Neuroplasticity & Epigenetic Alteration Of The Brain's Desire For The Word Of God

I have experienced an interesting phenomenon in the church as of late. It has becoming a norm in which the people of God have limited the amount of prayer and scriptural reading and study that they commit to. In times past, in spite of our busy days and complex schedules the people of God always carried their Bibles, studied their Bibles and prayed consistently. Specifically in Apostolic Churches the Bible was a staple in every home and in every car of the born again believer.

It is understood that the times have changed and life has become much more complex. I often wonder if it is the believer and people in general who are causing the complexities of our day to become even more stringent. I have found several interesting phenomenon that are occurring in the church today. The first is the unique mind-set wherein the body of Christ has become more business minded in non-kingdom affairs than in business affairs of the Kingdom. In many instances individuals don't know the difference between the two. As time becomes more and more secularized the church appears to become more and more involved in other affairs.

Because the affairs of an individual can become patterned behaviors, these behaviors cause a shift in thinking and ultimately begin to shape the brain in the modality of thought that will make specific thinking much easier. In other words through the process of neuroplasticity the brain can be rewired and restructured to accommodate certain types of thought and behavior. As the mind thinks the brain undergoes changes to the neurons and the brain tissue itself. "Neuroplasticity' refers to changes in connections, connection weights, synapses, etc. within the brain (Bradley Voytek, Ph.D. neuroscience, UCSD Asst. Professor Cognitive Science).

Paul King considers that there are two types of neuroplasticity which are:

1. synaptic plasticity - changes in the strengths of connections between neurons

2. structural plasticity - changes in the wiring of the brain

These types of plasticity themselves have many underlying mechanisms. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are the processes by which the synapse gets stronger or weaker. This happens as a result of biochemical and mechanical processes such as receptor molecules being added to the synapse, or receptors being chemically activated and deactivated. Structural plasticity occurs when neurons grow new axons and synapses, altering the structure of the neural network. The axons tunnel their way through neural tissue, like roots growing in soil, until they bump into other neurons and form a new synapses. Sometimes new wiring is added during brain development and then later removed (called "pruning"). At a high level, neuroplasticity allows regions of the brain to reconfigure to serve new functions. For example, following stroke, neuroplasticity allows surrounding brain tissue to take over from damaged regions. Every time a new memory is formed, the brain changes. If you can remember what you did yesterday, physical changes happened in the brain to store that memory, and that is neuroplasticity (See Director of Data Science at Quora, Computational Neuroscientist, Entrepreneur,https://www.quora.com/What-is-neuroplasticity-and-how-does-it-work)

It is this concept that may explain why the people of God struggle in having a passion for the Word of God. The acceptance of a mental state or a lack of mental focus can become an acquired behavioral pattern that may alter the brain both structurally and the very synapses as the mind continues to develop a specific thought process or behavior. It is here that the neuroplasticity may invoke a cultural change in church communities by way of epigenetic changes and adaptations of an emotional/mental state. Epigenetic is the transference of a mind set and mental state by non genetic means. The emotional and mental state is passed from individual to individual within an entirely different generation. It is through the epigenetic and neuroplastic activities that the brain and the mind began to shift and alter to accommodate specific behaviors even though the behaviors may be counterproductive such as not reading the scripture, praying or fasting.

Is the church actually eroding their own desire to be spiritual or to do spiritual things by willfully being unfocused and undisciplined? the human mind and the human brain and neuroscience are very complex and still quite new to fully understand the full capacity of neuroplasticity and epigentic changes in the brain and mind itself. As more is learned about neuroplasticity and epigenetic processes there will be many new concepts concerning the operations of the mind and the brain. But until then there are some very interesting concepts to chew on.