kid-A

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Posts by kid-A

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  36

  genetics and neuroanatomy of religious belief

  by kid-A in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the first article links the expression of the dopamine d4 neurotransmitter receptor with ones likelihood of accepting religious beliefs.

  the d4 receptor is higly expressed in human prefrontal cortex, a region that is damaged in hyper-religious individuals......the pieces are all falling together to support the notion that there is a biological basis for "religious" or "magical" thinking.

  as a militant atheist, i guess i have low levels of d4 !!!

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  kid-A

  Hey Tetra!

  Dopamine transmission is associated with both drug addiction and psychosis. Overactivity of this pathway (with a drug like cocaine or amphetamine) leads to euphoria and very often, psychosis and hallucinations. This is why most early religious rituals involved the use of some sort of psychotropic drug to "enhance" the religious experience of the "believers". In other words, the feeling of transcendence can be induced by overactivation of this pathway. WHat is REALLY cool about the dopamine D4 receptor is we know it is abnormally expressed in drug addicts and schizophrenics, both of whom suffer from hallucinations and lose grip with reality.

  When you see those wacko fundamentalists writhing on the floor at their "faith revival" meetings, they are experiencing a similar neural phenomenon!!!
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  36

  genetics and neuroanatomy of religious belief

  by kid-A in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the first article links the expression of the dopamine d4 neurotransmitter receptor with ones likelihood of accepting religious beliefs.

  the d4 receptor is higly expressed in human prefrontal cortex, a region that is damaged in hyper-religious individuals......the pieces are all falling together to support the notion that there is a biological basis for "religious" or "magical" thinking.

  as a militant atheist, i guess i have low levels of d4 !!!

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  kid-A

  The first article links the expression of the Dopamine D4 neurotransmitter receptor with ones likelihood of accepting religious beliefs. The D4 receptor is higly expressed in human prefrontal cortex, a region that is damaged in hyper-religious individuals......the pieces are all falling together to support the notion that there is a biological basis for "religious" or "magical" thinking. As a militant atheist, I guess I have low levels of D4 !!! man, I got lucky!! !!!!!

  Psychiatr Genet. 2000 Dec;10(4):185-9.

  The DRD4 gene and the spiritual transcendence scale of the character temperament index.
  
  Comings DE , Gonzales N , Saucier G , Johnson JP , MacMurray JP .
  
  Department of Medical Genetics, City of Hope Medical Center, Duarte, California, USA. [email protected]
  
  Two hundred male subjects (81 college students and 119 subjects from an addiction treatment unit) were administered the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and genotyped at the 48 base pair repeat polymorphism of the DRD4 gene. Subjects were divided by genotype into those carrying any < 4 repeat allele, those homozygous for the 4 repeat allele, and those with any > 4 repeat allele. The total MANCOVA of seven TCI summary scores, with age and diagnostic group as covariates, was significant (P < or = 0.001). The largest effect was with self-transcendence (P < or = 0.001). The total MANCOVA for the three self-transcendence subscores was significant (P < or = 0.017), with the spiritual acceptance subscore showing the most effect (P < or = 0.001, power = 0.91). These results suggest the DRD4 gene may play a role in the personality trait of spiritual acceptance. This may be a function of the high concentration of the dopamine D4 receptor in the cortical areas, especially the frontal cortex.

  The role of the medial prefrontal cortex in human religious activity. Med Hypotheses. 2004;62(4):479-85 Muramoto O .
  
  Department of Neurology, Kaiser Permanente, Interstate Medical Office East, 3550 N Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97227, USA. [email protected]
  
  Although religious practices are ubiquitous and universal throughout human history, their biological basis is little understood, particularly at the neural level. In this paper, I will first review the current understanding of the neural basis of human religious activity, and then present a hypothesis that the medial prefrontal cortex plays a vital role in the integrity of religious activity. In this hypothesis, optimal functions of the medial prefrontal cortex, such as error detection, compliance to social norms, self-reflection, and theory of mind, are a key prerequisite to the maintenance of integrated religious activity. Hyperreligiosity may result from the hyperfunction of the medial prefrontal cortex, including rigid legalism (excessive error detection), excessive concern over one's existence (excessive self-reflection), and delusional interpretation of God's mind (excess of theory of mind). Future research based on this hypothesis is proposed, and the potential implication of this hypothesis on our society is also discussed.
• 
  74

  fandabbidozey

  by netclocker in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i am looking for help regarding some unsolved prophecies, regarding the king of the north and the eviction from heaven of satan, the woman, and three and a half years, or 42 months, or a time times and half a time.

  i have tried various forums over the past 4 years but only seem to get ridiculed or deleted.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/66606/1.ashx this site here locked me up.

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  kid-A

  Incidentally, thanks for sharing your research

  This is RESEARCH???? WTF??????
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  3

  They came here today!!!!

  by Legolas in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we disassociated ourselves in june, but that did not stop a witness from coming here today!

  we bought our house off of them nearly 4 years ago but we still get mail for them from time to time, anyhoo, some business checks came for him the other day and i put them in my jeep as i was going to 'return them to sender' but he stopped in to get them!

  that just threw me for a loop!

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  kid-A

  hey Legolas,

  Did you write a DA letter to them?
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  75

  I'm not buying it! That people left the Witnesses and became Christians.

  by free2beme in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i tried it, could not swallow all the lies and misinformation they had.

  i am sorry, but even if you deny the whole witness faith, there is still parts to christianity that they pointed out that you can not just ignore and act like it is okay to join another faith that is christian.

  are you going to become catholic when your know their history?

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  kid-A

  The JWs were always right about 1 thing: RELIGION IS A SNARE AND A RACKET

  (unfortunately they did'nt realize that included themselves as well)
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  9

  trouble making real friends

  by dezpbem in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we push people away and keep them at a distance out of fear.

  fear of getting close again.

  many ex-jw's have an odd habit of pushing people away.

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  kid-A

  You raise some excellent points. My most regrettable legacy from being raised a JW is the fact that I am VERY judgemental of people. The WTS deeply ingrained this into my entire mode of thinking and it is very hard to de-program this, even though I am completely free of any religious beliefs, this sub-conscious "attitude" still persists. I have to consciously suppress this judgemental tendency.
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  14

  Karma, Irony, Speeding Ticket

  by RichieRich in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  yesterday morning i was enjoying coffee with a few teachers when we started talking about the north carolina laws that say that if you get a ticket while you're under 18, your license might be revoked.

  i was joking with them that in my business sedan (ford taurus), i can speed and no one seems to care.

  i spoke way too soon.. yesterday evening, i was leaving for work at about 5:20. i saw that i was coming up on a cop, so i did that thing where you hit the brakes, but try not to make it obvious that you just slowed down.

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  kid-A

  Having lived in the states and dealt with speeding tickets, there are a couple things to do:

  1) Try to delay the court date. The date that they assign you is the one that they KNOW the officer can attend. If you get the date changed, there is a better chance the cop wont show up and the ticket will automatically be thrown out (I assume this applies to your state as well?)

  2) If you want to go to the trouble, you can request the details about the radar gun the cop was using and find out from the manufacturer if there have been problems with this brand, with calibration, etc.

  3) Just showing up in court will usually reduce the number of points taken from your record, in fact, you can ask the judge if he can reduce or not take any points off if you raise some doubts that you were definitely not going 40 mph. The points are what the insurance company will use to screw you with an insurance increase, but most insurance companies, like Geico, will forgive the first ticket without increasing your rates.

  4) THere is an URBAN legend about this also and I have no idea if its true. Apparently, if you OVERPAY the amount of the fine, the state has to issue a refund to you. If you never cash that check, technically the file is never closed and the points dont go on your record...however, this is probably bunk.

  good luck
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  28

  2006 Yeartext: Obey!

  by Severus in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the examining the scriptures daily 2006 has been released.

  the jw rites of surprise and expectation over the new year's text are now at a fever pitch.

  it seems that the theme "godly obedience" was such a hit at the 2005 district conventions, that the governing body has served up an extra helping.

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  kid-A

  How comforting to know that the Governing Body has our best interests at heart

  would someone please pass the barf-bag???
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  23

  I know I have said this before but.......

  by defd in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  y'all may not see nearly as much of me anymore.

  as i already stated, i only come here while i am at work.

  the job i have now gave me alot of free time on my hands.

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  kid-A

  Good luck with the new job, dude. Dont be a stranger....y'all come back now, ya hear??
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  15

  Rutherford's 1930 interview

  by Fatfreek in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  check out your old issues of time.

  you may be surprised.

  fats.. religion.

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  kid-A

  fatfreek and TD, fantastic work! How on earth did you find these articles? Fascinating insight into the "judge"....