I’ve finally taken the time to read an article in Friday, January 26, 2007′s Telegraph Journal called, “The Science Behind Spirituality” that I found interesting. There’s not a lot of information there and it basically just whetted my appetite for more. I’m interested in mind and brain studies and science as it relates to spirituality, faith and religion. It begins by posing some questions:
Does God exist outside the human mind, or is God a creation of our brains? Why do we have faith in things that we cannot prove, whether it’s the afterlife or UFOs?
It admits that,
Very few are looking at spirituality from a neurological side, from the brain-mind side, said Dr. Andrew Newberg, director of the centre.
The “centre” is not a literal building, but a
multidisciplinary team of Penn researchers exploring the relationship between the brain and spirituality from biological, psychological, social and ideological viewpoints. Founded last April, it is bringing together some 20 experts from fields including medicine, pastoral care, religious studies, social work and bioethics.
Newberg continues:
The brain is a believing machine because it has to be… Beliefs affect every part of our lives. They make us who we are. They are the essence of our being… Atheists have belief systems, too.
Interesting material that deserves my ongoing study. Expect more of it on my blog.
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Shakleton, in his captivating account of his Antarctic exploration South, writes:|
Here some interesting posts that I would like to pass along to you. The basic theme is people of faith wrestling with some very difficult questions. I admire that.
Dan Baker, in his interesting and I think helpful book, What Happy People Know, reminds me of the New Testament, as well as Kubler-Ross, when he writes:
I went to church pretty unprepared. I’m trying to teach more extemporaneously anyway. But your mind plays tricks on you so that usually you are prepared, just in your mind. This time I was totally unprepared. Many people in our congregation are suffering at new and interesting levels that I find rather concerning. We have people who are grieving serious loss, unemployment, child issues, marital issues, money problems, illness and more. The leadership of the church is weak right now because the leaders are particularly targeted, in my opinion. So I wanted to preach a sermon on “longsuffering”, using Galatians 5:22 as my text… longsuffering being one of the fruit of the Spirit. But after doing an extensive word-study on it, I came to discover, to my surprise…
The CEO, Kathryn, in Patrick Lencioni’s book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, says,
I have a minute to fill you in a bit. We went away for the weekend to the regional pastors and leaders meeting. We stayed in a motel in Moncton. Since my city of Saint John doesn’t have a Chapters or a Starbucks, Lisa and I went early to enjoy these in Moncton. We spent about three hours there, shopping for good books while sipping our double tall lattés. Delicious both ways!
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