Hardwired for belief
There is a lengthy article in the New York Times about the 'evolutionary benefit' of belief in God. Many of the scientists interviewed for the article are puzzled at belief in things that do not correspond to the physical world, saying that such faith “does not appear to be a reasonable evolutionary strategy.” On a small scale, this could be an abberation, but the worldwide belief in some form of god is problematic for them.
'When a trait is universal, evolutionary biologists look for a genetic explanation and wonder how that gene or genes might enhance survival or reproductive success ... So many aspects of religious belief involve misattribution and misunderstanding of the real world. Wouldn’t this be a liability in the survival-of-the-fittest competition?'Some scientists take the position that religious belief is a kind of security blanket, a delusion developed to shield ourselves from stress and fear. This is the view that religious belief survives because it is a beneficial evolutionary adaptation.
Others in the field poke holes in this thinking, saying "The human mind does not produce adequate comforting delusions against all situations of stress or fear." This opposing position holds that religious belief is simply a byproduct of having large, complex brains.
Those in the scientific realm can't decide if our faith is a blessing or a fluke.
The Bible is clear about our nature, clear that we are made with both body and spirit, and that both have needs. In Amos, the Lord speaks about the 400 'silent years' that were to come before Christ, and how we would react.
'Behold the days are coming' says the Lord God, 'that I will send a famine on the land. Not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east. They shall run to and fro seeking the word of the LORD, but shall not find it.' Amos 8:11-12
Though we seek purpose and run after belief, any effort to find meaning on our own is useless. Paul is clear that even our knowledge of God is a gift.
'Now we have recieved, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.' ... 'But the natural man does not recieve the things of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.' 1 Cor 2:12 & 14
Faith is foolishness to the natural man. It does not appear to be a reasonable evolutionary strategy.
It is not. Our ability and propensity to believe in God are part of his strategy for redeeming us.
3 comments:
Your last sentence sums it up neatly. With a God-consciousnous built into the very fiber of our being and a creation that displays His handiwork, how can we not know He exists? I found it ironic that the photo at the top of that article revealed a beautiful, amazing pattern in the stars. How could that pattern exist without a Designer?
A friend forwarded me this article, and I found it fascinating. I really like your tie-in to that prophecy in Amos; it illustrates how the human heart (brain) is desperate for God.
When I read the article, I immediately thought of Romans 1 that tells us the truth about God is known to us instinctively. I especially appreciated Justin Barrett's perspective as a believer. People on both sides — science and religion — seem to get huffy when something supernatural can be explained scientifically. I liked Barrett's response: “Suppose science produces a convincing account for why I think my wife loves me — should I then stop believing that she does?”
Interesting article. I really enjoyed Justin Barrets thoughts and unique perspective. As a scientist I am routinely frustrated by both sides (religion and science) seperating the issue and I agree with Justin that you need to consider both science and religion together.
Personal example - two weeks ago my 2 1/2 yr old stuck a pair of tweezers in a light socket. Zachary received a little shock but nothing like the cartoons depict with his hair standing straight up and black all over his face. Right after this happened someone commented that he must have angels watching over him. Well, yes, but we are told not to worry about our life because God cares for those He has created (Matthew 6:25-34) so technically everyone has guardian angels watching over them and as much as I think my munchkin is special God loves all of us and protects us how He sees fit.
Onto the science portion - most homes these days have GFCI outlets, or ground-fault circuit interrupter, that detects any imbalance in the flow of electrical current and trips the circuit. These are installed to protect us from faulty appliances or from situations as listed above. As a scientist I would say that the GFCI is why Zachary was not electrocuted. However, I would also say that the GFCI is possible because our loving God created us with incredible minds capable of designing and inventing such a device and creating electricians capable of wiring our house correctly for the device to work properly. I simply cannot divorce scientific logic and reason from my knowledge of God. As mentioned - to nonbelievers this is foolishness, but to a believing scientist it makes all the sense in the world
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