Honestly, I don't know much about this, I just glanced at something about it on [url=http://www.brain-mind.com/cha...]this site[/url]. But I thought it was interesting, so here's my take on it.
There have been claims made that there are links between religious/spiritual experiences and reactions in the brain. This is just too good, I'll have to quote directly from the book advertised on the site:
"It has been declared that god is dead, that spirituality is an "opiate" for the people. And yet, there is a scientific, neurological, and genetic foundation for religious belief, spirituality, and paranormal phenomenon, including the experience of gods, demons, spirits, souls, and life after death. There is historical and scientific evidence demonstrating the participation of "god" in the destruction of previous civilizations, and in the last century, Hitler's rise to power."
Oh my. Nietzsche and Marx would love the use of their quotations in this book, I'm sure. Especially considering Marx said that [i]religion[/i] is the opiate of the masses, not spirituality. There is a difference between religion and spirituality. Religion is comprised of the dogma and rituals associated with a specific belief, spirituality is internal. So, I think that this discussion should focus on spiritual experiences rather than religion- the premise is that there is a neurological basis for religious/spiritual belief. The utter absurdity of the assertion that there is a 'scientific, neurological, and genetic' basis for religious belief is nearly overwhelming. The argument is that people have claimed to see God or spirits while in a state of hyper-consciousness. Now, I'm no scientist, but I don't see how these 'visions' can be deemed scientific evidence. A person having a vivid dream is having a spiritual experience? Maybe, but I think not. There have been studies showing that while a person is in a state of meditation or prayer, certain parts of the brain have heightened activity. My first thought upon hearing this was, well yeah sure, the person is in a state of intense concentration, of course the brain would have heightened activity. But I suppose that's too simplistic an answer. These people are claiming that the brain's heightened state in these situations is evidence of a neurological link to religious/spiritual belief/experiences. I just don't think so, I don't think it equates to that. But it's an interesting concept, I suppose. I'll try and post more on this after actually reading about it ;).
posted by: ggrejy1120 (reply)
post date: 11.17.03 (10:18 pm)
thats interesting. being a bio major i def think that there is some link between things like meditation and seeing visions and what not. But there is a huge amount of activity that cant be explained by science. or maybe the answers are so cut and dry that people over look them. who knows, basically what it boils down to is people have to try it for themeselves, that the only way people will ever believe something as fact right?
"Tragically, a nation that was created by intellectuals and visionaries has now been completely taken over by venal corporate gangsters, delusional Christian fruitcakes and hopelessly shallow Texas shit-kickers." -Tom Robbins
