Hi Sad emo and Terry:
I realize that I sort of abandoned the thread a bit. I've been busy with visitors here. However, I'd like to make some comments on your comments and hope that someone will still pick up the thread again and reply.
Sad emo: You said: "It's just another part that gets electrically more active by carrying out a particular action." While many people think "Parts is parts", the peculiarity of the brain is that its "parts" are highly specialized. At the same time, the brain is flexible enough to adapt and actually take over a part that is no longer used. For example, if one were to lose one's sight, near-by areas can take over the optic region which is no longer being stimulated by any input. But what makes the brain unique is that each area has a specific function and it's usually (99% of the time) common to all of us, unless there's some sort of decease of congenital anomaly.
The point of the study shows that the "G" spot is specialized for humans as a "spiritual" center and that it is located in the same place for everyone. It is not the "fear" center and may not be the same place where we conceive such things as the "Devil". While you may not think that its sole purpose is to "give us an illusion of something bigger out there", that is the strange thing that was discovered. That is the commonality that persists in our species. Of course, just like any other area of the brain, it stands to reason that this one may be more or less developed from one individual to another due to the influence of environment and/or genetic influence.
So, if "It's simply another part of the brain doing its own job", what is the significance of that job and why did nature need to "invent" such a thing when we already have "fear" and "flight" centers to protect us from danger? We may not be able to explain it, but we can certainly speculate on it. For scientists, it's a bit more than casual. What makes science progress is the insatiable quest to find answers, even if answers are not readily forthcoming. So, I think that takes us back to the original poser. What do you think?
You said: "When this happens we lose our sense of self as a SEPARATE entity within the universe. The result is a sense (false sense) of ONENESS with all things." The "G" spot appears to have the opposite effect. There doesn't seem to be a loss of self. There is instead a togetherness and oneness with all things without loss of awareness of the rest of the "being". In fact, it is inclusive, taking in the sum of the being, as if all that one has been is before ones eyes. In a state such as the one that people have experienced, both under artificial stimulation of the "G" spot and via meditation or deep spiritual sessions, the person "feels" in a different state, a state that allows the person to see above everything. There's a feeling of "universality" with the world. However, I see that what you imply is that a "separateness" from our other "senses" or regions of the brain is what can cause the feeling of oneness with everything else. Hmmm. I don't know how that can be accurately ascertained. What your description seems to approximate is "de ja vous", not in that one thinks he's reliving the moment, but in the sense of time and space displacement. I'm not sure that this has been shown to occur in association with the "G" spot.
The problem with the senses is that they can fool us. At times, it is better to rely on logic in order to achieve some degree of certainty. A good deal of scientific knowledge is deduced rather than observed. Observation confirms the deduction but only subsequently. Unless the process is flawed, there's no reason to doubt ideas that simply originate in the brain. Of course, I'm referring to precise postulates. In the case of the "G" spot, it's contribution is not of a precise nature. It seems to create a "sense" which appears to evoke feelings from the corresponding emotional centers of the brain (the Limbic System).
"Presto! We create a place in our mind where we model GOD and SATAN." If I follow your process correctly, actually, it seems to work the other way around. Our "G" spot, by its independent presence, is causing a state in us that induces a sense, which in turn induces "feelings" and imagery in us regarding an entity, perhaps, or a place in the universe. The imagery does not always coincide with a "supreme being".
"People who exercise FAITH deliberately choose to ignore any data which clues them to the irrational/unreality of the model of God or Satan." I'm not sure I buy that, unless you define exactly what "faith" is, and I don't mean credulity. Scientists exhibit "faith". It is by "faith" that scientists assume that there was some sort of "primal atom" which gave birth to the Big Bang. However, there's data to make that a plausible assumption. That is what I call "faith". Again, the "G" spot is not necessarily the source of the concept of Satan. Tenuously, it simply gives feelings of awareness of self on a different plane, inner peace, oneness with the universe and a sense that there's "more". Satan and evil are not things that have been identified with the "G" spot.
I've tried to be as accurate as I can about what I understand regarding the research on this subject. So, what do you think? The specific "sense" that the "G" spot creates is common and should not be confused with other cognitive or sensory functions of the brain. Given what it does, what do you think is its purpose, whether one thinks there is a God or not?
Etude.