Modern man is making huge strides in understanding and subduing the world in which he lives. In the 20th century, he managed to unlock the incredible energy contained in minuscule particles called atoms. Now, in the 21st century, he has accomplished the reverse. He has taken the infinite and almighty Creator of the universe and reduced him to a mass of neurons in the human brain. Astounding!

Fox News reporter Jeremy Hsu recently reported this breakthrough in an article entitled, “Scientists Locate ‘God Spot’ in Human Brain” on Foxnews.com. The study employed the technology of an fMRI to scan the human brain and detect neural activity while participants (both believers and non-believers) responded to statements reflecting various propositions related to God and religious beliefs. According to one of the researchers, neuroscientist Jordan Grafman, the findings show that “religion is not a special case of a belief system but evolved along with other belief and social cognitive abilities.”

These findings raise important questions for the Bible-believing Christian. Do these “God-neurons” distinguish humans from non-human species? More importantly, do the presence of these specialized neurons or religious neural reactions in the human brain account for the true origin of the God of the Bible? That is, is this “God-thing” all in our heads? The blog post below attempts to provide a brief response to these questions.

"God Spots" in Human Brain Discovered: Is the God of the Bible Really Just a Mass of Misfiring Neurons?

Your servant,

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Bob Gonzales Jr., Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Easley, South Carolina

"Persons need not and ought not to set any bounds to their spiritual and gracious appetites." Jonathan Edwards

To quote Sarah:



EDIT: I like your thinking. Suppressing the truth was the first idea that popped into my head when I read that.

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Jonathan
Audio Engineer
Reformed Anabaptist
Ohio

Moroni's magical glasses of proper interpretation:

hmmmm.... I don't think the world would want me to be an atheist, if I was I would take advantage of the waste of life and being and I would kill millions and steal whatever I wanted, I would probably just rape too. I would have absolutely no point to live accept my own happiness in climbing the death ladder to become supreme tyrant until someone killed me or I died of old age.

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~ Charles Stephen Barribeau ~
Christ Presbyterian Church , OPC (They sing alot of Psalms!)
Original Westminster Standards (I need to study more...)
The Puritans were best! Also... I NEED TO READ MORE!!!
Philipians1:29(KJV) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;

Janesville, Wisconsin (In the fellowship of Bob Vigneault and Matt+Megan Meisberger)

Such would be exactly our lives had the Lord not converted us. Praise the Lord for His rich mercies.

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Toni Cunningham, Wife of Bill (Theognome)
Parkwoods OPC, Overland Park KS

"Vice is a monster of so frightful mien, As, to be hated, needs but to be seen; Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face, We first endure, then pity, then embrace." ~ Alexander Pope

Indeed.

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Andrew Thornquist My Photo Album
Calvinistic Baptist
Ukiah, California
To follow Christ was the best decision God made for me!

I wonder what the study would have proven if no section of the participants' brains lit up when considering God?

Hey! A new way to figure out the elect...Brain Scans!


(I'm kidding!)

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JC - PCA - PA...homesick for SC
A we n' de Ya, ho; I mak sikker; Deus juvat

Indicabo tibi o homo quid sit bonum, et quid Dominus requirat a te: Utique facere iudicium, et diligere, misericordiam, et sollicitum ambulare cum Deo tuo. Michaeas 6:8

"Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact. There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home" Bon Jovi

This is old news, actually...


Theognome

__________________
Bill Cunningham
Covenant Reformed Church, URC
Kansas City
There are three kinds of people- those who can count, and those who can't.

That was cool

__________________
Martin - Reformed
Husband to the most godly, honorable and loyal wife Line
Searching for a Church
Webpage www.5solas.dk
Free Online Reformed Seminary - http://www.tnars.net
Soli Deo Gloria

Mm. I don't quite get this. I don't see anything that lights up when they look for the "evolved from primordial soup thus there is no God" spot. Maybe they are scanning the wrong locations of human anatomy to find that spot.

Jokes aside, how do they know the increased neural activity is both a cause and an effect? If it is just an effect, what causes it? Or are they arguing that the mere mention of the word God triggers a pre-determined (evolved) response? But how does that explain ardent atheists becoming Christians or professed believers becoming atheists? Do they "evolve" while growing up, or develop this increased neural activity at the age of 85, like Flew?

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John Steyn
Redeemer Presbytarian Church, PCA
Frisco, TX

http://omnipotentgrace.wordpress.com/

Is that the sensus divinitatis? Also, discussing this question would seem like a good time to deploy the EEAN....

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Steven Nemes
Phoenix, AZ

Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy must be answered - C.S. Lewis

What's the big deal?

So this study basically proves that people use higher-function brain center when they contemplate God. Isn't that pretty obvious? Do we really need an MRI and a federally subsidized study to tell us that?

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Mason
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA)
New York, NY

"Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool." - Isaiah 1:18

It would be particularly ironic if they found a "skeptical" or "scientific" point in the brain. Although they might not see the point, they are caught on the horns of a dilemma. If their "researchy" thoughts are produced by the firing of neurons in a certain region of the brain, it rather undermines their universal validity (or causes my "undermining of universal validity spot to light up" at any rate). But if they could demonstrate that those thoughts are not physically or mechanically caused by the brain, they've left the door open.

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Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

Board Rules - Signature Requirements - Suggestions?

Calvinistas Conversando
Teología en Mexico
The Howling Wilderness

Does that imply that non-Godly or non-religious thoughts are lower brain function? Just wondering.

No, not all non-religious thoughts. Only those that didn't require a higher level of processing.

Amen! You made a good logical connection. If only atheists (and worst of all, universalists) could do the same. Years ago I had a seminary professor point out that the future of apologetics wouldn't revolve around issues like inerrancy, or even the existence of God, but concept of meaninglessness.

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Kevin Guillory
Pastor
Redeemer Christian Congregation
Baltimore, MD

I don't interpret Scripture. Scripture
interprets itself. And in the process ...
Scripture interprets me!

We didn't really need a scientific breakthrough to inform us that man is to use his brain in service to God.

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Yours sincerely,


"Illum oportet crescere me autem minui."

Hmm. Atheist proselytizer, Sam Harris, has gone after such things.

"He has currently acquired a phD in neuroscience at UCLA,[2] using functional magnetic resonance imaging to conduct research into the neural basis of belief, disbelief, and uncertainty.[5"

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Zack Flummerfelt
Evangel Presbyterian (PCA), layman
Wichita, KS


As of September 12, 2009 I am married to dear Jlynn!!

I think it would be more troubling than all else to find that evolution wasn't concerned with the formation of true beliefs.

Yea I was thinking they want to find a predisposition to believe these fables.

But you know they would never consider it scientific to look for a skeptical spot in the brain. The Atheist spot or agnostic predisposition.

Wouldn't it be interesting to see if these blinded folks didn't have a god spot that lighted up when they were asked questions? Hmmm...

"Evolved in man..." what a joke. How do they know if we have such a thing it wasn't put their in creation by God. Like a conscience, that keeps us all from being like our good buddy CharlieJunFan would have been, so that we didn't destroy ourselves eliminating the species from the gene pool?

Professing themselves to be wise... they manifest their reprobacy. Is that a word? Hey maybe I evolved a new word.

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DonP