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GA06102
Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith luncheon
by Janet Hilley
BIRMINGHAM, June 20 *"Brains, Bodies, Beliefs and Behavior" was the theme of the address given Tuesday by the Rev. William J. Carl, president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, to the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith (PASTCF). Carl has lectured extensively on this topic, seeking to encourage physicians to approach medicine in a more holistic manner.
"Research on the brain multiplies daily," Carl said. The medical community now knows that genetics, culture and many other influences affect the brain. This organ has a sweeping influence upon all the parts of the human body, he reported. Citing Steven Pinker's quote, Carl noted that the "1990s were declared the decade of the brain, but there will never be a decade of the pancreas."
Explaining how all-pervasive the brain's influence is, Carl noted that it affects memory, learning, sensory organs, emotions, perceptive abilities and reasoning. In addition, the brain is the source of all body functions, he added.
Carl noted that Hebraic thinking does not separate mind, body and soul. Instead, Hebraic thought focuses on the concept of nephesh, which understands all the functions of the entire human personality and body as one whole, and is translated as "throat." Carl seeks to encourage doctors to have a "more holistic view" and understand this concept of nephesh to more accurately reflect current brain research.
"As Coleridge said, 'The best physician is the one who inspires hope,' " Carl noted.
Prior to Carl's address, the PASTCF presented the 2006 Daniel W. Martin "Science as Christian Vocation" awards. This year's recipients were Dr. Randall M. Erickson, Dr. Ronald Lee Jenkins, Dr. Brian T. Scully and Dr. James H. Shelhamer.
Erickson, of Los Alamos, NM, is a nuclear engineer who chose not to work on the "Star Wars" defense project, but instead decided to seek peaceful uses of fusion energy, as well as a safe way to dispose of nuclear waste.
Jenkins, a local Samford biology professor, is a member of Edgewood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham. An expert on frogs, he also has taught extensively in the area of science and religion. His pastor, Sid Burgess, introduced him at the luncheon.
Scully, director of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Science, was inspired by a Bible-study at his church (West Palm Presbyterian in Royal Palm Beach, FL). The passage was one in which Jesus spoke of feeding the hungry, and Scully thought, "I can do something about that." He has since devoted himself to the development of strains of corn that will grow in all climates for a sustainable source of food.
Shelhamer directs the Acute Care Unit at the National Institutes of Health and does medical mission work in Kenya through his church, Chevy Chase Presbyterian in Washington, DC.
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