Do You Have A Use For Faith

The 21st century is a very busy time

The 21st century is a very busy time. We live in an age of ever changing technology; instant communications, space exploration and ever more scientific discoveries. With more and more experts coming up with explainations for all our problems, believing in something as nebulous as a God or a higher power seems very outdated. Is it? In this article, Rod Nicholson explores whether there is a place for faith in our modern world.

In recent studies drawn on faith, it has been found that a large number of the population still believe in something that cannot be factually proven, that is, they still have a faith. But does this mean people believe in something of use it as a comforting crutch; the desire to believe there is someone or something out there that can offer us help, something that does not need scientific proof.

Scientists can tell us a great many things, why tsunamis occur, tornadoes or floods. All of these are no longer put down to the wrath of God put given scientific names and explained rationally. The challenge for science and scientists is to discover why the brain is still prepared to suspend belief in the rational; prepared to accept and retain those experiences that lead to faith.

Todd Murphy, a Canadian behavioural neuroscientist, has stated that as early man was evolving, the brain developed dramatic cognitive skill that allowed man to raise questions such as "who am I?" or "why am I here" Questions of this gravity gave rise to faith, to the belief in a higher being than ourselves. This lead to religion, a wider group community that allowed people to bond, come together and therefore provide greater safety. It is suggested that this tendency was an evolutionary need.

But not all scientists agree with Todd Murphy's theory. Some scientists are trying to find out whether or not there is a biological basis for religious belief. Psychological tests on children discovered that they had no problem believing in a higher force. It is common for children to have imaginary friends. Tests were carried out at the University of San Diego which indicated that there could be a neural circuit whose function was conducive to this belief. They arrived at this conclusion after looking at people experienceing frontal lobe epileptic seizures. As they underwent these seizures they had deeply moving religious experiences.

Scans were carried out by radiologists at the University of Pennsylvania on a number of people all performing different religous exercised. Each exercise activated a different part of their brain. Professor Newberg discovered that the neural processing that explained why people had an experience of Oneness. The parietal lobe is that part of the brain that helps us orient ourselves by giving us our sense of self. If sensory information is stopped from getting into this lobe then we lose our sense of self and instead start to sense a feeling of oneness.

So where does all this research leave us? No so far from where we are rightnow. If you have faith then you will not be troubled by what the scientists have discovered. Whereas the non-believer will now say there is proof we are alone in the universe so why have a faith at all? Since the beginning of the world, people have felt the need to believe in something, a greater truth. Now as we progress further into the 21st century this need seems as great as ever. As long as people as the age old questions, "who am I" or "what am I doing here" then the need for faith will exist too.

by: Rod Nicholson

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