HARD WIRED TO BELIEVE?

by fifi40 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  fifi40

  Having read through several of the recent threads on Gods existence, Religious hypochondria and those who simply state that they really dont care I asked myself the question why?

  Why do some people have faith and a desire to worship and believe?

  Why do some people despise faith and lack any sense of a 'greater' being?

  The facts and questions could be discussed/debated and vehemently argued all day long (and often are) and the answer is there are no solid answers.........for those believers they cannot give absolute proof of a 'Gods' existence and for those that do not believe they cannot give absolute proof in a 'Gods' non existence.

  So are some people hard wired to believe whilst others are not?

  Interesting articles about this matter include

  http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=3157321&page=1

  http://edition.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/04/04/neurotheology/index.html

  (I have faith these links will work.........but will try to sort them out if they dont)

  If some are 'hard wired' to believe this leads to questions such as

  Why are they?

  Does consideration of this idea lessen the need to 'bash' religion, God and believers?

  And if this hard wiring is only part of evolution (a possible atheistic view) what purpose has it and does it serve?

  Has in fact the part of the brain that makes belief and worship possible bought in some ways benefit to mankind and can it continue to?
• 

  Awakened07

  And if this hard wiring is only part of evolution (a possible atheistic view) what purpose has it and does it serve?

  If it is the cause of evolution, I would say that could make perfect sense. The first 'humans' with the ability to contemplate their existence would be best served by believing death isn't the end. Those who chose not to believe in anything would probably be more prone to commit suicide than those who felt they had found a deeper meaning and would get life after death somehow (remember we're talking about the first hominids able to contemplate existence, and it would be quite enough dealing with the big questions, if not having to deal with death as being final). And any additional mutation causing a sense of a higher 'mysterious presence' to develop in the brain would be naturally selected for. Maybe the "theists" of those days had more children too, 'cause they were happy with existence whereas the "atheists" of the time were more cautious and pessimistic.

  I'm not saying this is what happened - actually I haven't even checked what science says about this, so this is my own little hypothesis based on just 'vanilla' evolutionary theory.

  Other than that, I think it's logical that if you really focus on something like when meditating, other parts of the brain will shut off. That's how the brain works. We don't use all of our brain at the same time because it would be inefficient. And if parts of the brain shut off due to meditation (concentration), then it's not far fetched that you'd feel detached from your physical body.

  (just trying to answer your specific question that I quoted, I'm not saying this is how it is. I'll make an effort to not be arrogant in my replies. I'll probably fail, but I'll try)
• 

  Sad emo

  I was thinking out loud about something maybe similar on one of Terry's threads.

  I've wondered whether faith/belief comes from a part of the brain which some choose to ignore or shut off somehow. If so, what Awakened07 writes here:

  Other than that, I think it's logical that if you really focus on something like when meditating, other parts of the brain will shut off. That's how the brain works. We don't use all of our brain at the same time because it would be inefficient. And if parts of the brain shut off due to meditation (concentration), then it's not far fetched that you'd feel detached from your physical body.

  could possibly be that when other parts of the brain are shut off through meditation etc, this 'spiritual' part of the brain becomes more to the fore increasing one's capability to use it when you return to 'normal' brain function (don't anyone start on what 'normal' brain function means lol!).

  Entirely within the framework of evolution - and again along Awakened07's lines, this 'spiritual' part could, metaphorically speaking have come to be regarded as the brain's appendix - a part of the body which once had a use but is now regarded as of little use (although the jury is still out on the brain's appendix!).
• 

  DeusMauzzim

  If you remember the bottom line for natural selection is that something somehow helps in survival, then the capacity for belief (being sure something is the case without proof) has a good chance of being selected:

  The caveman who really believes a pack of sabertooth tigers can appear from the jungle any moment will be on his watch even if he does not see them.

  - Deus Mauzzim
• 

  greendawn

  I don't think that they are truly hard wired, for me it's the immense complexity of life that seems too good to have come about by chance.
  
  You can say though the chances of this happening are astronomically small it could happen and it did but that to me goes too strongly against common sense. Why would the impersonal force of chance create a world that is way above its impersonal and unintelligent nature?
• 

  hmike

  Interesting articles, as was the one on how sensations interpreted as religious experiences can be created by stimulating the brain with electromagnetism. These articles don't really answer your question, though.

  Dr. Newberg has determined what kind of brain activity occurs during certain religious practices. The article seems to assume this means that people in religious faiths have some kind of innate ability, and that leads them into religion, whereas, atheists do not. The test subjects he chose had practiced these activities frequently for perhaps several years. Couldn't this just be something the brain has been trained to do? The brain has been engaged in a specific activity repeatedly long enough to adapt to the needs associated with the activity. I wonder if he could find the same results in brains of atheists engaged in non-religious activities.

  While some religions place much emphasis on experiences and sensations—what is felt—any kind of research in this area will have a harder time with Christianity. Christianity has, for the most part, grounded its claims on the accounts of historical events and their interpretations of the events by those directly involved. The significance of experiences and sensations is downplayed, in some cases even denied, as confirmation of doctrine. A feeling that a Christian may claim as evidence of God may also be claimed as evidence by another for a different deity. This research shows us that we do need to exercise caution about how we interpret the experiences, for it may not be something unique to religious practice at all. Interestingly, this comes at a time when the move in Christian circles seems to be towards the experiential, perhaps partly as a response to the need for confirming experience, and parly in response to increasing criticism of the reliability of the historical accounts in the Bible.

  What really addresses your question—at least in regards to Christianity—is whether or not some people are naturally more inclined to accept and hold information received from others. Why, indeed, to we have scholars on both sides of this issue? The same evidence is looked at by different people, and they come to different conclusions. Is this related to something innately in the brain—something in the DNA—or is it based on life experiences? Or some combination of both? Is it like drinking alcohol or smoking in that some say "Yes" and some say "No" to the opportunitites?
• 

  Paralipomenon

  I don't think that we're hard wired to believe. I think we're more hard wired to resist death. Religion fills that need.
• 

  hmike

  If you mean the afterlife, most religions seemed to be more about life in this world—good hunting, good weather for crops & a good harvest, victory over enemies, continuation of the family line, etc. Even the Old Testament doesn't directly say much about life after death.
• 

  serotonin_wraith

  greendawn:

  for me it's the immense complexity of life that seems too good to have come about by chance.

  Evolutionists do not teach this- it is a common misconception.

  _________________

  As for why we believe, I believe childhood indoctrination plays the biggest role. As part of our survival, children know instinctively they need to trust anything a parent says, because it could save their lives. If the parent says "Look both ways before crossing the road", "Don't touch the knives in the kitchen" or "Do not touch that fire!" the child will listen. It protects them from harm.

  That trust can be misused when the parent says "Make sure you keep following the religion I teach you about, because if you don't, you will burn forever" (or something like that, depending on the religion). The child instinctively believes the parent. They will believe anything the parent says- which is why we can get the young to believe in Santa and the tooth fairy too.

  Later on, as adults, fear can still play a role in a person's decision to hold on to their faith. Fear of death, fear of eternal punishment, fear of life without a constant companion to talk to, fear of disapproval and being disowned, fear of being the odd one out.

  If people are given the facts, and learn to think critically, they can overcome this. Without the correct information, this can be hard. As greendawn and others believe evolutionists teach we came about by blind chance, it's no wonder that explanation sounds silly. But this isn't what they teach, and I would ask anyone who thinks they do teach this to research the issue. 'The Blind Watchmaker' video under the documentaries section of alluc.org would be an excellent place to start.

  Other times, people want to believe in god when they need to have hope, which is why many people find god when they become ill or a loved one dies. When reality becomes too much for them, religion can be where they retreat for comfort and false hope.