[PookztA]

interesting article: http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132078267/neurotheology-where-religion-and-science-collide

“For thousands of years, religion has posed some unanswerable questions: Who are we?  What's the meaning of life? What does it mean to be religious?

In an effort to address those questions, Dr. Andrew Newberg has scanned the brains of praying nuns, chanting Sikhs and meditating Buddhists. He studies the relationship between the brain and religious experience, a field called neurotheology. And he's written a book, Principles of Neurotheology, that tries to lay the groundwork for a new kind of scientific and theological dialogue.

[Pauldo]

Another misguided attempt at combining science and religion so that the religious (and those who don't realize how deeply ingrained religion is in our society) can feel like their viewpoint has any relevancy in today's modern world.  Science + religion= pseudoscience…every single time.

Just because a neuro-scientist can explain the biological underpinnings of spiritual practices doesn't give any validity to the belief of an all powerful creator who exists is some non-physical ethereal magical place.  Meditation IS a great physical brain exercise.  It's not proof though of god.

Different brains aren't necessarily bad brains either.  Forget right brain and left brain, I prefer people who use their whole brain!

But yeah, just another religiously biased scientist trying to hitch his religious beliefs onto a scientific discovery in order to give his beliefs some validity.    

[PookztA]

Sometimes I feel bad for you Pauldo, honestly.

You have just attempted to shit on a scientist who is doing some AMAZING research on the brain, just because the topic involves religious beliefs.

As if conducting functional brain imaging scans while people meditate and pray is somehow deserving of your negative commentary, lol…

Unlike you, I support scientific research of all kinds, including attempts to better understand the brain activity of those engaging in religious or spiritual practices, such as meditation.

Please wake up Pauldo, for your intolerant beliefs are preventing you from seeing the obvious good in scientific research such as this. Even worse, your intolerant beliefs are causing you to interpret this positive, human-benefiting scientific research as if it were a bad thing.

You are obviously entitled to your beliefs, but I just wanted to let you know that it makes me feel bad to see a person I care about twisting such an interesting scientific study into some sort of unscientific anti-religion rant, as if trying to better understand the brain of spiritual people is somehow a bad thing.

I hope you have a happy holiday man, seriously.

-Abe

[Pauldo]

Aaawww Abe, I'm sincerely and honestly sorry that I make you feel bad!  (NOT)

Religion and spirituality, in all it's forms throughout human history, has never been proven to be true, accurate or even plausible.  I am against any scientific theory that is based, in any way, upon a belief system that is not true.  Religion and spirituality are not an accurate description of our natural world.  Scientist need to update their world view and base it upon the latest scientific knowledge.  A majority of the world's religious/spiritual are waaaaayyyy behind on updating their belief systems.

I hope that you, Abraham Hafiz Rodriguez, learn to require absolute scientific integrity in the research that you trust in when it comes to dealing with people's lives.  As it is right now, you don't even require factual integrity in the things you read and pass on to others. 

Stop doing that “wake up” thing you like to do when trying to convert someone to your world view.  Proposing that one needs to “wake up” is a common theme that runs throughout most religious/spiritual practices.  It suggests to the convertee that they are not whole and complete as they are; that they are lacking special, hidden or magical knowledge.  This then sets up a hierarchy between the converter and convertee because the converter has obtained this special knowledge which the convertee wants to learn.  The converter then becomes more revered than the convertee.  There's then a period of passing on knowledge between the converter and convertee.  This most times leads to long and expensive study under the more revered one.  Consequences for not following what the revered one has to say may result in a worse off position here on Earth or in some kind of after-life…and so on.  Do people not see this as the con job that it obviously is!?

Atheism does not suggest that one needs to wake up.  Every human is not inherently flawed, as most religious traditions suggest.  Whatever exists is natural.  Science is a more accurate and predictable method of viewing our natural world whereas religion/spirituality is not at all accurate or predictable.  There is no hierarchy or more reverend people in Atheism.  No-ones' gotten rich by being an Atheist.

SCIENCE *GODZILLA STOMPS*> religion. 

Hope you have a crappy holiday,

Pauldo the Scrooge

p.s.    

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