Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

A significant part of being human is our ability to remember. Being fully human then is to have an autobiographical self, and not to be trapped in the present or the past, but to be able to draw on past experience in a myriad ways. A large amount of work has been done by neuroscientist who has examined many people with impaired brain function and as a result has learnt much about the circuitry that gives rise to normal waking consciousness and an autobiographical sense of self.

Memory is studied at different levels, from the molecular changes in synapses and neurons in the brain to the various types of cognitive processing of stored information and to the emotional dynamics of remembering.  There are a number of differing models of memory, but in broad terms memory comes in two forms—short-term memory and long-term memory. Long-term memory is sub-divided into several categories, such as procedural memory where we remember how to ride a bike, brush our teeth and so on.  The variety of remembering that we do, short-term and long-term, relies on lots of different neural circuitry and storage sites, all of which stack up together to make us fully human in our remembering, in our consciousness, in our self-awareness and identity. Without remembering we are deprived of the essentials of being human.

Other aspects of memory are further divided and sub-divided to define how we capture and retain life events.  All the various aspect of remembering gives us an indelible link and continuity with the past. This continuity with the past carries effects that are difficult to delete, even with skilled therapy. In terms of this life, these memories are forever. The Judeo-Christian narratives which are used as our paradigm for being a part of the kingdom of God are awash with signs, rituals, clothing that links its members with the past and hence gives them a sense of identity. To forget your building blocks is to forget your humanness and relinquish your connectivity with the created order of Yahweh. God wants us to live in a structured community so that no one is left isolated or left on the side to fend for themselves.  Read Deuteronomy 26.