American Unitarian Conference Forum

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?article...=1&catID=2

Searching for God in the Brain
Researchers are unearthing the roots of religious feeling in the neural commotion that accompanies the spiritual epiphanies of nuns, Buddhists and other people of faith
By David Biello

From the October 2007 issue of Scientific American Mind

(Conclusion)

"Moreover, no matter what neural correlates scientists may find, the results cannot prove or disprove the existence of God. Although atheists might argue that finding spirituality in the brain implies that religion is nothing more than divine delusion, the nuns were thrilled by their brain scans for precisely the opposite reason: they seemed to provide confirmation of God’s interactions with them. After all, finding a cerebral source for spiritual experiences could serve equally well to identify the medium through which God reaches out to humanity."
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As expected, a purely materialistic approach to find God in the brain provides interesting test results but in the end inconclusive findings....one takes away from the results what one desires...God remains illusive.

This is interesting. I once read of a phenomenon called the "God Voice". It is a powerful sensory experience of hearing a disembodied "Voice". It is not just experienced by individuals, but sometimes by entire groups and populations.

The "voice" is an overwhelming, booming, masculine voice which actually exists within ones mind, but is interpreted as coming from outside or "above". Studies indicate that the phenomenon is related to tectonic plate friction in the earth. When the plates create enough friction they emit both vibrational and electro-magnetic radiation. This radiation triggers the a strong sense of an external "presence" in the human brain and can result in the hearing of a great voice.

Scientists have speculated that this explains the way monotheistic religion evolved in the East, where tectonic and volcanic activity is very high. It was suggested that the Jews at Sinai shared a collective experience of this phenomena.

I have heard this "voice" over two periods in my life. As a child I heard it speak my name a few times over a period when our region experienced minor earthquakes. (These are very rare in PA)

I heard it agian about a year or so ago under the same circumstances.

To me, it does not mater if this is indeed the voice Moses heard. The fact that he heard it is what counts, not the medium. In fact, if indeed Moses was the only one present who was receptive to actually hearing God, such a mechanism would be necessary for the less sensitive to also hear the voice. (Mysterious ways)

Kenn

Hmm...very odd...this is related to the ghost like phenomenon that is caused by electromagentic waves...some homes etc. are subject to naturally high electromagnetic radiaton due to natural geologic features and the effect on the brain is to induce ghostlike events.  The question I have is why would these natural phenomena induce these specific events...why not flying dogs or purple haze as opposed to supernaturalistic human type phenomena.  The fact you have direct experience is noteworthy...you can speak to the effect.  From a physiologic basis ...from seizures to other organic conditions...similar phenomenon are experienced.  Paul's Damascus Road experience has been described as a classic seizure event.  Is all of human religion due to errant brain misfirings in people of influence?  Is there a ghost in the machine?  Are we like a t.v. or radio...able to pick up the divine but only "through the glass darkly"?  If the wiring is broken...do we get jihadists?  
Just some things to ponder.

The reason it triggers a very specific response is that it seems to effect the parts of the brain associated with hearing and perception. Even if the actual "sound" is nothing but static, the brain will try and make sense of the information. This could manifest in very predictable and consistent ways.

About 20 years I wrote and published a book about the Irish Faery phenomenon. In my research I found that it is largely believed that the "Ley lines" of Europe produce effects like those you mention above. Are these impressions just "brain garbage" or does the Ley-energy really open the mind to other perceptions? I believed the latter to be true.

However, that does not mean that I think the same of the "God Voice" phenomenon. That, I think, is just what the evidence suggests.

There is a difference between the two phenomena. The Faery version being more complex and less predictable experience, whereas the God-voice is very specific and its effects are largely predictable.

If exposure to the Lay lines assists the brains perceptions, the tectonic energy seems to just short it out.

Kenn

Just a quick Google search turned up this info...from an evangelical perspective:

http://www.layhands.com/HowToHearGodsVoice.htm

"The Four Voices We Hear

There are actually four types of "voices" which we hear speaking to us, and it is important that we learn to distinguish each one so that we are able to discern the true voice of God:

The voice that is perhaps the most obvious is our own voice. In addition to our speaking voice, we also talk to ourselves inside our heads, we see images and pictures inside our heads, we have emotions and feelings and desires, and so on. Our minds tell us what we think, our wills tell us what we want, and our emotions tell us how we feel. The Bible refers to our minds, wills, and emotions as our "flesh nature," and this article will give you a better understanding of the "voice" of the flesh.

Another type of voice which clamors for our attention is the "voice" of other people. Sometimes people say things which are true, noble, and good, and sometimes people say things which are just the opposite. This article will provide some guidance to help you discern what you are hearing from the "voice" of other people.

The third type of voice is the "voice" of the devil. The devil has crafty ways of speaking to us which he has perfected over the millennia. He does not appear before us in a red, cloven-hoofed suit and speak out loud to us, he is much more subtle than that. What he does is to throw thoughts into our minds like flaming arrows, and he speaks to us through the worldly ideas and viewpoints that he has injected into other people. By the time you finish this article you will have a better understanding of how to "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16).

The fourth and final type of voice is the most important, but it is also the most subtle. It is the voice of God. God does not speak to us in our minds, He speaks to us in our spirits because that is where the Holy Spirit lives. Unfortunately, we tend to spend most of our thought life in our heads, in other words in "the mind of the flesh" (Romans 8:7, AMP), focused on the sensory world around us where our physical senses and our thoughts, feelings, desires, and emotions are constantly being bombarded and stimulated in worldly, carnal, fleshly ways. We tend to live on the shallow surface, so to speak, rarely venturing deeper where the Spirit of God lives within us. The result is that many of us do not know where our spirits are nor how to hear and be led by our spirits. Because of this we leave ourselves wide open to fall for the many deceptions of the devil. This article will help you to begin recognizing the leadings and promptings that are coming from your spirit, and how to be more Spirit-led.