Ice

I have to find a link to an article I read in Scientific American or Nature a few months ago. Scientists found that we are genetically wired to "search" for something "higher than ourselves". Some have used this to prove that a higher being, ie, God exists, which is why seeking him is encoded in our brains. Others simply conclude this is inconclusive and in no way proves the existence of God. I simply think this is 'encoded' spirituality.

MaximusDementis

Well, if the true believers are killing off all non-believers, then natural selection had selected the believers. Those who didn't go along with the local shaman were killed or exiled, reducing their chances of passing on their genes to the next generation. So basically we self-selected to be idiots, because it was good for the group. Working as a tribe insured survival.......what do you think?

southernhybrid

I second that. It's a very interesting read. Personally I like think that atheists are a wee bit more evolved than theists. Maybe we've just found a way to turn off the switch that entertains belief in myths.

Ice

LOL, the theists would disagree.

MadKally

After listening to my fundy mother all my life, I was amazed at what I saw and heard from schizophrenics at a hard core psychiatric hospital (I quit after 7 months)

I was scared to death the whole time but I could NOT show fear on my face EVER! They were violent, and the majority of them were having religious delusions and hallucinations. God, Jesus, The Virgin Mary, the devil, angels and everyone else resided there. I've heard that in other countries they do the same thing only the religion changes. I think sometimes religion can lead to psychosis. I am certain my mother is psychotic. One time Koy started a topic called "The psychosis of Religion" Some people got kind of pissed off as you can imagine.

Kally

Very interesting news crazyfingers.

Hey echidna, look at my tiny post count. I broke the post counter.

Ice

Here's another relevant link:

http://www.newhousenews.com/archive/story1a122302.html

Albion

This is also the basis for the book "Why God Won't Go Away" by Newburg and D'Aquili. At the end they have this weird chapter saying that for some reason all this "God is hardwired into the human brain" stuff shows that God actually exists. Apart from that, the book makes some interesting points.

Gurdur

No offense, but the temporal lobe epilepsy bit is really, really old news.

And while temporal lobe epilepsy --- or temporal lobe-affecting seizures of any kind --- can induce "religious" experiences, religions as a whole ---- especially the monotheistic ones --- appear to have no real connection to such experiences.

OOH, only a very small minority of religious people have such experiences from such causes.

OTOH, people who do have such experiences are not or do not become necessarily "religious", but rather tend to develop vague kinds of semi-pantheistic "spirituality".

Excellent examples of that second counter-example are the 13th/14th century famous women mystics of England and Europe; and much later, Doestevesky, author of The Brothers Karamazov and The Idiot etc.
He suffered from epilepsy, had "spiritual" experiences resulting from pre-seizure-onset auras, attached great importance to those experiences ----- and still wasn't "religious", but instead routinely swung between vague pantheism and atheist nihilism.

Gurdur

Scigirl also did a good thread on this a while back; and I'll also add my own Bibliography On Neurological Aspects Of Religion & Mysticism,
together with my
Which Books To Buy ?

MadKally

Gurdur, could you please point me in the direction of past studies of temporal lobe epilepsy? I'm looking, sorry to bother you.

In the surprisingly titled _Why God Won't Go Away_ Ballantine Books) by Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene D'Aquilli, M.D., and Vince Rause, we get a fascinating scientific answer to the title question, and a review of the current scientific understanding of the roots of belief. The authors have done research by means of brain scans on those who are having mystical or religious experiences. The brain scans show that something is going on among the neurons that doesn't happen at other times. Most of the scans described in the authors' research show an increase in activity in the posterior superior parietal lobe, an area just behind the top of the head. (emphasis mine MK)

The authors explain that the gene-driven wiring of the brain to encourage religious beliefs exists because it has been evolutionarily good for us. Stimulating the OAA or the autonomic nervous system can produce calm and a sense of well-being which may be not only pleasant but physically beneficial. Beliefs driven by neurology could reinforce themselves by building myths, encouraging ritual, uniting societies and providing social support from fellow believers. They can check worry about eventual annihilation. They can provide a feeling of control.

Those of a religious bent will find matter to argue with inside these pages, even though the authors are very careful not to argue for or against the existence of deities, only that "the neurological aspects of spiritual experience support the sense of the realness of God." Some may also find disconcerting the idea that ecstasy of religious mysticism may have its roots in the structures that bring on orgasm. Others will find the practical answer to the title's question just too pragmatic and pat, but given the extraordinary research as it now stands, it is the best that science can do as it begins to look into religious feeling: "What we know beyond question is that the mind is essentially a machine designed to solve the riddles of existence, and as long as our brains are wired as they are, God will not go away." This book is a wonderful introduction into this fascinating research. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief:

From Publishers Weekly

The collaborative efforts of science writer Rause, radiologist Newberg and psychiatrist d'Aquili (Newberg's late colleague at the University of Pennsylvania) result in a murky and overspiritualized remix of what should be a compelling scientific investigation into the neurology of mystical experience. The book's best material is its summary of Newberg and d'Aquili's research using advanced imaging technologies to study brain activity during "peak" meditative states, which not only suggests a... read more --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I can't find this either. Source? I've seen many of the other studies. The one I just posted about too. I'm curious because the link crazyfingers provided was dated March 20, 2003...

Kally, thank you in advance

BTW, I like your website. Very informative.
http://www.mathom.com/Religion2/Orig...ndix_01_02.htm