From New Age books to "Christian Marriage" seminars,
Right Brain - Left Brain is a 1980's fad that continues into the
1990's. In 1988, two University of Washington neurological
scientists were on a KING-1090 radio talk show. They spent a
significant amount of time debunking the pop-psychology myths
about the human brain that have become so popular in the New Age
movement and even among some Evangelical Christian speakers and
authors.
On September 19th, 1989, another neurological scientist from
the University of Washington was interviewed by phone. She
explained that the studies that have been done on brain function
(that are often referenced by the human potential popularizers)
were performed on damaged brains. She said that it is
unscientific to draw general conclusions about the functioning of
normal brains based on these studies of damaged brains. One of
the popular myths that the scientist spoke to was the often
repeated statement that we "only use ten percent of our
brain." She said, in actuality, our entire brain takes part
in every day functioning.
Furthermore, the idea that the left hemisphere of the brain is
rational, analytical, and logical while the right side is
creative and intuitive has no basis in scientific fact. Brain
functioning is not a matter of right brain - left brain, but of
specific localized portions of the brain having specific
functions. The neurological scientist went on to say that much
that is said about human behavior in the name of "right
brain - left brain" may be fine [but unbiblical] if it is
spoken of in a metaphorical sense, but that to ascribe the
popularized views literally to the physical functioning of the
brain is simply not supported by scientific studies.
It should be made clear to Christians that the recent
"right brain - left brain" doctrines being taught by
some authors are not supported by God's word, the Bible. And it
should also be clear that these concepts have no basis in
science. If "Right brain - Left brain" did not come
from the Bible or science, then where did it come from? This
current fad that has swept our society is simply a disguised form
of that ancient Eastern Mysticism and Occult concept: the Yin and
Yang. RB-LB turns the human brain into a Yin-Yang symbol. Male
and Female; Positive and Negative; Opposites in conflict and
synthesis.
