Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion
Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion

Author: Malcolm Jeeves

Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press

Published: 2009-03-01

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1599473550

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Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion is the second title published in the new Templeton Science and Religion Series. In this volume, Malcolm Jeeves and Warren S. Brown provide an overview of the relationship between neuroscience, psychology, and religion that is academically sophisticated, yet accessible to the general reader. The authors introduce key terms; thoroughly chart the histories of both neuroscience and psychology, with a particular focus on how these disciplines have interfaced religion through the ages; and explore contemporary approaches to both fields, reviewing how current science/religion controversies are playing out today. Throughout, they cover issues like consciousness, morality, concepts of the soul, and theories of mind. Their examination of topics like brain imaging research, evolutionary psychology, and primate studies show how recent advances in these areas can blend harmoniously with religious belief, since they offer much to our understanding of humanity's place in the world. Jeeves and Brown conclude their comprehensive and inclusive survey by providing an interdisciplinary model for shaping the ongoing dialogue. Sure to be of interest to both academics and curious intellectuals, Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion addresses important age-old questions and demonstrates how modern scientific techniques can provide a much more nuanced range of potential answers to those questions.

Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion
Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology and Religion

Author: Kevin S. Seybold

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1317137582

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In the 1990s great strides were taken in clarifying how the brain is involved in behaviors that, in the past, had seldom been studied by neuroscientists or psychologists. This book explores the progress begun during that momentous decade in understanding why we behave, think and feel the way we do, especially in those areas that interface with religion. What is happening in the brain when we have a religious experience? Is the soul a product of the mind which is, in turn, a product of the brain? If so, what are the implications for the Christian belief in an afterlife? If God created humans for the purpose of having a relationship with him, should we expect to find that our spirituality is a biologically evolved human trait? What effect might a disease such as Alzheimer's have on a person's spirituality and relationship with God? Neuroscience and psychology are providing information relevant to each of these questions, and many Christians are worried that their religious beliefs are being threatened by this research. Kevin Seybold attempts to put their concerns to rest by presenting some of the scientific findings coming from these disciplines in a way that is understandable yet non-threatening to Christian belief.

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion
The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion

Author: James R. Liddle

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2020-12-28

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 0199397759

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The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Religion offers a comprehensive and compelling review of research in religious beliefs and practices from an evolutionary perspective on human psychology. The chapters, written by renowned experts on human behavior and religion, explore a number of subtopics within one of three themes: (1) the psychological mechanisms of religion, (2) evolutionary perspectives on the functionality of religion, and (3) evolutionary perspectives on religion and group living. This handbook unites the theoretical and empirical work of leading scholars in the evolutionary, cognitive, and anthropological sciences to produce an extensive and authoritative review of this literature. Its interdisciplinary approach makes it an important resource for a broad spectrum of researchers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates who are interested in studying the factors and mechanisms that underlie and/or affect religious beliefs and behaviors.

The Neurology of Religion
The Neurology of Religion

Author: Alasdair Coles

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-11-07

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 1107082609

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Examines what can be learnt about the brain mechanisms underlying religious practice from studying people with neurological disorders.

Why Science and Faith Belong Together
Why Science and Faith Belong Together

Author: Malcolm A. Jeeves

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2021-02-25

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 1725286211

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As we try to understand ourselves and the world we live in, all too often we look first to science--and then, if gaps remain in our understanding, we try to fill the gaps with reference to God and our faith. Such a "god-of-the-gaps" approach has a long history and is sadly alive and well today. This book was written to provide an alternative approach, posing this basic question: How can educated Christians maintain their intellectual honesty and, at the same time, be faithful both to Scripture and to science? This book provides examples of some of the liveliest "science vs. faith" issues today and suggests ways to think constructively about each of them.

Science and Religion in the Twenty-First Century
Science and Religion in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Russell Re Manning

Publisher: Hymns Ancient and Modern Ltd

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 0334045940

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While the structures of the Church of England provide practical resources for clergy as they make changes and transitions in their 'careers', very little has been done in the area of theological reflection around this subject. Not all change is welcome and driving factors are very different from those in secular employment. This important volume explores key questions to consider at points of transition: What does it mean to listen to God at times of change? Does the concept of career fit with a sense of vocation? What happens when the church changes in ways we do not like? What does scripture and the tradition of the church offer at these times? What can we learn from the secular world about managing change? What insights does psychology offer? How can ministers stay the course and finish strong? An essential personal resource and handbook for all involved in clergy training, placement and Continuing Ministerial Development.

Revising Cognitive and Evolutionary Science of Religion
Revising Cognitive and Evolutionary Science of Religion

Author: Konrad Szocik

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-01-12

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 3030635163

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This unique and pioneering book critically appraises current work from both the cognitive science of religion and the evolutionary study of religion. It addresses the question: Why does the believer possess supernatural or religious beliefs in the combined context of his cognitive biases, their adaptive usefulness measured in terms of survival and reproduction, and the impact of social learning and cultural traits? The authors outlines a pluralistic approach to the study of religion that does not treat religion as an accidental by-product but an adaptation selected by natural selection. Chapters discuss the role of religious components for the evolution of cooperation and altruism, and explore the development of atheism and secular ideas, in cognitive and evolutionary terms. Topics such as the usefulness of religion, the transmission of religious beliefs, and a Darwinian approach to religion are among those addressed. Contrary to standard views, religious biases are regarded as shaped by cultural influences and not merely by natural dispositions. This monograph will particularly appeal to researchers who are looking for a scientific explanation of religion and religious beliefs but who do not stop at the level of narrow cognitive and evolutionary accounts. The work will also be of interest to students of philosophy, sociology, religious studies, theology, or anthropology who seek to explain such fascinating, complex, and unequivocal phenomena as religion and religious components.

Making Peace with the Universe
Making Peace with the Universe

Author: Michael Scott Alexander

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2020-11-03

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 023155270X

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The world’s great religious and philosophical traditions often include poignant testimonies of spiritual turmoil and healing. Following episodes of harrowing personal crisis, including addictions, periods of anxiety and panic, and reminders of mortality, these accounts then also describe pathways to consolation and resolution. In Making Peace with the Universe, Michael Scott Alexander reads diverse classic religious accounts as masterpieces of therapeutic insight. In the company of William James, Socrates, Muslim legal scholar turned mystic Hamid al-Ghazali, Chinggis Khan as described by the Daoist monk Qui Chuji, and jazz musician and Catholic convert Mary Lou Williams, Alexander traces the steps from existential crisis to psychological health. He recasts spiritual confessions as case histories of therapy, showing how they remain radical and deeply meaningful even in an age of scientific psychology. They record the therapeutic affect of spiritual experience, testifying to the achievement of psychological well-being through the cultivation of an edifying spiritual mood. Mixing scholarly learning with episodes from his own skeptical quest, Alexander demonstrates how these accounts of private terror and personal triumph offer a model of therapy through spiritual adventure. An interdisciplinary consideration of the shared terrain of religion and psychology, Making Peace with the Universe offers an innovative view of what spiritual traditions can teach us about finding meaning in the modern world.

Christian Principles for the Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy
Christian Principles for the Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy

Author: Carlos Fayard PhD

Publisher: WestBow Press

Published: 2017-07-24

Total Pages: 905

ISBN-13: 151279676X

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All approaches to counseling and psychotherapy rest on assumptions about human nature. Current theories are primarily derived from Buddhist, humanistic, and evolutionary perspectives where there is no God or faith. This book mines the riches of scripture to identify the dimensions of human nature as understood in the Christian faith that can illuminate the work of the practicing clinician. These dimensions of human nature serve as a scaffolding that organize the scientific findings from psychology and neuroscience while remaining attentive to the spirituality of the client. A neuro-psycho-spiritual approach takes a whole-person perspective, delving into the psychological, neurobiological, and spiritual layers of human experience that are relevant to clinical practice. The counselor and psychotherapist will learn how to utilize the dimensions of human nature found in the Bible and apply them to their clinical work through the treatment of Joe, a priest struggling with a sex addiction. Joe will serve as a guide to illustrate how Christian principles can serve as a roadmap to better understand how emotional healing can be facilitated.

Practicing to Aim at Truth
Practicing to Aim at Truth

Author: Ryan Andrew Newson

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2015-10-16

Total Pages: 291

ISBN-13: 1625649940

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Beginning with her award-winning book Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning (1990), Nancey Murphy has used philosophy of science as a way into, and catalyst for, fresh thinking in cosmology, divine action, epistemology, cognitive neuroscience, theological anthropology, philosophy of mind, and Christian virtue ethics. The essays in this book, written by her students and colleagues, creatively honor Murphy by extending a number of her core insights within their respective disciplines. An introduction provides both an account of Murphy's unique location (an Anabaptist teaching at an evangelical graduate institution) and a summary of her contributions to theology as a philosopher of science whose corpus more than any other epitomizes the paradigm shift in philosophy sometimes called "Anglo-American postmodernity." Subsequently, fourteen essays provide unique engagements with Murphy on subjects including divine action, the interaction between science and theology, epistemology, the nature of humanity, and political theology. In its entirety, Practicing to Aim at Truth provides the first in-depth interaction with and extension of Nancey Murphy's unique school of thought, providing a resource both for those wishing to extend her research program as well as those wishing to understand it charitably in order to critique it.