Compassion Cultivation, the Holy Spirit & Neuroplasticity - Notes from Rolf. R. Nolasco Jr.

For a Christian expert on Neuroplasticity who discusses the Holy Spirit, see: The Holy Spirit and Neuroplasticity - A Christian Research Scientist’s Explanation: Jeffrey M. Schwartz

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This post gives quotations from: Rolf R. Nolasco Jr. & R. Vincent MacDonald, Andrew Dreitcer (Foreword), Compassionate Presence: A Radical Response to Human Suffering, Wipf and Stock, Cascade Books (paperback), Oct. 19, 2016, 138 pages.

Rolf R. Nolasco Jr. is professor of pastoral theology at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. He is the author of The Contemplative Counselor: A Way of Being (2011) and Compassionate Presence: A Radical Response to Human Suffering (2016). R. Vincent McDonald, is a registered psychologist in Alberta.

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58) We are wired for compassion. It is part of human nature. It is in our DNA. This innate capacity is triggered when confronted with suffering is layered with specific emotional states, thought processes, and behaviors seamlessly working in concert together to alleviate the suffering of another. Wishing for and working towards the betterment of the other is the ultimate goal of this benevolent act. It sets aside all self-preoccupations in favor of an unbridled enthusiasm in championing the cause and welfare of the other. This pro-social and affiliative response generated by compassion is supported and mediated by specific circuitry or patterns in the brain that can be harnessed or cultivated so that it becomes a human trait, a way of engaging the world that is awash with so much pain and suffering.

For followers of Christ, the practice and cultivation of compassion takes on a new significance. At its core, compassion is a way of mirroring the heart of God whose solidarity and intimate regard for the welfare of humanity is expressed in Jesus Christ, the compelling portrait of compassionate presence. Given the universal nature of suffering and in particular to mitigate the problem of otherization done in the name of religion, reclaiming the centrality of compassion as the pulsating heartbeat of the Christian life becomes all the more pressing and paramount. After all, becoming compassionate is inherent in who we are as created in the image of a compassionate, loving, and merciful God.

59) Like many virtues, however, compassion needs to be cultivated if it is to grow and become second nature to us. A way to accomplish this is through the transformation of our mind (Rom 8:9-11; Col 3:10) this process of renewal deepens our capacity to discern the will and working of God over and against the prevalent zeitgeist. In other words, we begin to imbue the “mind of Christ” that reflects in thoughts, words, and character God’s compassionate heart towards a broken and suffering world.

59) In concert with the Holy Ghost (Rom 8:9-11; Col 3:10) this process of renewal deepens our capacity to discern the will and working of God over and the prevalent zeitgeist. In other words, we begin to imbue the “Mind of Christ” that reflects in thoughts, words, and character God’s compassionate heart towards a broken and suffering world.

61) [It] is with the mind that one chooses (volition) to reflect or reject God.

61) Renewal is the result of the Holy Spirit working in us, which makes apprehension of divine matters possible. Before this the mind is described as futile and blind. While it is true that renewal is necessary, still the decision to employ the mind to apprehend God remains our responsibility.

66) How then do we imbue the mind of Christ in us? Patterning one’s life after Christ occurs through the renewal of the mind (Rom 12:2), which is a process that can be “sustained by the conscious decision to maintain communication and commitment to God.” The first two verses of Romans 12 are considered to be practical and ethical application of the preceding eleven chapters, which are primarily theological or doctrinal in emphasis. Paul summons his readers to a life of righteousness as a fitting response to receiving “God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom 15:17; see also Rom 3:25). For him, there is a fluid connection between receiving the transformation initially initiated by God in Christ and a life of transformation that springs forth externally to others. So, what are these lifestyle changes Paul is asking churches in Rome to manifest?

67) Christians are to offer themselves  as a “living sacrifice” in contrast to the “offering of animals that have been slain or no longer living. This implies a large degree of intentionality, willingness, or choice that must be carried out on a regular and daily manner from the one doing the sacrifice, as a response to God’s own willful intention to make us righteous through the final and complete sacrificial act of Christ.

68) The overall intent and outcome for this call to renewal should not be missed. According to Paul, it is only through this ongoing, dynamic and international process of subjecting o the transformation of the Holy Spirit that we can “test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Rom 2:2b). this world, this present age is replete with philosophies and world views, secular or Christian, that directly or subtly contradict the gospel of Christ. Hence, discernment or the process of testing, discovering, and approving is the key in distinguishing God’s will from the wiles of this world. The daily renewal of the mind is the scaffolding that supports and sustains the process of discerning the will of God for our lives. And when this good, pleasing, and perfect will is carried out in the concreteness of our daily living it becomes a fragrant offering in which God takes delight. Though Paul did not offer explicit directives on this process of renewing the mind, it is important to note that the “means of transformation does not bypass human personality or the brain.” In fact the ability to apprehend divine matters and the response one makes in light of this understanding occurs through the “operation of the mind,” or the organ itself, the brain.

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