If you’re like most people you probably haven’t spent a lot of time wondering where the idea of God came from. But of late scientists have gotten around to asking about it, and they are coming up with some interesting answers.  Here’s some excerpts from a long but interesting article from New Scientist.

Religious ideas are common to all cultures: like language and music, they seem to be part of what it is to be human. Until recently, science has largely shied away from asking why.

The origin of religious belief is something of a mystery, but in recent years scientists have started to make suggestions. One leading idea is that religion is an evolutionary adaptation that makes people more likely to survive and pass their genes onto the next generation. In this view, shared religious belief helped our ancestors form tightly knit groups that cooperated in hunting, foraging and childcare, enabling these groups to outcompete others. In this way, the theory goes, religion was selected for by evolution, and eventually permeated every human society (New Scientist, 28 January 2006, p 30)

The religion-as-an-adaptation theory doesn’t wash with everybody, however. As anthropologist Scott Atran of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor points out, the benefits of holding such unfounded beliefs are questionable, in terms of evolutionary fitness. “I don’t think the idea makes much sense, given the kinds of things you find in religion,” he says.

That’s not to say that the human brain has a “god module” in the same way that it has a language module that evolved specifically for acquiring language. Rather, some of the unique cognitive capacities that have made us so successful as a species also work together to create a tendency for supernatural thinking. “There’s now a lot of evidence that some of the foundations for our religious beliefs are hard-wired,” says Bloom.

Not being a scientist I’m not about to argue with these learned folk about the specifics of their theories.  But I do have two questions rattling around in my brain after reading this over. Actually they may be more in the way of observations, warped no doubt by my religious brain!

Isn’t it interesting how modern science tries to credit evolution for just about everything? It may sound strange to say, but it seems as if evolution (however it’s understood, for there are many different theories) has become the new religion of science.  That would explain why people who believe in intelligent design are scoffed at and at times driven out of positions.

That kind of reaction to a point of view you disagree with surely isn’t scientific, because science is made by forming new and different theories and then testing them! Not mocking those who disagree with you.  Not only is that not science, but it sounds a lot more like religion! (Sorry for using the “R” word there scientists!)

Doesn’t it make sense that if there is a God, that He might have hard wired our brains to search for, believe in, and find Him? I wonder if any of these scientists have thought about that?

Being hard wired for a belief in God and the supernatural reminds of this famous quote:

“There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing.  It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.” (Blaise Pascal) [source]

Sounds like hard wiring to me!

But back to my questtion. It seems to me, from a purely scientific point of view mind you, that at the very least that question ought to be seriously considered. Shouldn’t it?