God Shaped Brain

August 13, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
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timothyrjennings

I’ve heard a lot recently about neuroplasticity, a term that refers to the fact that the physical structure of our brains can be changed through our behaviour, thoughts, environment and education. Someone who has looked closely at neuroplasticity is Dr. Timothy Jennings.

Timothy R. Jennings, M.D. is a Christian psychiatrist, master psychopharmacologist, author, international speaker, radio personality, Secretary of the Tennessee Psychiatric Association, Adjunct Faculty at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and has a private practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Dr. Jennings obtained his M.D. degree in 1990 from the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine in Memphis, Tennessee and completed psychiatric residency at D.D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. He is board certified in psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and is licensed to practice medicine in Tennessee, Georgia and Washington. Dr. Jennings was named one of America’s Top Psychiatrists by the Consumer Research Institute of America in 2008, 2010 & 2011. Many of Dr. Jennings lectures and written material can be found at his website Come and Reason

GodShapedBrain
Dr. Jennings has recently released a book titled The God Shaped Brain – How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life. The book says that it’s not just a belief in God that brings positive change but a belief in a loving God who wants the very best for us.

Dr. Jennings is currently touring Australia and I spoke to him today about the book and the evidence that backs it up. You can hear our discussion by clicking play on the audio player at the bottom of this post. I have a copy of the book which I’ve only skimmed so far. After today’s chat I’m looking forward to diving in and reading more.

In this book Dr. Tim Jennings introduces you to the Integrative, Evidence-Based approach of understanding scripture. This method harmonizes scripture, science, and experience. He presents the Great Controversy over God’s character and contrasts the two views of His Law, documenting the impact each view has upon neuro-development, mental health, and physical and relationship health. He presents a complete atonement model explaining why Christ had to die and answers questions, contrasting the various views about our origins, judgment, punishment, and God’s wrath, identifying which one can heal any kind of person.

The last chapter entitled, “Buddha, Jesus and The Brain,” explores the difference in how Buddha and Jesus dealt with their confrontation with death and the significant impact on brain function and structure that eastern meditation has compared to Biblical meditation.

This book makes a compelling, evidenced-based case for a God of love and His methods of love. It is easy to understand and brings to a practical level why it is so important to live in harmony with God and his design for life.



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Is it all about happiness?

June 12, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
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HAPPY

The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters. – Audrey Hepburn

Is the main goal of life to find happiness? Knowing how transitory happiness can be, is that a satisfying goal? How do we know if we’ve achieved the right level of happiness?

Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination. – Mark Twain

Is happiness the end goal or is it the by-product of something deeper and truer? Should we spend more time seeking the happiness of others rather than our own happiness? Would that kind of selfless action actually heighten happiness not only in others but in ourselves?

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile. – Mother Teresa

My regular Wednesday morning guest on 98five Sonshine FM is Rev Dr Ross Clifford who is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. – Romans 14:17

Today we talked about happiness and contrasted it with joy. The Bible mentions joy hundreds of time but what is it really all about? You can hear our discussion by clicking on the play button on the audio player below.



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Brennan Manning Dead

April 13, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
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American author, friar, priest, contemplative and speaker, Brennan Manning, born Richard Francis Xavier Manning, has passed away aged 78. He had battled failing health in recent years.

Born and raised in Depression-era New York City, Manning finished high school, enlisted in the US Marine Corps, and fought in the Korean War. When Manning returned to the United States, he enrolled at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. Upon his graduation from the seminary in 1963, Manning was ordained a Franciscan priest.

In the late 1960s, Manning joined the Little Brothers of Jesus of Charles de Foucauld, a religious institute committed to an uncloistered, contemplative life among the poor. Manning transported water via donkey, worked as a mason’s assistant and a dishwasher in France, was imprisoned (by choice) in Switzerland, and spent six months in a remote cave somewhere in the Zaragoza desert.

In the 1970s, Manning returned to the United States and began writing after confronting his alcoholism. – Wiki

His books touched many lives and had a profound impact on the way many people lived out their faith. The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out became a classic.

The Ragamuffin Gospel is a popular book about Jesus’ gospel by former Franciscan priest Brennan Manning. First published in 1990, the title was the inspiration for Christian musical artist Rich Mullins’ group a Ragamuffin Band. Songwriter musician Michael W. Smith’s glowing review in the foreword supports Manning’s simple concept that perhaps the most important tenet of Christianity was grace. Manning argues that Jesus’ gospel was one of grace, and that efforts to earn salvation are impossibly misguided.- Wiki

I recently read The Furious Longing of God, a book described as, “a love story for the brokenhearted. For those who are burdened by heavy religion. For those who feel they can never measure up. It is a provocative and poignant look at the radical, no-holds-barred love of our Heavenly Father.”

He is quoted as saying, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”



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Mary Forsythe’s Glimpse of Grace

April 11, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
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black police cuffs

Mary Forsythe was a successful pharmacist who thought she had everything until she was jailed for tax fraud. The last thing she expected was to discover a more fulfilling life while in prison.

Mary Forsythe grew up in rural Kentucky where family was celebrated and life was simple. But despite her “good life,” Mary felt she was some how “different.”

“I always felt like I was odd in a bad sense. I felt like something was wrong with me,” she says. “Something was defective. Even though I went through the motions, inside I was in really pain and torment even from a young child.”

Mary says she always felt rejected even though she never understood why. So to compensate she became an overacheiver — a performer. For most of her adolescence it worked until…

“Something I never told anyone for many, many years… I was raped my second year in college.

“The rejection and the shame just began to grow in my life ‘till that’s all I knew. It affected my personality. It affected my choices. It affected my perception of almost every area of my life.”

Earlier this week I recorded a radio interview with Mary about her amazing story. You can hear our conversation by clicking the play button on the audio player at the bottom of this post.

If you want to find out more about Mary you can visit her website, Kingdom Living Ministries, or grab a copy of Her book, A Glimpse of Grace.

A Glimpse of Grace is the gripping tale of Mary Forsythe’s spiral to life’s rock bottom and the amazing account of her journey to triumph. It is a story of dreams and disappointments, of heartache and hope, of tragedy and tenderness, of loss and love.

Walk with her through an innocent childhood in small-town America to a glamorous life in the capital of ritz, through successful business and investment endeavors to a grueling government investigation and a federal indictment that landed her in prison.

Join her as she learned to live in the last place she thought she would ever be, as her life was completely re-directed. Discover with her the strength to survive and the grace to overcome. Find, as she did, secrets of victory and treasures in darkness. – cbn.com



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Under Construction

January 4, 2013
by Rodney Olsen
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cranes

I’ve just been reading the latest post at CycleGuy’s Spin. It’s titled Never-Ending and it talks about the never ending construction job that is our lives.

It reminded me of a post I wrote back in 2004 about growing up and seeing cranes across the city skyline.

When I saw huge cranes constructing huge buildings I used to think how untidy they made the city look. I used to look forward to the day when the city would be finished so that the cranes would be gone. I wanted my beautiful city to look neat and complete.

As I grew older I realised that there would always be cranes. Old buildings pass their usefulness and are replaced by new buildings. The population grows and new facilities are needed. It’s all a necessary part of progress.

I think a lot of us feel the same way about the struggles in our lives. We look ahead to the time when all the cranes will be gone, when the construction will be finished and we can enjoy a ‘neat’ existence. It’s not going to happen this side of eternity.

In every area of our lives we need to realise that the struggles and disappointments will always be there – they’re part of our progress. If we ‘put our lives on hold’ until the struggles are sorted, we’ll never learn to live.

Living is all about what we do with those setbacks, how we cope with them, and more importantly, who we turn to to help us through.

Of course there is coming a time when the cranes will be taken away and the construction will be over. For those of us who follow Jesus and take his promises seriously, a time is coming when the building will be all done and we’ll have an eternity to enjoy paradise. I’m looking forward to resting from all the building.



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