Left side or right side?

Dear friends

If you’ve ever walked along Meadfoot Beach in blowy weather at high tide, you will know what it’s like to have been showered by an unexpected wave that has breached the wall. And when it happens, you will see all the regular walkers smiling with delight. There is an exuberance, an utter joy in the energy of the wave, and we all love it. It can’t be explained, but it is uplifting to experience it.

The other morning there was a number of us dodging the waves and, as often happens, a conversation started. I have seen this lady many times and we have had brief exchanges, but this time we dived deep pretty quickly. Within 100 yards we were onto the subject of religion.

I learned quite quickly that she was an atheist and she learned that I am a Licensed Lay Minister (LLM). Of course that means little to most people, but it flags a commitment to faith if nothing else. She explained how she had drifted away from belief. I explained how certain experiences in my life have made belief compelling. For me, faith is not a choice made on weighing up proof. Historical facts and the evidence of the Bible help, but it is my experience of God that keeps a hold on my heart.

Interestingly, she seemed to relate to that. And it dawned on me that her reaction epitomised something I had read recently.

The article* was on the subject of the brain, the role of the two hemispheres, and its implication for religion.

In short, it argued that we need both hemispheres working together, but the left has gained ascendancy in Western society in the last 200 years. The right side of the brain controls the left of the body and is open to new things, uses intuition, deals with wholes and presents things as they are. The left side controls the right of the body, it uses logic and language to try to control the world and it tends towards anaylsis, breaking things down into parts, and re-presenting things to make sense of them. In other words, and very roughly, with the left you’d get a watertight argument that may or may not be accurate, with the right you would get a true and engaging one.

In terms of faith and beliefs, this has some significant implications. With a left brain bias we will favour logic, closed argument and will be uncomfortable with ambiguity. So interpretation of the Bible will be more literal and, arguably, will create greater division on key issues (such as gender and sexuality). Left brain bias also raises questions for mission – of how we share our faith with those outside of the church. Do people really want to be ‘talked at’, argued into the Kingdom of God?

Or do they want to be touched, sensing that they are missing something in their lives? A right brain experience. My gut feel was that any amount of facts would not have interested my fellow walker. The inexplicable, the inspirational, were more stimulating.

Scholars suggest that we are now in an era where many are seeking sustenance for their right hemispheres – to gain a sense of the transcendent, to find meaning and purpose in life. If that is the case, it has to be good news for most of us who aren’t experienced theologians because it means that maybe our personal journey of faith is the best witness after all.

Blessings

Vicki

*Theology – left or right hemisphere?” by David Heading (“Transforming Ministry” magazine)