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Abstract
The current crisis in the American family is viewed from the perspective of a theology of the family. Having arrived at the conclusion that the current form of the family is a by-product of the distortion of human consciousness begun at the fall and sustained by parenting that is no longer under the command of God, rather than a sociologically based phenomenon, a point of integration is established in the creatureliness of man.
It is hypothesized that "Image Bearing" uniquely equips man with a neurological sub-structure that potentiates a transcendent perspective on his creaturely existence that facilitates his co-human and personal fulfillment of the divine command. Biblical and scientific evidence indicates that man's potential for transcendence exists in the form of neurological structures of the brain stem and right cerebral hemisphere.
The cognitive consequences of the fall are then viewed from the perspective of parenting as a process of individuation and the development of consciousness or "world view." Power rather than love is seen as the behavioral dimension of left brain as opposed to right brain consciousness formation. The resulting parental context leads to further fragmentation of consciousness and inadequate individuation of the child.
Mark's record of Christ's ministry with the disciples is hypothesized to be a process of "re-parenting." By serving as a guide to perceptions that "trigger" man's instinctive potential for transcendence, He is seen to transform consciousnesses once distorted by the fall and to serve as a pattern for parents desiring to provide a context in which their children can become that which they are by the design of God.
The context provided serves to facilitate the sovereign work of the Spirit in illumination. When the parental context and the illumination of the Spirit is met in the child with obedience, fallen minds are transformed and transcendence once again becomes the basis of the formation of the child's consciousness. Such parental contextualization will require an effort to balance right and left brain input, promote openness as a declaration of love, and gain an expertise in world view, prayer and teaching that builds upon the uniqueness of the right cerebral hemisphere.
