Scientists Resort To Calling Christians Crazy – ‘New Study’ Attempts to Establish Link Between Religious Fundamentalism and Brain Damage
Mar 17, 2018 19:07:09 #
Nate Brown ~ March 13, 2018
Scientists from Northwestern University published a study in the journal Neuropsychologia attempting to establish a link between religious fundamentalism and brain impairment.
The findings suggest that religious fundamentalists have less cognitive flexibility, in addition, the study states that damage to particular areas of the prefrontal cortex indirectly promotes religious fundamentalism. In other words, science is now attempting to say that those who believe the Bible have brain damage.
The prefrontal cortex is a region of the brain which is implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. The most well-known function of this region is considered to be executive function; “abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social “control” (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially unacceptable outcomes).”
The study was led by Jordan Grafman of Northwestern University and utilized data from Vietnam War Veterans. The veterans were chosen because a large number of them had damage to brain areas suspected of playing a critical role in functions related to religious fundamentalism. CT scans were taken from both a group of healthy Veterans and the aforementioned group, in addition, the majority of those tested identified as Christian.
The scientists who conducted the study believe that adherence to religious fundamentalism is the result of some form of brain damage whether it be by brain trauma, a psychological disorder, a drug or alcohol addiction, or simply a particular genetic profile. Also, the scientists believe that in the near future, through various kinds of mental and cognitive exercises the adherence to religious fundamentalism can be eradicated.
Science has yet to disprove the possibility of God and as a result, have resorted to calling those who adhere to a belief system as damaged.
The Abstract:
Beliefs profoundly affect people’s lives, but their cognitive and neural pathways are poorly understood. Although previous research has identified the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as critical to representing religious beliefs, the means by which vmPFC enables religious belief is uncertain. We hypothesized that the vmPFC represents diverse religious beliefs and that a vmPFC lesion would be associated with religious fundamentalism or the narrowing of religious beliefs. To test this prediction, we assessed religious adherence with a widely-used religious fundamentalism scale in a large sample of 119 patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI). If the vmPFC is crucial to modulating diverse personal religious beliefs, we predicted that pTBI patients with lesions to the vmPFC would exhibit greater fundamentalism, and that this would be modulated by cognitive flexibility and trait openness. Instead, we found that participants with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions have fundamentalist beliefs similar to patients with vmPFC lesions and that the effect of a dlPFC lesion on fundamentalism was significantly mediated by decreased cognitive flexibility and openness. These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility and openness are necessary for flexible and adaptive religious commitment, and that such diversity of religious thought is dependent on dlPFC functionality.
According to the Study, religious fundamentalism refers to an ideology that emphasizes traditional religious texts and discourages progressive thinking about religion and social issues. In addition, religious fundamentalism according to Wikipedia:
Christian fundamentalism began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misinterpreted or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, that they viewed as the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Fundamentalists are almost always described as having a literal interpretation of the Bible. A few scholars regard Catholics who reject modern theology in favor of more traditional doctrines as fundamentalists. Scholars debate how much the terms”evangelical” and “fundamentalist” are synonymous. In keeping with traditional Christian doctrines concerning biblical interpretation, the role Jesus plays in the Bible, and the role of the church in society, fundamentalists usually believe in a core of Christian beliefs that include the historical accuracy of the Bible and all its events as well as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The world over, there are roughly 2.3 billion Christians, according to the Pew Research Center, most of which adhere to the basic belief of God and the moral absolutism as described in the Bible, which is considered religious fundamentalism. As per the aforementioned study and the generic description of religious fundamentalism, apparently, all of them are considered to have some form of brain damage.
The research into such was incredibly biased because the subjects were all veterans. How can one make a generalization about all Fundamental Christians without including a wide variety within the study? By studying only Vietnam veterans, the majority of whom have faced injury in one particular part of the brain, psychologists are attempting to connect to their beliefs, the results can easily be interpreted to say that Christian fundamentalists have brain damage, but what about the rest of the community that was left out of the study? Why weren’t Fundamental Christians who had not faced injury or the trauma of war included in the study?
Astonishingly rather than believe in a creator, science would have us believe that humanity originated from either comet dust, Martians, and or have evolved from absolutely nothing. Science has one sound problem with its determination that God doesn’t exist, they have no evidence of the latter, rather evolutionists utilize indoctrination, militant ideology, and demoralizing methodology to obliterate any remaining decency.
One question, in regards to the argument of creation vs evolution, if humanity evolved sequentially from nothing, how did intelligence originate?
Regardless of your stance on the previously mentioned psychological matter, if you define your moral obligations to uphold simple laws such as not to murder and not to steal, please know that the origins of such have resulted from adherence to the Bible, or what scientists call religious fundamentalism. The adherence to these simple Biblical points have t***slated into laws which are still carried out across the world today. Tracing the origins of modern society, we find the morality that encompasses our legal system is defined squarely by the Bible.
So who are the ones who are brain-damaged?
Scientists from Northwestern University published a study in the journal Neuropsychologia attempting to establish a link between religious fundamentalism and brain impairment.
The findings suggest that religious fundamentalists have less cognitive flexibility, in addition, the study states that damage to particular areas of the prefrontal cortex indirectly promotes religious fundamentalism. In other words, science is now attempting to say that those who believe the Bible have brain damage.
The prefrontal cortex is a region of the brain which is implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behavior. The most well-known function of this region is considered to be executive function; “abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social “control” (the ability to suppress urges that, if not suppressed, could lead to socially unacceptable outcomes).”
The study was led by Jordan Grafman of Northwestern University and utilized data from Vietnam War Veterans. The veterans were chosen because a large number of them had damage to brain areas suspected of playing a critical role in functions related to religious fundamentalism. CT scans were taken from both a group of healthy Veterans and the aforementioned group, in addition, the majority of those tested identified as Christian.
The scientists who conducted the study believe that adherence to religious fundamentalism is the result of some form of brain damage whether it be by brain trauma, a psychological disorder, a drug or alcohol addiction, or simply a particular genetic profile. Also, the scientists believe that in the near future, through various kinds of mental and cognitive exercises the adherence to religious fundamentalism can be eradicated.
Science has yet to disprove the possibility of God and as a result, have resorted to calling those who adhere to a belief system as damaged.
The Abstract:
Beliefs profoundly affect people’s lives, but their cognitive and neural pathways are poorly understood. Although previous research has identified the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) as critical to representing religious beliefs, the means by which vmPFC enables religious belief is uncertain. We hypothesized that the vmPFC represents diverse religious beliefs and that a vmPFC lesion would be associated with religious fundamentalism or the narrowing of religious beliefs. To test this prediction, we assessed religious adherence with a widely-used religious fundamentalism scale in a large sample of 119 patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI). If the vmPFC is crucial to modulating diverse personal religious beliefs, we predicted that pTBI patients with lesions to the vmPFC would exhibit greater fundamentalism, and that this would be modulated by cognitive flexibility and trait openness. Instead, we found that participants with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions have fundamentalist beliefs similar to patients with vmPFC lesions and that the effect of a dlPFC lesion on fundamentalism was significantly mediated by decreased cognitive flexibility and openness. These findings indicate that cognitive flexibility and openness are necessary for flexible and adaptive religious commitment, and that such diversity of religious thought is dependent on dlPFC functionality.
According to the Study, religious fundamentalism refers to an ideology that emphasizes traditional religious texts and discourages progressive thinking about religion and social issues. In addition, religious fundamentalism according to Wikipedia:
Christian fundamentalism began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries among British and American Protestants as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Fundamentalists argued that 19th-century modernist theologians had misinterpreted or rejected certain doctrines, especially biblical inerrancy, that they viewed as the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Fundamentalists are almost always described as having a literal interpretation of the Bible. A few scholars regard Catholics who reject modern theology in favor of more traditional doctrines as fundamentalists. Scholars debate how much the terms”evangelical” and “fundamentalist” are synonymous. In keeping with traditional Christian doctrines concerning biblical interpretation, the role Jesus plays in the Bible, and the role of the church in society, fundamentalists usually believe in a core of Christian beliefs that include the historical accuracy of the Bible and all its events as well as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The world over, there are roughly 2.3 billion Christians, according to the Pew Research Center, most of which adhere to the basic belief of God and the moral absolutism as described in the Bible, which is considered religious fundamentalism. As per the aforementioned study and the generic description of religious fundamentalism, apparently, all of them are considered to have some form of brain damage.
The research into such was incredibly biased because the subjects were all veterans. How can one make a generalization about all Fundamental Christians without including a wide variety within the study? By studying only Vietnam veterans, the majority of whom have faced injury in one particular part of the brain, psychologists are attempting to connect to their beliefs, the results can easily be interpreted to say that Christian fundamentalists have brain damage, but what about the rest of the community that was left out of the study? Why weren’t Fundamental Christians who had not faced injury or the trauma of war included in the study?
Astonishingly rather than believe in a creator, science would have us believe that humanity originated from either comet dust, Martians, and or have evolved from absolutely nothing. Science has one sound problem with its determination that God doesn’t exist, they have no evidence of the latter, rather evolutionists utilize indoctrination, militant ideology, and demoralizing methodology to obliterate any remaining decency.
One question, in regards to the argument of creation vs evolution, if humanity evolved sequentially from nothing, how did intelligence originate?
Regardless of your stance on the previously mentioned psychological matter, if you define your moral obligations to uphold simple laws such as not to murder and not to steal, please know that the origins of such have resulted from adherence to the Bible, or what scientists call religious fundamentalism. The adherence to these simple Biblical points have t***slated into laws which are still carried out across the world today. Tracing the origins of modern society, we find the morality that encompasses our legal system is defined squarely by the Bible.
So who are the ones who are brain-damaged?
Mar 17, 2018 20:15:11 #
mwdegutis wrote:
i Nate Brown ~ March 13, 2018 /i br Scientists f... (show quote)
MW-
It's an interesting article, but personally I think it's a little treacherous to try and link low cognitive function to religious faith. To me it's sort of like trying to prove that being gay is genetic: there's a pre-supposition hidden in there that being gay is something that needs fixing. While I may not agree with their spiritual path, it's hardly up to me to decide that Fundamentalists need to be "fixed"
But I will point out that "..moral obligations to uphold simple laws such as not to murder and not to steal," were wise choices long before the Bible was in wide distribution, or even in a language that most people could understand. Religion of any sort is not necessary to understand that stealing and murder are bad things.
Mar 18, 2018 04:11:43 #
PaulPisces wrote:
MW- br br It's an interesting article, but perso... (show quote)
The link was to religious fundamentalism not religious faith. It's fundamentalism that led to radical Islam, to Jonesburg, to the Branch Davidian and countless other examples where ones belief becomes rigid as a rock...
Mar 18, 2018 04:12:55 #
mwdegutis wrote:
i Nate Brown ~ March 13, 2018 /i br Scientists f... (show quote)
This is an old topic MW and already hashed over for a week or more...
Mar 18, 2018 07:29:09 #
PeterS wrote:
The link was to religious fundamentalism not religious faith. It's fundamentalism that led to radical Islam, to Jonesburg, to the Branch Davidian and countless other examples where ones belief becomes rigid as a rock...
Hey DICKHEAD! I'm a fundamentalist! I believe in the FUNDAMENTALS of being a follower of Jesus Christ. And I can GUARANTEE you I am NOT brain-damaged!
Why don't you slither back under the rock from whence you came!
Mar 18, 2018 08:05:08 #
mwdegutis wrote:
Hey DICKHEAD! I'm a fundamentalist! I believe in the FUNDAMENTALS of being a follower of Jesus Christ. And I can GUARANTEE you I am NOT brain-damaged!
Why don't you slither back under the rock from whence you came!
Why don't you slither back under the rock from whence you came!
Well how wonderful for you but I stand by my statement--it's fundamentalism that led to radical Islam, Jonestown, the Branch Dravidian and every form of religious radicalism that there is. If a religious group commits suicide so they can be beamed up to the mother ship look to fundamentalism as the cause.
As for your sanity, the more fundamental you are the more irrational you become and the less of grip you have on reality. Once that grip is weak enough you can be commanded to do any thing the religious authority figure demands...
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/how-do-you-distinguish-between-religious-fervor-and-mental-illness/
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13218719.2016.1160005?src=recsys&journalCode=tppl20
https://www.thecut.com/2014/08/can-harsh-fundamentalism-lead-to-mental-illness.html
https://mic.com/articles/45811/religious-fundamentalism-is-a-mental-illness-that-could-soon-be-cured#.kKNRZoi3w
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/kathleen-taylor-religious-fundamentalism-mental-illness_n_3365896.html
And this is only part way down the page....
Mar 18, 2018 17:27:43 #
PeterS wrote:
Well how wonderful for you but I stand by my state... (show quote)
The list below defines the fundamental beliefs of Christianity. A person who rejects these beliefs is NOT a Christian fundamentalist. Therefore, Christian fundamentalism has never led to as I quote you, “radical Islam, Jonestown, the Branch Dravidian and every form of religious radicalism that there is.”
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus from Nazareth is the promised Messiah of Jews, of whom it was prophesized in the sacred books of the Old Testament. Therefore, we call this promised Messiah as Jesus Christ.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, the perfect God and the perfect man, who walked among us in Israel 2000 years ago.
• We believe in the Apostolic Teaching that there is only one God who is revealed as a triune Personal God, eternally manifested in three Holy Persons: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three Persons of God's Being have the same divine and eternal nature.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ is the unique son of God, being the second Holy Person of Godhead, who is eternal and share the same divine nature as the Father.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ was born as a human being through the virgin birth.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ physically died at the Cross of Golgotha. We recognize His death as the Atoning Sacrifice for Mankind's sins. Only His pure sinless blood can have the power to clean us from all our sins. This atoning power of Christ's blood is only effective for those who are in Christ.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected from death.
• We believe in the Apostolic Testimony that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now in Heaven.
• The Church is the Living Body of all genuine followers of Christ. All followers of Christ are children of God, and as such they are in Christ. All children of God have the Holy Spirit in their lives. To be in Christ is to submit to Christ's Teaching. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. Jesus Christ is our Lord.
• We believe that in the future there will be a glorious event of Christ's Return for His Church.
• Our only authority is the 66 sacred books of the Bible. The Bible is the necessary and sufficient authority of the Church. Therefore, the Bible is the Supreme Authority for the Church.
• The sacred books of the Bible were inspired by God, written by Prophets and Apostles. Therefore, the Bible is the infallible authority for the Church.
• Our only tradition is the tradition of the Apostolic Teaching and Practice, and we do not recognize other traditions as our authority. Apostle Paul admonished to all followers of Christ: "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle (2 Timothy 2:15)."
• The Bible is a closed canon of holy books. The Bible is our necessary and sufficient supreme authority in our lives.
• A person becomes a child of God by believing in the necessity of Christ's Atoning Sacrifice for his or her sins, and by believing that Jesus Christ bodily resurrected from the death, and by acknowledging his or her sins, and by asking God for forgiveness, and by repenting from sins. Such person becomes reconciled with God through Jesus Christ.
• There is Heaven and there is Hell. Anyone who is in Christ will have an everlasting life and have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. Anyone who is not in Christ will end in Hell.
• It is not the Church who saves, but it is Jesus Christ. But a genuine follower of Christ would long for a fellowship with people who belong to God, because all followers of Christ are true brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God.
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