From the “Check It Out Department”

 

Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief
by Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene Aquili, M.D., Ph.D.
Published: Mar 2002 (Paperback), Published: Apr 2001 (Hardcover). Ballantine Books. Paperback suggested retail price is $14 in the USA and $21 in Canada

 

 

Many used copies available on Amazon.com for around $7 each:

Why God Won't Go Away
by ANDREW MD NEWBERG, EUGENE G. D'AQUILI, VINCE RAUSE

 

 

Question: Is there a link between sexual pleasure and religious or transcendent experiences? Got your attention, yes? This is only one of the myriad questions and issues explored in this very insightful book by two veteran brain researchers. If you have $7-14 and a few hours of reading time to spare, you owe it to yourself to acquire this delightfully informative and insightful exploration of the biology that gives rise to and informs belief.

 

Back to the sex-spirituality question: From page 125…

 

“…the neurological machinery of transcendence may have arisen from the neural circuitry that evolved for mating and sexual experience. The language of mysticism hints at this connection….

 

And from page 126                             

 

An evolutionary perspective suggests that the neurobiology of mystical experience arose, at least in part, from the mechanism of the sexual response.

 

 

Kirkus Reviews


Science meets religion meets good writing. Over a century ago, Nietzsche declared that God was dead, but He just doesn't seem to go away. The authors use science to try and explain religion, not explain it away. They do not conclude that mystical experiences are baloney simply because the brain has something to do with them. It's no accident that the human brain is wired to help folks get religion, the authors insist, but an evolutionary advantage: religious people tend to have fewer strokes, lower blood pressure, and better overall health than unbelievers. Nietzsche and other modern prophets predicted the end of religion, but that's unlikely to happen unless the human brain changes. An intriguing study for skeptics and believers alike.

 

http://www.bookbrowse.com/index.cfm?page=title&titleID=788&view=review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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