Can't Blame it on the Genes

I drifted off to sleep last night reading about genes. It was riveting! I could not put the book down. I ordered My Genes Made Me Do It by Neil and Briar Whitehead, pertaining to our outreach to West Hollywood. I wanted to research more about how we can know for certain there is no such thing as a "gay gene" and how homosexuality is not genetic.

Not only did I find that there is no such thing as a gay gene, but behavior problems have not been proven genetic, and neither have most addictions such as alcoholism. It is learned behavior. The author adds a caveat that our environment is very instrumental in creating addictions such as alcoholism. I found myself wondering why, in light of this research, I have never heard one alcoholic give a testimony without calling alcoholism "inherited" and a "disease" for which there is no cure, as if the person addicted is not responsible.

I have also heard parents blame behavior problems in children on genetics with comments like, "Sally inherited that temper from her grandmother," or "Something must be wrong with your genes for you to not make better grades!" As funny as that is now for me to write, I realize that people have been seriously assuming such things and teaching that behavior is genetic even to their children.

I have heard from therapists that "personality disorders" are genetic and can be passed down from parent to child. Evidently, from that statement, the child can inherit narcissism, and another child can be born bipolar? I plan to write Dr. Whitehead to ask him about personality disorders. If there has been no gene found to prove such things why spread the rumors about everything from homosexuality to alcoholism to even eating disorders being genetic? I believe that this theory absolves the individual from responsibility to a degree.

If I had not fallen asleep, I am sure I would have never stopped reading this book last night. This is exciting, because it actually confirms what the Bible teaches about behavior--we are all responsible.

I have great sympathy for children in environments where the parents lose their tempers, and the child then learns to lose his or her temper during fearful and painful moments; parents teach the child to drink at an early age, so the alcohol is there to befriend the child to the point of addiction all of his or her life. As much sympathy as I have for this learned behavior, I still find comfort in knowing it is not genetic. This also means that we can work hard at being the best we can be in overcoming addictions and know that God is fully able to heal us from any compulsions or addictions, realizing we cannot blame these behaviors on our genes.

Dr. Whitehead points out that the brain is the same in a baby girl and boy until age two, when the female brain gets larger. As addictive cycles occur, the brain changes. Brain scans also show, and logic concurs, that we can change our brains to being healthy again by giving up the addiction. Depression also causes changes in the brain, but there is no gene for depression.

I am going to invite Neil to read all I have written to make sure I have summed up what I have read so far accurately. Neil is a research scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry. Briar, his wife, is a writer. Together they have written a great book I can wholeheartedly recommend, My Genes Made Me Do It!