An American molecular geneticist has concluded after comparing more than 2,000 DNA samples that a person’s capacity to believe in God is linked to brain chemicals.
His findings have been criticized by leading clerics, who challenge the existence of a “God gene” and say the research undermines a fundamental tenet of faith — that spiritual enlightenment is achieved through divine transformation rather than the brain’s electrical impulses.
“Buddha, Muhammad and Jesus all shared a series of mystical experiences or alterations in consciousness and thus probably carried the gene,” he said. “This means that the tendency to be spiritual is part of genetic makeup. This is not a thing that is strictly handed down from parents to children. It could skip a generation. It’s like intelligence.”
And putting the best spin possible on this discovery…
“Religious believers can point to the existence of God genes as one more sign of the Creator’s ingenuity — a clever way to help humans acknowledge and embrace a divine presence,” he said.
“Religious believers can point to the existence of God genes as one more sign of the Creator’s ingenuity — a clever way to help humans acknowledge and embrace a divine presence,”
Why? Why not just make all humans belive and worship Him? Why put the choice (which really isn’t a choice the way He puts it) to humans? If the main thing that God wants is for you to believe in him and worship him…being that this is the big, unforgivable sin…why did he build into us the ability to even choose not to believe in him? Free will?
But wait, if He’s is all powerful and knows the ending to everything, He would already know before you’re even born if you’re going to believe in Him or not….if you’re going to go to heaven or hell. He already knows this right? So knowing this, HE’S the one that made you choose or not choose him…so He’s already predestined people to go to hell or heaven, no matter what you do really. If He doesn’t have power or knowledge like that, then He’s not all powerful, is He? There are cracks in His armor of logic.
A couple more years of evolution should beat that gene out of us I hope. Because I had thought by now people would have stopped thinking there’s this invisible man in the sky.
Next, the researcher will be looking for a Hell gene. This way God can easily tell which can gain entry to heaven and those relegated to the cheap seats in the afterlife.
“Why did he build into us the ability to even choose not to believe in him? Free will?”
You’ve just answered your question — Free will. God gave us the privillage to think on our own. He created us in his image of Man. Since the beginning we are born into sin, it goes back into the scriptures where it says where God allowed us (with a pure heart) to rule the world until “Adam” submitted to the demon.
From there on, Jesus had to be sent to take back ownership. So we can only be born again through Jesus.
I hate to spark up religion, and believe me I used to be like the rest of you… always skeptical about “God” and “Jesus”, always finding out “loopholes” in the scriptures to DENY him..
All you are doing is being irrational and MISSING THE BIG PICTURE. We all strive for one thing in life right??? To be Happy..
Once again, I don’t want this to sound like a cliche, but have you ever had a horrible situation out of your league and just prayed to God, gave it your all and.. He delivered??? I had that so many times but yet.. I still sin over and over again and deny him over and over again…
You mean like the genetic predisposition for substance abuse? If you take a divinity away, people will worship other people or even the state. It’s a basic need of the masses, opiate or not. I’ve also seen a lot of people find God when death was at hand. It’s easy to criticism them unless you’ve been close yourself and survived.
As a person immersed in religion, I have observed and think about this issue a lot.
It seems to me that perception of God IS part of the brain. Unfortunaley this belief of mine really doesn’t solve much.
Are those of us who percieve God delusional or do we just have fully-functioning?
Are those who don’t percieve God rational or are they perceptionally disabled?
Like any leftover from our Stone Age evolution, the religion gene serves no useful purpose. The most inquisitive minds — even at the cave entrance — always sought to understand reality rather than comfort in having phenomenon explained away by mystery.
Though I’ve participated in genetic research (which confirmed earlier archaeological analysis of Celtic evolution), I’ve always wondered if I was one of those fortunate folks whose evolution had proceeded ahead naturally enough — dropping aside that religion gene like any other dross.
Certainly, as a very young man, I had no problem whatsoever replacing superstition with science, logic and an ever-growing comprehension of material reality.
WKW — you’ve hit upon the real reason for churchmongers’ opposition to stem cell research. They’re afraid people might be able shoot up a bit of genetic material and rid themselves of superstition.
“All you are doing is being irrational and MISSING THE BIG PICTURE. We all strive for one thing in life right??? To be Happy..”–SilkySaul(#3)
God I hope that never becomes my primary mission in life.
I meant to say in the end, all we seek is happiness unless you like staying miserable your whole like KB. Or you’re probably taking the word “Happy” in another way. I’m not hear to judge so don’t think I have a “nagging” finger =P
No, SIlkySaul, I meant exactly what I said, I think that anyone who asserts that “all we seek is happiness” needs to re-order his priorities.
If I had to make a choice to believe a lie and be happy, or to know the truth and be unhappy, I would choose to know the truth.
(1) – one thing – there is a difference between pre-knowledge and pre-destination – it is a subtle distinction, but a distinction nonetheless. The first is your decision, the second is His. Also, are the chemicals (whose existence should be verified by further testing) the result of the religion, or the religion the result of the chemicals? Just because you can see a relationship, you can’t neccesarily determine which way the cause-and-effect goes. Furthermore – how international was his sample? Religion is often passed down from generation to generation – the majority of American fundamentalist Christians, for instance, would have very similar ethnic/genetic backgrounds.
Actually religion is souly genetic!
Someone had to say it.
re: Comment #3
“Once again, I don’t want this to sound like a cliche, but have you ever had a horrible situation out of your league and just prayed to God, gave it your all and.. He delivered???”
Poor logic here. Who says getting what you want just because you prayed for it is due to a higher power? One of two things will happen if you pray. Your prayer will be answered, or denied. In either case, religious folk always claim that God is repsonsible for both cases. If it’s answered, then “God heard my prayer”. If it’s not, then it’s “God is testing me” or “God is angry with me” or “I didn’t pray hard enough”, or whatever. No matter what the outcome, theists are ALWAYS going to say that God determined the outcome.
This is exactly how faith healers prey on the gullible.
religion,
started in the confines for the need to gather.. spread and pass information, problems, needs, Judgements, Jurisprudance and solutions and ideas.
someone took it abit further, and gathered those of LIKE mind, and thoughts. those that had TIME enough to THINK to much(philosophers). that came to an IDEA, that SOMETHING or SOMEONE must be greater then THEY were, as in all of nature, there is ALWAYS something better/stronger/smarter, then the one below.
they believed they WERe the top, and something had to be ABOVE them, to give them purpose and something to AIM for. Otherwise there was no reason to BE at the top, of the food chain, with no place to go.
They IDEALIZED the best. and it became worshiping…
From the Old gods, hercules, samson, Zeus, Samhein and all those from before, we slowly came to 1 god(mostly) with a few fighters around him(archangels).
It is still a gathering place to share, and jurisprudance, but many have specialized it…THINK this way, or THAT way, BUT NOT THEIR way..
Many have TRIEd to use it as a control, esp against the POOR and illiterate, and STILL is being used. governments, politicians(wide definition), and power hungery Zeolots…
Great legs on that Angel
I’ve always thought there was a “God” gene. If I claimed that mankind was brought here by another alien race, (think of Star trek) and “implanted” with the natural believe in a “GOD”, I bet “most” average people would give me a strange look, pat me on the head and chuckle. In other words, they would think I was crazy.
But these same average people, believe, without an ounce of evidence, or logic, that a “GOD”, who knows all, sees all, lives forever, can do no wrong, and is “perfect”, created man, and some believe this GOD sent his “son”, to become one of us. Which senerio is more logical?
Seems to me that we are programmed to believe in GOD, and to laugh out loud at any believe in UFO’s, Aliens, etc.. I can hear you laughing now…
#17…stevie….actually it was the aliens that programed our gene’s to believe in God and laugh at UFO’S to keep us off their trail.
I was brought up with no beliefs, but even my
parents taught me to repect others peoples
beliefs. Basically i think you guys are
behaving like uncultured children with a
social death wish. By the way I’m a God
believer now. When this world wakes up,
any of you that survive, through some
fortuitous survival instinct despite being
unspiritual, will find yourselves at odds with
the entire universe… but thats not my prob i guess…
That God gene or whatnot exists not merely in physical form but in spirit as well, and this has been available to ALL who want it:
Indeed Heb 8:10 says, I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.
ok iv seen the comments about the god gene and that pppl r pissing and moning about y did he give us a chose right well think about this u morones what if god was an alien and we r just genetic exspearment and all that crap in the bible was just a time in witch they were here testing are genes hiyler dicover it the perfect race the one he call airein but he was wrong to they were called nafilum the were the so called childer of the so called angles thst mated with the man and beast of this plant