Rating: 
Summary: Why wont this book go away?
Review: The main problem I found with this book is that the authors, by trying to explain incredibly complicated things in an everymans
language, turns the whole reading experience into a rather confusing muddle. Before the reader can get to the meat and bones of the argument- that theres no scientific explanation why God should not exist- the reader has to trudge through a 100 page primer on how the brain functions. Though theres nothing wrong with this per se, indeed such information might have been useful had the authors not choosen to use alternative wording for the scientific terms of the parts and functions of the brain. In this way the knowledge the reader accumulates on the subject, whilst serving him for the purposes of the book will become inapplicable when used in any other area of the subject. Likewise the diagrams used in the book are crudely printed and unclear. This book will probably satisfy a small contigent of insecure persons looking to validate their faith, but for the rest of us were more likely to find more sense and meaning in say a Mountain Dew commercial than between the covers of this
insipid book.
Rating: 
Summary: Walking By Faith -- Intrigued By Science
Review: In the epilogue to the paperback edition the authors write, "...Reality happens in the brain, and while our imaging studies do not prove the existence of a higher spiritual plane, they do indicate that to the brain, these states are as real as any other" (p.178). Therein lies the crux of this book. If you are interested in an in-depth explaination of the how, what, where etc., in fairly popular language, this is an excellent choice. The authors argue neither "for" or "against" the actuality of God or a realm of the spiritual, they merely demonstrate how the findings of neurobiology indicate that we are hard-wired for transcendent experiences. Personally, I believe in a Creator behind, above, beneath, before, around, in, through, and energizing all of Creation, who created me and all of us with the very hard wiring that would instill in us a longing and a capacity to experience the transcendent. My friend Darrell Johnson, professor at Regent College in Canada, puts it this way: "At the center of the universe is a relationship...It is out of that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed. And it is for that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed" (see his book Experiencing The Trinity). I have found this relationship with the transcendent through the grace and truth that have come to me through the love of Christ. I know others who have comparable but different experiences with the transcendent through other avenues. The fact that throughout human history, long before the Jesus through whom I have found this connection walked the earth, humans have sought to engage with something greater than oursevles is not necessarily evidence that God exists. And, the apparent fact that our brains "create" the capacity to seek and experience the transcendent is not necessarily evidence that God does not exist. Those of us who choose to take a spiritual path know better than to depend on science to prove that our experiences are real or that the God we believe in exists. Ultimately, faith is assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. As the saints and mystics in many traditions have shown us, it is typically in the unknowing and darkness that the spiritual life most deeply unfolds.
Rating: 
Summary: A worthwhile read
Review: Not perfect, but a good read. The authors are on to something here and have done their homework. They present a well thought-out body of theories based on scientific evidence and reason, but while they deeply examine how brain structure and function relate to religious belief and experience, they do not use this as an opportunity to *invalidate* religious belief. Carefully done.
Rating:
Summary: Walking By Faith -- Intrigued By Science
Review: In the epilogue to the paperback edition the authors write, "...Reality happens in the brain, and while our imaging studies do not prove the existence of a higher spiritual plane, they do indicate that to the brain, these states are as real as any other" (p.178). Therein lies the crux of this book. If you are interested in an in-depth explaination of the how, what, where etc., in fairly popular language, this is an excellent choice. The authors argue neither "for" or "against" the actuality of God or a realm of the spiritual, they merely demonstrate how the findings of neurobiology indicate that we are hard-wired for transcendent experiences. Personally, I believe in a Creator behind, above, beneath, before, around, in, through, and energizing all of Creation, who created me and all of us with the very hard wiring that would instill in us a longing and a capacity to experience the transcendent. My friend Darrell Johnson, professor at Regent College in Canada, puts it this way: "At the center of the universe is a relationship...It is out of that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed. And it is for that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed" (see his book Experiencing The Trinity). I have found this relationship with the transcendent through the grace and truth that have come to me through the love of Christ. I know others who have comparable but different experiences with the transcendent through other avenues. The fact that throughout human history, long before the Jesus through whom I have found this connection walked the earth, humans have sought to engage with something greater than oursevles is not necessarily evidence that God exists. And, the apparent fact that our brains "create" the capacity to seek and experience the transcendent is not necessarily evidence that God does not exist. Those of us who choose to take a spiritual path know better than to depend on science to prove that our experiences are real or that the God we believe in exists. Ultimately, faith is assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. As the saints and mystics in many traditions have shown us, it is typically in the unknowing and darkness that the spiritual life most deeply unfolds.
Rating:
Summary: WHY God won't go away...
Review: Interesting look at how human beings apparently believe as they do religiously because biologically, they get something from it. Nice look at how myth--and by that they mean religion of all sorts, as the word myth doesn't necessarily mean untrue--developed in Neanderthal man--out of a need to understand death and the universe around them. Interesting research on how the brain reacted to both Tibetan monks meditation and Nuns' union with G-d the same way. Supports my own theory--unhindered by a PhD. :-)--that all religions are equally valid and serve a need within the individual. They also discussed how religion lengthens life--which the author pointed out can be explained partially b/c religion encourages healthy behavior. but, also the biological kick believers get from it. I disagree with the reviewer who felt these two scientists were claiming that "G-d" created the universe, etc. I felt it was clear throughout that the researchers were not religious per se. Was this most the interesting book I ever read? No. Not at all. But there was some interesting discourse put forth here. Worth your time.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting subject
Review: I was impressed that subject matter of this nature is gaining more widespread interest in the last few years. It seems there was a real dearth of study on the concepts of religion and the science of the brain. This book dovetails nicely then with a number of great books that have recently hit the market exploring this topic. Horgan's "Rational Mysticism," Pinker's "The Blank Slate," and even the Dalai Lama's "Art of Happiness" were books I was reading at about the same time as this one. The cumulative effect was very thought-provoking. This book is again refreshing because it dares to explore the relationship (all too often the struggle) between Religion and Science - concepts as old as humankind itself. I think a truly free-thinker has to entertain ALL possibilities so as not to become a raving theophobe that excludes possible answers in the name of the deity of Science. Religion has taken its toll in human casualties throughout history, true, but we may well be living in an age that can embrace both without stigma or favouritism to the other? The research at times appears hit and miss, even inconclusive, but a systematic approach to the world of mysticism is long over-due and for this reason the seminality of the work is to be applauded. Perhaps in time others will stand on the shoulders of this kind of study, taking it further. A fascinating book well worth the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Bland, boring, incomplete...
Review: There's nothing more annoying than those who claim to be scientists but who are open to a religious explanation as to why we might have evolved the way we did. If humans possess a brain, God did not put it there. It evolved. One is either a creationist or an evolutionist. There is no in-between. In order to sell more books, however, this author seems to sit on the fence and refuses to accept a purely scientific explanation to his own research...a real turn off.
Rating:
Summary: god in your body
Review: This is a great book. I studied biology, and i think that this is an understandable presentation for readers at all levels. The coolest part to me was when he wrote about how people experience a sense of oneness during spiritual experiences and which part of the brain is most active at that time. Super rad.
Rating:
Summary: more about philosophy than science
Review: I expected a book about "brain science" to be, well, scientific. I would categorize Newberg, D'Aquili, and Rause's book as philosophic, or perhaps mystic, but certainly not scientific. While the book contains some description of their method and findings, the description is so vague that the reader is given no understanding of how "brain science" can foster such voluminous speculation that pervades this book. That said, I was intrigued by the philosophy and the speculation about the origins of mysticism and its relationship to ritual and religion. And, if I wasn't so disappointed by the books title, I might have given it a slightly better rating.
Rating:
Summary: Mythology, mysticism and malarkey
Review: The Pope of Paleontology once bemoaned the woeful inadequacies of education in evolution in America. The authors of this book represent a prime example of the validity of Stephen Gould's lament. It may seem an oversimplification of the authors' theme to call it "neurotheology" or "hardwired for gods", but their case is so overstated that perhaps a balance is thereby achieved. Relying on Buddhist meditators and praying nuns, the authors recorded brain activity states to compare with "normal" conditions. They then go on to link various areas and functions of the brain to demonstrate that religion is an evolutionary product. For the prurient reader, they contend that the transcendental feelings we obtain from sex links through the limbic system to other parts of the brain becoming the foundation for "religious experience". Freud would have loved this book. The authors map the brain/mind to build a framework to explain the universality of religion. Their outlook is almost entirely from Western Civilization - even the Buddhist meditators are American. From this flimsy foundation and the contributions of some Western philosophers, the authors go on to construct their edifice. The brain, they argue, is designed as a "window to [g]od" which they rename the Absolute Unitary Being. They contend that gods are not the product of a cognitive, deductive process, but were instead "discovered" in a mystical or spiritual encounter. Shoring up their structure with numerous spurious assertions of the brains' processes, they see this capability having been designed through evolution. Not since the concept of "the Great Chain of Being" have humans been granted such a glorious role. GCoB exalted reasoning as giving humans "superiority" over the rest of the animal kingdom - telepathy to the divine was a step too far. Many fine books reflecting recent brain research have been published in recent years. While their descriptions of brain processes make vivid reading, there are far better sources available on the topic. The authors cite a few and ignore the rest. The ones they cite utilise information with adroit selectivity. In fact, most of their sources have been chosen with finesse. A glaring omission is Walter Burkert's Creation of the Sacred. Whatever Burkert's flaws he, at least, makes a serious attempt to extract valid evolutionary roots for religious ideas. Newberg and D'Aquili begin with the premise that there is a god [one, please note] and then manipulate neurological research to "discover" it. Like Burkert, this pair ignores the power of memes to propagate ideas and stimulate response behaviour, a major element in the dissemination of religious thought, but Richard Dawkins is ignored in this book at any level. It's interesting that after pages of "neurotheology" explaining how the brain is there to communicate with a god, at the end they waffle over its actual existence. Although the flaws in the authors' logic are immeasurable, their frequent references to human evolution display even more glaring faults. They assert that Australapithicines likely didn't have sufficient brain power to invoke deities, but grant this level of intellect to Homo erectus. They assert H. erectus was the first to have a mind capable of considering "existential dread", but unable to perceive their deity. Not until H. Neanderthalis did the concept of deities arise, which they claim is evidenced by ritual burials. Ritual burial and deities are linked in today's world, but there isn't a shred of evidence to suggest this is the way of Neanderthal thought. Nor is there any reason to believe that "dread" alone was the prime mover in considering the natural world. Benefits were clearly available - successful hunts, available fruits and vegetables, water - were these not also granted divine status? Their theme, rife with inconsistencies, keeps the deity at arm's length until a hominid evolved to talk to It. That presupposes 3.6 billion years of their god waiting in limbo. Divine patience, indeed! And if the Chixculub asteroid had missed the Earth, who would the AUB communicate with today? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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