Is our Brain Pre-Wired to Believe in G-d?

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meltzerboy

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I invite your opinions regarding whether the belief in G-d (or gods) is something that is pre-wired in our brain (in the form of the Holy Spirit, or the soul, if you prefer). Most–if not all–cultures have believed in G-d, or gods, or some spiritual entity. Why do you think that is?

If you believe the above, do you also think that people who do NOT believe in G-d (or gods) are somehow “disordered” in the sense of a different brain wiring? (I realize this is a heated question, and please note, I am not, for the present, expressing my own view on this issue one way or the other. I also hope the question does not violate the Forum rules about discussing a topic relative to atheism. If it does, the Forum Moderator may withdraw this part of the post, and please do not respond to it.)
 
The overwhelming majority of people have believed in the spiritual aspect of reality because they realise intuitively that there is far more in life than the material objects that meet the eye. 🙂
 
meltzerboy said:
I invite your opinions regarding whether the belief in G-d (or gods) is something that is pre-wired in our brain (in the form of the Holy Spirit, or the soul, if you prefer). Most–if not all–cultures have believed in G-d, or gods, or some spiritual entity. Why do you think that is?

If you believe the above, do you also think that people who do NOT believe in G-d (or gods) are somehow “disordered” in the sense of a different brain wiring? (I realize this is a heated question, and please note, I am not, for the present, expressing my own view on this issue one way or the other. I also hope the question does not violate the Forum rules about discussing a topic relative to atheism. If it does, the Forum Moderator may withdraw this part of the post, and please do not respond to it.)
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Man was created in the image and likeness of God.Meaning that we are naturally inclined to search for God or higher power.We are the only creature that does this.We know in our hearts there is God.Athiests say they don’t believe in God but IMO its because what they’ve heard or learmed that they deny His exisstence.Even after Adam sinned man didn’t lose his desire to be united with God.The more advanced man becomes aand the more he feels self sufficient the less man feels dependent on God.But in truth he is never satisfied and there is always a longing for something more.
 
I think that we are “wired” for our instincts and learning to evolve, whether by evolution or creation – I don’t want to get into that. I do think there are ways of passing these things along, and have been in place before “words” were ever even invented, in the way they are used now.

So if that means we are pre-wired to believe in a being that exists forever who can carry our spirits with such a being, then I guess I agree. 🙂

Alan
 
valentino
**
But in truth he is never satisfied and there is always a longing for something more**.

Or as Pascal put it:

“If man is not made for God, why is he only happy in God?"

If there is a God, why wouldn’t this God plant in us all the desire to search for Him and be somehow connected with Him? Even those who don’t have the desire have to find an alternative to God … a god of their own making … fame, wealth, power, pleasure, etc. something that is of supreme importance to them that they worship with all their hearts and souls.
 
Yes, in the same sense that our computational impedimenta are designed to respond to human beings.

He is risen, ICXC NIKA
 
I want to say in the first place that I am really, really skeptical of evolutionary psychology. It does not make any sense to me at all that attitudes and modes of thinking are traits that are passed along in evolution -when people say we’ve evolved this or that, I get frustrated. There is no way anyone can possibly say that with any authority since it is just speculation, and when you dig deeper, it is not clear what that statement even means. Because, as I said, just how are attitudes and modes of thinking genetic traits? Just how are those intangible things passed on through descent? I think any reasonable person should be able to sympathize with my confusion and frustration. I am not a young earth creationist, but I don’t think you have to be to see that there is a lot of bluff in that area of science.
 
Windfish said:
I want to say in the first place that I am really, really skeptical of evolutionary psychology. It does not make any sense to me at all that attitudes and modes of thinking are traits that are passed along in evolution -when people say we’ve evolved this or that, I get frustrated. There is no way anyone can possibly say that with any authority since it is just speculation, and when you dig deeper, it is not clear what that statement even means. Because, as I said, just how are attitudes and modes of thinking genetic traits? Just how are those intangible things passed on through descent? I think any reasonable person should be able to sympathize with my confusion and frustration. I am not a young earth creationist, but I don’t think you have to be to see that there is a lot of bluff in that area of science.
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I fully understand your reservations, which was one of the reasons I chose not to bring it into the discussion – too much, anyway. 😉

Alan
 
Windfish said:
I want to say in the first place that I am really, really skeptical of evolutionary psychology. It does not make any sense to me at all that attitudes and modes of thinking are traits that are passed along in evolution -when people say we’ve evolved this or that, I get frustrated. There is no way anyone can possibly say that with any authority since it is just speculation, and when you dig deeper, it is not clear what that statement even means. Because, as I said, just how are attitudes and modes of thinking genetic traits? Just how are those intangible things passed on through descent? I think any reasonable person should be able to sympathize with my confusion and frustration. I am not a young earth creationist, but I don’t think you have to be to see that there is a lot of bluff in that area of science.
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I agree with you. If our brain is prewired to believe in God people who are brought up as pagans would also believe but many of them don’t…
 
tonyrey

**I agree with you. If our brain is prewired to believe in God people who are brought up as pagans would also believe but many of them don’t… **

Unless the pagan wiring has short-circuited. :D;)
 
meltzerboy said:
I invite your opinions regarding whether the belief in G-d (or gods) is something that is pre-wired in our brain (in the form of the Holy Spirit, or the soul, if you prefer). Most–if not all–cultures have believed in G-d, or gods, or some spiritual entity. Why do you think that is?

If you believe the above, do you also think that people who do NOT believe in G-d (or gods) are somehow “disordered” in the sense of a different brain wiring? (I realize this is a heated question, and please note, I am not, for the present, expressing my own view on this issue one way or the other. I also hope the question does not violate the Forum rules about discussing a topic relative to atheism. If it does, the Forum Moderator may withdraw this part of the post, and please do not respond to it.)
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While I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a brain defect that would render a person less likely to believe in God, I don’t think that is the usual problem.

Most atheists recognize that the brain is wired to make us want to seek God, but they claim that this is just an evolutionary accident. So they are aware of this wiring in their own brains, and override it by an act of will. I think that is the more common scenario.
 
Neil
**
So they are aware of this wiring in their own brains, and override it by an act of will. I think that is the more common scenario. **

A self-inflicted short-circuit? 😉
 
Neil_Anthony said:
While I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a brain defect that would render a person less likely to believe in God, I don’t think that is the usual problem.

Most atheists recognize that the brain is wired to make us want to seek God, but they claim that this is just an evolutionary accident. So they are aware of this wiring in their own brains, and override it by an act of will. I think that is the more common yscenario.
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If an ‘act of will’ can override a basic function of the biology, doesn’t that call into question the very nature of ‘will’ as stemming directly from that biology?
 
meltzerboy said:
I invite your opinions regarding whether the belief in G-d (or gods) is something that is pre-wired in our brain (in the form of the Holy Spirit, or the soul, if you prefer). Most–if not all–cultures have believed in G-d, or gods, or some spiritual entity. Why do you think that is?

If you believe the above, do you also think that people who do NOT believe in G-d (or gods) are somehow “disordered” in the sense of a different brain wiring? (I realize this is a heated question, and please note, I am not, for the present, expressing my own view on this issue one way or the other. I also hope the question does not violate the Forum rules about discussing a topic relative to atheism. If it does, the Forum Moderator may withdraw this part of the post, and please do not respond to it.)
Click to expand...
If the doctrine of the fall of man seeks to teach us anything, it’s that man originally believed in God, having some sort of immediate knowledge of Him, and that this belief was yet contingent, that man could do away with it-do away with God for all practical purposes- by rejecting Him as his God. So the Catechism teaches that faith “died in mans heart” at the fall-and this is why we’re born without it and yet still with a sense of it, with a sense of God and our need for and dependency on Him. But faith, we’re told, along with hope and especially and ultimately love, constitutes mans justice, and is the natural order of things.
 
Charlemagne_II said:
valentino
**
But in truth he is never satisfied and there is always a longing for something more**.

Or as Pascal put it:

“If man is not made for God, why is he only happy in God?"

If there is a God, why wouldn’t this God plant in us all the desire to search for Him and be somehow connected with Him? Even those who don’t have the desire have to find an alternative to God … a god of their own making … fame, wealth, power, pleasure, etc. something that is of supreme importance to them that they worship with all their hearts and souls.
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Have we been ‘pre-wired’ (it’s called innate disposition, see my separate thread on the subject) to worship One God with no parts (persons), or One God in 3 persons?
 
Charlemagne_II said:
valentino
**
But in truth he is never satisfied and there is always a longing for something more**.

Or as Pascal put it:

“If man is not made for God, why is he only happy in God?"

If there is a God, why wouldn’t this God plant in us all the desire to search for Him and be somehow connected with Him? Even those who don’t have the desire have to find an alternative to God … a god of their own making … fame, wealth, power, pleasure, etc. something that is of supreme importance to them that they worship with all their hearts and souls.
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I love Pascal’s writings: Les Pensees, in particular. Thanks for your comment!
 
contentedself said:
Have we been ‘pre-wired’ (it’s called innate disposition, see my separate thread on the subject) to worship One God with no parts (persons), or One God in 3 persons?
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Being Jewish, I think you might suspect where I stand on that issue. I notice you identify your religion as monotheism. I know what the word means, but is there a specific faith attached to it?
 
fhansen said:
If the doctrine of the fall of man seeks to teach us anything, it’s that man originally believed in God, having some sort of immediate knowledge of Him, and that this belief was yet contingent, that man could do away with it-do away with God for all practical purposes- by rejecting Him as his God. So the Catechism teaches that faith “died in mans heart” at the fall-and this is why we’re born without it and yet still with a sense of it, with a sense of God and our need for and dependency on Him. But faith, we’re told, along with hope and especially and ultimately love, constitutes mans justice, and is the natural order of things.
Click to expand...
Interesting, thought-provoking remarks. Much appreciated!
 
It should be noted that very few people who claim they don’t believe in God are complete nihilists. Many replace God with something else or still retain some ordering of the world.
 
GEddie said:
If an ‘act of will’ can override a basic function of the biology, doesn’t that call into question the very nature of ‘will’ as stemming directly from that biology?
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You bring up the fascinating issue of brain and mind, which are generally complementary, but may on occasion be antagonistic. Some (including psychologists) might say that will derives more from the mind than from the biological brain. Thanks for the comment!
 
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