A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO BRAIN-ROT: OXFORD’S 2024 WORD OF THE YEAR

 After over 37,000 votes, worldwide discussion, and analysis of language data, the Oxford Language Dictionary has chosen “brain rot” as their 2024 Word of the Year. The phrase defeated five other contenders, namely (1) demure; (2) dynamic pricing; (3) romantasy; (4) slop; and (5) lore. Unlike Oxford, “demure” was selected by Dictionary.com as their 2024 expression. Collins Dictionary, alternatively, chose “brat”, the title of the highest-rated music album of 2024 and the 16th-highest-rated album of all time, as its 2024 word du jour.

According to Oxford University Press, “brain rot” describes the “impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.” The Dictionary’s lexicologists define the phrase as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” According to the publisher’s monitoring tools, the term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024, thanks, in part, to its traction on platforms such as TikTok by Gens Z and Alpha.

Oxford’s President, Casper Grathwohl, notes that “brain rot speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life and how we are using our free time. It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.” “Brain rot” gained new prominence in 2024 as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online media. As such, Grathwohl is not surprised that so many voters endorsed the term as their choice of the year. Previous annual word awards presented by Oxford included: “Riz” (2023), “goblin mode” (2022), and “vax” (2021).

The first recorded use of the phrase “brain rot” is found in Henry David Thoreau’s famous book, Walden (1854), wherein he vociferated against the deterioration of society’s collective intellect. “Devote attention to your heart of heart,” he advised, “to what really matters: meaning beauty, love, wonder, and gratitude for this earth.” Thoreau resolved his tome’s argument with a thought-provoking query. “While England endeavors to cure potato-rot,” he asked, “will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”

Dr. Cristin Ellis, an authority on Thoreau who teaches literature at the University of Mississippi, suggests that “Thoreau values direct experience over our habits of consuming other peoples’ ideas at second hand.” In her book, Antebellum Posthuman (2018), she suggests that Thoreau “wants us to get to know the places where we actually live. He wants us to go outside,” insists Ellis, “to feel and think something for ourselves.”

It is fascinating to note that Thoreau was a member of his own Gen Z cohort that, like today’s corresponding age group, had direct experience of a global pestilence. In fact, it was during the time of the Great Potato Famine that Thoreau built his famed cabin near Walden Pond. Also known as the Great Hunger, the Potato Rot Famine was a period of mass starvation in Ireland (1845 to 1852) caused by a disease that spread rapidly and ruined the potato crop for seven years. The potato was a staple food for the Irish, especially tenant farmers. Consequently, the pestilence devastated the population of Ireland tragically reducing it from around 9 million to 6 million citizens.

Horticulturists, at the time, were unsure of potato rot’s root cause. According to an article in the 1858 August Issue of Scientific American entitled The Potato Rot – Its Cause and Cure, “when a whole nation was pauperized by the failure of the potato crop, and 30,000 fellow human beings died of actual starvation, it became necessary that men of science and friends of humanity should endeavor to discover the cause of this dire calamity and to prevent its recurrence.”  Fortunately, Alfred Smee, surgeon for the Bank of England, responded to the Magazine’s clarion call and discovered that a scarcely visible insect called the Aphis Vastalor, was the culprit. As a result of his investigation, deep plowing and planting was employed and successfully used to eradicate the cause of the disease.

Like deep plowing, “deep thinking” might, respectively, be used to mitigate the infectious effects of brain rot!  In his article, 4 Ways to Combat Digital ‘Brain Rot’, Psychologist Dr. Mark Travers suggests that brain rot has five negative consequences: (1) reduced attention span, (2) increased anxiety and stress, (3) emotional fatigue, and (4) social isolation. Travers’ fifth and, for purpose of this article, most alarming effect of brain rot, is “diminished critical (deep) thinking.”

Travers describes the brain as “a high-performance tool that thrives on diverse challenges.” He, therefore, recommends that the best way to keep it sharp “is by balancing intellectual tasks in ways that demand both focus and creativity.” He suggests the following three routines for avoiding the rot of shallow thinking.

Apart from the deterioration of an individual’s mental or intellectual state, neither Thoreau nor Oxford’s lexicologists could have imagined the negative effects of spiritual languor. Like the physical brain, the psyche may also fall victim to the “spiritual rot” of religious shallowness which exhibit many of the same toxic characteristics of brain rot outlined by Travers, namely: (1) lack of mental agility, (2) mindless adherence to routine, (3) unreflective thinking, and (4) passive consumption of information.

Tony Martin, editor of The Baptist Register, suggests that “brain rot” should not be dismissed as an ailment that only affects younger generations. “Let’s be honest with ourselves,” he writes, “brain rot isn’t just their problem. Who among us hasn’t fallen into the endless scroll, losing an hour to cat videos, clickbait articles, or watching someone deep-fry a peanut butter sandwich? We’ve all been there.”  In his article, Avoiding Brain Rot in a World Full of Distractions (2024), Martin firmly contends that brain rot includes a spiritual dimension as well. “God designed our minds for so much more than passive consumption. He calls us to use our intellects for creativity, problem-solving, and loving others well. Our minds need nourishment, too,” he insists, “and that means feeding them with things that uplift, inspire, and draw us closer to Him.”

In order to avoid “online junk food” from polluting our spiritual diet, Martin encourages readers of all ages to protect their minds, according to scriptural prescriptions, and, in particular, the New testament directives of Saint Paul.  “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable,” insists Saint Paul, “think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). While fully in support of the prudent use of technology, Martin accordingly suggests five (5) habits for combating spiritual rot: (1) setting boundaries, (2) choosing wisely, (3) creating instead of consuming, (4) remaining physically connected to others, and (5) praying for discernment.

Conformity is the toxin of spiritual transformation. Movement, on the other hand, is the elixir against stagnation and rot. Consequently, Saint Paul is correct when he wisely warns his readers to avoid “being conformed to this world” (Romans 12:2). But this entails much more than external conventionality and compliance. Nonconformity does not mean the mere avoidance of external worldly behaviors. While included, the remedy for spiritual brain rot must also include deep thinking and honest reflection.

Deep spiritual thinking, however, must not be confused or reduced to the accumulation of personal, social, or religious knowledge. Such an attitude may, in fact, be the culprit of the “brain rot” resulting from on-line over-consumption. The problem is not that society’s corporate brain suffers from a lack of information. The problem lies in the deformity, or to what Saint Paul refers to as the “debased mind” that is hostile to the absolute supremacy of God (Romans 1:28).  Fortunately, Scripture has a far more profound antidote to this unfortunate characteristic of humanity’s fallen nature, namely, the renewal of the “spirit of the mind” (Ephesians 4:23). Such a remedy entails the development of a “bent,” – a posture, demeanor, mindset, attitude, and viewpoint – that has the capacity to perceive the true and moral while detecting the fraudulent and vile.

In his noteworthy article, So Why Do 60% of Our College Youth Leave Orthodoxy? (2009), Rev. Dr. Steven C. Salaris, offers five hypotheses for understanding the withdrawal of college-aged students from their Orthodox Christian upbringings, all of which point to the existence of spiritual brain rot. According to Salaris, whose primary focus is the Eastern Orthodox Church in America, the first and primary reason for the exodus may possibly lie in their adolescent experiences in “linguistic and cultural ghettos that masquerade as churches.”

“While Orthodoxy has been in America for over 200 years,” insists Salaris, “too often our parishes live with the notion that the Church’s primary function is to be an ethnic preservation society. Far too many people go to church not to encounter Christ, the Son of the living God, but to talk in or listen to foreign languages and eat ethnic foods.” Salaris argues that “insistence on using these languages is like keeping a body alive on a ventilator long after brain death has occurred. Nonetheless,” he contends, “we continue to offer incense to the idol of “spiritual language” while not gaining a substantive understanding from what we hear.”

While not the sole determinate, worshiping in a foreign language does, in fact, contribute to “spiritual brain rot.”  Although not a panacea, replacing the indiscernible with an indigenous idiom is, indeed, a prudent start. How else could parents and church leaders expect the upcoming generation to learn to sing, understand, and espouse the deep truths embed in liturgical hymns and prayers?  However, the “renewal of the mind” (Romans 12:2) goes beyond mere enculturation but also requires a more comprehensive approach, tailored by strategies that might include: (1) active engagement with scripture and other inspirational literature, (2) mindfulness techniques that challenge negative thought patterns, (3) engagement with healthy role models, (4) regular self-assessment, (5) community involvement, (6) evocative sermons that invite healthy discussions and reflection, and (7) meaningful sacramental participation. By advancing these and other systemic approaches, all age groups may be nurtured to more critically evaluate and prudently respond to harmful messages received from media and social platforms.

According to Rev. Dr. Geoffrey Ready, Director of Orthodox Christian Studies at Trinity College in Toronto, Canada, “the central act of worship . . . should naturally result in the shaping of Orthodox worshippers to live in this age according to the heaven-on-earth reality of the age to come, to live the “liturgy after the liturgy” in a life of kingdom-building.” Like Salaris, he sadly insists that “there is little to suggest this is happening in Orthodox churches today.” In his 2017 article, Towards a Renewed Mystagogy of Orthodox Christian Worship, Ready consequently suggests that an “enacted and embodied narrative designed to strengthen participation and Christian formation,” should be employed for effectively “shaping believers for a life of real participation in the kingdom of God.”

The belief that worship should naturally transform participants lies at the root of avoiding spiritual brain rot. Worship is the “church’s faith in motion” where worshippers transact their faith under the condition of God’s real presence in the world. Ready insists that “mystagogy . . . designed to capacitate newly illumined Christians for worship in the early Church, remains instructive for us today, not because we are able (or should seek) to jump back into a premodern world, but simply because it illustrates that the fundamental purpose of liturgy is to connect us deeply and on every level of our being to the transformative, re-habituating power of the narrative of the kingdom of God.”

While catechism involves the acquisition of new ideas and ways of thinking, Ready recommends the use of the liturgical ethos of the early Christian era called “mystagogy” which, he suggests, is more “heart” than “head,” more “experiential and embodied.” By advancing such a comprehensive methodology, adherents would be nurtured to progressively deepen their faith through private prayer, corporate worship, learning, and interacting with other believers. “In our postmodern world,” concludes Ready, “. . . there is no amount of good information, liturgical theology or otherwise, that can save us.” Like Travers, Marin, and Salaris, Ready suggests that “we need, rather, the counter-formation of a renewed mystagogical approach, addressed to the human person today.”

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel outlines four primary stages of a spiritual continuum of mystagogical development. In Ezekiel’s striking vision, the water level flowing from the altar of God’s Temple is measured every thousand cubits. It is at first ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, and finally too deep to stand in (Ezekiel 47:1-5). “This river,” writes Ezekiel, “flows east through the desert and the Jordan Valley to the Dead Sea, where it will heal the salty waters and make them fresh and pure. Everything touching the water of this river,” he announces, “shall live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live” (Ezekiel 47:8-9).

It must here be emphasized that the life-healing knowledge that the Prophet describes as a flowing river should never be reduced to merely the acquisition of rational content, but gained, rather, through inner experiences, intuition, and connection to a higher power. It is through or by proximity to the altar of God’s presence, that His power and glory are experienced, increased, and manifested. The altar is the place where humanity’s will, plans, and desires must be progressively surrendered. Such is the ever-deepening experiential and proportionately mind-expanding knowledge that flows from God that progressively recapacitates and thereby reduces the possibility of spiritual decay.

Ezekiel’s vision exemplifies the notion that Christianity is dynamic . . . an eternal movement. It is not a static monument whose traditions and structure must be skillfully polished from time to time to avoid decomposition. The powerful river of God’s presence that ultimately determines the depth, width, and ongoing force of grace through us, is inaugurated at the cross of Christ.  In the final analysis, the “futility of the mind,” alienation from God because of “ignorance,” “hardness of heart,” and a “darkened understanding,” are all the direct result of a mind that has not had the opportunity to be regularly “renewed” at such an altar (Ephesians 4:17–18).

An electronic road sign in Seattle reads: One Less CEO, Many More to Go. Unfortunately, the celebration of the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione is not limited to the northwest. Other areas of the nation as well, mindlessly contend that the killing was somehow justified as a way of “fighting back” against a corrupt healthcare system. But is this an acceptable response by a mature society?

When asked to comment on his respective country’s governmental ills, Alexander Solzhenitsyn rhetorically responded, “are we to kill people to purify society? If only it were all so simple!” he said. “If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”

Before cheering the cowardly actions of individuals like Mangione, it would be prudent to reflect on Solzhenitsyn’s comments and honestly determine whether our nation’s disparities might, like those of his own, actually stem from a more significant societal ailment . . . perhaps a “spiritual brain rot” that has disfigured America’s heart and, thereby, distorted its ability to distinguish right from wrong . . . good from evil?

Spiritual brain rot replaces the ever-flowing vigor of God’s life-giving river with a cataleptic condition of intellectual stagnation, communal disengagement, and a dearth of servant-centered pursuits. In addition, reflexive, mechanical, and unintelligible attendance at the altar of corporate worship reduces liturgical delight, desire for scriptural knowledge, and adherence to moral values.

If left to fester in our nation’s religious, educational, and political circles, “brain rot” will progressively distort the sanctity of human life as initially espoused in our nation’s Judeo-Christian worldview. Most regrettably, it will negate the intellectual, moral and spiritual development of humanity itself.