Did Man make God?

K-man

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Interesting article in today's paper in light of another thread.

“It seems that the brain is built in such a way that allows us as human beings to have transcendent experiences extremely easily, furthering our belief in a greater power,” Newberg says. This would explain why some type of religion exists in every culture, arguably making spirituality one of the defining characteristics of our species.

Newberg is director of research at the Jefferson Myrna Brind Centre of Integrative Medicine, in Philadelphia, and co-author of, among other books, The Metaphysical Mind: Probing the Biology of Philosophical Thought. He is a leading neurotheologist, pioneering a new and highly controversial science that investigates whether – as many sceptics have long suspected – God didn’t create us, but we created God.
What god does to your brain: Controversial science of neurotheology aims to find out why people have faith

And another source.

If you contemplate God long enough, something surprising happens in the brain. Neural functioning begins to change.
How God Changes Your Brain (washingtonpost.com)
Fascinating!
:hmm:
 

seasoned

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Yes, God does move in mysterious ways, so i've heard.... :) Just saying
 

jezr74

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I've read in a few medical journals in the past from different neurologist about a part of the brain they normally refer to that lets us know the difference from reality and fantasy. When we lucid dream this lobe is highly active, and that's on point at which we have a hard time working out whats real and not. This is the common state that people get "probed by aliens".

It's also the most active lobe for people that believe ghosts, spirits and paranormal activities in general. When over active it can manipulate their power to be rational, and separate fact from fiction.

Meditation, drugs and injury are among things that can manipulate the levels at which the lobe runs at. Is interesting stuff.
 

Cirdan

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Yes. A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.

I think god is a poor man`s awnser, you have admitted you need to learn but then take the easy way out. We all know how popular that solution always is.
 

ballen0351

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Yes. A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.

I think god is a poor man`s awnser, you have admitted you need to learn but then take the easy way out. We all know how popular that solution always is.
So if you believe in God your ignorant and lazy?
 

jezr74

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Alot of western tradition and religion has pagan lineage, nature and sun worship etc.

I think they are commonly worshiped in most cultures at some time in history, i don't think they would be too far a stretch in those times, they must have been marvels with natural disasters and eclipses.
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Cirdan

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I read Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon earlier this year and it was an interesting investigation into the roots of the development of religion and its evolution over the years. It's worth a read for anyone interested in this subject.

Facinating, I might check it out. I see this book (according to the wikipedia link) also tries to predict the future of the phenomenon of religion. Having read it, could you share any theories or likely outcomes dealt with?
 

Cirdan

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I made no point I just didnt feel you asinine comment deserved more of my time

Yet here you are.

I maintain that man-made gods are poor awnsers to existence and accepting such ammounts to ignorance and intellectual lazyness when better ways does exist.
 

jks9199

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This is a personal request, not an official comment. I want to make that clear, since there could be some confusion.

Something that really bothers me from some of the atheists and agnostics around here is the disdainful attitude they show towards people of faith. If I were to imply that someone was stupid, lazy, uninformed or uneducated because they didn't believe in God, I'd rightly be laughed out of the room. But it seems that it's perfectly OK for someone who doesn't believe to use belittling phrases or outright insults towards those who do believe. There's plenty of room to discuss these issues without being asses about it -- on either side.

Personally -- I'm a believer. I look at the universe around me, and cannot convince myself that it was random or unguided. I've seen dead bodies; you cannot convince me that there's not something immaterial lost when a person dies. I believe in a God who created a universe that works by rules we can discern and discover and learn and use -- probably so that, once set in motion, that God could focus even more of his attention on his Creations, rather than running it. But if you don't agree with me, that's OK. I find the idea of a purely mechanical universe to be cold ... but that doesn't mean someone else isn't happy with that. I don't have to call them names or label them in some fashion, and I can discuss the issue calmly, though in the end, we'll have to agree to disagree. But I rank that disagreement along the lines of whether you like BJJ or Karate or Kung Fu or Judo or Bando... Lots of room for different answers.

So... I've been impressed at how civil several recent discussions have managed to be. Way too often, these things devolve quickly into personal attacks. Like I said -- this is Jim, not an Asst. Admin speaking, but I hope we can all stay civil on these issues.
 

Touch Of Death

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That suprises me. If man created gods, and we accept the gods as truth, are we not merely accepting words of our fellow fallible man as perfect truth?
The point of our existence isn't the point. Family was the point, until very recently. :)
 

Touch Of Death

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Just because Santa Clause is fiction, does not mean children don't behave because of him. Think of all the things you don't believe about the concept of God as the glue that holds together everything you know. :)
 

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