{"id":39393,"date":"2024-11-21T09:00:12","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T17:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=39393"},"modified":"2024-11-22T07:45:44","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T15:45:44","slug":"knowing-when-to-say-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/knowing-when-to-say-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Knowing When To Say, “Enough”"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an early episode of\u00a0The Bema Podcast<\/em>, Bible teacher Marty Solomon articulated a profound theological perspective on the nature of humanity. According to Solomon, the defining characteristic of human beings, who are created in the image of God, is their unique capacity to declare \u201cenough.\u201d This ability to exercise self-restraint, regulate desires, and place trust in the overarching story of creation and redemption distinguishes humans from the rest of creation as bearers of the divine image. Solomon suggests that our desires are an important part of our flourishing. However, the failure to control one\u2019s desires leads to a state of brokenness, emphasizing the critical importance of self-discipline and trust in the divine story for human flourishing.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

In The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity \u2013 and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/em>, Authors Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long explain the neuroscience behind our challenge to say \u2018enough\u2019. They point to the neurochemical dopamine as the molecule in our brains that always want more. They write, “From dopamine\u2019s point of view, having things is uninteresting. It\u2019s only getting things that matters. If you live under a bridge, dopamine makes you want a tent. If you live in a tent, dopamine makes you want a house. If you live in the most expensive mansion in the world, dopamine makes you want a castle on the moon. Dopamine has no standard for good, and seeks no finish line. The dopamine circuits in the brain can be stimulated only by the possibility of whatever is shiny and new, never mind how perfect things are at the moment. The dopamine motto is ‘More’.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In their exploration of neurochemical influences on human behaviour, the authors posit that dopamine is a fundamental driver behind various aspects of life, including love, creativity, work, consumerism, religion, and politics. Dopamine\u2019s primary role is to motivate individuals toward the pursuit of better things, highlighting its positive aspect. [3]<\/a> \u00a0However, the authors also acknowledge a darker side to dopamine: the anticipation it generates quickly fades, leaving individuals in a perpetual state of wanting more. This cycle can lead to a continuous search for new adventures, each of which ultimately results in a diminished sense of exhilaration once achieved.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the authors introduce other neurochemicals, referred to as the \u201chere and now chemicals\u201d (H&Ns), which help people focus on appreciating what they already have. They explain, \u201cDopamine makes us want things with a passion, but it\u2019s the H&Ns that allow us to appreciate them: the flavors, colors, textures, and aromas of a five-course meal, or the emotions we experience when we spend time with people we love.\u201d[5]<\/a> Essentially, the cultivation of the H&Ns enables people to say \u201cenough\u201d by engaging a different part of the brain. The authors note, \u201cAs opposed to the pleasure of anticipation via dopamine, these chemicals give us pleasure from sensation and emotion.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Next, I want to consider how dopamine may have impacted the growth of evangelicalism, both positively and negatively. Since The Molecule of More<\/em>, delves into the role of dopamine in driving human behavior, particularly our pursuit of more\u2014more success, more innovation, more experiences, I wonder if this biological perspective can provide a unique understanding of the evangelical movement\u2019s dynamism and its historical shifts.<\/p>\n

Bebbington\u2019s work outlines the four characteristics of evangelicalism: conversionism, activism, biblicism, and crucicentrism.[7]<\/a> While no work has been done to connect Bebbington to this week\u2019s reading, by applying the insights from \u201cThe Molecule of More,\u201d we might be able see how dopamine-driven desires for new spiritual experiences and societal impact might have fueled these evangelical traits. For instance, the evangelical emphasis on conversionism\u2014the transformative experience of being \u201cborn again\u201d and the ongoing quest for spiritual experience\u2014can be seen as a dopamine-driven quest for personal renewal and spiritual highs. Similarly, the activism that Bebbington describes, which propelled evangelicals into social reform and missionary work, aligns with the dopamine-fueled drive for making a tangible impact on the world. These could all be viewed as a positive influence on the evangelical movement.<\/p>\n

While dopamine may have had a positive influence on evangelicalism, it is worth considering whether our inability to say \u201cenough\u201d has led to some darker behaviors, normally associated with our sin nature, in our movement. This inability may manifest in various ways, such not celebrating the sabbath, workaholism that leads to pastoral burnout, religious consumerism, excessive spiritual experiences, and the pursuit of worldly power. These behaviors suggest a potential imbalance, where the relentless drive for more, fuelled by dopamine, overshadows the appreciation of current blessings and the steady growth of the Kingdom. Have we forgotten to cultivate our H&Ns and let dopamine run unchecked in our evangelical minds?<\/p>\n

As I close, this reflection invites further examination of how neurochemical influences might shape spiritual practices, church growth, and the importance of cultivating a balanced approach to flourishing. Do we Evangelicals need to learn how to cultivate more of our H&Ns and learn to say, “enough”?<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> \u201cThe Bema Podcast E2: Knowing When to Say \u2018Enough,\u2019\u201d accessed November 8, 2024, https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/u\/1\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vRbBiAgwB_pROO4EPqQXE3wFI4x-mmwWBSd8nmgbth0Iz4bx4Jqqg0WtONGLCsJKsn3JX8xmaedFQD3\/pub. Solomon says, \u201cBeasts act on their desires every single time, you will never find a beast practicing self-restraint. You\u2019re never going to be out in the woods and find a deer that\u2019s out there going, \u2018You know what\u2019d be good for me today? To just pass on a meal. It\u2019d be good for me, I might shed a few pounds.\u2019 No, a deer is always going to eat. When a deer is hungry, it eats. When a beast is in mating season, it mates. The defining characteristic of what it means to be made in the image of God is that we are people who know how to harness our creative powers and our desires, just like the God who made us.\u201d<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Daniel Z. Lieberman and Michael E. Long, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity-and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/em> (Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, Inc, 2018). Kindle,16.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Lieberman and Long, 9.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Lieberman and Long, 7.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Lieberman and Long, 34.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Lieberman and Long, 16.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> D. W. Bebbington, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain a History from the 1730s to the 1980s<\/em> (London: Routledge, 1988).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an early episode of\u00a0The Bema Podcast, Bible teacher Marty Solomon articulated a profound theological perspective on the nature of humanity. According to Solomon, the defining characteristic of human beings, who are created in the image of God, is their unique capacity to declare \u201cenough.\u201d This ability to exercise self-restraint, regulate desires, and place trust […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":204,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3011,12,2156],"class_list":["post-39393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dglp03","tag-bebbington","tag-lieberman","cohort-dlgp03"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/204"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39393"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39655,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39393\/revisions\/39655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}