Introducing the brain: religions' effects (Introduction)

by David Turell , Wednesday, May 12, 2021, 16:10 (1081 days ago) @ dhw

DAVID: It seems our brain is built for religious practices and to benefit from them.

dhw: It seems to me that our brain evolved for social practices as well as for our own individual survival. It also evolved for us to ask questions, and since some of these are unanswerable, it may be that religions all grew from the same desire to find answers. However, I suspect that social practices evolved long before religions, and these practices were meant to be beneficial for all concerned. I fully accept that some people derive great comfort from belief in a loving superpower, and I also accept that some religions encourage and perform wonderful acts of humanitarian good. But I object very strongly to the implication that religion lies at the heart of all that is beneficial to humans. It also lies at the heart of much that is bad for humans. In fact it is only as “humanitarian” as the individuals who practise it. [...]

DAVID: Religions began because humans want explanations for everything they experience. It seems all ancient peoples invented explanatory gods for all the events they could not easily explain on a natural basis. Our modern religions grew out of those primitive beginnings and carry some of the primitive in present times.

dhw: I agree (se my bold above). It’s an important point, since there are/have been so many religions with so many different gods. The implication would seem to be that all the beliefs have sprung from the human imagination and not from any known facts. Of course many people claim to have had revelations, but these are not confined to a single religion or even a single God, so they can’t all be right!

DAVID: My simple belief comes from the necessity for intricate biochemical design must have a designing mind.

dhw: I totally respect your reasoning and your belief, and in your books you very wisely steer clear of organized religion and the many different types of designer(s) envisaged by believers. I’d be interested to know your own feelings about what I see as the author’s blinkered views on the good effects of religion.

It seems to me you always look at the bad. As a kid my religion taught me to be a good person. The fighting in Israel and Gaza currently is Iran pushing Hamas.