Thursday, April 7, 2022

The Scientific Benefits of Gratitude

 The Scientific Benefits of Gratitude  by Dr. Jim Denison


When humans reject the sanctity of all humans, atrocities such as the slaughter of civilians in Ukraine result along with the authoritarian quest to expand one's empire that is a perennial feature of human history.

In a secularized culture that has replaced biblical sexuality with the claim that any consenting behavior is therefore moral, David French demonstrates persuasively that such "morality" is "profoundly harmful" and cites several secular writers who are "giving voice to deep pain" in our culture.

When we reject biblical guidance for marriage and family, we should be grieved but not shocked by a CDC report documenting increased drug and alcohol use, reported abuse, and feelings of mental distress among America's teenagers. "These data echo a cry for help," according to a CDC official.

New Yorker article reports that between 1950 and 1988, the proportion of teenagers aged between fifteen and nineteen who died by suicide quadrupled. Between 2007 and 2017, the number of children aged ten to fourteen who died in the same way more than doubled. And research shows that boys without fathers fare worse than boys with fathers on more than seventy different metrics, including the likelihood to commit mass shootings.

By contrast, John Stonestreet and Kasey Leander demonstrate that the biblical value of gratitude can bring "a range of benefits" such as "better sleep, improved interpersonal relationships, better stress and hormonal regulation, and even reduced physical pains." 

And the rhythms of spirituality have been shown to correlate significantly with better mental health.

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