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Catholic Herald

Each time I walk through a forest park and absorb the smell of the trees and the undergrowth, and listen as the breeze natters with the leaves, I feel myself enveloped and held in a calm and tranquil peace. In this intimate union with past generations I feel united with my God. Being touched in this manner is a spiritual experience for me. But is this a real experience of the activity of the spirit or is it some form of hallucinatory experience?

Writing in the Sunday Times, Jonathan Leake and Andrew Sniderman reported on how neuroscience has been exploring the phenomenon of religious experience. They considered whether the findings from research into particular regions of the brain meant that “people are programmed to get a feeling of spirituality from what is nothing more than electrical activity in these regions”.

I wonder if people could be deluding themselves by regarding as spiritual various experiences that are nothing more than the activity of brain chemistry. Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University, claimed in his most recent work, Supersense: From Superstition to Religion – the Brain Science of Belief, that the search for a reasonable explanation for various experiences can lead to beliefs that go beyond natural explanations. He suggested that religious beliefs evolved and were essential in binding people together. Leake and Sniderman explain that neuroscientists “suggest that during evolution, groups of humans with religious tendencies began to benefit from their beliefs, perhaps because they tended to work together more efficiently and so stood a better chance of survival”.

The assertion that the brain developed religious beliefs through evolution is reminiscent of Freud’s hypothesis that religion developed as a means of disavowing the primal crime of parricide wherein sons killed their despotic tyrannical father. In Moses and Monotheism he suggested that this primal crime was repeated over thousands of years, and the resultant guilt led to rituals designed to disavow the sin.

In Freud and Modern Society, Robert Bocock explained that, according to Freud, this repetition caused the rituals of disavowal to enter the archaic heritage where it became the foundation of civilisation and religion. Freud’s hypothesis can be reconciled with the findings of neuroscience if the repeated rituals could have brought about a mutation within the brain leading to what Professor Hood refers to as the evolution of religious belief.

Dr Michael Persinger, of Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, designed a helmet to concentrate magnetic fields on to the temporal lobes in the brain. One of the most common sensations reported by the 900 people he tested was of a “sensed presence”, as if someone else was in the empty room. This seems similar to the sensation I experience of God’s presence as I walk among the trees.

Neuroscientists explain that cocaine causes a build-up of the neurochemical dopamine which is responsible for keeping brain cells operating at a level necessary to accommodate our needs and aims. Under normal circumstances, dopaminergic cells maintain the level of dopamine available by launching molecules of dopamine to stimulate the nerve cells, and by drawing previously released molecules back into themselves when it is necessary to decrease the amount available.

Cocaine, however, interferes with this process by preventing the dopaminergic cells from drawing the dopamine back into themselves resulting in a dopamine build-up that over-activates the cells, resulting in the “high” that is comparable to a spiritual experience.

Evidence shows that sensations similar to spiritual experiences can be induced by drugs, as in the case of cocaine, or by the manipulation of the temporal lobes of the brain, as demonstrated by Dr Persinger. The question is: do these findings conflict with the traditional view of spiritual experiences?

Professor V S Ramachandran, of the University of California at San Diego, suggests that they are not necessarily incompatible with faith. He holds that, while spiritual sensations may be the result of the activity of brain chemistry, the findings from neuroscience may also indicate that the chemistry within the human brain is receptive to experiences of the spirit.

In her book Fingerprints of God: The Search for the Science of Spirituality, Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores the concept of God as a chemist who adjusted the chemicals in our brains so that we can gain access to the spirit. She suggests that our physical bodies are an integral part of our make-up and spiritual experiences will, therefore, be mediated through our physical bodies.

Of course, what she suggests regarding God as chemist is not to be taken literally. What she is exploring is the concept that God works through our human nature in communicating with us, and our human nature has very important and indispensable physical components that cannot bypassed. If God chose to bypass our physical make-up and communicate directly without need of the chemistry in our brain there would not have been need of the Incarnation.

Could it be that some sensations are experienced as a result of chemistry in the brain, while other different, but similar, sensations are experienced as a result of the activity of the spirit, and that each experience is registered similarly in the brain? In one instance a person may be experiencing sensations that can be naturally explained, whereas on other occasions the person may be responding to a spiritual experience that is beyond natural explanation.

Spiritual writers in the past have all too frequently tended to undervalue the importance of the body by regarding it as a hindrance to experiencing the activity of spirit. The Incarnation was oftentimes portrayed as God condescending to assume human form, whereas the truth underlying this mystery is that of God’s deep respect for our physical make up. Science, on the other hand, has tended to dismiss as superstitious any experience that cannot be empirically measured.

Neuroscience and spirituality should complement one another. The greater our insights into the functioning of the brain the greater will be our appreciation of the interconnectedness of the body and spirit in the make-up of our nature. It could be of great benefit to our understanding of human nature if both these sciences worked in harmony rather than having each defend their position by disparaging that of the other.

Brendan Kennedy is presently working as an addiction counsellor in west Belfast and is a guest lecturer on psychodynamic therapies to students of the doctoral course in Clinical Psychology at the Queen’s University in Belfast. He holds masters degrees in Theology and Psychoanalytic Studies

Cross-post from the Fair Play Campaign:-

Once again the Palestinian Solidarity Campaign (PSC) is targeting Israeli goods in Waitrose and now Tesco. Their campaign will take place during the week beginning 9th January, and we need your help to limit the effect of the calls for a boycott. The PSC are likely to send emails and letters to Waitrose and Tesco, hold demonstrations outside local stores, and inundate their Head Offices with phone calls.

It seems clear that these campaigns will be ongoing and supporters of Israel need to respond.

To join the BUYcott facebook group, Click here.

PSC are calling for a boycott of all Israeli goods. Since our last BUYcott campaign in November, the Government has published voluntary guidelines for retailers suggesting that they could choose to specify whether West Bank produce is sourced from Israeli or Palestinian farmers. In fact, the Palestinian and Israeli economies are so closely linked that this kind of crude demarcation tells shoppers little about who would be affected by changes in consumer choices.

On the contrary, supporting the economies of Israel and the Palestinians, by buying Israeli and West Bank labelled produce, sends out a positive message about the effects of engagements and reconciliation.

Boycotts are not an effective way of moving forward or achieving peace. They indiscriminately target Jews and Arabs in Israel and also the Palestinian economy.

What can you do?

We are calling for a of Israeli goods in these shops. Starting from Saturday night on 9th January, we call on all friends of Israel to:

Go to Waitrose or Tesco that week and buy goods from Israel

Look out especially for fresh fruit and vegetables and for Israeli wine. If you need help finding them, ask the supermarket staff and explain why you are buying Israeli goods.

Write to your local store manager

Thank them for stocking Israeli goods and explain that boycotts have no positive outcomes and impact adversely on all of the inhabitants of the region. You might suggest additional products for them to stock.

Write a letter or email to the Head Offices of these supermarkets (details below)

Explain that boycotting Israeli goods will do NOTHING to further the peace process and will damage the livelihoods of local farmers and workers.

WAITROSE
Waitrose Customer Service Department
Waitrose Limited
Doncastle Road
Bracknell
Berkshire
RG12 8YA

customer_service@waitrose.co.uk

TESCO
Tesco Customer Service
PO Box 73
Baird Avenue
Dryburgh Industrial Estate
Dundee
DD1 9NF

customer.services@tesco.co.uk

Wall Street Journal

In Egypt, seven Coptic Christians were murdered yesterday by a Muslim gunman as they filed out of a midnight mass in the southern town of Nag Hamadi. In Pakistan, more than 100 Christian homes were ransacked by a Muslim mob last July in the village of Bahmaniwala. In Iraq that same month, seven Christian churches were bombed in Baghdad and Mosul in the space of three days.

Such atrocities—and there are scores of other examples—are grim reminders that when it comes to persecution, few groups have suffered as grievously as Christians in Muslim lands. Fewer still have suffered with such little attention paid. Now a new report from the non-profit ministry, Open Doors USA, shines a light on the scale of oppression.

In its annual World Watch List, Open Doors ranks eight Muslim countries among the 10 worst persecutors of Christians. The other two, North Korea (which tops the list) and Laos, are communist states. Of the 50 countries on the list, 35 are majority Muslim.

Take Iran, which this year ranks as the world’s second-worst persecutor of Christians. Open Doors reports that in 2009 the Islamic Republic arrested 85 Christians, many of whom were also mistreated in prison. In 2008, some 50 Christians were arrested and one Christian couple was beaten to death by security officials. At least part of the reason for the mistreatment appears to be the result of Muslim conversions to Christianity: Apostasy carries a mandatory death sentence in Iran.

In Saudi Arabia (No. 3), all non-Muslim public worship is forbidden. The state forbids the building of any type of non-Muslim house of worship, and Christian expatriates in the kingdom must practice their faith in private. The same goes in the Maldives, where the report notes that all citizens must be Muslim; “the handful of indigenous Christians are forced to believe in complete secrecy.” Similarly in Mauritania, conversion to Christianity or any other religions is formally punishable by death.

Little wonder, then, that once-thriving Christian communities in the Muslim world have now largely voted with their feet by fleeing to safer havens, often in Europe or the United States. That’s true even in religiously important communities such as Bethlehem, where the Christian majority has largely fled since the arrival in the 1990s of Yasser Arafat’s repressive government and the ascendancy of Islamist groups such as Hamas. By contrast, Christians practice their religion freely and openly in Israel, just a few miles distant.

It might seem natural that at least some attention would be paid in the West to the plight of these Christians. Instead, attention seems endlessly focused on “Islamophobia,” not least at the U.N.’s misnamed Human Rights Council. In November, much of Europe went berserk over the Swiss referendum to ban the construction of minarets (though not of mosques). But the West’s tolerance for its large Muslim populations stands in sharp contrast to the Muslim world’s bigotry and persecution of its own religious minorities. That’s a fact that ought to be borne in mind the next time Westerners berate themselves about their own supposed “intolerance.”

Cross-post from the Rosh Pina Project

From Matzav:

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is advancing a dangerous and unprecedented proposal to grant official recognition to the Christian Evangelical Church and to simplify the process of obtaining visas for its members.

[...]

Fortunately, the Foreign Ministry’s initiative is being staunchly opposed by Interior Minister Rabbi Eli Yishai, head of Shas, who has openly stated that he will not change the policy of his ministry toward the evangelicals, despite the pressure being applied by the foreign minister.

Yad L’Achim’s chairman sent a letter of support and encouragement to Rabbi Yishai.

Eli Yishai is notorious for his support for the continued harassment and persecution of Messianic Jews in Israel, and he does so because he and his Yad L’Achim henchmen can get away with it. This must happen no longer, as Israel is a democracy for all its citizens, even those on the fringes of society.

If you feel so moved, do send an email of support to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their attempts to give evangelicals equal rights within Israel on this website, and please let your friends know about this (evangelicals in particular) and encourage them to do the same.

Alternatively, if you would like to contact Eli Yishai, why not send him a facebook message?

BBC – Frozen Britain seen from above

PanArmenian

As the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul tries to designate a “co-patriarch” in light of the illness of Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan or Mesrob II, two religious leaders have announced their candidacies for Patriarch of Constantinople.

One candidate is Bishop Sebouh Chuljyan, the primate of the Gougark diocese in Armenia. Another is the German Armenian’s leader, Bishop Karekin Bekjyan. Both are qualified since they were born in Turkey as required and have impressive religious qualifications. Among six candidates, the two replied positively to the Armenian patriarchate’s letter asking whether or not they would put themselves forward as candidates. Bishop Karekin is expected to meet the Armenian Orthodox community in Istanbul soon as he will travel to Turkey following the Armenian Church’s New Year on Jan. 6.

The Turkish Armenian community recognizes Mesrob Mutafyan as their community’s spiritual leader until the end of his life, Today’s Zaman reported.

An announcement on the patriarchate’s Web site in December stated that they had submitted an application to the relevant authorities toward the selection of a co-patriarch. The statement noted that until the emergence of health problems, Patriarch Mesrob II had served in his position for 11 years and that on Dec. 24, 2008, the patriarchate decided that he would be the community’s spiritual leader until his death.

The application was accepted by Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler and has been forwarded as required to the Ministry of the Interior, the patriarchate added.

Jerusalem Post

Inscription indicates Kingdom of Israel existed in the 10th century BCE

A breakthrough in the research of the Hebrew scriptures has shed new light on the period in which the Bible was written, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE, the University of Haifa announced on Thursday.

Prof. Gershon Galil of the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa recently deciphered an inscription dating from the 10th century BCE, and showed that it was a Hebrew inscription, making it the earliest known Hebrew writing.

The significance of this breakthrough relates to the fact that at least some of the biblical scriptures were composed hundreds of years before the dates presented today in research and that the Kingdom of Israel already existed at that time.

The inscription itself, which was written in ink on a 15 cm X 16.5 cm trapezoid pottery shard, was discovered a year and a half ago at excavations that were carried out by Prof. Yosef Garfinkel at Khirbet Qeiyafa near the Elah valley.

The inscription was dated back to the 10th century BCE, which was the period of King David’s reign, but the question of the language used in this inscription remained unanswered, making it impossible to prove whether it was in fact Hebrew or another local language.

Prof. Galil’s deciphering of the ancient writing testifies to its being Hebrew, based on the use of verbs particular to the Hebrew language, and content specific to Hebrew culture and not adopted by any other cultures in the region.

“This text is a social statement, relating to slaves, widows and orphans. It uses verbs that were characteristic of Hebrew, such as asah (“did”) and avad (“worked”), which were rarely used in other regional languages. Particular words that appear in the text, such as almanah (“widow”) are specific to Hebrew and are written differently in other local languages,” Prof. Galil explained.

The deciphered text:

1′ you shall not do [it], but worship the [Lord].

2′ Judge the sla[ve] and the wid[ow] / Judge the orph[an]

3′ [and] the stranger. [Pl]ead for the infant / plead for the po[or and]

4′ the widow. Rehabilitate [the poor] at the hands of the king.

5′ Protect the po[or and] the slave / [supp]ort the stranger.

Once this deciphering is received, Prof. Galil added, the inscription will become the earliest Hebrew inscription to be found, testifying to Hebrew writing abilities as early as the 10th century BCE. This stands opposed to the dating of the composition of the Bible in current research, which would not have recognized the possibility that the Bible or parts of it could have been written during this ancient period.

I knew I could count on Cranmer’s Curate to talk sense on the recent headlines involving the faith workers’ branch of trade union Unite.

Here are three reasons why Cranmer’s Curate won’t be joining the faith workers’ branch of trade union Unite:

1). By joining a union we include ourselves in the Gadarene rush of sub-groups in postmodern Western culture clamouring for victim status. It is actually a great privilege and honour to be a minister of Christ’s Word and Sacraments. And the fact remains that even with the changes in the clergy terms of service a Church of England minister cannot be sacked for preaching the gospel. If parishioners are guilty of criminal behaviour towards a minister, the best course of action is surely to take the matter to the police rather than to a trade union.

2). Suffering goes with the territory of being a minister of the gospel. ‘Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus,’ the Apostle Paul urged Timothy whom he had put in charge of the turbulent church at Ephesus (2 Timothy 2v3). Opposition is actually an encouraging sign that the gospel is being preached faithfully.

3). Our reward as ministers is not the appreciation of the church hierarchy or our peers or those we pastor in our churches but the pleasure of the great and glorious Lord we are privileged to serve. That takes the form of occasional glimpses of the spiritual progress Christ brings about in those to whom He teaches His Word through us, as Paul experienced in the case of the church at Thessalonica (cf 1 Thessalonians 3v6-10). But ultimately Christ’s reward takes the form of His ‘well done, good and faithful servant’ at His glorious return (cf the parable of the talents in Matthew 25).

To get some background information on this Malaysian court ruling that has so upset the Muslims, click here.

A group of Muslims opposed to the court ruling had set up a Facebook account, but somehow I just new this would turn violent as usual. It was only 4 days ago that Prime Minister Najib Razak called for calm over the High Court’s ruling allowing a Christian publication to use ‘Allah’ to denote God in Christianity and this was my comment:-

The Malaysian court ruling allowing Arabic speaking Christians to continue using the word “Allah” to refer to God (as they have done for two millenia), is beginning to cause quite a backlash from Muslims, some of whom have banded together to create an online campaign to fight the decision.

For Prime Minister Najib to have to appeal for ‘calm’ is a worrying development and it appears that his own government is going to appeal the court decision.

I sincerely hope that this whole incident won’t degenerate into another excuse to persecute a Christian minority group at the hands of Islamic extremists.

And today the BBC report the following:-

Three churches have been attacked in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, ahead of planned protests by Muslim groups.

The administrative offices of one church were destroyed by a firebomb attack and one of the other two churches attacked was slightly damaged.

Some Muslim groups are angry at a court decision allowing non-Muslims to use the word Allah to refer to God.

The government relies on the Malay Muslim vote, and will let Muslims march from mosques to churches on Friday.

Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the church attacks, saying such actions would “destroy our country’s harmony”.

“The government will take whatever steps it can to prevent such acts,” he said.

Divided faiths

The controversy stems from a ban on a Catholic newspaper, The Herald, using the word Allah.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court struck down the three-year old ban on use of the word Allah – a ruling now the target of planned demonstrations.

Some major Muslim organisations, including the Islamic political party, PAS, have agreed with the court, saying other Abrahamic religions – Christinaity and Judiasm – may use the word Allah.

But some vocal groups, including the Muslim Youth Movement, Abim, have cast the use of the word Allah as a surreptitious effort on the part of Christians to try to seduce Muslims away from Islam.

The argument has continued in the media and the courts for months but had not become violent – until assailants on motorbikes were seen smashing the windows of the Metro Tabernacle Church, a Protestant church in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The ground floor office of the three-storey church was destroyed in a blaze a little after midnight, said Kevin Ang, a church spokesman.

Kuala Lumpur police Chief Mohamad Sabtu Osman said police had found a wrench, an empty petrol tin and two scorched motorbikes at the scene.

Separately, Molotov cocktails were thrown into the compounds of two other churches before dawn, causing minor damage in one and none in the other, church officials said.

The police chief has also urged protesters not to join Friday’s planned demonstrations.

The government has appealed against the court verdict and the High Court has suspended the decision’s implementation until the appeal is heard.

About 60% of Malaysians are Malay Muslims alongside significant Chinese and Indian minorities.

Prime Minister Najib has spoken recently of a “one Malaysia” concept – something analysts now say is under severe challenge.

WHAT A SURPRISE!!

WHY DOES IT ALWAYS HAVE TO GET BLOODY VIOLENT??

I want you to have a look at a post from the Gates of Vienna blog on the Christmas Eve massacre of Egyptian Christian Copts, who were machine gunned down last night.

You will have to forgive me, but I have already posted about this here and here and simply don’t have the stomach to post again, as this whole incident has filled me with a terrible sick feeling in my stomach:-

Ethnic Cleansing of Christians in Upper Egypt