Being "Born Again" Linked to Brain Atrophy

reply to post by anoncoholic


thank you
I was thinking of Jimmy Bakker and Tammy Fey of the Praise the Lord and Pass The Loot club
religion may NOT be the problem
but one would almost not get to expose that

reply to post by Danbones


The Bible also says thou shall not kill and in this instance I am thinking it is God who passes judgment since only He knows all hearts and minds and not all came out of the closet.

After all, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been spared if good people were to be found there

Originally posted by Danbones

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe

Originally posted by Danbones
Is christian bashing like Jew hate? ( "a trick we use it all the time")

While christians are allowed to do things like hate homosexuals, and support the slaughter of palistinians, it is not allowed to examine any facts with christianitys' deadly enemy science.

The article seems to be about the likely effects on the brain of the STRESS of knowingly being a member of a less mainstream form of christianity which is being persecuted by a more popular form of christianity...

thats christian bashing alright

The OP left without "further comment" because they knew they had laid a huge pile of troll feces with a "That explains a lot" gift tag attached. So, yeah. It was left with that intention. You can choose to see it however you like of course and I am free to state my observation as well.

You can't really have a debate with "Leaving you without further comment".... IMO the thread was made with the intention of poking a wasp's nest with a stick and running.

edit on 6/15/2012 by Kangaruex4Ewe because: (no reason given)

is it possible he is waiting for someone to address the issues raised in the article instead of the kneejerk "christian bashing comments" that is pretty much the sum total of debate so far?

I suppose anything is possible. I generally stay FAR away from threads like this and only did so tonight because there seemed to be more than the usual anti Christian posts today.

I do hate the fact that so many "Christians" give the rest of us a bad name but there is nothing I can do about that other than to try to make sure my actions make people notice the difference. Emphasis on try.

Not all blacks steal.
Not all Mexicans are illegal immigrants.
Not all creepy old white guys are pedophiles...

Thus, not all Christians hate everyone. It was a knee jerk reaction, that I should not have had we can both agree on that...maybe.

reply to post by Shadow Herder


Yeah, Christianity in particular.
You know how studies are though, like professional "Expert Witnesses" and Statistics, you can make them say whatever you want.
I'm sure if being "born again" speeds up brain atrophy so does just about every kind of experience.
I safeguard my brainpower by only watching Rocky and Bullwinkle and Roadrunner on television.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


No. I left no further comment because I simply posted the piece for others to read and think about.
Over the years I have read many reports on many studies.
Knowing who is paying for a study is a fairly reliable determining factor in what the results would be.

I didn't say I wouldn't return to the thread, I said I wouldn't comment further at that time about the study or it's results.
Your outlandish statements that I'd run away after poking a hornets nest offer a bit of insight to your reading comprehension problems.
You think you represent something to be run away from?
Perhaps I simply value my time too much to invest much effort in trolls.
Get back under your damned bridge.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


yes I do agree with you
my pet peeve: FAKE christians:
lying murdering stealing coveting lying sobs that hide behind a cloak of self proclaimed chritianity
and the lack of discipline regarding the same
(Herman Cain comes to mind "god told me to run")
can anyone honestly tell me his supporters didn't have some sort of brain atrophy?

real christians don't really do things that they can be "rebuked" for
nor is it my place to rebuke them
a hypocrit though is fair game
just as in all fairness I am fair game for commenting

According to the study, people who said they were a "born-again" Protestant or Catholic, or conversely, those who had no religious affiliation, had more hippocampal shrinkage (or "atrophy") compared to people who identified themselves as Protestants, but not born-again

from the link in the OP

now all you posters claiming "Christian basher"

did you actually read the op?
come on now

tell the truth

Originally posted by Danbones
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

yes I do agree with you
my pet peeve: FAKE christians:
lying murdering stealing coveting lying sobs that hide behind a cloak of self proclaimed chritianity
and the lack of discipline regarding the same
(Herman Cain comes to mind "god told me to run")
can anyone honestly tell me his supporters didn't have some sort of brain atrophy?

real christians don't really do things that they can be "rebuked" for
nor is it my place to rebuke them
a hypocrit though is fair game
just as in all fairness I am fair game for commenting

We have found common ground! I have met lots of those folks and they are the reasons people are leaving the churches. Good post.

reply to post by charles1952:

LOL!
Good stuff, thanks for the laugh Charles.
I'll bet there is a special studies version of Cliff's Notes.

reply to post by Danbones
Absolutely. Peer Pressure is everywhere. What people tend to forget is that Christians who are very strict about Christianity only tend to acknowledge other Christians as their peers--and then, they do exclude some Christians from that, as well.

reply to post by AQuestion


Knowing False Prophets by their end actions. Hence Christians are called to be fruit inspectors.

There's a lot of them. And even people claiming Godhead. David Koresh anyone?

They come up in warnings of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

A warning about how easy it is to become one, yourself:

"Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

And those are from Jesus.

This one's from Peter: They're seductive.

And John: Some magical voice out of nowhere tells you something? Doubt it 'til you have proof that it's God speaking to you.

And this isn't even touching the OT.

reply to post by Danbones

A lot of Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and even Exodus is about preserving a nation in as much of a stasis bubble as possible for roughly 1000 years? Something like that is bound to be violent since 1 generation isn't the same as the last.

reply to post by Luminaught


Reborniation is good happy thinks in know sick
Brian is sharp hear

If a person were to spend a lifetime filling their head with lies, like say for instance our own worldly views based on what we are taught and force-fed, then suddenly the Holy Spirit were to descend upon that person, why wouldn't all that "excrement removal" show signs within the brain?

Perhaps this "shrinkage" has less to do with "less ability" and more to do with the waste that was removed.

I know from personal experience that my lifetime of occult indocrination is gone! The moment I was "saved" and became "born again" I find that I am not accessing the "crap" that once was flowing in my brain. It would mean there must be a void in my brain somewhere or a wall was placed there so I do not touch such things again, but as it seems from my perspective the nonsense is gone, the clutter of lies has been removed and washed from me.

Is the container half empty or half full now? I would say it is half full.

Originally posted by Luminaught
I found this quite by accident, but upon reading it I thought...."well, that would explain a lot."
I leave you the link to the scource without further comment.
www.philly.com...

This really offends me. I will comment after I am done watching oww my balls.

Maybe we need to become dumber to forget the stupidety of what we are taught/conditioned. People who are depresed are it for a reason and start to seek understanding because they want a way out and need relief. Some people find it within themselves and discover things that seem totaly unreal but cant be ignored. Kinda hard being an ateist when you have had a spiritual experiance and have your own proof of something more.

Spiritual people go by two roads from my point of view. The gradual seeking that takes a long time or the sudden change that is probably for the people who have experianced to much pain. Interesting article but it does not say anything about pinal gland or the physical feelings some people experiance when they are born again. Mind changes body and spirit changes mind. Do all born again people feel the bliss? Like a wind caressing the head at times?

reply to post by Luminaught


#1 I sincerly hope you don't look like your avatar and having a opening thread about brain malfunctioning.

#2 Six months ago I would have considered myself a spiritual being leaning towards Buddhism with some of my Celtic Pagan roots still attached.

All that ended the moment I saw Madonna's Half Time Ritual, I did not have a religious experience but after years of studying the occult and putting together a Excel Sheet of over 300 entertainers and really "beautiful' and famously rich people dying way before their time plus watching the current state of our world politics, I've had a change of heart. A big change.

No, the Holy Spirit did not come down and lightening bolt into me, no I did not have a grand rebirth experience but a quiet awakening, a renewal to real Christianity, not the twisted, corrupted churchs that have left behind the real teachings of Jesus.

Brain anthophy.....................I am now helping a person who has previously sold more than millions of books do some research for a new book and now, after being unemployed, employed at home doing what I want to do.

The group I am working for say that I have a exceptional memory, quick minded and very creative.

My IQ level is 138 and was given by a psychologist about two weeks ago.

Your opening thread is, I consider a direct attack, a seeding against people who choose to follow the teachings of Jesus in a very subtle, manipulative way.

As the end times approach, and I believe we may not be there yet, but we're coming close............more and more people will be attacking Christianity, true Christianity.

At one time, just six months ago I did. But, it's become too obvious that something isn't right, we're not in Kansas anymore Toto...........when up is down and down is up and just is unjust and unjust is just and right is wrong and wrong is right, when right is left and left is right..........we've gone through the looking glass Alice and now are truly in Wonderland.

And some gates / portals have been breached that best should have best been left shut.

Watch almost anything coming out of Hollywood and you will see clearly something is really twisted. Even most cartoons are not really appropriate for children. For that matter, most TV and movies are not fit for children.

Watch how many people month by month are actually going insane.............to the point of now eating faces off another human being.

Wars, endless wars, rumors of even more war.

The Middle East, which has always been a thorn in the side of humanity is festering and at the point of like a rotting abcess, ready to burst which will result in WWIII.

Watch the music videos - it's pretty clear that there is a global darkness, like in HP's dark lord overshadowing the planet.

Some hide behind, "Well it's only entertainment".................yeah with all the horn and 666 signs.

How does the simple religious teachings of love by a simply carpenter's son fit in with today's world?

His message was of love one another, that was the main message.

The bulk of humanity is not following this one simply message.

The ramping up of demonic presences is, to me, in my opinion, quite easy to see and feel.

From a quantum physics level, again we humans share what we call the 3rd dimension.

Some have chosen to open up, rip apart, tear asunder our 3d world and allow even more evil beings to enter via sound which is equal to math which is the universal language and can manipulate vibrational frequencies.

Again your opening title was, in my opinion, a direct attack against a religion in a very subtle, manipulative way.

I did not star nor flag your opening post.

Originally posted by iforget
reply to post by Luminaught

 

Reborniation is good happy thinks in know sick
Brian is sharp hear

What? are you being sarcastic or do you really not know how to make complete sentences?
Please help me understand what you are trying to say.

Im born again and find that there are 2 versions of born again.

1. A type of born again where the person claims Christianity and basically ignores all other studies and knowledge in life. For these kinds of folks, this study is appropriately showing the logical results.

2. A type of born again which actually undergoes a type of direct mystically experienced ego death and enlightenment based rebirth giving one the ability of new faculties that transcend the old limited ones. If a study was to be done on such folks theyd find brain sections atrophied that have to do with animalistic, ego based fight or flight fear based thought forms. But they would find new areas lighting up that have to do with inner stillness, love, transcendence, courage, and much much more.

Sadly there is too much type 1 born agains, and very rarely are type 2`s found

reply to post by Lichter daraus


That was the atrophy speaking on occasion it or something similiar gets the best of me
Which only goes to show brain atrophy and being born again are about as linked as two things that are not even remotely linked that I can't think of right now