Who would have thought that science would prove Jesus?

It seems Christianity has been at odds with science since Newton dropped the apple. Neurological studies of the brain are revealing a human gospel that sounds a whole lot like the one first attributed to Jesus of the New Testament.

The human brain “is hot wired for religion” Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman write in their book How God Changes Your Brain.

Newberg is the director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Spirituality and the Mind. He is one of the founders of a new interdisciplinary field called neurotheology. The study of how faith effects the mind. Neither Newberg or Waldman confess membership in any established religion. Newberg believes God is more than any religion understands, Waldman sees god as a metaphor.

Nevertheless, what studies like Newberg's are revealing could come directly from the Sermon On The Mount.

What are the studies finding? That compassion and empathy build healthy emotional and physical lives while anger and stress destroy lives. Empathy as used by Newberg involves a kind of bonding between individuals that connects people on an intimate level. Primarily through eye contact, but also through facial expressions and other behavior, most humans have the ability to “connect” minds. The authors are among a group of researchers finding that religious like mediation can actually change the brain to improve these abilities,

“The problem isn't religion. The problem is authoritarianism, coupled with the desire to angrily impose one's idealistic beliefs on others,” the authors write.

While Americans are becoming more spiritual and less religious, the authors believe that religion, practiced in a healthy way, has many upsides and few risks. Healthy religion, studies have shown, focuses belief on a forgiving, gracious, and loving God. Such religious practices enhance compassion and social awareness.

“In contrast,” the authors write,” religious activities that focus on fear may damage the anterior cingulate, and when that happens, a person will often lose interest in other people's concerns or act aggressively against them. We suspect that fear-based religions may even create symptoms that mirror post-traumatic stress disorder.”

The authors take care to note that only a few religious groups practice toxic faith. Most conservative churches are not toxic.

Studies have found that people see God pretty much as themselves. Loving generous believers worship those qualities in God. A God of anger and fear is worshiped by folks who display those qualities in their lives.

Jesus also used fear in some of his preaching. But the fear was balanced by a good dose of God's grace. And Jesus saved his worst hell, fire, and damnation, not for those considered sinners, but for the religious who sidelined the “unclean” from salvation. The God of Jesus was a god of mercy who would go to any links to save his children. Jesus warned of the reality of what sin could do to a person. The damage done by an ungodly life Jesus warned all should fear.

The good news is that science is finding our brains have been developed by a Creator who values compassion and love. For these are the qualities that lead to mental, spiritual, and physical health. Keep in mind that Newberg is careful to note that science cannot prove the existence or nonexistence of God. Science can prob how the human mind operates through religious belief. In fact meditating without belief in God can also provide the benefits of religious practice, the authors believe.

Of course, I believe, this doesn't rule out the possibility of extra benefits for those who believe in God. For spiritual matters transcend the physical world which is all science can study.

Meditating for 30 minutes every day can show some changes in the brain with two weeks.

“Even ten to fifteen minutes of meditation appears to have significantly positive effects on cognition, relaxation, and psychological health, and it has been show to reduce smoking and binge-drinking behavior,” Newberg writes.

“If you analyze the data collected from meditation studies, on of the most influential factors is time. The longer and more frequently you meditate, the more changes you'll notice in the brain. Beginning mediators show little or no change in brain function after one or two sessions. However, most studies, like ours, have found small but significant changes in brain activity after only eight weeks of daily practice.”

Using a north Indian style of devotional singing Newberg reports that a test subject who was a construction worker who wasn't religious, was able to improve his cognitive abilities in eight weeks. The construction worker was the first non-religious subject the study worked with.

The Gospel of Luke is sometimes called the prayer gospel because Jesus spends so much of it teaching about the importance of prayer. Throughout the gospels we are told how important it was for Jesus to leave the crowds and withdraw for meditation with God. Pray without stopping, Jesus advised. In one of his parables Jesus tells of an elderly women who, being surprised by visitors, goes and knocks late at night at a neighbor's door to borrow bread. For a long time the neighbor refuses to answer the women. Finally he gives up and provides the bread. Probably just to get read of her. That, Jesus, told the crowd, is how we should should pray to God until our prayers are answered.

Of course basic prayer is only one of many forms of Christian meditations developed or borrowed by Christians over the centuries. Unfortunately, most churches and Christian no longer practice the kind of intense mediation used in these studies. But I have to believe that active participation in the Christian faith long term does not provide some of the same affects.

The teachings of Jesus urge us to trust God is compassionate and caring like a good father. Science is now proving that the very construction of the human brain is designed to work best when we nourish a hope beyond our experiences, compassion and concern as a life discipline, and a optimistic faith beyond ourselves.

The way science describes different functions of the brain could be a metaphor of the Christian faith. The old brain is considered to be the part of the brain that developed first. This part of the brain controls the defensive mechanisms like anger. The new brain, located in the frontal lobe, manages the old brain and controls the mechanisms like compassion that help humans to constructively live together.

As I contemplate the wonder of the human brain it occurs to me that in a real way the new brain, and it's scientific purpose correspond well for existence within Jesus' Kingdom of God. While the old brain was useful for surviving times past, the developing new brain (the socializing part of the brain) guided by faith in Christ is our hope for a future.