Faith Based on Feelings

7 Commentsby   |  10.11.10  |  The Beginnings of Scientific Psychology (Part III-B)

Watching the video with Dr. Taylor really intrigued me. The way she described it as a scientist was really cool. But at the same time it kind of made me nervous. Like the stuff we talked about on Wednesday (I think it was Wednesday). Sometimes when people ask me why I believe that God exists I respond with the stories of when I have felt him unmistakably. And yet, now that I know there is a part of my brain that produces that feeling I am left with the necessity of a faith based on more than just a feeling, however strong. When I realized that what I considered was proof of God’s existence was really just firings of neurons, the stilts that had held up my faith were swept away. In that moment I discovered what my faith was really made of. Apparently during the last few years a foundation has been being built under these stilts, and what I really believe about why I believe in God was made clear to me. Last fall I took a class called the Gospel of John, and through that class and some other experiences, I have been learning that true faith in God is more than just proofs that we are shown, but instead a choice. People are going to try to convince me of a million different things, and many of them are going to have equally convincing proofs on either side of an issue. At some point I just have to decide what I’m going to believe. Granted, I will only make choices within reason. God has given us intelligence to be able to discern between the ridiculous choices and the plausible ones, it would be irresponsible to just throw up my hands and leave it up to choice. But after looking at all the evidence, it will come to the point when I need to may a choice. And before I even knew that religious experiences were firings of neurons, I had already made my choice to believe in God. On that foundation is my entire life based. And as an added note, it occurred to me that having a “God module” part of the brain does not negate the feelings that it produces. The God I believe in makes sense, and even religious experiences can have scientific backing and still be legitimate.

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7 Comments

  1. Amy McCarty
    11:32 am, 10.11.10

    Mary, I appreciated your post and hope that your faith foundation is strong. I remember leaving our class discussion last Wednesday very excited and fired up. To me it is very encouraging that there is an area of the brain that is active when we are “feeling it” (religion). It is proof of a creator, in my opinion. If God created us, if we are fearfully and wonderfully made, why would he not put a receptor (for lack of a better term), in our brains?

  2. Josh Morrison
    12:28 pm, 10.11.10

    The most interesting part to me about having such a part in our brains is the potential for activation in nonreligious settings. Like, when a movie or song is so moving that we liken it to “a religious experience.” Does that mean it has touched the same part of us?

  3. Rebekah Hernandez
    12:33 pm, 10.11.10

    Mary, you are so wonderful!!! I think at some point in our journey of faith we realize that our belief in God is really just a choice. My freshman year of college at UTSA, I became really close friends with an atheist. Many times we would discuss my “irrational” belief in Christ for hours. Often times, his arguments were so compelling I could only respond, “I just believe in God, OK”! In one such discussion time, he told me of the center in our brain that was responsible for religious experience. At first, I was taken aback imagining my brain firing as I rose up my hands in worship. After some reflection, I realized that because God made me a biological being with organs that it only makes sense that God would work through the organs he gave me. It was not then that I realized that I believe in God because I wanted to, but later in our Christianity and Culture class with Dr. McCracken. I’m sure you remember how we had to read Life of Pi. That book honestly changed my life and the way I view my faith. (For those who haven’t read the book a spoiler will follow this caution so don’t read the end of this comment!!!) At the end of the book, I tried in vain to decide if I believed the story with the animals or the story with the humans and I could not decide. In the end, after reading the book a second time in an attempt to gather evidence for both sides, I realized that I would just have to choose which story I liked the best. Pi asks himself… which is the better story? It was then that I realized that I believe in God because I have chosen the better story like I believe in the story with the animals because I have chosen the better story. It looks as though you too have come to this realization. It is nice to know I am not alone. Thank you for your post!!

  4. Earl Popp
    12:33 pm, 10.11.10

    Proverbs 25:2; “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”
    One of my favorites, and quite possibly a strong motivator to not be afraid to question and to be open to being questioned.

  5. Morgan Myer
    2:56 pm, 10.11.10

    I loved this post Mary! How awesome that we go to a school where we can openly search out our Christian beliefs and talk about them with respected professor and our peers. But, I agree with a lot of the comments above in the fact that I do think that since God formed us and fashioned us, He put inside of us a part that will connect with Him mentally and emotionally. That is so cool that with technology now we can actually watch it light up! Great post Mary!

  6. Bradley Campbell
    3:57 pm, 10.11.10

    Mary, great post. I think you really touched on several of the thoughts that we had that day when we saw the video. We a really blessed to serve a God that ultimately is the author of everything about us. From the way we work biologically to how we perceive His influence in our lives. 1 Corinthians 12

  7. Stephanie Bell
    11:07 pm, 10.13.10

    I really liked your post. I believe that maybe having the part of the brain that creates “God experiences” helps prove that there is a god. And as each of us searches for the answer (assuming that we chose to) our faith is becoming stronger.

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