You put your right brain in, you put your right brain out..

On my flight to Minneapolis and back this weekend I began to read a book that was highly recommended to us at the ACSI convention earlier this month. Daniel Pink, former speechwriter for none other than Al Gore, has written a book entitled A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future. As you probably know, the human brain is divided into two hemispheres. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa. The left side of the brain is wired for logic, calculation, and reasoning. The right side of the brain is the side that controls artistic expression and creativity. Mr. Pink asserts that we are at the dawn of a new age in which right-brained thinking will be indispensable. Even as mankind moved from the Agricultural Age through the Industrial Age (when essential gifts for valuable labor were physical strength and stamina) up to the current Information Age (when everyone assumes that computer programming will be the most in-demand and best-paying job), so we now will be moving into the Conceptual Age, where design, synthesis, storytelling, and the ability to see the workings of a dynamic business as a symphony will prevail.

As an illustration of this, he cites automobiles and cell phones. Everyone, it seems, owns at least one. Therefore, in order to get new customers in a saturated market, it is not enough to focus on function. Rather, design and appearance are what really matters. Why else would someone spend more money on the face plate that goes on the phone than on the phone itself? People yearn for self-expression, which partly explains the incredible popularity of websites like myspace and facebook. However, rather than claiming that the world will be ruled by artsy types in black unitards and berets, the author demonstrates how vital it is for both hemispheres of the brain to be engaged in order to be a valuable leader in the new economy. It is an economy, after all, in which computer programmers in India will do the job for $15,000 per year, about what you might make monitoring the deep fryer at McDonald’s.

Human history is full of examples of the tension between left-brained and right-brained dominance. In ancient Greece, the Minoans were interested in the aesthetics of art and architecture; the Myceneans in the cold calculations of conquest. A little further down the road finds the same disparity between the militaristic Spartans and the Athenians who loved philosophy, drama, and politics. When was the last time a college team was nicknamed “the Athenians?” Yet they were right-brainers. The Romans were great engineers and builders, but for right-brained art and design, they preferred to copy the Greeks. At least the Romans understood the value of beauty, even if they were not particularly creative. The Renaissance opened the door to the Enlightenment, in which the great goddess of reason ruled in revolutionary France. But man is not just a left hemisphere, an automaton. The Romantic era came in reaction to that period, celebrating human emotion once again.

In the history of the United States, the story of the Great Awakening also illustrates how the left-brain/right-brain conflict affects religion and spirituality. Right-brainers claimed that the theological propositions of the “old light” preachers were dull and heartless, and turned to fiery preachers like Jonathan Edwards to strike fear into the hearers’ hearts and make them desperate for God’s salvation. In many cases, the dependence on emotional experience led to such excesses as uncontrollable shrieking, shaking, convulsing, rolling on the floor laughing, and the like.

Is there a correct balance to strike? I like to believe that the right side of my brain is hard at work, finding expression in music, drama, and even in writing a weekly blog. My left side is cool and rational and also works (most of the time) diligently so that common sense and logic will prevail. But my family would not enjoy a husband or father who expressed no emotion. Who would enjoy a leader without a sense of humor? Thank God for the right hemisphere, too!

Mr. Pink makes the observation that the American educational system is essentially geared toward the left brain. Who is qualified for college? Someone whose left brain can determine which bubble to fill in on the ACT or SAT. Let’s try an exercise in right-brained thinking this week. Try to come up with a humorous caption for the photo at the lead of this article. The winner will receive a coveted prize. Ready, set, create! And get ready to take your place as leaders in the new conceptual age.

Disease

The cold and flu season is coming. Do you know how to keep yourself from getting sick? Many, especially elderly, will receive flu vaccinations, in which a small amount of the virus is injected into the body, creating the reaction that leads to immunity. Shots are a fact of life. You need to have your immunization record to enter school—measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis A, B and C, polio. When you start college, it will be advisable to get an inoculation against meningitis. Vaccination has become the primary method for eliminating and preventing the spread of infectious disease. It is not, however, without its risk. You are, after all, injecting a healthy body with a small amount of a maleficent agent. But the benefit far outweighs the risk, for most people. On the other hand, there are many who oppose childhood immunization on religious grounds. Here as an excerpt:

Vaccines have become sacraments of our faith in biotechnology in the sense that 1) their efficacy and safety are widely seen as self-evident and needing no further proof; 2) they are given automatically to everyone, by force if necessary, but always in the name of the public good; and 3) they ritually initiate our loyal participation in the medical enterprise as a whole. They celebrate our right and power as a civilization to manipulate biological processes ad libitum [as desired] and for profit, without undue concern for or even any explicit concept of the total health of the populations about to be subjected to them.

The risk-benefit ratio shifts when God enters the equation. A basic tenet of Christianity and Judaism holds that the body is a sacred temple of God. Injecting toxic particles into the body to produce an artificial immune reaction is seen by some religious persons as opposed to natural methods of promoting health. This view was a major source of the opposition to smallpox vaccination in the 1800's. One opponent described it as "an attempt to swindle Nature." Similarly, the benefit of immunity against disease becomes irrelevant for those who believe that faith in God protects the individual from illness. Refusing immunizations may therefore be seen as an act of faith.

History is replete with examples of contagion, plague, and worldwide pandemics that forced the human race to fight these little killers. And it seems that there are always those who suggest that the spread of infectious, fatal disease is the malicious intent of those waging biological warfare. Northern Europeans blamed the Italians for the Black Death. The influenza pandemic of 1918 was attributed to the Germans. Historians continue to blame the Spanish for genocide because they brought smallpox with them to the Americas. And HIV is portrayed as a conspiracy by the US government to eliminate people of color from the earth.

Recently, the Adrian Daily Telegram ran a great story on our own Tyler Webb’s battle with Staph infection. It was really enjoyable to hear how the family, like Job, continued to praise God through all of the uncertainty and anxiety, and it has become the exception rather than the rule for today’s media to let Christians freely speak their faith and convictions without editing or censoring those remarks.

There appears to be an attempt to broaden public awareness of staph infection and its deadly character. In another recent story, it was reported that more people die in the United States each year from staph than from HIV-AIDS. Check out the site from the Center for Disease Control to see what the leading causes of death actually are. The problem is that nobody is giving benefit concerts or writing Broadway musicals about people dying from staff infection. In fact, AIDS is the only disease where the infected person’s privacy now outweighs public health concern. We wouldn’t want these victims to become the subject of public scorn or ostracism, would we? And AIDS activists are also intent on continuing the search for a vaccine, when 25 years of research readily demonstrates that the majority of HIV-AIDS cases are contracted by willful behavior. It’s almost like someone with lung cancer demanding that billions of dollars be procured to find a vaccine so that he can continue his behavior choice of inhaling tar and nicotine into his lungs.

The debate topic for this fall also has to do with disease in sub-Saharan Africa. After thousands of years of dealing with disease, the human race still seems incapable of a modicum of common sense. If you know that a disease like malaria is born by mosquitoes, and a substance harmless to humans (DDT) can eradicate the mosquitoes, then why has DDT use been outlawed?

UPDATE: I'm not sure where some of our skilled debaters are getting their "DDT is harmful and causes cancer" information, but here is a link with plenty of support to the claim that it is harmless and its prohibition was brought on by fears of overpopulation in the third world. Sad. It's the same mindset that Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood had.

One of the most overused “gotcha” challenges that a Christian hears is “If God is almighty and if God is all-loving, why have millions of people suffered and died from these cruel diseases, and why is there so much suffering in the world?” You and I know that God’s creation was perfect, but that sin entered the world, and death by sin. All causes of death are the consequences of sin. But in Psalm 103, David wrote, “Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.” God is my healer—and, most importantly, he is my gracious forgiver.

Careers--prestige, satisfaction, and depression

A typical trait of human society is a division of labor. In fact, this is one of the defining characteristics of a civilization, namely, that there are specialized workers. The less pleasant the task or the less capable I may be in performing it, the more likely I am to hire someone to do it for me. Thus each society places a value on jobs or skills; usually, those professions which require the most training and most specialization are the ones that make the most money. In ancient India, the caste system placed priests ahead of the military and government, who in turn were superior to the merchants and traders, who ranked higher than the sudras or laborers. Underlying it all, cleaning the manure off the streets and burying the dead—doing the unpleasant tasks that no one else wanted—were the untouchables. In China, where Confucianism prevailed, those scholars who could pass the rigorous civil service examination became government bureaucrats. The least favored job in the “middle kingdom” was that of businessman, merchant, or peddler; surprisingly, even clowns and other entertainers were esteemed more highly than those involved in trade.

This report, found in USA today, reported that in America, the most prestigious jobs included scientist, doctor, and teacher. Very low in prestige were stockbrokers and real estate agents. Another way of looking at different jobs is to compare job satisfaction. This is a survey which reported that the people most satisfied in their work are those in the jobs which involve teaching, caring for, and protecting others. So although ministers may only have “prestige” among 32% of Americans, they report a satisfaction rate of 87%.

This weekend, a study was released that looked at job satisfaction from the other extreme, namely, those jobs that carry the highest incidence of depression. Some noteworthy results are that those who care for the elderly and who prepare and serve food in restaurants also show the highest rate of depression. There is at least one correlation between the two studies. Fast food workers report very low job satisfaction and very high rates of depression.

I would like you to review these three articles and hypothesize as to their meaning. I have my own theories but I will offer them later in the discussion. Is there a connection between prestige and job satisfaction? Why are many people dissatisfied with their jobs, even to the point of depression? What do the most satisfying jobs have in common, and what do the most depressing ones?

And, of course, as you consider the big, bright future ahead of you, is this information valuable to you, or is it enough to know where the most money is to be made?

A new generation is skeptical and frustrated with Christianity

Our head of school, Mr. Evans, recently forwarded this link and asked us as a faculty to consider its implications for our work. At a meeting in two weeks, we are going to reflect and discuss our reactions.

I thought it would be useful to gather some of our students' reaction as well. For example, the article states

16- to 29-year-olds exhibit a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did previous generations when they were at the same stage of life. In fact, in just a decade, many of the Barna measures of the Christian image have shifted substantially downward, fueled in part by a growing sense of disengagement and disillusionment among young people. For instance, a decade ago the vast majority of Americans outside the Christian faith, including young people, felt favorably toward Christianity’s role in society. Currently, however, just 16% of non-Christians in their late teens and twenties said they have a "good impression" of Christianity.

What causes that negative impression of Christianity? Here are some of the main culprits, according to the survey:

Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions were negative. Common negative perceptions include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78%), and too involved in politics (75%) - representing large proportions of young outsiders who attach these negative labels to Christians.

This was reportedly true even among young people who attend church!

What do you think about this? Is evangelical Christianity obsessed with homosexuality to the exclusion of all other sins, as the researcher's findings seem to imply? What makes our message seem judgmental or our behavior hypocritical?

How old is the earth?

According to this news story, a brand new canyon has recently been opened for the public to view. It is only 5 years old. Had eyewitnesses not been on hand to actually see it formed, one wonders what kind of date they would have given to its formation.

Having stood on the edge of the Grand Canyon and looked down upon the little (from the rim's perspective, that is) trickle known as the Colorado River, it defies the imagination that this one stream could have carved all of the mesas and gorges now known as the Grand Canyon. But uniformitarianism, the geological handmaiden of evolution, says that everything goes on today much like it has for millions and billions of years. The Bible teaches catastrophism. As Peter wrote,

In the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this coming he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

In short, the world of "then" was destroyed in a flood of global proportion. And if a local flood in Texas could create this new canyon with an apparent old age, how much more conceivable is it that the great canyonlands of the American southwest were also the result of a "major flood event?"

In World History we learned that all ancient mythology contains the account of a worldwide flood in which only a few people were saved. As sophomores attend their seminar this week, perhaps they can also react here in this space.

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