How God Changes Your Brain

One of the things I like about an inclusive, all-encompassing image of God is that the concept eliminates an “either-or” outlook on who God is and how God works. This isn’t new thinking either: See John 1:3 —  “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” In short, nothing exists without God.

Case in point: the so-called rift between science and spirituality. Usually when someone wants to disprove the existence of God, they point to scientific principles and evidence. But why can’t God be the scientific genius behind those principles and evidence? This possibility means expanding our idea of God, which, let’s face it, can be very uncomfortable. This is true for the devout believer as well as the scientific purist.

But the choice between science and religion has always been a false one. Both represent avenues to explain why things happen in our lives and in our worlds. One does not invalidate the other. Quite the opposite. A deep sense of faith, combined with a critical and curious scientific mind, broadens our understanding of God. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said it this way:

Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals. They are complementary.

All that’s a long setup for a new book called “How God Changes Your Brain.” The authors are Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman. Newberg is a neuroscientist; Waldman is a therapist. They both are associated with Center for Spirituality and the Mind at the University of Pennsylvania, where they study . . . well, how God changes your brain, among other things. I also recognize the author from a stimulating movie I like called “What the Bleep Do We Know?”

Anyway, take a peek, let us know what you think . . .

How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman (sneak preview)