Brain's "God Spot" Discovered By Scientists

Daily Mail:

Scientists searching for a 'God spot' in the brain have found three areas that control religious belief.

A study of 40 participants, including Christians, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, showed the same areas lit up when they were asked to ponder religious and moral problems.

Read the whole story: Daily Mail

Comments

[Jonahson]

05:42 AM on 03/15/2009

It depends on the job we are doing.

[Jonahson]

09:12 PM on 03/13/2009

We only use a small percentage of our barin but that small percentage we certainly dwell a lot in during our waking hours, logic and reasoning for example, usually what that is necessary to get us by in our daily grind.
Realization, compassion these are not just words but when we practice them we are making use of and are also developing other parts of our brain.
Use your brain!

[Zanti]

02:59 PM on 03/14/2009

"We only use a small percentage of our brain...."

We do? Source?

That idea has been around for a century, at least, though the figure varies from 50 percent down to 10 percent. As far as I know, it's not true.

[Jonahson]

05:43 AM on 03/15/2009

It depends on the job we are doing.

[phoenics]

05:56 PM on 03/12/2009

You know, not every religious person is as horrible as you'd like to make us out to be. And many of us are very intelligent - in fact, I'd say most are.

But what do I know - I'm just a Christian who happened to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science - with my faith intact.

And I am a Democrat.

I think you guys are making some really ugly assumptions. As a Christian, I am really sorry that many of you have had bad experiences with other Christians. But just as I wouldn't judge all non-religious people according to the sampling of not-so-niceness I've seen displayed here, maybe you could reserve judgment too?

I recognize that as Christians we have a lot of work to do in being the best Christians we can be and in doing what Jesus commanded us to do. We also have work to do in letting Christ be seen through us - if we were doing better at that, I wonder if there would be so much hostility.

[PlaceboStudman]

07:04 PM on 03/12/2009

As a self proclaimed devout Atheist, I have no problem whatsoever with someone following the true teachings of Jesus Christ, or Yahweh, or Mohammed or Buddha. So long as people today see those figures as human spiritual leaders, none of whom ever claimed the perfection that their followers ascribe to them. But, when you add in the concept of a judgemental invisible man in the sky, and a place we all go where everything is perfect, then you have to question those beliefs. Not to mention the complete and utter sabatoge and morphing of "the word" for political or personal gain, such as ascribing anti-homosexual bigotry to a man who could not possibly understand the psycho-physiological condition that we understand homosexuality as today. And to take that a step further, to ascribe Old Testament Jewish law as something Jesus said, when The Torah aka the old testament was codified 300-400 years before Jesus Christ, and Jewish law was the exact thing that Jesus Christ rallied against.

It just doesn't make logical rational sense

[phoenics]

07:35 PM on 03/12/2009

Hey - I think it's totally your right to believe that Jesus was not divine... but that's not belief. I hope you aren't saying that I can't believe that - or that others can't or shouldn't. Wouldn't that be the same as trying to force my views onto you? For the record, I don't believe anyone of us can 'force' you to believe what we believe. As Jesus told Peter (well Simon at the time) that only God could reveal the knowledge that Jesus was the Son of God, I believe it is true that for anyone else to know that Jesus is the Son of God, God has to reveal it to that person. I can only point to Jesus' point to Ask and it shall be given, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened - as He commanded me to do. But forcing the word on people is very ineffective and annoying - I know from experience, lol!

But I disagree with your statements about Jesus Christ - he didn't rail against the law - he fulfilled it. I think the Old and New Testaments are beautiful when viewed all as one book - as I view them. The threads started in the old and how they pick up in the new constantly fascinate me. But you don't have to agree with me on that.

I'm glad I live in a country where I'm allowed to have my beliefs and practice them and

[phoenics]

07:35 PM on 03/12/2009

Oops - I meant to say, "... but that's not my belief..."

[progressiveconnie]

12:34 PM on 03/12/2009

GOOD MORNING!!! MY FELLOW HOMO SAPIENS WHICH MEANS THE SPECIES WHO IS WISE.
On March 11th the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution recognizing that a half a century ago the leader of the Tibet, the Dalai Lama, had to go into exile because China had taken over their country.
The suffering of the Tibetan people under Chinese rule is well documented and means the Chinese leaders have become cruel rulers in Tibet and reflects badly on an ancient culture that brought to humanity Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and many transformative inventions and discoveries and spiritual insights.
All those who spoke up for this resolution both Dems and Rebs revealed the U.S. House at its best speaking out against tyranny and cruelty against a gentle, spiritual people in the land of Tibet.
Sometimes during my meditations over the last 20 years it was revealed to me, "When the Dalai Lama returns to Tibet the peoples of the earth will experience a new day of spiritual awakening and enlightenment."

[mrfreeze]

04:21 PM on 03/11/2009

Thankfully I was born without this spot. It seems to me that those who have such a spot have far less regular brain matter to work with!

[kaaramel]

11:41 PM on 03/14/2009

That's silly. So if people use they same spot to ponder moral problems are you saying that you have no morals at all?

[Mikal]

03:56 PM on 03/11/2009

This is some of the worst science I have seen in my lifetime. Try this scenario: scientists interview prison inmates who are child molesters and scan their brains while they talk to the scientists about their victims and their feeling, and thoughts about children. After viewing the brain scans and identifying areas that "light up" conclude that all humans have a place in their brain preordained for molesting or killing children.

What a bunch of hogwash!

[livesinreality]

09:41 PM on 03/11/2009

Seeing that most of child molesters are priests and other religious people, the same "god spot" will light up in the molesters brain.

[patricksmom]

02:47 PM on 03/12/2009

No constructive comments. just your personal prejudices. I'm glad I dont live in your reality.
That study was very poorly conducted, numbers are small and really doesn't add any data to the question.

[MomfromTexas]

03:08 PM on 03/11/2009

And this research study cost how much money? People REALLY believe there is a "God spot" in your brain, so when you hear the word "God" or whatever word means "God" to you, a certain part of your brain just, oh, lights up??? This makes me think of children, who hear an adult tell them that Jesus lives in their heart, and think there's a little, itsy bitsy Jesus, who's actually living there.

[Forester]

03:11 PM on 03/11/2009

Pure science research is scary to a lot of people.

[Hirnlego]

03:35 PM on 03/11/2009

Indeed. And we need to break plenty of spells to understand the world better.

[patricksmom]

02:48 PM on 03/12/2009

Forester,
You obviously don;t know anything about scientific research or methodology to be able to critique this study. I think someone mentioned IQ>

[peterg76]

02:30 PM on 03/11/2009

"[R]eligious and moral problems" are two completely different kinds of problems.

[Forester]

02:18 PM on 03/11/2009

Great!
Now lets screen these nuts out of the government.

[montemalone]

02:08 PM on 03/11/2009

Now that they've located the source of the disease, is there any hope for a cure?

[LorettaSingbiel]

01:25 PM on 03/11/2009

"Some evolutionary theorists believe a belief in a religious power may have helped our ancestors to survive great hardship compared to those with no such convictions."

How far back do we go with this theory ... Didn't religious belief coincide with burial rituals?

"Survival instincts" helped our species avoid extinction. But once we began "preparing the dead for the next world", survival became more challenging.

[peterg76]

04:29 PM on 03/11/2009

Shared irrational beliefs created tribal cohesion. The fact that the beliefs were metaphorical and unprovable was key - it's harder for outsiders to fake knowledge of a mythology that isn't even true.

Just look at political parties or rabid sports fans today.

[GodIs]

12:58 PM on 03/11/2009

Instead of informing the lost that, "God loves you," it would be more accurate to say that, "God wants to love you."
The real issue is not the fact that God loves humanity for this is commonly accepted except among the infidels. God takes no delight in suffering of the wicked. It is Satan and his demons who will be tormenting the damned.

[kaaramel]

11:46 PM on 03/14/2009

"It is Satan and his demons who will be tormenting the damned." Where'd you read that? I thought hell was created for the devil and his angels and they have no control over it since they will be punished in it?

[PlaceboStudman]

12:51 PM on 03/11/2009

This study proves nothing. If Atheists and other non-believers all use the same areas for moral contemplation and decision making, that leads me to believe that it has nothing to do with religion/spirituality, but has more to do with general cognitive functioning of the brain when dealing with complex moral issues

[JohnFromCensornati]

12:28 PM on 03/11/2009

The headline should say that they *didn't* find the god spot. They'd have better luck looking for it with a colonoscopy.

[Zanti]

03:34 PM on 03/13/2009

Ed McMahon: Hiyoooooooo!!!!

Tonight Show band: "Dah-dah-dah-dah-dahhhhhh"

[k6007]

12:24 PM on 03/11/2009

Now, THAT'S progress!