Science Forums 2

[Turtle]

Originally Posted by pamela

hi Turtle,
How about a point of view from some one who takes the middle road: neither being to the left nor right in believer or non.

Roger that. Activating free thinking brain centers.

Originally Posted by Pam

Now, I have not read this guy's book, but I have to wonder if indeed there is something in the brain that does stimulate a religious response in a person. In my son's case, the response had not been there before and has not been back since, although, he does maintain his same beliefs and does pray when he feels the need. He has not had a seizure now for quite sometime, and I hope that no more will occur. But I have to wonder, what the next seizure will bring........

I haven't read Alpers God Part of the Brain either, rather I heard him in a 3 hour radio program. What is new (and I think key) to getting at the religious experience & brain function is the use of real-time brain imaging in control settings and developing an archive of categorized patterns.

Before positng this, I did a quick Google for "neurotheology" and found a couple sources new to me. :reading:

Are humans hard-wired for faith? - CNN.com

Originally Posted by A. Chris Gajilan

"I've meditated and gone to another place I can't describe. Hours felt like mere minutes. It was an indescribable feeling of peace," recalled a CNN colleague.

"I've spoken in languages I've never learned. It was God speaking through me," confided a relative.

The accounts of intense religious and spiritual experiences are topics of fascination for people around the world. It's a mere glimpse into someone's faith and belief system. It's a hint at a person's intense connection with God, an omniscient being or higher plane. Most people would agree the experience of faith is immeasurable.

Dr. Andrew Newberg, neuroscientist and author of "Why We Believe What We Believe," wants to change all that. He's working on ways to track how the human brain processes religion and spirituality. It's all part of new field called neurotheology. ...

Johns Hopkins University Press | Books | The Soul in the Brain

Originally Posted by Review

In this provocative study, Michael R. Trimble, M.D., tackles the interrelationship between brain function, language, art—especially music and poetry—and religion. By examining the breakdown of language in several neuropsychiatric disorders, neuroscientists have identified brain circuits that are involved with metaphor, poetry, music, and religious experiences. Drawing on this body of evidence, Trimble argues that religious experiences and beliefs are explicable biologically and relate to brain function, especially of the nondominant hemisphere. ...