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Born to Believe

GracieRuth

GracieRuth

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Aug 19, 2011
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Yeah I think it's part of consciousness, the ability to grasp the divine. The higher thought process we have is the journey to God throughout time and people.
 
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In order to know if this is true, an infant would have to be isolated from human contact ... as in the case of "feral children." Child development is a fascinating subject. We are shaped by our surroundings. Stimuli is what feeds brain development in children, if there is no stimuli ... what does this brain look like?

Scientists believe that language is acquired most easily during the first ten years of life. During these years, the circuits in children’s brains become wired for how their own language sounds. An infant’s repeated exposure to words clearly helps her brain build the neural connections that will enable her to learn more words later on. Language can be learned a multitude of ways, like casual conversation, songs, rhymes, reading, music, story telling and much more. Early stimulation sets the stage for how children will learn and interact with others throughout life. A child’s experiences, good or bad, influence the wiring of his brain and the connection in his nervous system. Loving interactions with caring adults strongly stimulate a child’s brain, causing synapses to grow and existing connections to get stronger. Connections that are used become permanent. If a child receives little stimulation early on, the synapses will not develop, and the brain will make fewer connections.
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http://umaine.edu/publications/4356e/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child

[video=youtube;hKVYaOI-6RY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKVYaOI-6RY[/video]
 
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I agree with the book (at least based on the article.) As for atheism or other "non-religious" belief systems, they still have a religion, though they might not call it that. The "logical" person that believes in the theory of evolution or the big bang theory has made that (at least part) of their religion, and the science that creates those theories is (again, at least in part) their God. Those who simply "don't concern themselves with such things" likely seek a god in other things, whether it's acquiring money, following celebrities, drinking, drugs, sex, or other vices that they try to fill that part of themselves with (the God seeking part.)
 
Sriracha said:
In order to know if this is true, an infant would have to be isolated from human contact ... as in the case of "feral children." Child development is a fascinating subject. We are shaped by our surroundings. Stimuli is what feeds brain development in children, if there is no stimuli ... what does this brain look like?
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Feral children don't show us human beings in our natural state but rather human beings when deprived of experiences at critical times in development. For example, we know the human mind is hardwired for language, but feral children do not speak. If you block a kitten's ability to see at a certain point of development, unblocking the eyes later in life will not undo their blindness even though there is nothing biologically wrong with the eyes. A brain must interact in order to develop properly.
 
No offense intended AKM, but you are making a generalization which I'm not at all sure is accurate. I accept both evolution and the big bang, but don't consider them part of my religion (Judaism) nor do I consider science to be my G-d. Rather, the Creator is my G-d. I do agree with you that there are some atheists who act similarly to fundamentalists. However, I just think you are mistaken to lump all atheists into that one box.
 
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GracieRuth said:
Feral children don't show us human beings in our natural state but rather human beings when deprived of experiences at critical times in development. For example, we know the human mind is hardwired for language, but feral children do not speak. If you block a kitten's ability to see at a certain point of development, unblocking the eyes later in life will not undo their blindness even though there is nothing biologically wrong with the eyes. A brain must interact in order to develop properly.
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Well exactly, and you were asking if we are "born" into a belief system. In the most basic, primal way, devoid of human contact ... the answer would be "no." However we are exposed to the "idea" of religion and a supreme being at an early age ... if not by atheist parents, we know by watching others.
 
Then you have missed the whole point. The question was not whether we are born into a particular belief system, but whether we are hardwired for religious belief in general. It's analogical to language: we are hardwired to learn language, but what language we learn depends on the family/culture into which we are born.

Since no one has picked up on my subtlety, I'll be much more frank. A child who is mute has a disability -- normal children learn to speak. If this claim about hardwired religion is true, it would mean that atheists suffer a disability.
 
I've posted something similar before.

If you are asking what is the singular root cause for human spirituality despite all the variation in the world, then the answer is an individual being's recognition of mortality. Death is simultaneously life's greatest surety and unknown variable; the one thing we find to be inevitable and the greatest cause of confusion and doubt. All the various world religions are built upon this core argument either explicity or implicitly.
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Link
 
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i don't believe one can be hardwired for religion. religion is a human construct, not a physiological one.
perhaps it would be more accurate to say that children are more likely to believe in things they cannot prove or see. it's called a rich fantasy life.
i don't believe that any child would refer to god in any way had someone or something not put the idea into their head in the first place
to suggest that athiests are disabled in some way because they don't believe in a god is a real big stretch.
 
As a child, I used to think there were apples in my knee caps instead of bone and cartilage and that the baby was brought out along with the wedding cake at the reception.
Perhaps I was right all along..
 
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[MENTION=4576]GracieRuth[/MENTION] What is the point of a discussion when you think you already know the answer? I don't mean to be rude, but I see this often in your posts. When someone doesn't see something your way, they are automatically "missing the point" or "wrong." Could it be that you are "missing the point" and "wrong"? Or is that even possible?
 
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I absolutely don't believe in this, and besides not making sense, this doesn't align with my personal observations nor does the article cite any research, except for that book, which is written by an obviously biased man. Maybe we are hardwired for seeking/wanting meaning, for motivation, a will to meaning - this seems to hold up in practice, and religion is just one flavor of that.
 
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We're also hard wired to believe in Santa and the tooth fairy. It's usually labled under "lies parents tell impressionable children to keep them in line."
 
GracieRuth said:
Since no one has picked up on my subtlety, I'll be much more frank. A child who is mute has a disability -- normal children learn to speak. If this claim about hardwired religion is true, it would mean that atheists suffer a disability.
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Curious use of word disability. Disability implies impaired health and/or cognitive functioning and general life quality. If something is an aberration from the common blue print, it's not necessarily a disability. Unless you're implying religiosity leads to radically better life quality and overall health, which could be compared to the difference between a retarded person and an individual of a normal or above average IQ, or an immobile and an able bodied person.
 
GracieRuth said:
No offense intended AKM, but you are making a generalization which I'm not at all sure is accurate. I accept both evolution and the big bang, but don't consider them part of my religion (Judaism) nor do I consider science to be my G-d. Rather, the Creator is my G-d. I do agree with you that there are some atheists who act similarly to fundamentalists. However, I just think you are mistaken to lump all atheists into that one box.
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(Since I wasn't quoted or mentioned in this reply I almost missed that there was a response directed at me...)
Yes, these are generalities, since asking 100 people what they believe will get you 100 answers. The less specific generality that was my point (which my examples maybe took away from: ) Those who do not believe in a god or "higher being" seem to try to fill a "void" in their life with SOMETHING. What that SOMETHING is varies.
 
AKM said:
(Since I wasn't quoted or mentioned in this reply I almost missed that there was a response directed at me...)
Yes, these are generalities, since asking 100 people what they believe will get you 100 answers. The less specific generality that was my point (which my examples maybe took away from: ) Those who do not believe in a god or "higher being" seem to try to fill a "void" in their life with SOMETHING. What that SOMETHING is varies.
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I don't feel a void in my life that needs fillin'.
Maybe religious folks pursue god because it fills in some short coming of theirs. It could be argued either way.

I'm an agnostic, and feel that I've got everything I need. Good relationships, a curious mind, an appreciation for beauty and life, and the autonomy to make the most of it.

There could be a god, but I don't care.
I don't see what good comes of pursuing answers we'll never have. The world doesn't seem to be a better place because people believe in god. People who believe don't necessarily seem happier than me or those who don't believe in god. It's just one more thing to argue about.
 
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acd said:
I don't feel a void in my life that needs fillin'.
Maybe religious folks pursue god because it fills in some short coming of theirs. It could be argued either way.

I'm an agnostic, and feel that I've got everything I need. Good relationships, a curious mind, an appreciation for beauty and life, and the autonomy to make the most of it.

There could be a god, but I don't care.
I don't see what good comes of pursuing answers we'll never have. The world doesn't seem to be a better place because people believe in god. People who believe don't necessarily seem happier than me or those who don't believe in god. It's just one more thing to argue about.
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I really don't like arguing, I was just posting my thought on the idea of us being born to believe. It's just that, my thought. By my thinking, you having no void means that it IS filled, whether consciously or not. Perhaps you've filled it with appreciation for nature, or with your relationships. You are entitled to not care if there is a god. Those who do believe in God may or may not love Him. Those that do generally want to please him, which means treating others well. If more people did love God the world could be a better place because we would treat each other with love and kindness.
 
AKM said:
I really don't like arguing, I was just posting my thought on the idea of us being born to believe. It's just that, my thought. By my thinking, you having no void means that it IS filled, whether consciously or not. Perhaps you've filled it with appreciation for nature, or with your relationships. You are entitled to not care if there is a god. Those who do believe in God may or may not love Him. Those that do generally want to please him, which means treating others well. If more people did love God the world could be a better place because we would treat each other with love and kindness.
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It's hard not to argue with statements like this, though.
One person already made the absurd comment that athiests are disabled, and you assert that people can only love one another and be kind to one another if they love god and want to please god.
 
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acd said:
It's hard not to argue with statements like this, though.
One person already made the absurd comment that athiests are disabled, and you assert that people can only love one another and be kind to one another if they love god and want to please god.
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It is absurd to say that atheists are disabled. I did not say that people can only love one another etc. if they love God. I'm saying that those that DO love God are prone to be kind to others. I've certainly met people who don't believe in God that are kind to others. My husband is one of them. Of the angry, spiteful, antagonistic folks I've met, they don't believe in God, or if they do, they don't love Him. All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares.
 
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