Life Lines
‘FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE’
The complexity of the human brain is so great that it staggers the imagination.
It consists of hundreds of billions of cells, each one of which is as complicated
as a city. “A typical neuron makes about 10,000 connections to neighboring
neurons. Given the billions of neurons, this means there are as many
connections in a single cubic centimeter of brain tissue as there are stars in
the Milky Way galaxy.” (From Incognito, The Secret Lives of the Brain, by David
Eagleman)
If the brain is so complex, how much more unfathomable must the mind
itself be. No natural psychology could begin to unravel its mysteries. Truly, we
are “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and the Lord’s works are “marvelous”
indeed. (Psalm 139.14)
The real “last frontier” to be explored is the human mind itself. The
teachings of the New Church give us the framework of truths needed for the
dawning new age of psychology or mind exploration; truths to complement
and give a spiritual context to scientific study of the mind’s physical covering,
the brain.
As those teachings make clear, though, the degree of understanding we
can gain of our own mental states is very limited, not to mention our ability
to improve them. It is like trying to “lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps.”
Brain research and psychiatry are spiritually valuable natural sciences
because unhealthy mental states are an impediment to regeneration. (See
Divine Providence 141) They can help clear the way for our spiritual growth –
but only the Lord regenerates people.
(WEO)
HIGHER EDUCATION AND THE GOOD LIFE
Selected Editorials, a collection of the prolific work of my father, the Rev. W.
Cairns Henderson, remains a treasure trove of New Church thought and
application. These editorials were chosen from more than 1,000 he w