I read an interesting article the other day about scientists discovering specific regions of the brain that become active when people think God-oriented thoughts. The article called them "God spots" (got you with the title, didn't I?).
This led me to thinking that I would like to see a more extensive study performed, with scans of a variety of individuals, from a variety of religions, and with various levels of dedication to their religion. If you scanned the brains of a dedicated Buddist, a Muslim cleric, a Catholic priest, and a Christian pastor, would the size of their "God spots" vary? Or if you compared a Christian pastor to a normal Sunday Christian (someone whose faith is limited to church on Sundays), would their be a significant difference in activity for that portion of the brain?
I would think that the people who are professionals and/or are extremely proficient at certain tasks would have higher development in the areas of their brain that use that function. Examples would be artists, scientists, accountants, or even athletes.
If this is also true for spirituality, then perhaps having larger developed "God spots" would offer a scientific explanation to how some people could have greater capacity or ability for spirituality. They would have a greater ability to "hear" God (know His will), understand Biblical concepts, and exhibit more fruits (Galatians 5:22) and gifts (1 Corinthians 12-14) of the spirit.
1 comment:
I've thought about this before, and I agree with you. I've also wondered if the brains of believers (regardless of their spiritual walk) look different than the brains of non-believers simply because Paul tells us "We have the mind of Christ."
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