How God Changes Your Brain - Andrew Newberg, M. D_ [71]
Mainstream conservatism—be it religious or political—does not reflect the kind of cognitive rigidity that I am describing here.77 In fact, the number of American religious groups that are outwardly hateful is relatively small when compared to the general population. Thus, when it comes to fundamentalism, religion is not the problem. Even the authoritarian ideologies that lie behind them are not the source of the problems we see in the world today. Anger is the problem. And when anger is married to a specific ideology and organized into an institution—be it religious or political—then there is a real danger that individual hostilities will feed upon each other until an emotional tipping point is reached. At that moment, destructive irrational behaviors can more easily be expressed in the world. This is the underlying neurological basis for violence, and it all begins with the primitive fundamentalist traits that exist within the limbic brain.
WHEN GOD GETS ANGRY WITH YOU
Some people struggle so deeply with their inner wolves that they reach a point where they feel that God may be punishing them for the way they have led their lives. As a physician, I have often seen this in people who are dealing with certain types of disease, especially cancer and substance abuse. They first ask the question, “Why me?” They wonder if God is angry at them, and they often ruminate on guilt, asking, “Why did I get this problem when I have always tried to be good?” In the cases where young children are involved, I sometimes hear the parents lament, “Why would God allow this to happen to such an innocent being?” This is tantamount to the question about why bad things happen to good people, a theme that has occupied the minds of theologians for several thousand years.
When things don't go the way we think they should, the brain will wonder what went wrong. If you blame the world or God, you've relinquished self-responsibility, and that certainly won't solve the problem. But if you blame yourself, guilt can shut your frontal lobes down. If that happens, you lose your ability to analyze the situation, and the longer you stay focused on negative self-beliefs, the more likely you are to become depressed.78
In hospital situations most patients don't understand the medical reasons for their illness, and many blame themselves in a variety of creative ways: “I didn't eat right, or exercise, or properly pray.” And if you're religious, you may wonder if you have sinned. If not, you might blame your subconscious mind. Sometimes these individuals don't even try to get better—they don't want to. They won't take their medications, they won't try abstinence programs, and they don't try to rework their lives. It's a very difficult cycle to break, especially for those who hold deep religious beliefs. Research has shown that religious fear and guilt can evoke feelings of depression and thoughts of suicide, particularly for people who believe they have committed an unforgivable sin.79
Often, logic and medical reasoning has little effect on these patients. However, most university hospitals have come to realize that for many patients, the problem is as much a spiritual issue as a medical one. Thus, our medical facility, like many others, has added spiritual counseling and pastoral care for those who wish to use it. As doctors, we have come to realize that people need to deal with their spiritual pathology in addition to their physical and mental concerns. In this context, I am reminded of the biblical story of Job, who suffers terribly, even though he lives a virtuous life. His friends believe that he is a sinner and is being punished by God. Job questions God,