Changed Lives, Reformed Hearts

By LeRoy Lawson

The Brain that Changes Itself
Norman Doidge, M.D. / New York: Penguin Books, 2007

Dark Journey/Deep Grace: Jeffrey Dahmer”s Story of Faith
Roy Ratliff and Lindy Adams / Abilene: Leafwood Publishers, 2006

In the 1950s Norman Vincent Peale”s The Power of Positive Thinking became a surprise best seller. Robert H. Schuller took up his mantle a generation later with a host of self-help books with a variation on the theme, the power of “possibility” thinking.

It has been pretty easy for cynics to dismiss Peale and Schuller and their ilk. Too easy, too Pollyannaish, so much “pie in the sky” for the gullible, the critics crowed. Young wags tittered, “There”s something appalling about Peale and something appealing about Paul.” Maybe, though, Peale was on to something.

Change Is Possible

Now along comes research psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Norman Doidge and his message of hope based not on religion or positive thinking but on scientific evidence that thought can actually rewire the brain to accomplish what used to be thought impossible.

In this remarkable book you”ll read stories of a blind person who now can “see,” of mentally slow persons raising their IQs, of stroke victims regaining functions they thought they had lost forever, of deaf persons who can now hear, of aging memories becoming almost youthful again, of the curing of obsessive-compulsive behaviors, and many other phenomena.

Once into Doidge”s stories, I couldn”t put the book down. As a pastor, I have always taught that, with God, amazing things are possible. It”s the gospel. Here is scientifically respectable proof I haven”t been blowing smoke.

Here are a few beliefs we need to change:

“You can”t teach an old dog new tricks.” That might be true of old dogs, but not of old humans. We can keep on learning, even into extreme old age.

“You”re given x number of brain cells at birth and you”ll never get any more. When they”re gone, they”re gone.” Not true, according to new evidence that the brain can, after all, grow new ones.

“Nobody can function with just half a brain.” (Who hasn”t spat out the ultimate insult: “If you had half a brain you”d know . . . “?) Think again. After meeting Michelle, a woman born with her entire left hemisphere missing, you”ll change your mind. In a case of massive brain reorganization, her right hemisphere has assumed many of the left”s normal duties, and Michelle leads a rich, mentally alert life, reading, holding a part-time job, interacting with her family, enjoying movies. As the author says, “Half a brain does not make for half a mind.”

“It”s genetic,” we say when we mean, “It can”t be helped.” But the work of one of the scientists Doidge studies “even showed that thinking, learning, and acting can turn our genes on or off, thus shaping our brain anatomy and our behavior””surely one of the most extraordinary discoveries of the twentieth century.” Thus the answer to the old argument of whether we are products of heredity or conditioning is “yes.” Genes are determinative, but so is conditioning.

This is a hopeful book. For old people. For stroke victims. For victims of dyslexia. For phantom limb sufferers. Even for the blind and deaf. Just as the heart can grow new paths to compensate for blocked blood vessels, so we are learning that the brain can develop new paths to compensate for the loss of old ones.

Unlike computers, with which our brains are so often compared, brains are constantly adapting, learning (and learning how to learn), and, if necessary, rewiring themselves. Discipline also plays its part; like a weak muscle that must be strengthened, the brain must be exercised to regain lost abilities (as through a stroke) or take on new ones (in cases of mental disabilities).

You can tell I like The Brain that Changes Itself. You don”t have to be brainy to understand it. Doidge is an adroit writer, a gentle guide, able to convey difficult concepts with grace and clarity. He tells mesmerizing stories. Much more research must be done, but these early returns are heartening.

There is much, indeed, to be said for the power of positive thinking.

Hearts Can Turn

There is also much to be said about the power of the gospel to change persons. When the grace of God confronts the terrors of guilt, grace wins and makes possible the rewiring of the soul. This transforming forgiveness is what the cross of Jesus is all about. So we preach, so we believe.

But Roy Ratcliff”s convictions were tes-
ted as few preachers” are. It was Jeffrey Dahmer who put him to the test.

Ask Wisconsin natives about Dahmer, and they”ll tell you more than you want to know about their state”s most famous native””and most notorious. When the news broke in 1992 that this serial killer of 17 had been apprehended, America breathed a sigh of relief””and disgust. He not only killed his victims, but he hacked them into pieces, froze some parts, and cooked and ate others.

Finally, the monster was behind bars and out of public attention, condemned to serve 15 consecutive life sentences.

Then Roy Ratcliff, a church of Christ minister, received a phone call that changed his life. Would he be willing to baptize Jeffrey Dahmer? Dark Journey/Deep Grace explains why Ratcliff said yes.

The author told the story at the Wisconsin Christian Convention. I was impressed with his wisdom and grace. Humbly, matter-of-factly he explained that, as repulsed as he was by the crimes, he had no choice. As a minister, he believed (like Doidge, but for different reasons) that even this “chief of sinners” could repent and reform, confess and be restored. Even a mind as warped as his could be spiritually “rewired.” He still had to pay for his crimes; baptism wouldn”t buy his freedom. Nor could it undo the terrible damage he had inflicted on others. But it could open the way into newness of life.

So the preacher baptized the murderer and continued teaching him until Dahmer was himself a murder victim, killed by a fellow inmate.

And Ratcliff? This minister who had never been in a prison until he answered Jeffrey Dahmer”s plea now has an ongoing prison ministry. When called, he said “yes.” His life has never been the same.

Two books this month, one about a brain that can change itself and the other about a heart that can be reformed. There is hope.

LeRoy Lawson, international consultant with Christian Missionary Fellowship International, is a Christian Standard contributing editor and a member of Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee. His column appears at least monthly.