According to new research, the link between depression and “chemical imbalances” in the brain could be less settled than previously thought.  

The leading theory is that the brain chemical serotonin controls feelings of depression. But as psychiatrists Mark Horowitz and Joanna Moncrieff write, “Our study shows that this view is not supported by scientific evidence.”  

Related studies show, for example, that when people believe their depression is the result of mere brain chemistry, their self-confidence and ability to change plummet. Ironically, they also tend to feel more stigma, not less.  

Christians, of course, have nothing to fear from the insights of science. Findings like these matter. It confirms what a Christian worldview confirms: People are not merely their brains, nor are they at mercy of chemical forces. Thinking that everything about us is located in the brain is the inevitable conclusion of materialism, and an idea that has real consequences.  

Our brains are a big part of what we are, but they aren’t all of who we are. A worldview limited only to material components is too small for reality. That’s a conclusion that the science is beginning to support.