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God Gene




According to this theory, the God gene is not an encoding for the Belief in God itself but a physiological arrangement that produces the sensations associated, by some, with the ''presence of God'' or other Mystic experiences. What Evolutionary advantage this may convey, or what advantageous effect it is a side effect of, are questions that are yet to be fully explored.

The idea has been promoted by Dean Hamer , the director of the Gene Structure and Regulation Unit at the U.S. National Cancer Institute .


CONTRARY VIEWS


thinking." Although, some believe Polkinghorne's rump-riot reductionist bashing is overly defensive and poorly diliberated; to prove the existence of a God gene does not necessarily overthrow the basic theological truths underlying the connection between the physical world and the spiritual, nor does the search of such gene ignore the impacts of society, culture or religion as Walter Houston projects.

Walter Houston , the Chaplain of Mansfield College, Oxford , and a fellow in Theology , told the Telegraph: "Religious belief is not just related to a person's constitution; it's related to society, tradition, character—everything's involved. Having a gene that could do all that seems pretty unlikely to me."

Hamer responded that the existence of such a gene would not be incompatible with the existence of a personal God: "Religious believers can point to the existence of god genes as one more sign of the creator's ingenuity—a clever way to help humans acknowledge and embrace a divine presence." A verse in the Christian New Testament ( Luke 12:48) could be interpreted as not inconsistent with the concept of a genetic predisposition regarding faith: "To whom much is given, much shall be required."


REFERENCES

  • ''The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into our Genes'' by Dean Hamer. Published by Doubleday , ISBN 0385500580.



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