What Happens to Religion When It Is Biologized?

I believe that this is also a CONSPIRICY against the Lord and his children.I didnt even know how far and wide and deep this was until I started reading this site and reading some of the posters here viewpoints about Science and Religion ....Some of you opened my eyes to this just by reading some of your posts.

What Happens to Religion When It Is Biologized?
by Nathan Schneider
Scientific approaches to describing spiritual life are changing the face of faith.


Zoloft works better than God,” a Catholic priest once told me during a conversation about depression. This is not the kind of man to give up on faith; our talks always finish with his reminders to pray. But in matters of body, and in matters of mind more and more, he and many others sense the right thing to do—religiously—is to consult a scientist.

In recent years, such common sense has given rise to a new paradigm in the study of human religiosity, one founded in a laboratory understanding of biology and the human mind. Together, these researchers are attempting to “biologize” religion, recalling E.O. Wilson’s notorious call for inquiry into human values “to be removed temporarily from the hands of philosophers and biologized.” And, like Wilson’s, their efforts have been fraught with controversy.

Driven by a growing confidence in cognitive science, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and genetics, the wider public has begun to embrace truly scientific (as well as pseudo-scientific) explanations of religious beliefs and practices. This idea takes root in an era that led the first President Bush to declare the 1990s “the decade of the brain,” one in which mental illnesses are treated increasingly through psychiatric drugs rather than analysis or spiritual practice alone.

Popular magazines, from Newsweek and Time to the New York Times Magazine, have paraded the research around with catchy labels like “the God spot,” “the God gene,” and “Darwin’s God.” People with a variety of religious perspectives, from Western Buddhists to evangelical Christians to the anti-religious, have explored and discussed biological accounts of belief, each bringing to it their sometimes contradictory assumptions and interpretations. Biologizing is a research project, but it is also a manifestation of a public desire to understand religiosity in the terms of science.
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This is an interesting question because the more I learn about Biology the more it affirms God's devine design process.

Have you ever noticed that when you read an article in a magazine about biological processes they'll mention words like "motor" or "designed" and suddenly throw in "they evolved this function." How did the word "evolved" just get tossed in when the article clearly mentioned processes that are designed?

This pretty much proves that how you explain things is mostly in the way you perceive things. I know for a fact the "motor" in my car was "designed" by someone to perform the function of getting me from point A to point B, and the design works very well. It's common sense. Now if I look at a biological function and what it is "designed" to do I can't just suddenly think no one was responsible for it's "design"; that would go against common sense.

Can you think of any motor that can function as it is for now, lose or gain a part, continue to function, and also continue this process of gaining/losing parts until an entirely new motor is acheived that performs better than the original? Of course not! It's the same way for biological functions.

So... this whole "biologizing religion" doesn't suddenly take God out of the picture, or change my view. It simply shows me how much more incredibly complex God's creation is than I previously thought, and, further proves it didn't all happen by chance.

Originally posted by the_watcher
Now if I look at a biological function and what it is "designed" to do I can't just suddenly think no one was responsible for it's "design"; that would go against common sense.

Promiscuous teleology?

Can you think of any motor that can function as it is for now, lose or gain a part, continue to function, and also continue this process of gaining/losing parts until an entirely new motor is acheived that performs better than the original? Of course not! It's the same way for biological functions.

Except biological functions are found within organisms that reproduce. Which leaves them open to descent with modification.

further proves it didn't all happen by chance.

Evolutionary theory is more than chance. Mutation and selection. It is like an algorithm. Thus, if you really need to think in terms of teleology, the 'designer' is the blind watchmaker - evolution.

.....................

Anyway, topic. Yeah, scientists are reductionist, and we'll reduce religious belief and behaviour to simpler components in an attempt to understand it.

Actually a very interesting area of study. Thus, Ramachandran found a split-brain patient who had one side of the brain believing in god, t'other not. Suppose one hemisphere will not be passing through the pearly gates.

reply to post by melatonin


Here is the problem with evolution; imaginative people will claim it's mutation and selection.

One species of bird has a long narrow beak for getting into hard-to-reach areas to find bugs, and another has a wider beak for a different purpose. This must be mutation and selection! Let's just jump to a wild conclusion, that makes abosolutely no sense, and claim this explains how we evolved from single cell organism to multicelled without any observabled proof at all.

Then we'll make more outrageous claims like fish can adapt to breath air, even though they have absolutely no mechanism or capacity to grow lungs.

Evolution has got to be the craziest idea in a long time. I mean I was with you on the birds... at least I can see how that would be encoded in their genes no matter where they lived. Either beak could simply lie dormant in their genetic code until triggered by their environment. That is an adaptation that makes sense. Dinosaurs to birds... that's a load of bull.

Watcher
I agree I couldnt have said it any better .
Everything you said made perfect sense to me .


[edit on 9-9-2008 by Simplynoone]

Simplynoone,

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that religious experiences can be caused by changes in the brain.

That is not to say that there everyone who things they see God is delusional, of course, just that some level of religious "experience" is caused by brain activity and the release of different chemicals.

Compare it to the process of fear. An outside stimulus is recognized by the brain, which then releases certain chemicals that cause emotions and physical symptoms like cold sweats. The thing that causes the fear might not actually be dangerous, but based on our perception, we still react as though it is. THe same thing happens when someone sees "God."

Drugs being used to stimulate religious expereinces is nothing new. It has been used for thousands of years in shamanic or tribal settings to help facilitate communication with God and spirits. I dont' think there is anything wrong with that, but I do think that the mass-administration of mind-altering drugs to our society that at best has a very limited acceptance of spiritual matters is asking for trouble.

Hi asmeone

I believe that it was the other way around for me.My Experience changed my brain.It changed my way of thinking ....From a real negative to a enjoyable positive but not so much that I am not aware of reality ....believe me I get daily doses of reality ..The Lord really helps me through them though and they all work out good in the end ...everything does for me more now than any time in my life.... It also changed my heart ..from selfish to non selfish ...and I have more love than I know what to do with ...(before I only cared for me ) ....
It changed my whole outlook about life ..I am so thankful for being alive ..even in this messed up mess of a world ...My life is not easy in fact its pretty hectic with as many people and their problems I have to help them with .....plus I have to work (at least I do get to work from home now)
I dont do drugs (NONE) not even aspirin (I am anti meds lol)
I drank and did a few drugs when I was a teen ..but I didnt enjoy it and didnt even see colors or anything so I didnt do it again ..

I was never a positive thinker ..In fact I wanted to die and didnt think I deserved anything ..I constantly tried to take myself out of here..
I hated myself (because of what other did to me and the choices I did make on my own that were not good ones) ....
I had a real experience ...it didnt happen at church it happened at home in my bed when I least expected it even ...Well I actually prayed for it hard ..
I wanted to meet Jesus and I wanted his love in my heart BADLY and he gave it to me ...It was real ok .....
and that was like 20 or 25 years ago ..I am still in the clouds so to speak ...feels like my first love when you just never get over him ..
I feel that way about the Lord ..And I read all I can to find out more about him and want to know whats ahead for us all ..etc etc ...

It is not something that wore off like drugs would ..Nor is it something that I just got over in time ...and its not something I just dreamed up ..I promise you ..

And all that I went through (all the hell) he was there with me the whole time (even when I didnt want him around way back when) ...When I didnt really even know if I believed he was tugging at me I promise you ..you just would not believe how he kept bringing people into my life and saveing me out of messes when no one could have known I was in those messes ..
It is just unbelievable stuff my whole life ...How could I not believe after all of that ...

[edit on 9-9-2008 by Simplynoone]

I wanted to add that I am not the type who sees Ghosts (I never have ) I have only seen a demon 1 time ...well except for in some people I know ....I dont believe aliens will abduct me ..I dont even know if I believe in them .....I didnt really believe in Santa (I saw my mom when I was real young put the presents under the tree lol) ....The toothe fairy was a joke ..cheapskate lol ..
I am a logical person (or at least I think so lol)

reply to post by Simplynoone


I didn't mean to imply that what you or anyone experienced was just your brain.

I beleive that in general, expereinces are the a combination of genuine spiritual expereince. Some are a mixture of both, some are one but interpreted as the other.

I have seen "Spirits" before--i wasn't looking for them, but they appeared to me for whatever reason. Most of these happened in a dream or sleepy state so I am willing to accept that they might have been figments of my subconcious, but to me it really doesn't matter.

In each instance I took a positive message away from the expereince, even though some of these were very negative encounters, what some might have called 'demonic'.

Ultimately I don't think it matters whether it is an outside god, or an inner one. They could even be one in the same. As you said, you were made much better by your experiences--what matters is that you have them, not where they come from.

Originally posted by the_watcher
reply to post by melatonin

One species of bird has a long narrow beak for getting into hard-to-reach Evolution has got to be the craziest idea in a long time. I mean I was with you on the birds... at least I can see how that would be encoded in their genes no matter where they lived. Either beak could simply lie dormant in their genetic code until triggered by their environment. That is an adaptation that makes sense. Dinosaurs to birds... that's a load of bull.

Creationists never believe... even when hard evidence is pulled from the earth and placed on their bibles. The one constant force you guy's never take into theory is... TIME. I'm not talking ridiculous biblical timelines athat add up to the Chinese shooting fireworks over the great wall before Adam & Eve. "God created the whole world 3000 years ago"

Time... the amount of time that has passed on this old earth. Time is a creationists enemy or achilles heel because there are eons of it and the Godly evidence is always missing.

Don't you think in 60 MILLION years of time, variations x variations = a redesigned wing or beak?? Question: How long did it take a male and female polar bear walking from the North pole to reach Noaks Ark?? A week?? And how many seals did they catch on their trek through the Mojave Desert I quess there's a "fasting clause" for animals next to a pillar of salt in the bible huh? If Catholic's can evolve in 2 days to forgive pedofile priests... don't you feel a dino in 2 milleniums can spring a wing?

Jokes aside: The fact a species systematically dies out in time, proves that species was replaced in time by a more adapted version.... and that equals evolution in time.

Originally posted by Simplynoone
I wanted to add that I am not the type who sees Ghosts (I never have ) I have only seen a demon 1 time ...well except for in some people I know ....I dont believe aliens will abduct me ..I dont even know if I believe in them .....I didnt really believe in Santa (I saw my mom when I was real young put the presents under the tree lol) ....The toothe fairy was a joke ..cheapskate lol ..
I am a logical person (or at least I think so lol)

I am VERY interested in hearing about the "demon" you "only" saw that one time. Please tell me about it.

Hi CC ..
I posted it in the Ghost thread but I will copy paste it here for you .

[And I have also seen something ....no one believes me and no one will more than likely ever believe me ...I was not sleeping either ...it woke me up ...by sitting on my bed then trying to claw my eyes out ...

I did not believe demons could actually appear and us actually be able to see them .....I had never seen one ever and was a big skeptic..I have not even seen angels at any time except in dreams ...I didnt believe in ghosts either ..I believed the dead are sleeping ...as the word says they are ...
So this is not made up and was not just in my mind ...neither did I make it manifest itself to me ..

The part that was the worst part that scared me the most was ..it would not give up and it had WEIGHT ...yes I could feel it ..it was not solid ..but heavy ..I mean like I had to push to keep it from my eyes ..and it was FAST ....and was horrific looking ....and was like a really thick smog only with a form of something else ...cant explain it ..
scares me even remembering it ...gotta stop ..I dont want it to ever come back again ...*This was years ago ..]

It wasn't a ghost, demon, angel or anything else of the like, it was sleep paralysis.

There is literally nothing to be afraid of. What you describe is a commonly-occuring condition.

You're welcome.

I wasnt asleep .
I was very much awake and could not even go back to sleep after that .

Originally posted by Simplynoone
I wasnt asleep .
I was very much awake and could not even go back to sleep after that .

I know. You didn't read it, did you?

First line:

"Sleep paralysis is a common condition characterized by transient partial or total paralysis of skeletal muscles and areflexia that occurs upon awakening from sleep"

And I just cured your phobia of demons existing - they don't. As I said, you're welcome!

[edit on 12-9-2008 by C.C.Benjamin]