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