Re: A "God" Part of the Brain?

From: Samuel.D.Olsen@rf.no
Date: Mon Aug 18 2003 - 14:07:52 EDT

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    Don, you concluded:

    So, with Alzheimer's--no, I think I'd not be able to know God as I can know
    him now, unless God were to force the knowledge. But I'd attribute that
    more to an inability to become spiritual than to a defect in a particular
    part of the brain. That is, there are many things besides brain defects
    that can keep me from conscious interaction with God. The fact that God
    could overcome my handicap (I believe) and make me spiritual despite the
    defect leads me to conclude that the brain defect would not be the deciding
    factor.

    My comment:
    After reading books and in particular those David Myers and
    neuropsychologist Malcolm Jeeves, I have moving away from the Greek
    dualistic view of man and back to the Hebrew view of man being a living
    soul. God interacts with us through the cognitive processes and resposes
    of the brain. The emotional and other experiences are bonuses improving
    quality of enjoyment of life.

    1. The pursuit of happiness by David G. Myers (1993). Avon, New York,
                ISBN 0-380-71522-8.
    2. Psychology through the eyes of faith by David G. Meyers and Malcolm
    A. Jeeves (1987), Harper, San Francisco, ISBN 0-85111-424-5. . ISBN
    0-06-065557-7
    3. Mind Fields. Reflections on the Science of Mind and Brain by Malcolm
    Jeeves (1994). Apollos, Leicester, UK, 0 85111 434 2.
    4. Psychology of Religion: classic and contemporary 2nd Ed. By David M.
    Wulff (1997). John Wiley, New York, ISBN 0-471-03706-0.
    5. Philosophy, Psychiatry and Neuroscience: three approaches to mind by
    Edward M. Hundert (1990). Clarendon, Oxford.ISBN 0-19-824896-2.
    6. Mapping the mind by Rita Carter (1999). University of California
    Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London. ISBN 0-520-22461-2. .
    7. Psychology as Religion 2nd Ed, by Paul C. Vitz, William B. Eerdmans
    Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan/ The Paternonster Press, Carlisle, UK.
    ISBN 0-8028-0725-9/ETM556198.
    8. Mind and Brain: Journey through the mind and body by Time Life Books
    (1993). Time Life Books, Amsterdam, ISBN 0 7054 1600 3.

    Sam

                                                                                                                                     
                          "Don
                          Winterstein" To: <Samuel.D.Olsen@rf.no>
                          <dfwinterstein@m cc: "asa" <asa@calvin.edu>, <asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu>
                          sn.com> Subject: Re: A "God" Part of the Brain?
                          Sent by:
                          asa-owner@lists.
                          calvin.edu
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                          18.08.2003 09:17
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     

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    Sam Olsen wrote:

    "If you or I develop Alzheimer's disease, some of our brain cells
    such as those in the Hippocampus which are crucial for memory, will die.
    Will you be able to have spiritual experiences and pray when areas in your
    temporal lobe and orientation association areas (implicated in spiritual
    experiences) do not function normally?"

    Because I have known several people with that terrible disease, this is not
    an abstract question. For those who interact with the patient there are
    nagging questions: How much humanity has already died, and how much
    remains? What kind of person are we dealing with, and what does that
    person still know but perhaps can't articulate?

    With such illness I can't imagine that I'd be able to have the kind of
    spiritual experience that I now am able to have, because that kind of
    experience seems to depend strongly on being alert and highly aware. That
    is, to become optimally spiritual seems to require something close to
    optimal mental and even physical health. Illnesses of much less
    consequence than Alzheimer's can impair this ability, as do all kinds of
    mundane intrusions in life. God is able to overcome such liabilities by
    forcibly engulfing the soul but rarely (in my experience) does so. I
    suspect he did so more than once for the apostle Paul.

    But having these spiritual experiences is not essential to being a
    Christian. For a time after I first had such experience I thought it was
    essential (see Acts 8:14-17). Now I see it as a special gift. The New
    Testament puts a lot of emphasis on making contributions to the community
    but little emphasis on privately experiencing God. Alzheimer's victims
    can't do much if any of either. But it is more important for God to know
    us that for us to know him (I Cor. 13:12), and God will continue to know us
    if we become victims.

    So, with Alzheimer's--no, I think I'd not be able to know God as I can know
    him now, unless God were to force the knowledge. But I'd attribute that
    more to an inability to become spiritual than to a defect in a particular
    part of the brain. That is, there are many things besides brain defects
    that can keep me from conscious interaction with God. The fact that God
    could overcome my handicap (I believe) and make me spiritual despite the
    defect leads me to conclude that the brain defect would not be the deciding
    factor.

    Don



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