external and internal stimuli we experience, and then “accompanies” the transmission at various points along the way. Ideally, at significant points, our spirit can make a choice about which direction the thought, feeling, or behavior will go. Because we have a human spirit, we are morally responsible. By and large, we can make choices about moral matters.

PART THREE

Having taken a quick look at the brain (Pt. 1) and the human spirit (Pt. 2), it’s now time to consider the third of the five aspects of our spiritual nature and sanctification: the mind. But first, a brief review.

Think of the brain as a seemingly infinite number of points (neurons) that exist in three-dimensional space. A pretty good analogy is to think of all the stars in the night sky: although we can see only a few thousand (at most) with the naked eye, there are actually (to quote a dead man) “billions and billions” of them. Our brain has 100,000,000,000 or so of these “points” scattered throughout its four-pound mound of gelatinous mass.

Of course, the night sky does not exhibit any visible signs that there are connections that exist between these billions of stars. Our brain, however, does have connections. Lots of them. Or, more accurately, it has channels of potential connections that exist, awaiting only some activation to establish a connection. Not all the points or neurons are connected to each other - at least, not directly - but the number of channels and connections are staggering. More than can be counted on your fingers and toes. Or the fingers and toes of everyone on the planet.

Some of these neurons and channels exist in areas of the brain that seem to be the triggers for various mental functions, such as sight, hearing, touch, feeling, thinking, and adjusting our underwear in public. And we seem to have connecting thoughts and feelings about our activities, as well as similar behaviors in others when we catch them.

What causes the creation of these connections via the channels is the human spirit, along with internal and external stimuli. Think of the human spirit as an immaterial cause and the other two as material causes. But not only does the spirit initiate, it also superintends or governs the connections at various points along the way. We are generally aware of this activity due to the phenomenon of consciousness, although there may be other things that our spirit does of which we are not always conscious.

Now we turn to the mind, which according to Rom 12.1-2, is an important element in our spiritual growth and maturity. (Of course, the heart and soul are also involved in sanctification, but that’s a different part of my dissertation. I’ll only say that it’s really cool the way I conceptualize all of that. Sorry.) Basically, the mind is the architecture or configuration that results from the interaction of the spirit and the brain over the course of our lifetime. It is not just the connections that exist but also - and more importantly - the non-activated channels between the various neurons.

This organization of the brain is sometimes called schemas and exists in vast networks and constellations of channels and momentary connections. As stated previously, the more frequently a channel is employed the greater the possibility that it - along with all associated connections - will be used again. A channel that may start out as a faint trail across a virgin field can develop into an eight-lane freeway. With apologies to Robert Frost, we normally take the road most easily traveled.

A channel can also start out as a veritable autobahn, however. Remember the first time you decided to lick a metal pole on a cold, cold day? How many times did you have to do that to come to the conclusion that maybe this was something to tell someone else to do, but not to do again yourself? That is because the brain marks some signals with powerful chemical indicators that this seemingly good idea is not so good after all. That marking is permanent and powerful.

So we have a mind, semi-ordered or disordered as the case may be, which is largely a result of our experiences. Our minds are created and activated by our spirits in interaction with our brains, giving us the incredible diversity among people. After all, how many different ways are there to organize 100 billions neurons? Well, more than a few. And this mind (along with the heart and soul) is the key to our sanctification.

PART FOUR

So far, we have described the mental aspects of your basic, natural, human being: a brain, a human spirit, and a uniquely ordered mind. This is true of every person who has ever lived on the planet. But for some - we call ourselves Christians - there is an additional component to our constitution that makes all the difference in the world. And in the next world. We will also consider in this post the fifth aspect of our spiritual existence, since the fourth and fifth are closely related.

The Holy Spirit is a fourth factor in the constitution of some people, and He is the Agent of change or sanctification in every Christian. Paul makes it clear that, if we do not have the Spirit of Christ, then we are not believers (Rom 8.9b). The Holy Spirit does a lot of things in His ministry to and through us, but here we are limiting our consideration to His role in our sanctification.

Like the human spirit, the Holy Spirit is an initiator, activator, and governor of processes in our brains. Unlike the human spirit, however, the Spirit only initiates and governs those (neuro)pathways of righteousness that He has made. He does not work on the old, sinful channels in the mind of the Christian - or even the “righteous” ones we have done in the flesh - but instead creates new pathways to be followed. His purpose is to make the righteous channels more active and attractive than the sinful ones.

The sinful paths are what constitutes the flesh (when used in a negative sense in Scripture). When Paul declares, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal 5.17), he may be describing something that modern neurology sheds some light on.

The flesh - the mental eight-lane channels of pleasure and sin - presents itself as an easy alternative to what the Spirit is offering. The Spirit beckons us down a path of righteousness, but the well-traveled and familiar path of sin is calling, too. Who wins?

Well, according to Paul, whichever one our human spirit decides to yield to. He says to the Galatians, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5.16), and to the Romans, “do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. . . . Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” (Rom 6.13, 16).

The Christian’s responsibility in the process of sanctification is to yield, not to the flesh but, to the Holy Spirit. As we walk with Him, He will transform our minds and change our behaviors.

Of course, it is possible to make similar changes without the Holy Spirit. Any person, including a Christian, can attempt to create new neuropathways of righteousness through willpower and discipline. There are, without question, a great number of very good, very honorable, very noble non-Christians in the world. Many of them are in church every Sunday.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were good men: their peers looked up to them and admired their piety. We know that they’re the bad guys because we know the whole story, but had we been living at that time we, too, would have thought very highly of them. But their righteousness was a product of their own spirit and thus corrupted by sin.

And there are a great number of Christians who, for one reason or another, are attempting to perfect themselves by the flesh (i.e., the work of the human spirit to change the brain for the better). Paul says that they are foolish (Gal 3.3) and states that no one - that is, NO ONE - will be made righteous or justified through their own efforts (Rom 3.20, Gal 2.21). All our righteousness, after all, is nothing but a filthy rag (a polite euphemism) in the eyes of God (Is 64.6). And this is true whether that self-produced righteousness is accomplished by a non-Christian or a Christian. The only righteousness that counts with Him is that which He gives (positionally) to us and that which the Holy Spirit produces (experientially) in us.

The Holy Spirit does not work willy-nilly or arbitrarily in the believer, He utilizes the written word of God - the Bible - to establish new paths of righteousness in the believer. That may come from reading the Bible, hearing it read, or hearing it from the lips of others, but it is the truth as contained in the Bible that provides the direction, form, and content of the new channels in our brain.

The more we hear the word of God, the more our minds are transformed - if we yield to Him and follow down those paths. The Bible does not contain error and, if studied correctly, cannot lead us into error. It is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures for us. Strictly speaking, He does not “reveal” anything to us: revelation is complete; revelation is confined to the Bible. The Spirit enlightens us and enables us to see the truth of God in a way that it becomes part of our life.

It is not just knowledge of the Bible that He desires, but a change in our lives. We are to be “living bibles” in the world, blessing others and being blessed in the process.

It is the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit that makes the Bible living and active (Heb 4.12). The Bible does not possess some magical power of its own. This is clearly seen by the effect it has on a non-Christian: to them it is just a book, a collection of confusing and sometimes-quaint concepts. But it is hardly something to live by and, even if it were, it would be impossible.

The Bible is special because of its purity and clear revelation of the Person of God, but by itself it changes no one. Change is the activity of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Bible that He uses to accomplish His work in us.

PART FIVE

OK, for the sake of this post, let’s say you understand and accept everything that I said in the previous four sections on the brain and sanctification. At this point, then, the proper response or question might be: “You mean I read all of that stuff just to humor you? So what? What good or difference does any of that make?”

Calm down. Take a deep breath, hold it ’til the count of five, then release. Repeat a few thousand times or so.

In a way, the application of all the preceding can be of great value; at the same time, it is a re-discovery of what the Bible has demonstrated and described all along. Again, for the sake of argument (or, “discussion,” since spiritual Christians don’t argue (1 Cor 1.10 [pardon my ripping the verse out of context to use for my own sarcastic purpose]), let’s assume that everything I said is accurate and in keeping with biblical anthropology. Starting from that point, there are several important applications to be made.

The first, which was mentioned in the last post, is the importance of knowing the Bible. If it is true that the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to accomplish His work of sanctification in us, then the more time spent reading or hearing the word of God the more quickly He can work in us. Of course, the Holy Spirit must enlighten us as we read or listen, but if we’re not reading or listening to the Bible then the light may shine but there won’t be anything for us to see. Or anything for Him to work with.

So Bible reading/hearing/studying is important. But we have to be sure that we are accurately or correctly handling the truth God has entrusted to us (2 Tim 2.15). There is a discipline or regimen to the study of the Bible that is necessary to follow if we are to have truths available to the Holy Spirit. Again, the Bible is not a magical book that will yield truth to a reckless audience. We must be clear on what God has said or promised and, just as importantly, what He has not said or promised. Every lesson we are taught, every conclusion we come to on our own must be subjected to the infallible truth of the Bible and the penetrating discernment of the Holy Spirit within us.

The major application is drawn from a discipline called “brain-based learning,” which was pioneered by secular (?) educators Geoffrey and Renate Caine. Their books are fascinating reading and, as will be explained shortly, quite encouraging for Christians in an indirect way.

In 1975, Christian educator Larry Richards wrote A Theology of Christian Education, a remarkable book and well-ahead of its time. One of the problems he identified was the difficulty in getting isolated beliefs (head knowledge) to become operating beliefs (so-called heart knowledge, or that which is put into practice).

The work of the Caines provides valuable insight into accomplishing that task. (All quotes in the following are from their works.) There are three things necessary for brain-based learning to occur:

1. Relaxed alertness
2. Orchestrated immersion
3. Active processing.

Relaxed alertness refers to a state of mind characterized by low threat and high challenge: people must feel emotionally safe within an environment and relationship of an honest, supportive yet confrontational community that allows for growth and experimentation. This condition, which is the optimal state of mind for learning, is deliberately achieved. It includes relaxing physically, meditating purposefully (focusing on specific biblical content rather than attempting to empty one’s mind), and providing a physical environment that supports such a state of mind. Providing people with a safe, non-threatening learning experience requires first of all that the teacher/preacher/discipler feels neither threatened nor bored. Only then will learning be safe enough not to be threatening, but challenging enough not to be boring.

Immersion in the learning experience is based on the finding that “to some extent all meaningful learning is experiential.” Elements that contribute to immersion in learning include “an event or situation that has some aspect of a narrative or story form;” a physical environment that supports the narrative; genuine, supportive social relationships, and, a wide range of experiences involving as many of the senses as possible. The more that the experience resembles real-life, the more effective the teaching. Orchestrated immersion involves not only personal interaction with the teacher or discipler, but an opportunity for people to engage in long-term, open-ended, and self-directed studies which are sufficiently challenging so as to produce intrinsic rewards. One need look no further than the process of sanctification, a life-long pursuit not to be completed in this lifetime, for an example of such a challenge for the Christian. And more than merely being immersed in the study, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and provided with the power to do the work.

The third and final condition necessary for learning to occur is active processing of the experience by the people. This means that, guided by the teacher, preacher, or discipler, sufficient practice and rehearsal is provided to allow the people to begin to make connections and create new meanings with the new knowledge being acquired. To broaden and deepen the learning, people must be given an opportunity to actively process the material and the experience. One of the primary purposes in the calling of the twelve disciples, according to Mark, was so that these men might spend time with Jesus (3.14). This was their apprenticeship, a time when they would learn lessons from the Master not only through His messages but by accompanying Him during more than three years of ministry. Jesus did not primarily train the disciples didactically but by having them with Him and giving them ministerial opportunities and responsibilities. While His purpose was not to present a treatise on effective brain-based discipling techniques, our Lord nevertheless modeled the conditions and principles discussed here. In loving His disciples He created an atmosphere of relaxed alertness; by being with them continuously He immersed them for more than three years in a learning-rich environment, and through repetition, questions, and fellowship gave the disciples opportunities to actively process all that they were learning.

Following the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the effectiveness of His strategy was demonstrated by the awareness of the rulers, elders, scribes, and family of high priests who, “as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” (Ac 4.13). Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter and John manifested the effects of three-plus years of on-the-job learning in what it meant to minister, preach, and witness.

They changed the face of the world because they had received a real-life education and had been discipled into being leaders of the early church. And this is precisely what the church is to be about today. The church is meant to be a loving and confrontational community (relaxed alertness), involving people in the work of the ministry (orchestrated immersion), and through fellowship allowing believers to process and discuss their Christian experience (active processing). God created our brains. He knows how we learn, and His approach is clearly demonstrated in Jesus’ interactions with the disciples and in all His dealings with His people throughout the Bible. For the church to succeed, it needs only to return to that which is effective in facilitating sanctification in the Christian.

[Personal Background: As some of you know, I am a mental health counselor with a Masters and Doctorate (D.Min.) from a couple of seminaries. I am specifically interested in the harmonization of neuropsychology and spirituality, and generally interested in the relationship between psychology and theology. I have written about this elsewhere on this site (see “Christ on the Brain” below); I have also posted my humbly-entitled dissertation, “An Integration of Biblical Anthropology and Neuropsychology and Its Implications for Christian Education and Discipleship.”]

At Mind and Soul, British psychiatrist Rob Waller has posted some observations on Andrea Yates and her moral responsibility in the deaths of her five children. My own observations, spawned by his, are the subject matter of this post.

Andrea Yates, you will remember, was found guilty of the murder of her five children and sentenced to life in prison; her conviction was overturned on Jan 6. Dr. Waller comments, “Because some people believe that there is no such thing as mental illness and that all unacceptable behaviour is sinful in origin. This is the sort of thing that happens when people take these strong views.”

Dr. Waller raises several important issues regarding mental illness vs. insanity, mental illness and spirituality, and the importance of being well-informed theologically.

First, there is an important distinction to be made between mental illness (a psychological term) and insanity ( a legal term). Insanity, in the legal sense, is not merely the presence of a mental illness but is the inability to know right from wrong. If I am depressed, for example, and decide that I would be happier if I killed my father, I am mentally ill but not necessarily insane. If I take care to kill him in a way that I will not be caught or charged with the deed, it is unlikely that I am insane; if, however, I approach my father on a downtown street, shoot him, and then walk away as though nothing has happened or in expectation of being made a hero for having done this great humanitarian gesture, then maybe I am insane. It comes down to whether or not I knew what I was doing was wrong at the time I did it.

From all appearances, Andrea Yates was insane in addition to being mentally ill. She seems to have been suffering from a major depressive episode with psychotic features (the latter meaning she had lost touch with reality).

Second (and this is the important thing for our purposes), there is a similar distinction to be made theologically. It is necessary to distinguish between Sin and sins: the former is a consequence of the Fall; the latter are those things that I willfully choose to do or not do. I am born separated from God, others, and even myself because of Sin; I am going to die physically because of Sin, not because of sins: this is the argument that Paul is making in Rom 4.12-14:

“Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” (NASB)

Before the law, Paul is saying people died but sins were not charged against them; nevertheless, these people died. Why? Because of Sin, that with which we are all born and which manifests itself in individual sins.

In the same way, mental illness is caused by Sin. Every aspect of our being is affected by Sin, including our brains: our brains malfunction because of Sin. But even those of us who might be mentally ill (actually, we’re all mentally ill to some extent, even as we are all physically ill to some degree) - at any rate, we can sometimes willfully choose to commit sins. This is important: mental illness is not an excuse for sins willingly commited; it is a manifestation of Sin. But I am still responsible for those sins.

Finally, Dr. Waller concludes his post by saying, “This is the sort of thing that happens when people take these strong views,” i.e., when people believe that there is no difference between mental illness and sin. Here, I think, he is incorrect: the problem is that people don’t know the difference either between mental illness and insanity, or between sins and Sin. The first is a legal difference; the latter (and to my mind, far more important) is a theological matter. But Dr. Waller is right about this: if Christians do not know theology - and particularly the doctrines of anthropology and sin - then they may come to some unfortunate or even tragic conclusions.

OK, for the sake of this post, let’s say you understand and accept everything that I said in the previous four articles on the brain and sanctification. At this point, then, the proper response or question might be:

“You mean I read all of that stuff just to humor you? So what? What good or difference does any of that make?”

Calm down. Take a deep breath, hold it ’til the count of five, then release. Repeat a few thousand times or so.

In a way, the application of all the preceding can be of great value; at the same time, it is a re-discovery of what the Bible has demonstrated and described all along.

Again, for the sake of argument (or, “discussion,” since spiritual Christians don’t argue (1 Cor 1.10 [pardon my ripping the verse out of context to use for my own sarcastic purpose]), let’s assume that everything I said is accurate and in keeping with biblical anthropology. Starting from that point, there are several important applications to be made.

The first, which was mentioned in the last post, is the importance of knowing the Bible. If (first-class conditional = “since”) it is true that the Holy Spirit uses the Bible to accomplish His work of sanctification in us, then the more time spent reading or hearing the word of God the more quickly He can work in us. Of course, the Holy Spirit must enlighten us as we read or listen, but if we’re not reading or listening to the Bible then the light may shine but there won’t be anything for us to see. Or anything for Him to work with.

So Bible reading/hearing/studying is important. But we have to be sure that we are accurately or correctly handling the truth God has entrusted to us (2 Tim 2.15). There is a discipline or regimen to the study of the Bible that is necessary to follow if we are to have truths available to the Holy Spirit. Again, the Bible is not a magical book that will yield truth to a reckless audience. We must be clear on what God has said or promised and, just as importantly, what He has not said or promised.

Every lesson we are taught, every conclusion we come to on our own must be subjected to the infallible truth of the Bible and the penetrating discernment of the Holy Spirit within us.

The major application is drawn from a discipline called “brain-based learning,” which was pioneered by secular (?) educators Geoffrey and Renate Caine. Their books are fascinating reading and, as will be explained shortly, quite encouraging for Christians in an indirect way.

Almost 30 years ago, Christian educator Larry Richards wrote A Theology of Christian Education, a remarkable book and well-ahead of its time. One of the problems he identified was the difficulty in getting isolated beliefs (head knowledge) to become operating beliefs (so-called heart knowledge, or that which is put into practice). The work of the Caines provides valuable insight into accomplishing that task. (All quotes in the following are from their works.)

There are three things necessary for brain-based learning to occur:

1. Relaxed alertness
2. Orchestrated immersion
3. Active processing.

Relaxed alertness refers to a state of mind characterized by low threat and high challenge: people must feel emotionally safe within an environment and relationship of an honest, supportive yet confrontational community that allows for growth and experimentation. This condition, which is the optimal state of mind for learning, is deliberately achieved. It includes relaxing physically, meditating purposefully (focusing on specific biblical content rather than attempting to empty one’s mind), and providing a physical environment that supports such a state of mind. Providing people with a safe, non-threatening learning experience requires first of all that the teacher/preacher/discipler feels neither threatened nor bored. Only then will learning be safe enough not to be threatening, but challenging enough not to be boring.

Immersion in the learning experience is based on the finding that “to some extent all meaningful learning is experiential.” Elements that contribute to immersion in learning include “an event or situation that has some aspect of a narrative or story form;” a physical environment that supports the narrative; genuine, supportive social relationships, and, a wide range of experiences involving as many of the senses as possible. The more that the experience resembles real-life, the more effective the teaching. Orchestrated immersion involves not only personal interaction with the teacher or discipler, but an opportunity for people to engage in long-term, open-ended, and self-directed studies which are sufficiently challenging so as to produce intrinsic rewards. One need look no further than the process of sanctification, a life-long pursuit not to be completed in this lifetime, for an example of such a challenge for the Christian. And more than merely being immersed in the study, the Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit and provided with the power to do the work.

The third and final condition necessary for learning to occur is active processing of the experience by the people. This means that, guided by the teacher, preacher, or discipler, sufficient practice and rehearsal is provided to allow the people to begin to make connections and create new meanings with the new knowledge being acquired. To broaden and deepen the learning, people must be given an opportunity to actively process the material and the experience.

One of the primary purposes in the calling of the twelve disciples, according to Mark, was so that these men might spend time with Jesus (3.14). This was their apprenticeship, a time when they would learn lessons from the Master not only through His messages but by accompanying Him during more than three years of ministry. Jesus did not primarily train the disciples didactically but by having them with Him and giving them ministerial opportunities and responsibilities.

While His purpose was not to present a treatise on effective brain-based discipling techniques, our Lord nevertheless modeled the conditions and principles discussed here. In loving His disciples He created an atmosphere of relaxed alertness; by being with them continuously He immersed them for more than three years in a learning-rich environment, and through repetition, questions, and fellowship gave the disciples opportunities to actively process all that they were learning.

Following the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the effectiveness of His strategy was demonstrated by the awareness of the rulers, elders, scribes, and family of high priests who, “as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” (Ac 4.13). Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter and John manifested the effects of three-plus years of on-the-job learning in what it meant to minister, preach, and witness. They changed the face of the world because they had received a real-life education and had been discipled into being leaders of the early church.

And this is precisely what the church is to be about today. The church is meant to be a loving and confrontational community (relaxed alertness), involving people in the work of the ministry (orchestrated immersion), and through fellowship allowing believers to process and discuss their Christian experience (active processing). (Sorry, but talking about Aunt Nellie’s big toe or who won yesterday’s football game does not qualify as biblical fellowship.)

God created our brains. He knows how we learn, and His approach is clearly demonstrated in Jesus’ interactions with the disciples and in all His dealings with His people throughout the Bible.

For the church to succeed, it needs only to return to that which is effective in facilitating sanctification in the Christian.

So far, we have described the mental aspects of your basic, natural, human being: a brain, a human spirit, and a uniquely ordered mind. This is true of every person who has ever lived on the planet. But for some - we call ourselves Christians - there is an additional component to our constitution that makes all the difference in the world. And in the next world. We will also consider in this post the fifth aspect of our spiritual existence, since the fourth and fifth are closely related.

The Holy Spirit is a fourth factor in the constitution of some people, and He is the Agent of change or sanctification in every Christian. Paul makes it clear that, if we do not have the Spirit of Christ, then we are not believers (Rom 8.9b). He does a lot of things in His ministry to and through us, but here we are limiting our consideration to His role in our sanctification.

Like the human spirit, the Holy Spirit is an initiator, activator, and governor of processes in our brains. Unlike the human spirit, however, the Spirit only initiates and governs those (neuro)pathways of righteousness that He has made. He does not work on the old, sinful channels in the mind of the Christian - or even the “righteous” ones we have done in the flesh - but instead creates new pathways to be followed. His purpose is to make the righteous channels more active and attractive than the sinful ones.

The sinful paths are what constitutes the flesh (when used in a negative sense in Scripture). When Paul declares, “For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please” (Gal 5.17), he may be describing something that modern neurology sheds some light on. The flesh - the mental eight-lane channels of pleasure and sin - presents itself as an easy alternative to what the Spirit is offering. The Spirit beckons us down a path of righteousness, but the well-traveled and familiar path of sin is calling, too.

Who wins? Well, according to Paul, whichever one our human spirit decides to yield to. He says to the Galatians, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5.16), and to the Romans, “do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. . . . Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” (Rom 6.13, 16).

The Christian’s responsibility in the process of sanctification is to yield, not to the flesh but, to the Holy Spirit. As we walk with Him, He will transform our minds and change our behaviors.

Of course, it is possible to make similar changes without the Holy Spirit. Any person, including a Christian, can attempt to create new neuropathways of righteousness through willpower and discipline. There are, without question, a great number of very good, very honorable, very noble non-Christians in the world. Many of them are in church every Sunday. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were good men: their peers looked up to them and admire their piety. We know that they’re the bad guys because we know the whole story, but had we been living at that time we, too, would have thought very highly of them. But their righteousness was a product of their own spirit and thus corrupted by sin.

And there are a great number of Christians who, for one reason or another, are attempting to perfect themselves by the flesh (i.e., the work of the human spirit to change the brain for the better). Paul says that they are foolish (Gal 3.3) and states that no one - that is, NO ONE - will be made righteous or justified through their own efforts (Rom 3.20, Gal 2.21).

All our righteousness, after all, is nothing but but a filthy rag (a polite euphemism) in the eyes of God (Is 64.6). And this is true whether that self-produced righteousness is accomplished by a non-Christian or a Christian. The only righteousness that counts with Him is that which He gives (positionally) to us and that which the Holy Spirit produces (experientially) in us.

The Holy Spirit does not work nilly-willy or arbitrarily in the believer, He utilizes the written word of God - the Bible - to establish new paths of righteousness in the believer. That may come from reading the Bible, hearing it read, or hearing it from the lips of others, but it is the truth as contained in the Bible that provides the direction, form, and content of the new channels in our brain. The more we hear the word of God, the more our minds are transformed - if we yield to Him and follow down those paths.

The Bible does not contain error and, if studied correctly, cannot lead us into error. It is one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit to illuminate the Scriptures for us. Strictly speaking, He does not “reveal” anything to us: revelation is complete; revelation is confined to the Bible. The Spirit enlightens us and enables us to see the truth of God in a way that it becomes part of our life. It is not just knowledge of the Bible that He desires, but a change in our lives. We are to be “living bibles” in the world, blessing others and being blessed in the process.

It is the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit that makes the Bible living and active (Heb 4.12). The Bible does not possess some magical power of its own. This is clearly seen by the effect it has on a non-Christian: to them it is just a book, a collection of confusing and sometimes-quaint concepts. But it is hardly something to live by and, even if it were, it would be impossible.

The Bible is special because of its purity and clear revelation of the Person of God, but by itself it changes no one. Change is the activity of the Holy Spirit, and it is the Bible that He uses to accomplish His work in us.

Next (and last): Application