Neurotheology

How Science Can Enlighten Us About Spirituality

By: Andrew Newberg

Narrated by: David Stickney

Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

Religion is often cast in opposition to science. Yet both are deeply rooted in the inner workings of the human brain. With the advent of the modern cognitive neurosciences, the scientific study of religious and spiritual phenomena has become far more sophisticated and wide-ranging. What might brain scans of people in prayer, in meditation, or under the influence of psychoactive substances teach us about religious and spiritual beliefs? Are religion and spirituality reducible to neurological processes, or might there be aspects that, at least for now, transcend scientific claims?

In this book, Andrew Newberg explores the latest findings of neurotheology, the multidisciplinary field linking neuroscience with religious and spiritual phenomena. He investigates some of the most controversial - and potentially transformative - implications of a neurotheological approach for the truth claims of religion and our understanding of minds and brains. Newberg leads listeners on a tour through key intersections of neuroscience and theology, including the potential evolutionary basis of religion. When brain science and religious experience are considered together in an integrated approach, Newberg shows, we might come closer to a fuller understanding of the deepest questions.

The book is published by Columbia University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"A tour de force...Truly mind-blowing." (Harold Koenig, Duke University Medical Center)

"This is an excellent introduction to the emerging field of neurotheology." (Reading Religion)

"A magnificent work! ...A true work of scholarship." (Lisa Miller, PhD, professor and founder, Spirituality Mind Body Institute, Columbia University)

©2018 Andrew B. Newberg (P)2021 Redwood Audiobooks

An infant sound of the scientific Voice of God.

Loved it! This audible book is the beginning(s) of an auto-tuning of God’s voice in the scientific community.

An absolute self fulfillment of the scientific communities’ accusatory “Freudian” type projection that says “Godly believers have somehow fabricated/modified history into myths, and mystical experiences etc.”,
opposed to these beliefs/experiences being rooted in empirical evidence (by those whom experienced it) which were passed down orally until documented.

It’s great for all people to listen the initial whining of this infant voice. We are all tuning in to the megatheology channel to see how close science can get to reaping the benefits of neurotheology w/o becoming theologians. Anything is possible with God.

As for now, Andrew Newberg has outdone himself in this endeavor. God will not go away, because He is Eternal and Immortal.

Read it!

Offers new application of existing data, well-argued

Even for a lay person like myself, Newberg makes a clear argument for Neurotheology as a wrapper to contain both physical science and religion/spirituality with the aim of finding patterns, connections, and trends. It purports to answer long-standing questions about religious experiences, near-death experiences, spirituality, and maybe even consciousness itself. This book does not have the answers: rather it offers a theoretical path to get to them.

If you're interested in spirituality free of religious dogma, this is a fascinating read on what could be a growing field of science in and of itself. No matter how complex some of the issues seem, by the end of the book, you'll be able to see what they're after, and how they plan to get after it. Great read to stay on the crest of the discussion.

Well executed summary of discipline in infancy

I think the author did a good job with the facts at his disposal, but I kind of wish there were more. This book kind of reads like a list of promises about what neurotheology might do in future rather than a list of past accomplishments. I would recommend watching or reading some of Andrew Newberg's interviews before getting this, and knowing that they contain about eighty percent of what's in the full book.

The most interesting thing I got out of this (and yes, it was in the freely available interviews too) was that the mystical experience of oneness (which the author says is the most unitive of the spiritual experiences he's studied, and thus the most interesting to him) tends to be associated with a partial deactivation of the part of the brain that generates a sense of self, which suggests at least to me that it's an artifact of diminished brain function rather than accessing some super special external thing. More like having your left hand go numb than realizing it never existed, or has temporarily vanished. Of course, you could make the case that seeing that you're not separate from everything that's not you is mystical, but there's something more special about uniting with some Ground of Being I'd say. Though I guess you could say if you can unite with it, it's not just the perfectly stupid meaningless matter materialism makes it out to be.

Overall I'd recommend the book, but be aware you'll be listening to a lot of carefully phrased statements of potential more than being enlightened about spirituality by science as the ambitious tagline promises. Or maybe the tagline is just saying you'll be told how science "can" enlighten us, sometime in the indeterminate future, not be thusly enlightened by the book?

Couldn't get past the narrator

I love Newburg and the content I got through in this book, but I could not get through listening to the extremely nasally narrator. I've never run into this with audible before, but I had to turn the treble way down in my car to even begin to listen to the book. After a few chapters I simply gave up. I'll buy the paperback instead. Thank you Audible for having a free return policy!