How Christians Can Strengthen Their Christ-Following Capabilities Through Neuroscience-informed Christian Compassion Cultivation Training

 

How Christians Can Strengthen Their Christ-Following Capabilities Through Neuroscience-informed Christian Compassion Cultivation Training

Richard K. Stephens

April 14, 2022 (1870 Words)

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There is, in the secular world, a Compassion Renaissance afoot that began, roughly speaking, about two decades ago. Compassion cultivation methods are being employed in a variety of secular and spiritual contexts: to prevent Empathy Fatigue among medical, psychological care workers and chaplains; in business management, and in early education, to bolster individual resilience and competence both in self-care and social engagement. [1]

In this essay I assert that Christianity has a some catching up to do, explain, in a broad sense, what I think the practical problem is, and offer a well-grounded solution.

Specifically, according to observations I have made in churches of many denominations and over a period of years, there is an unfortunate generalized church culture which tends to inculcate habits and routines which undermine and even overtly block the understanding, learning and expression of compassion.

Before going forward with my argument, it will be useful to clarify the meaning of “compassion” as used here.

1) Defining Compassion

A rigorous Christian description by Pastor Timothy Keller in his sermon on the Good Samaritan is remarkably similar to the secular definitions based on scientific research that are offered by neuroscientists and psychologists of the past two decades, many of which appear in the Oxford Book of Compassion Science (2007). Dr. Keller gives his description of compassion as Christ defines it, in Christ’s own illustration of the meaning of the second greatest commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [2]

In Dr. Keller’s analysis of the Samaritan response to the discovery of a wounded stranger, we see a logical and engaged process that has a  cumulative effect which results in an inspired (effective) action (or series of actions):

1)      Notice - “looked at him” - took deliberate notice.

2)      Examine - “contacted the man, touched the man, came to be where he was.” - this is close examination, (there could not be asking and active listening as would ordinarily be the case)

3)      Feel - “felt his misery” - this is empathy.

4)      Interpret, decide - “thought about the needs of the man” - interpretation, creative problem solving.

5)      Act - Treated the wound, put the man on his horse, took him to an inn, paid for his room and board - effective action.

Certainly this process can involve prayer for wisdom (to guide one’s decisions and actions), prayer for strength (needed for actions). But, as we can see from examining the five elements involved in compassion that Keller notes, there is nothing cursory or casual about compassion. It involves serious engagement and it involves action (effect, not perfunctory, action). Compassion is not an emotion, Gilbert says it is a motivation. [3]

It is never appropriate to make use of prayer as a means to avoid compassion.

There are many types of prayer. [4] There is a type of prayer that is exceedingly popular. It comes up in the church-created custom of the “prayer request,” which often functions as a wish-making magical-thinking spell. This type of intercessional prayer seeks to quite literally “turn it over to God.”

It is superstitious and therefore cynical. I say the prayer -- out loud so that the prayer-target will hear -- and I can wash my hands of the entire matter and go about my business. There is no prayer like it in Jesus’s ministry as recorded in the four gospels.

This prayer form, has been called by Christian critics, the Divine Butler Prayer, or Vending Machine Prayer. [5] In its standard form it requires that one state a problem one wants to be corrected to a Believer, after which the believer recites the facts of the problem out loud, with a request to God that he take action to alter matters. In essence the process is a stenographer-style solicitation and recording of facts and wishes that is followed by a recital of said facts and wishes. It takes the form of a spoken-form delivery to Heaven of a work order for God to fill.

Such an approach to the suffering of another -- involving no real engagement, no agency, no costly action -- is entirely dissimilar to the type of response to suffering of another that lives up to the requirements of the second greatest commandment, according to Jesus. We should note that Jesus’s teaching is quite authoritative in such a context in which it is given. He is, after all, engaged in an impromptu deposition prompted by a “Law Expert.”

2) Grace is always a miracle

At this point in this discussion, one might expect a detailed theological discussion, but there will be nothing of the kind. Not only am I not qualified for such a task, but I see it as unnecessary. My interest is compassion, and compassion is a practical matter, not a metaphysical one. Compassion, as an everyday phenomenon that involves engaged action by mortals, can save lives, reverse despair, and prove the power of Grace. Actual grace is always a miracle; no need for magical thinking here.

We ought, it must be said, to show mercy to churchgoers who have been taught, whether deliberately or by sheer force of custom, to make frequent use of Vending Machine Prayer. Such a disengaged response to suffering is, of course, fully consistent with the extreme individualism and self-involvement of the culture of the early late 20^th and early 21^st century, which is characterized by a severe decline in public involvement in localized pro-social organizations (lodges, unions, leagues, etc.). [6]

3) “Teaching them to obey all I have commanded”

What I want to offer here, to those who are convinced that “Love your neighbor as yourself,” which Jesus asserted is the second greatest commandment, is not a peripheral matter in Christianity, but rather is of the highest priority and is to be mastered through deliberate cultivation, to be taught (as Jesus states in the Great Commission, Mat. 22:16-20), is a practical, reliable method. We could call it the “Samaritan’s Compassion Training” method.

The fact is, compassion involves brain “muscles” that are built up through exercise to be fit to the task. The principle of neuroplasticity, a relatively recent discovery, confirmed by hard science, shows that the trait we call compassion is actually a learnable skill. [7] Compassion muscles are not, however, built up, by Divine Butler prayer, not by reading scripture, nor by listening to sermons. If compassion muscles were built by such means the Church would be a radiant magnet to all, rather than a controversial, conflicted institution in decline, though, by many to be a place to learn and manifest self-deception rather than compassion.

4) Love is Not a Ritual

The fleshed-out illustration of compassion given by Jesus is intimate, proximate and direct. The parable shows the maturity of the character of the one who is ready to respond properly to suffering.

This is not institutional -- mediated -- charity that is a distant, disengaged altruism deriving from duty, from law, done in a ritual manner as distinct from the impromptu and improvisational scenario of the Samaritan. The Samaritan demonstrated a reconstituted heart, not a fallen heart. This is who Jesus says he follows the law. The law about love is not legalistic, it is about a trait of mind and heart. The trait is actually, we have come to understand through neuroscience a matter of cultivated neuroanatomy.

 

5) Barriers to Compassion

Those who prefer to use the Vending Machine Prayer method may be afraid of compassion for various reasons-- reasons which, for the most part, can be addressed. British psychologist Paul Gilbert is the world expert on the ways people resist compassion, whether it be resisting giving or resisting giving. He describes three classes of barriers to compassion: fears, blocks, resistances. [8]

Fear

·         Overwhelmed by distress (fear)

·         Feeling personally undeserving (fear)

Block

·         Not knowing how (block)

·         Lack of understanding of compassion (block)

·         Absence of the physiological architecture necessary for creating certain types of compassionate states of mind (block)

Resistance

·         Resistance is where individuals are not frightened nor blocked but simply don’t want to be compassionate, often because it is regarded as too costly. (resistance)

People with a barrier due to “fear” are most likely in need of some therapy, especially if they experience self-loathing. Those “blocked”: Not knowing how to be compassionate and the lack of understanding of compassion are addressed directly in compassion cultivation training (whether secular or religious in presentation). The third class, “resistance,” involving those who do actually understand compassion yet are unwilling to engage in impromptu proximate generosity (which is what we see in the story of the Good Samaritan) includes people who, despite any professed religiosity, are simply not going to obey the second greatest commandment.

Members of this latter group may indeed consider themselves to be professed Christians and if so will most likely have a theological rationale for their mindset and behavior. There are many Christian sects that reject the mandatory status of Christ’s commands. For these people this essay is unlikely to appear to be of any value.

But for others, those who wonder whether there is more depth to “doing church” than what they have been so far shown, the good news that compassion is a skill that can be learned will pique interest and inspire further inquiry.

6) Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus

The secular world’s most well-known compassion training that has been subjected to rigorous scientific study to verify efficacy is the “Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training” (CCT), developed in 2009 at Stanford University. There are others. [9]

Within Christian traditions contemplative prayer has, for centuries, served a similar role as the type of compassion cultivation methods which have been developed by neuroscientists and psychologists out of data derived from the study of the brains of the world’s most experienced mind-trainers of Eastern traditions, or, “meditators.”

About the same time, in 2008, a trio of Christian professors and pastors developed a scripture-based training, or “practice,” in Southern California, called the “Compassion Practice,” taught at the Center for Engaged Compassion at the Claremont School of Theology. [10] The method of Christian “Compassion practice” can be found in a slim book published in 2016: Frank Rogers, Jr., Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus (Upper Room Books).

To repeat my opening sentence, there is a Compassion Renaissance afoot. It is my opinion that Christians must, if they wish to be real followers of Jesus, join this Compassion Renaissance. 

Compassion is learnable, but the brain anatomy that governs compassion is also something that can atrophy when not exercised. [11] In our age of “alone together,” when we have become more and more emotionally engaged with technology mediums, and less and less emotional intelligence and social intelligence to wane, compassion training is even more valuable and necessary.

Ecclesia semper reformanda est (The church is always reforming itself). Joining the Compassion Renaissance, and letting superstitious Vending Machine Prayer go by the wayside is the necessary next reform. Who can protest becoming fully competent at unconditional effective compassion?

There is no downside to genuine compassion. It is the sign of rebirth; it is the sign that separates the sheep from the goats. But there is indeed plenty of downside in allowing or perpetuating self-deception, hypocrisy, fake faith-healing, prosperity gospel, and making up and telling fake modern miracle narratives.

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NOTES

[1] Business applications: Monica A. Worline & Jane E. Dutton, Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power That Elevates People and Organizations, Berrett-Koehler Pub., 2017. Medical professionals, early education applications: Compassion-Based Resilience Training (CBRT) – developed in 1998 by Dr. Joseph Loizzo M.D., Ph.D. It has been offered continuously since then at New York Hospital, the University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell, as well as a range of area schools and businesses including two underserved NYC public schools, The Calhoun School, The Rebecca School, Appnexus, and the New York Public Library. – Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science, New York, NY founded in 2004. The first United States mind/body center that offered programs based on Tibetan health and mind sciences. This center eventually joined Weill Cornell College of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine, which led to the opening of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science in 2005, New York, NY.;#Early education application: Compassionate Systems Framework in Schools, initiated in March 2019 by The Center for Systems Awareness (MIT), founded by Peter Senge.

[2] Timothy J. Keller, “Neighbors,” February 23, 2003; For a discussion of Keller’s interpretation of compassion compared to definitions of compassion see: Richard K. Stephens, “An Outline of the Compassion Process Compared With Petitionary Prayer,” Compassion Renaissance, Apr. 12, 2022.] https://compassion-renaissance.blogspot.com/2022/04/an-outline-of-compassion-process.html

[3] Paul Gilbert, “Explorations into the nature and function of compassion,” Current Opinion in Psychology, Vol. 28, Aug. 2019, pp. 108-114; p. 4 of manuscript.

[4] Ten kinds of prayer noted by Pamela Palmer - Prayer of Adoration, Prayer of Thanksgiving, Prayer of Confession,  Prayer of Vows, Prayer of Quiet Reflection, Prayer for Healing, Prayer for Deliverance and Help, Prayer of Intercession, Prayer for Transformation, Prayer of Blessing; “Prayer of Intercession: Praying for others is a crucial part of being part of the body of Christ. The Bible instructs us to pray for one another and to intercede on someone else’s behalf. In the Gospels, we read that Jesus prayed for others in his final hours before being arrested. The apostle Paul wrote of how he often kept other Christians and new believers in his prayers, as well.” [Pamela Palmer, “10 Types of Prayers We See in the Bible,” biblestudytools.com, Aug. 14, 2020]. We ought to note that Jesus praying is not like a mortal praying, in that Jesus’s prayer involves a communication between two equal members of the Trinity.

[5] Divine Butler Prayer (Christian Smith & Melinda Lundquist Denton, 2005); Vending Machine Prayer (Ian Johnson, 2007; Joshua Hawkins, 2012; Film, 2016).

[6] Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, Jun. 1, 2000; Robert D. Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again, Simon & Schuster, Oct. 13, 2020.

[7] Jill Ladwig, Brain can be trained in compassion, study shows, W News (University of Wisconsin-Madison), May 22, 2013.

[8] Paul Gilbert, “Explorations into the nature and function of compassion,” Current Opinion in Psychology, Vol. 28, Aug. 2019, pp. 108-114; p. 6 of manuscript.

[9] There are others. see: Compassion Research & Compassion Cultivation (Secular & Religious); section: “Chronological List Of Secular Compassion Cultivation Trainings,” The Compassion Renaissance (blogspot), Jan. 27, 2022. https://compassion-renaissance.blogspot.com/2021/12/chronology-compassion-research.html

[10] Richard K. Stephens, History of the Center for Engaged Compassion and the Christian Compassion Cultivation Training, The Compassion Renaissance (blogspot), Dec. 17, 2021. https://compassion-renaissance.blogspot.com/2022/04/history-of-center-for-engaged.html

[11] Contrary to what many may believe, compassion is considered to be like a muscle that, as any other, can be strengthened with relevant exercises—or can deteriorate and atrophy. In other words, your capacity for compassion can expand, if you choose. [Hooria Jazaieri, “Six Habits of Highly Compassionate People,” Greater Good Magazine, April 24, 2018]

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