Faith and the Brain

[AntiKarateKid]

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, I read an article by a person comparing the brains of people who reject a statement based on their faith like " GOd is dead", and likening it to the mental response of a person who encounters a bad smell. Similar areas of the brain light up. Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith.

Why do people try to use the human body, God's creation, to try and disprove beliefs about God? They claim that we believers say that faith is some type of magical feeling that doesn't appear bodily in any way? Doesn't God work his miracles in the world through what he has created? ^o)

This man is trying to bring down belief by likening it to smell. Your opinions or thoughts??

[Kurisu]

No true atheist should ever say that "God is dead" imo.

Atheist extremists pop up as regularly as religious ones, it's still important not to judge all atheists by what one nutcase says. Of all people, the religious should understand this better than anyone else :D

[wilberhum]

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, I read an article by a person comparing the brains of people who reject a statement based on their faith like " GOd is dead", and likening it to the mental response of a person who encounters a bad smell. Similar areas of the brain light up. Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith.

Why do people try to use the human body, God's creation, to try and disprove beliefs about God? They claim that we believers say that faith is some type of magical feeling that doesn't appear bodily in any way? Doesn't God work his miracles in the world through what he has created? ^o)

This man is trying to bring down belief by likening it to smell. Your opinions or thoughts??

I think the research is real and the results are real.

Every thing is a reaction of the brain or it doesn't exist to us.

I think these kind of experiments will expand our knowledge.

Of course there are those who only see science as an atheist evil instrument to prove god doesn't exist. :muddlehea

[جوري]

I am not sure you understand the scientific approach to any experiment?

You can't prove something is such or such..
try to read a little about the null hypothesis and the confidence interval..
in science and generally in experimentation you never accept the null hypothesis. We either reject them or fail to reject them. and we create a confidence interval where there is a certain percentage of error..
The scientific method is never 100% fool proof .. if you are waiting for the day an MD or a PhD comes and tells you eureka.. God doesn't exist!.. you'll be waiting for a really long time, or you'll be following a quack on board a space craft to his den on xanadu!

cheers

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[wilberhum]

I am not sure you understand the scientific approach to any experiment?

You can't prove something is such or such..
try to read a little about the null hypothesis and the confidence interval..
in science and generally in experimentation you never accept the null hypothesis. We either reject them or fail to reject them. and we create a confidence interval where there is a certain percentage of error..
The scientific method is never 100% fool proof .. if you are waiting for the day an MD or a PhD comes and tells you eureka.. God doesn't exist!.. you'll be waiting for a really long time, or you'll be following a quack on board a space craft to his den on xanadu!

cheers

Basically there isn't solid proof of anything.

Even if all the evidence points in one direction, it isn't proof.

But it seems silly to reject all the evidence because it isn't proof.

[جوري]

Basically there isn't solid proof of anything.

Even if all the evidence points in one direction, it isn't proof.

But it seems silly to reject all the evidence because it isn't proof.

Evidence of what?
I expect that when one speaks on behalf of scientists that he/she brings me a little something I can sink my teeth into!

cheers

[wilberhum]

Evidence of what?
I expect that when one speaks on behalf of scientists that he/she brings me a little something I can sink my teeth into!

cheers

If you want something to "sink your teeth into", I would suggest the Time Magazine. :muddlehea

[Omari]

If you want something to "sink your teeth into", I would suggest the Time Magazine. :muddlehea

Yuck the taste of paper! DISTATIONAL! [not a real word]
[Yes i know it was a metaphor]

Anyhow. Such things don't bother me a bit, because science no longer conflicts with god, but instead enlightens it.
and wether such a research ever happened or not doesn't bother me either, for research is only research, what we should look at is facts. RESEARCH means nothinggggg myyy mannnn :)

Omari

[wilberhum]

Yuck the taste of paper! DISTATIONAL! [not a real word]
[Yes i know it was a metaphor]

Anyhow. Such things don't bother me a bit, because science no longer conflicts with god, but instead enlightens it.
and wether such a research ever happened or not doesn't bother me either, for research is only research, what we should look at is facts. RESEARCH means nothinggggg myyy mannnn :)

Omari

RESEARCH means nothinggggg myyy mannnn :)
Then I hope you want to dig ditches for a living.:-\

[Omari]

RESEARCH means nothinggggg myyy mannnn :)
Then I hope you want to dig ditches for a living.:-\

lol, either you didn't get my point, or you specialize in ignorance [no offence]. Yes research is important, by saying research means nothing i wasn't speaking in general,
1) i was talking about this specific one
2) i was comparing it to facts.
3) i sincerely apologise if you didn't understand that.
4) peace be with you brother
______
\Omari/
-------

[جوري]

If you want something to "sink your teeth into", I would suggest the Time Magazine. :muddlehea

? perhaps you can elaborate on that? specfic articles or are we just eating paper? :D

peace

[wilberhum]

? perhaps you can elaborate on that? specfic articles or are we just eating paper? :D

peace

You will need to get with AntiKarateKid as to the specific article.

As for "eating paper", it is high in fiber. :D

Peace :peace:
Wilber

[جوري]

As for "eating paper", it is high in fiber. :D

Peace :peace:
Wilber

Also high in lead.. I would highly advise against it :coolious:

cheers

[wilberhum]

Also high in lead.. I would highly advise against it :coolious:

cheers

Now that would explain a lot. :D

[جوري]

Now that would explain a lot. :D

tell me about it.. I am surprised they didn't wheel you in for obstipation, paper compaction and a time release dissolution of lead...

That is not the way to go :ooh:

cheers

[Omari]

Lol!!!

[wilberhum]

tell me about it.. I am surprised they didn't wheel you in for obstipation, paper compaction and a time release dissolution of lead...

That is not the way to go :ooh:

cheers

Surly your advise will save me. :D

It may have come in just the nick of time.

They just picked up the recyclable trash.

Can you think of anything worse than recycled Wilber. :uuh:

[snakelegs]

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, I read an article by a person comparing the brains of people who reject a statement based on their faith like " GOd is dead", and likening it to the mental response of a person who encounters a bad smell. Similar areas of the brain light up. Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith.

Why do people try to use the human body, God's creation, to try and disprove beliefs about God? They claim that we believers say that faith is some type of magical feeling that doesn't appear bodily in any way? Doesn't God work his miracles in the world through what he has created? ^o)

This man is trying to bring down belief by likening it to smell. Your opinions or thoughts??

i haven't read the article.
i don't think the experiment is likening belief to smell. to a religious person, the idea that "god is dead" is probably just as repulsive as a bad smell - so the same part of the brain might well react.

[Muezzin]

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, I read an article by a person comparing the brains of people who reject a statement based on their faith like " GOd is dead", and likening it to the mental response of a person who encounters a bad smell. Similar areas of the brain light up. Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith.

Why do people try to use the human body, God's creation, to try and disprove beliefs about God? They claim that we believers say that faith is some type of magical feeling that doesn't appear bodily in any way? Doesn't God work his miracles in the world through what he has created? ^o)

This man is trying to bring down belief by likening it to smell. Your opinions or thoughts??

I agree with the reaction in the studies. I don't agree with the conclusion. I find bad smells distasteful. I also find the statement, 'God is dead' distasteful, if it is delivered with sarcasm and scorn (as opposed to irony). In either case I cringe, but in the latter I wonder about the maturity of the person delivering it.

[aamirsaab]

:sl:
Ah the good old faith vs logic argument.
Just like to point out one thing:

Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith

LOL, clear experimenter bias. I'm a psychologist in training (thanks to an A level in the subject) and this ''study'' is oozing bias all over.

I won't give the clown any satisfaction. He's not hardcore so there's no point in wasting my time attempting a refutation. I will say this though: faith does not cause retardation of the brain. If you want to get really hardcore, faith is actually better for the brain since it requires you to think a lot (though not in the case where blind following occurs but in the cases of proper faith as in research, obeying and understanding the rulings etc etc - that is better for your brain).

[Abdu-l-Majeed]

The experiment is non-sense to me. Nobody believes the God lives in the brain, so what makes this experiment scientific? It's like going to a desert and looking for polar bears. Not only that: that are not our reactions which proove someone's existence.

[ranma1/2]

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine, I read an article by a person comparing the brains of people who reject a statement based on their faith like " GOd is dead", and likening it to the mental response of a person who encounters a bad smell. Similar areas of the brain light up. Now the psychologies conducting the experiment was an active Atheist who has authored a book about his cause called The End of Faith.

Why do people try to use the human body, God's creation, to try and disprove beliefs about God? They claim that we believers say that faith is some type of magical feeling that doesn't appear bodily in any way? Doesn't God work his miracles in the world through what he has created? ^o)

This man is trying to bring down belief by likening it to smell. Your opinions or thoughts??

im not sure i quite understand the problem. I can see(well imagine) how religous individuals or anyone for that matter would have a similar use of the brain for something they dont like.
I dont see anything particular anti-religious about it.

Got a link to the article?

[czgibson]

Greetings,

This looks like the article being discussed.

I can quite readily believe that one's faith position will cause different areas of the brain to react when faced with statements one agrees or disagrees with. I think the really controversial part of this study will be if Harris manages somehow to show that religious faith is physiologically no different to other types of belief, such as my belief that strawberries are delicious or that 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' is the best film ever made.

I've read Harris' book, 'The End of Faith', and while I disagree with his politics, his arguments about the existence of god are rock solid. Mind you, they are simply updates of arguments that philosophers have been refining for centuries, so they have a strong pedigree.

Peace