This book proposes another unique basis for the origins of religion
from disturbances in brain function. It proposes the novel idea that
near-death and out-of-body experiences (ND/OBE) engendered “a sense
of the divine” in ancient man. As the author points out, key aspects
of ND/OBE are thematic of all later established religions. These
include journeys to heaven, sightings of brightly-lit godlike figures,
and dead people now alive. Thus, ND/OBE could be the originating
source of these spiritual motifs. To this, the author adds a fourth
factor: various brain influences contribute to or modulate ND/OBE.
Such cognate neurological disorders include REM-sleep intrusions,
sleep paralysis, narcolepsy, and the Guillain-Barré syndrome. Errors
due to aberrant switching between key neural control centers disrupt
critical state-boundaries between consciousness and dreaming. This may
induce NDE. Thus, in this state, subjects temporarily fail to
understand where they are, undergo loss of self, and detached from the
world. They imagine a “union with Gods.” Here, then, is the
biological basis of ineffability.Ancient humans gained beliefs about
the "supernatural" through day-to-day existence. This book argues that
near death experiences and cognate neurological conditions, some
genetically-determined, could have facilitated, even augmented such
beliefs. Hence, in configuring another realm of “spiritual”
experience beyond the known environment, these neurological
possibilities offer effective traction.
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Influences of Near-Death, Out-of-Body & Cognate Neurology in Shaping Early Religious Behaviours
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9783030673260
Publisert
2021
Utgiver
Vendor
Springer
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter