{"id":4855,"date":"2010-11-05T15:55:57","date_gmt":"2010-11-05T20:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baylorproud.wpengine.com\/?p=4855"},"modified":"2010-11-05T15:55:57","modified_gmt":"2010-11-05T20:55:57","slug":"biology-of-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/2010\/11\/biology-of-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuroscience prof’s research investigates ‘The Biology of Sin’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TheThere’s a lot of debate in the world today over whether acts like adultery, rage and addiction are choices we make (sins) or simply a result of our biological disposition. Dr. Matthew Stanford, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, argues that the answer may not be one or the other, but both<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a new book, The Biology of Sin<\/a><\/em>, Stanford — a three-degree Baylor alum (BS ’88, MA ’90, PhD ’92) — approaches the discussion as both a Christian and a neuroscientist, asking the same question of a variety of issues: “What does science say about this behavior, and what does the Bible say about this behavior?”<\/p>\n

“I hope people recognize sin as a spiritual phenomenon that also has a physical manifestation,” says Stanford, pointing as an example to problems in two areas of the brain are thought to produce a predisposition toward rage and impulsive aggressive behavior.<\/p>\n

Stanford is clear to point out that biology is not destiny and “broken biology” should never be used as an excuse for sinful behavior. “Sin is a ruthless beast: crouching at the door, waiting to consume us all,” he writes. “Sitting across the table from impulsive and aggressive patients is more like looking into a mirror than gazing at a monster. I see my own imperfections, the stain of sin, and I am grateful for God’s abundant grace.”<\/p>\n

While other universities might approach this kind of research from only one angle, Stanford’s efforts here at Baylor demonstrate how rigorous academic study can incorporate the realities of science and<\/em> the realities of God.<\/p>\n

Sic \u2019em, Dr. Stanford!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s a lot of debate in the world today over whether acts like adultery, rage and addiction are choices we make (sins) or simply a result of our biological disposition. Dr. Matthew Stanford, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor, argues that the answer may not be one or the other, but both. In a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6,8,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academics","category-baylor-2012","category-faith","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4855\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.baylor.edu\/baylorproud\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}