Science; Are We Going to Far?

Last night on ABC's Nightline, http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline,  they aired an episode that was really quite facinating.  I'm sure that it probably attracted more viewers than the usual crowd.  Why? The title read...

"Secrets of The Mind"  .... Which could have read "Here is your excuse"

I didn't get a chance to watch the episode in it's entirity yet, but I certainly do plan on doing so.  They interviewed a guy that was responsible for killing 17 women.  Apparently it all started one night when he was with a prostitute who refused to provide services, so he ended up beating her viciously, only to cut her up into tiny pieces.

This man agreed to have his brain examined, and through brain scans they noticed a lack of activity in the frontal lobe; this is the area of the brain that we use for rational thinking, conscience, ect.  The argument that scientist are tying to make is that people who have lower levels of activity in this area of the brain are more likely to act violently than those that don't.  I'm sure we all understand the concept; if you have a conscience, you think twice, maybe three times, if you don't, you act on impulse.  However, I don't necessarily feel that a conscience prevents you from doing certain things.

My big question is, which came first; the chicken or the egg?  Did repeated experiences of frustration, anger, or rage lead to his brain being rewired in a maladapative way to decrease the activity, or was he born this way?  Some people are stating that it's a brain defect; some people are just born with a brain without a conscience.  While others are wondering if it is infact a direction cause from the environment- growing up in an abusive home, rough neighborhood, poverty, whatever the social injustice may be.

This is just very alarming to me because science points to the mind, where faith points to the heart.  I can see where scientist are discovering some pretty awesome things, but at the same time, what is this really accomplishing?  It's creating a new doorway for criminals to plead braind defect and act like nothing really happened.  I do think they would intitiate some kind of program to help rewire their brains, and assist with better coping skills... which is something we should have been doing for criminals since day one!!

We are all made in the image of Christ.  I am pretty certain Jesus had a temper too that he just had to pray against extremely hard.  Don't allow science to dictate your need for a savior, or lack of need.  Most issues are deeply rooted in the heart, not your mind.  However everything is connected- a negative mind can destroy your heart, as well as a troubled heart can distort your thinking. 

Anyway, just something I wanted to blog about, I think that they may be on to something, but at the same rate I feel we are continuing down the slippery slope of "lets blame God for our dysfunctional body".