“You become like the god you worship.”
Jack Hayford
Since the dawn of history, humans have been known to be worshippers. This is uniquely human.
In fact, there is now scientific evidence that we are wired that way. This has birthed a new field of study called neurotheology.
In Why God Won’t Go Away, Dr. Andrew Newberg and fellow researchers describe what they found using sophisticated SPECT brain scans of subjects in spiritual states of centering prayer. They found the left side of the brain quieting, while parts of the right brain lit up. Their conclusion:
“The inescapable conclusion is that God is hard-wired into the human brain.”
Dr. Andrew Newberg
A more recent TED talk and book entitled, My Stroke of Insight, by Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD, a Harvard neuroscientist who had a hemorrhagic stroke of her own left brain, chronicled her spiritual discovery throughout her recovery. As her left brain went completely off-line, the ongoing consciousness of her right brain revealed incredible spiritual experiences of the transcendent that literally blew her away. Here is how she concluded her TED talk:
“I believe that the more time we spend choosing to run the deep inner-peace circuitry of our right hemispheres, the more peace we will project into the world, and the more peaceful our planet will be. And I thought that was an idea worth spreading.”
Jill Bolte Taylor, PhD
Dr. Taylor’s experience resembles that of many who have had near death experiences (NDE’s), recently extensively compiled and studied by psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Greyson in his book After: A Doctor Explores What Near-Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond. He opens his book with his story as a young intern of an unconscious patient who could retell a conversation that he had in another room with the girl’s roommate. This out of body experience, which he initially tried to ignore and rationalize, later launched his career-long interest and research in this field.
Also, millions have been touched by the popular book and movie, Heaven is for Real, which tells the story of a boy who had an NDE during life saving surgery, and was able to give vivid accounts of his otherworldly journey to heaven and back.
These stories defy the secular materialistic worldview which says that only observable matter and measurable energy comprise the cosmos. This widely held view by secular scientists is being challenged by growing evidence from initially skeptical professionals as Drs. Greyson and Taylor.
This of course raises the probability that there is in fact an unseen spiritual realm, a challenge to skeptical atheists or agnostics.
What is worship?
The English word worship derives from worth, or worthy. To worship is to ascribe worth to someone or something. In so doing, you honour, respect and show reverence toward the person or thing. And in that you humble yourself in submission. So, for example, when meeting earthly royalty, we bow or curtsy to bodily show honour and respect.
Here is the dictionary definition:
Worship (verb) wor-ship 1: to honor or show reverence for as a divine being or supernatural power 2: to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion
Given our innate nature as worshippers, we all invariably worship someone or thing. For those with faith in the Divine, it is their God or Higher Power. Those without religious faith may place their hope in material wealth, science, a favourite politician, or their favourite influencer or celebrity. Others may place such high worth on their sport or travel.
Ultimately, you worship where you believe your hope is for a better tomorrow. For people of faith who believe in the Bible, it is worshiping the Triune God (Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit). And for the majority of those with a practising spiritual faith, there are associated disciplines which are known to be health promoting.
The health benefits of being a worshipper
We examined the health benefits of faith in a previous post.
We now also know from extensive research that people who regularly attend healthy faith based community gatherings are healthier and have increased longevity. Dr. Harold G. Koenig, professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, and his research team have now published the Second Edition of a massive 1100 page tome, Handbook of Religion and Health, where they have summarized over 2000 research studies on religion, spirituality and health. Here is the bottom line:
“The risk of dying from all causes is up to 35% lower for people who attend religious services once or more a week than for those who attend less frequently.”
Dr. Harold G. Koenig
Many reasons can be postulated but among them are the known benefits of healthy relationships and community to turn to in time of need or crisis. Upbeat and encouraging music with positive lyrics is also a known well-being benefit. There is instruction on healthy living and lifestyle, as well as positive role models across the generations. Private spiritual disciplines such as prayer, meditation, and fasting are also health promoting,
The other known benefit of spiritual faith is the lack of fear of dying. This has been one of the most significant findings of the near death experience studies. Many survivors of NDEs experience transformational change because, as Dr. Greyson put it, “When you lose your fear of dying, you also lose your fear of living.”
Healthy spiritual community
It is evident that not all spiritual communities are healthy. So much rises and falls with leaders and their own journeys to maturity and wholeness. Being a spiritual leader or teacher doesn’t automatically make you mature, well integrated or balanced. It is for this reason that IHTC so strongly advocates for servant leadership development in all sectors: healthcare, faith based non-profits, churches, workplaces, educational institutions, communities, etc.
We close with another great quote by pastor and songwriter, Jack Hayford. Now aged 87, he had his own personal stories of healing, once as an infant and later from polio. His book, Majesty, is a classic.
“Worship changes the worshiper into the image of One worshiped.”
Jack Hayford
Recommended further reading
Majesty by Jack Hayford
Holy Roar by Chris Tomlin & Darren Whitehead
The Reset by Jeremy Riddle
Compassionately,
