Rating: 
Summary: A purely christian viewpoint
Review: I was searching for a secular, scientific view of worship, and one which would not try to beg the existence of God. Unfortunately, I purchased this book without looking close enough at the contents. Mr. Newberg starts out explaining in simple terms that there really is something to worship, then suggests all rational scientists believe worship is for the weak or uneducated. I diagree emphatically. Most rational scientists I know definately think that worship is real, but that it can be explained in terms of our linkage to our evolutionary past with the rest of the Animal Kingdom. Mr. Newberg then suggests that because there is an area in the brain that is energized during worship, a God must exist. To make matters worse, it is the God described in the Bible. He presents some points effectively, but begs for the presense of God on some rather weak grounds. In summary, this book is not very scientific in presentation or conclusion. If you are a Christian scientist, you will continue to be, and if agnostic this book will definately NOT change your mind, nor should it.
Rating:
Summary: A lot of speculation from a minimum of research.
Review: This book deserves credit for introducing the concept of "neurotheology," or the neurobiological basis for religious belief and behavior. It is a topic certainly worthy of greater exploration. But in this book, the background science is very limited, consisting of only a few studies with a small number of subjects and inadequate controls. Unaddressed questions of their SPECT studies include, for example, what happens in completely untrained "meditators" performing a similar technique, without any subjective attainment of exalted states...will they show the same pattern of "deafferentation" in the posterior parietal cortex? And speaking as a clinical neurologist, I have to say that the vast majority of their speculations concerning brain mechanisms involved in religious experience is, to put it frankly, unsupported baloney. Their argument that the SPECT patterns shown could reflect perception of a "higher reality", because other SPECT patterns can be seen when people are engaged in other tasks of sensory perception, is nonsense. Delusional schizophrenics have interesting SPECT scans also, but it doesn't imply that their perceptions are real. The counter argument that mystics appear to be psychologically healthy so therefore their beliefs should be trusted is also demonstrably false...lots of "psychologically healthy" individuals hold to all kinds of beliefs that have no basis in reality.
Having said that, research into why spiritual beliefs are a constant thread in human culture, analagous to language in a sense (people are neurologically predisposed to learn language, though the language learned depends on the environment...the same is true for religion, though not to the same extent) should continue. To their credit, the authors do point out that religious behavior could have had adaptive value in our ancestral environment, by strengthening tribal ties, facilitating communication and so on, and thus there may have been selection pressure for individuals more predisposed to holding religious beliefs to have survived and passed on their genes. Unfortunately, this line of thought is not much developed, and instead a lot of space in this short book is devoted to explanations of various mystic beliefs.
Rating: 
Summary: Simply Terrible
Review: As a scientist, I found the discussion of actual science dumbed down to the point of unrecognizability. The views presented in this book are uncritically developed, not nearly as supported by evidence as the authors seem to think, and nearly ruined by a strong theological agenda on the part of the authors. This book will please neither scientists, nor believers, nor atheists.
Rating:
Summary: A bad case of physicians trying to do philosophy
Review: Newberg, d'Aquili, and Rause present a variety of neurobiological evidence that informs us about what is taking place in the brains of people having spiritual or mystical experiences. They offer interesting speculations concerning the evolutionary origins of this neurological basis and explore their hypotheses in the areas of myth-making, rituals, and the origins of religion. Although the authors concede that they have not reached a proof of God's existence, they conclude by arguing that their neurobiological evidence makes it just as rational to believe in the existence of God as it is to believe in the existence of the material world. Why God Won't Go Away is recommended for anyone with an interest in the scientific study of religious experience but will disappoint the educated reader who seeks a cogently argued explanation for why God won't go away.
Rating:
Summary: God Is Going Away!
Review: Why God Won't Go Away There are several huge problems with this book:
1) It is only 170 pages which often is a clue that the author didn't have much to say.
2) Like the model who aspires to be taken seriously as an actress, and fails, this book feels like an attempt by a MD to be a philosopher, despite, seemingly, no training; just a desire to broaden his resume and impress with medical multi-syllabic words that would tongue tie even Gene Simmons.
3) Much of the 170 pages is filled with an irrelevant biological description of the brain and what various places in the brain do.
4) So why won't God go away? The same reason eyesight won't go away: the brain has a place that makes sight, and everything else, possible, and, it has a place that makes religious belief or pleasure possible too. But so what? Where is the wisdom in that conclusion? Why not ask: why won't smell go away or sexual desire?
It is perhaps interesting to note that religious belief may have evolved because those who had it, had a survival advantage such as: extra courage in battle or the psychological strength to press forward despite a brain big enough to know and fear death.
5) The title and the question it implies is actually a misstatement since God is in fact going away steadily in the face of modern science, despite the biology of the human brain.
6) Moreover, the use of God in the subject is grossly misleading since there is, technically, no God but rather many Gods or a particular God depending on your religion. If all the Gods, or our religious desire, stimulate the same areas of the brain despite the contradictory precepts of each God then we might well conclude that there is no particular God; thus there is no God to go away. Of course we might absurdly conclude that all the Gods share the same area of our brain or that they compete with each other to gain the upper hand in human consciousness. Perhaps the competition has weakened them and that is why God is slowly going way?
The hope implied by the title is that God or the Gods won't go away because God or the Gods actually exist, but this issue is not remotely related to this little biology book.
Rating:
Summary: Using bad science to support dubious theology.
Review: The authors use a small sample of Buddhist meditators and another of Franciscan nuns to demonstrate that some (not all) exhibit specific brain activity when meditating or praying. From this they conclude that we are "hard-wired" to support this particular kind of religious activity.
The sample is small, and the type of activity is restricted. It doesn't include other religious expressions; e.g., glossalalia or ecstatic states.
This limited research can't support such a conclusion. If anything, it perhaps demonstrates not that we are "hard-wired" but that in some instances persons can control brain activity in the course of selected religious activities.
Rating:
Summary: This 'New Age' book is misrepresented as serious science
Review: I found this book in the Science / Biology section, and since it seemed to go address an important and interesting topic ("A facinating study of the neurological basis of mystical and religious experience") I bought a copy. The first several chapters contained interesting information about brain structure and function, but had the feel of 'lightweight' science. The authors seemed to be drawing conclusions not supported by the data. As the book progressed it became apparent that the authors had their own agenda and beliefs to promote, and rational scientific inquiry was nowhere to be seen. Statements like "The wisdom of the mystics, it seems, has predicted for centuries what neurology now shows to be true: In Absolute Unitary Being, self blends into other, mind and matter are one and the same state" show how far afield the authors take their data. Their clear belief in the "Absolute Unitary Being" (not to be confused with anything like the Judeo-Christian concept of a personal God), and frequent use of phrases like "being one with the universe" were difficult to take seriously. If you're into 'New Age' reading, this book is right up your alley. If you're looking for serious science, save yourself some time and frustration and look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Why Brain Science Won't Go Away Either
Review: A very thought provoking read ,Now I must go back and re-read " Drumming at the edge of Magic " , by Mickey Hart. I should also review "Physiological Explanation of unusual Behavior in Ceremonies Involving Drums " by Andrew Neher. Both reflect on research in psychoacoustics by Dr. Betsy Cohen ( then ) of NASA and physioacoustics by myself and others ( then ) of REMSA . In any case , I must obtain a copy of "The Mystical Mind " by Andrew Newberg and go on from there . One sure sign of a good book is that it reminds you of other readings and stimulates the desire to read even more on the subject . If this be true " why God Won't Go Away ; Brain Science and the Biology of Belief " rates five stars .
Rating: 
Summary: Ground-breaking
Review: Here's one you don't see too often -- a scientific study of spirituality that attempts to explain the phenomenon WITHOUT also attempting to debunk it! The authors explain the neurological changes in the brain that occur with religious/spiritual experiences. In a sense, God is "all in our heads." However, the authors also emphasize that that does not make God any less real because everything we experience is all in our heads. The authors also demonstrate that our experience of knowing God is hardwired into the brain. This book doesn't answer all questions about spirituality (what book does?!), but it's a good place to start.
Rating: 
Summary: Scientists and their toys
Review: So, what is the bottom line here? Basically, two scientists get their hands on a new toy, a fancier type of CAT scan called 'SPECT'. And, one of their colleagues happens to be a meditator of some degree of samadhi accomplishment. So, why not scare up some funding to peer into his brain, eh? But are we supposed to be surprised that objective correlates to subjective samadhi states are actually found? Evidently we are. Why, I have no idea. This seems to me, as a practising mystic myself, just yet another instance of scientists missing the whole point of religious experience. Though, to be fair, they do allow for more 'going on' than what they are measuring, they seem to have no clue as to why Moses, Buddha, Jesus, or Mohammed et. al. would have exhorted their acolytes so strenuously to attain these peculiar brain states. What could possibly be the imperative to traditional religious practise in this context, other than just to 'feel good'? It seems scientists will continue to be embarassingly naive when delving into these realms with their fancy technological instruments which barely scratch the surface of the phenomenon. But at least, these two authors are consciously trying to be a tad humble in the face of the mysterium tremendum. For those interested in filling in the gaps left by this book, allow me to recommend: 'Science Synchronicity and Soul Making' by Victor Mansfield, and 'Synchronicity' by F. David Peat.
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