I am responding to Garry Gamble’s May 29 letter.
Does Garry Gamble’s trust in a “living, caring, all-knowing Heavenly Father” come from a Biblical “cultural framing?” It seems so as he often quotes this revered old document as if it were evidence. Has he paid attention to the entire Bible or just the parts that feel good? Did he read Professor Schjoedt’s study to which he refers?
Anyone interested may read Professor Uffe Schjoedt’s 9-page study, “The power of charisma— perceived charisma inhibits the frontal executive network of believers in intercessory prayer” which is available on-line through Oxford University Press, March 12, 2010.
Christians in this Aarhus University study showed “massive deactivation in response to the Christian speaker known for his healing powers.” The Christians “reported experience of God’s presence” when the prefrontal cortex was shut down. “Theeffects observed in the Christian group are complex and depend on cultural framing and individual experience.”
Thestudy compared the Christians’ brain deactivation to that experienced in hypnosis. “Insights from hypnotic research may further explain how such effects become established in interpersonal interactions suggesting that the frontal deactivation indicated a ‘handing-over’ of the executive function to the perceived charismatic speaker similar to a patient’s ‘handing-over’ of executive function to a hypnotist.”
Religion? Hypnotism? “Handing-over” seems an avoidance of adult responsibility to reason critically with best brain function to be in control of one’s life. The secular group in the study did not handover.
There can be peace, power, and freedom when one takes responsibility.
Geri Jensen
Grand Marais
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