Want to Talk to Jesus? Consult a Bot
Is AI changing the way people pray?Whatever one’s views on Christ, a computer system can’t materialize his essence.
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A Quiet Place: Two Moments That Stick Out
Characters in the dystopian thriller find solace in the transcendentThose who can connect with a source of meaning beyond the material pain of the world are the ones who will stay alive in body and spirit.
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Researchers: Prolonged Meditation Alters the Brain
The changes were detected mainly in the frontal and parietal lobesAndrew Newberg and colleagues have found that extended periods of prayer and meditationcan change the brain: We studied one such seven-day programme in Pennsylvania based on the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius. Our research on this retreat programme, which is typically conducted in silence and consists of extended periods of prayer and meditation, showed a number of differences in participants’ brains after the retreat compared with before it. For one, our study looked at the effects of the retreat programme on serotonin and dopamine, two critical neurotransmitters involved in many of our emotional and cognitive processes. The results suggested that a person’s brain becomes more sensitised to the effects of serotonin and dopamine, which might help us understand how retreat Read More ›
Jerry Coyne Hasn’t Got a Prayer
He understands neither natural theology nor natural scienceWe are more scientifically certain of God’s existence than we are of quantum mechanics or Newtonian or relativistic gravitation. The logic is rigorous.
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Why prayer is wise during a pandemic
Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne thinks that only fools would pray about coronavirus. He is wrong and here is whyIf God is real, then prayer is probably the first thing you want to do in a crisis. A plea to the Boss is a fine preamble to the grunt work of managing a crisis. I’m a neurosurgeon, and I pray before each operation. It really helps.
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