First off, I changed the format of my blog, for no real reason other than boredom and fickleness.
Anyway, I recently posted a little bit on the topic of neurotheology, and now would like to expand on the issue. I just read part of my friend, Sabine's, group project for her Contemporary Issues in Biology class- this was the subject of their project.
As I read this paper, a thought entered my mind (hmm, I wonder if it was due to spiritual forces...). Well, mainly a thought entered my mind after reading the following sentence: "The limbic system is common to everybody, and we all experience periods of hyperactivity, hence the reason we all sometimes see ghosts or feel the need for religion." Now, I propose that, based on this idea, one could argue that for those who do not maintain any religious belief, it is due to some sort of brain defect in the limbic system. Wait, no, I don't propose that- I don't want to assert that [i][b]I[/b][/i] have a brain defect! But it does make at least some sense, at least as much sense as the rest of the proposed ideas derived from research into the link, if any, between neuroscience and religion.
I asked Sabine, a Catholic, if she believed that there is a neurological basis for religious belief and she said that she doesn't think so, but she believes that religous belief and spirituality can influence or cause certain brain functions. So, I guess she believes this theory in reverse. Or something like that. Personally, I think that there is hyperactivity in the brain during prayer or meditation, but it is not the result of spiritual actualization- it is merely the result of intense concentration. Some researchers attempt to use these studies to show that religion is all in the mind, completely fabricated by man. While I'd tend to agree with that, it still can't be proven scientifically. Science and religion go together much the same as a comparison of apples and oranges (insert better analogy here, please).
posted by: GanjaMan (reply)
post date: 11.24.03 (8:51 pm)
like a hand in a glove...but you do have a good point.
Everyone experiences 'religious' feelings, but not not everyone takes them as proof of a mystical being. It comes from doing what is important to you. Or from doing WAY too much LSD.
Reply to: therealspartacus007
I don't know that everyone does experience religious feelings, whether they are truly spiritual or mystical in nature or not. I don't think that's a reasonable claim, but I guess that's because it depends on your definition of a religious experience. LSD or other mind-altering drugs, or even dream states, can produce images that you could equate to being "spiritual," but I'd hardly claim that constitutes a religious experience.
posted by: sardonic (reply)
post date: 11.25.03 (3:42 am)
Difference between LSD and prayer: LSD harms the body, prayer doesn't. Lol.
"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
