The God-Shaped Brain: How Changing Your View of God Transforms Your Life

The title of this book really grabbed me. After reading the critiques I was anxious to read it for myself as I saw many 5 stars reviews but a few critics who questioned its Biblical basis.After reading the book I can say with great confidence it is solidly Biblical and well referenced. It seems that those who struggled with some of the concepts may not have understand the author. He does not advocate universalism or suggest that God doesn't get angry. Dr. Jennings explains that sin is damaging and destructive, God is angry at sin like a doctor is angry at disease, but God loves the sinner like doctors love sick patients.The key concept that Dr. Jennings exposes is how one's view of God's Law shapes his or her view of God. Dr. Jennings describes God as Creator and Builder of the universe. Simply put, life was created by God as were the Laws to which sustain life. God's Law is then the design parameters upon which life is constructed to operate. In this understanding, deviations from that design are destructive. God is working through Christ to heal and restore His creation. Those who have criticized this book seem to consider God to be like a human ruler, enacting laws and punishing lawbreakers. Thus, they struggle with a God who doesn't have to inflict punishment any more than a doctor has to inflict cancer on a smoker.What I found most persuasive is that Jennings uses three threads of evidence, Scripture, Science and Experience and he documents that all three support his conclusions. Further, he documents that views that suggest God is the source of pain, inflicted suffering, and punishment are refuted by these three threads of evidence. Most compelling is the remarkable and well-referenced brain science that documents a God of love is healing, but punitive concepts are actually damaging to the brain. I have been taking a Neuroscience course in graduate school this quarter while reading the book. I found that Dr. Jennings' spiritual approach to neuroscience served as a clear complement to what was being taught in my neuroscience course and helped complete my understanding of how the brain works from a spiritual standpoint.Reading this book has brought to my attention my misunderstanding of God character, which previously caused me to fear God. "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8 NASB)." "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love (1 John 4:18 NASB)." I now realize that fear simply comes by not knowing God and misunderstanding His designed Law of Love. Don't let us decide for you, read the book and decide for yourself, just like I did.

As a physician and Christian myself, I was quite intrigued by this book's premise -- and it delivered SO highly. What a blessing this book has been to my relationship with God, my understanding of how grudges and cherished sins can neuro-biologically prevent me from accepting and experiencing God's forgiveness and boundless love. Some of the metaphors used to explain complex spiritual and/or neurological concepts are SO easy to understand that I am shocked I never thought of them before! This book offers a lot of healing for people who carry around anger, hatred, and pain from damaged interpersonal relationships. It also helps to clarify just how perfect and all-encompassing God's love is. The chapter on atonement was so eye-opening for me; Jesus came and died, not to appease an angry God, but to make "at-one" two parties (us and God) who had been separated!This book is going to help me in my clinical practice, with patients who want to explore the spiritual connections/implications of their physical/psychological illnesses, to better explain just how God can and does heal our minds and bodies through His forgiveness.Dr. Jennings, thank you so much for writing this book. God will bless everyone who reads it and prayerfully considers the implications.

This book was like I breath of fresh air and I wanted more!

Let’s be clear what this book is about. The title suggests that it is about “God” and “brains.” But, it is really a Bible study.Read this book if you are looking for a good Bible study. It is definitely that. Don’t read it to understand the physiology of the brain (there are better choices). Definitely, skip the section on Eastern religions: the author makes the exact same mistake about Eastern religions that he complains that others make about his own religion.As a Bible study, I think the book is great. The author is knowledgeable and he gives great examples to support his positions. I don’t think there was any perspective that I had not heard before, but the author has a unique combination of perspectives that make the book worth reading. “The God-Shaped Brain” gave me a lot to think about, which is what a good Bible study should do.As a book about brains, “The God-Shaped Brain” is very simplistic. The fundamental model used is a conflict between the limbic system and prefrontal cortex. I give the author credit for knowing a lot more details, they are just not described in this book. In fact, I believe the simplification in “The God-Shaped Brain” could lead to misunderstandings. For example, selfish emotions are not preprogramed in our limbic system at birth. Emotions involve many parts of the brain, and they are learned. We are not born with envy or compassion any more than we are born with algebra. And, emotions are not in themselves good or bad. Like everything else, it depends how we use them. Emotions allow us to relate to one another. Experiencing fear ourselves can be used to feel empathy for another person’s fear; meanwhile, understanding charitable emotions can be used to exploit those emotions in others to manipulate them. Don’t avoid emotions, use them for good. A good book on this topic is “How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain,” by Lisa Barrett. “The God-Shaped Brain” does not provide that level of detail.I wanted to give the book a 5 based on its value as a Bible study. But, then I was disappointed by one section that really degraded the quality of the book. That was the section on Eastern religions. For most of the book, the author explains how misunderstanding God can do more harm than good. He does a great job of describing his points, backing them up with evidence. His whole thesis is that we should not throw out the Bible based on misunderstandings, we should understand it correctly so we can benefit from it. Then he turns around and throws out Eastern religions based on his own misunderstanding of them. It is obvious that he has never studied them to any serious degree. He should not be critiquing them until he does. Eastern religions are not about nothingness, they are not about avoidance. Those are the common misconceptions that the author is using to throw away Eastern thought. Has he even read the Bhagavad Gita? It is all about having a relationship with God and having right thoughts and right actions. (Love God and love your neighbor as yourself, does that sound familiar?). The Bardo Thodol is all about understanding death and facing it head-on, not about living in fear of it. The Buddha’s Eight-Fold Path is all about neuroplasticity, even though he obviously did not use that term. More modern books, such as “Beyond Self, Conversations between Buddhism and Neuroscience” by Ricard and Singer, and “Light on Life” by B.K.S Iyengar, both describe the process of moving from our egotistical self to our compassionate true Self (just like “God-shaped Brain” describes from a Christian perspective). Yes, mediation techniques can be used in the wrong way; and, these books all caution against that. But, understood correctly, Eastern religions are not at all as described in “The God-Shaped Brain.” I have read books from all of the major religions, and I have not found one that I agree with absolutely everything, but I have benefitted from all of them. I think a knowledgeable discussion to compare religions is very beneficial. But, it should not have been included in “The God-Shaped Brain” until the author has the same knowledge of other religions as he has of Christianity. If you buy this book, skip that section.

Bought for my son and he has been very pleased with the insights to the way our brain works.

Such a good book!!! Happy to have added to my collection and is not a one-time only read, will be read multiple times. Has already been recommended to many others too. Was as good, if not better than The God-Shaped Heart.

Wonderful Book about the relationship between brain function, mental health, and God's purpose of creation, it has many revelations in this book and makes me realize more of how much God loves me, and draws me closer to HIM.

I very much enjoyed Jennings’ book. His approach is so different and refreshing. I recommend this book!

Great book ... a must read.

I bought this book because it has been praised as a brekthrough book in changiong our perspective about God. Beware that this book is not written by a theologian, nor does He seek to be one (as by his own claims in the book)Don't get me wrong, it does challenge your perspective and I have had to think through my own view, but I would not recommend it to readers who are not firmly rooted in a scripturally based view of the sovereignty of God as creator and ruler over all.This book seeks to excuse God, and might have a few points to show us our own wrong patterns of thinking, but this book still is picking and choosing passages of the Bible and leaving out other key passages.

Excellent read that is truely revelational for transforming my sometimes distorted view of God. I'm reading it for the second time now and meditating on some of its biblical truths.