Confidence, Faith, & Serotonin

[logos]

Summary

I grew up American Pentecostal within the Word of Faith Movement (Kenneth Hagin & Kenneth Copeland), YEC, Left Behind Series, etc. This coupled with a broken home filled with mental illness, drugs, alcohol, etc. has left me a rather skeptical person. It’s not a fun place to be.

Problem

Included with the religious side of things, I’ve struggled with mental illness most of my life. Hospitalizations, medications, therapy, etc., have helped to some degree, but I’m never really too far from the edge. Regarding Christianity, Biologos, as well as, authors like Lewis, Nouwen, Polkinghorne, Wright, Yancey, just to name a few, have helped break me out of the rigid mindset that I grew into and helped me reconstruct a more foundational faith. I no longer see science as evil and a roadblock to God. I’ve learned to be comfortable with some theological uncertainties. And God is less the tyrant in the sky with a hammer waiting to strike. The skepticism of his existence however, remains. If my faith lacks anything, I suppose it is confidence.

Question

To the point of the post, yesterday, while I was pondering Easter, I had a thought regarding my skepticism of the empty tomb. I’m skeptical of the resurrection and the existence of God, but I’m also skeptical that we are here out of random chance, though admittedly more of God’s existence than the latter. It made me wonder about whether or not there is a connection between confidence in one’s belief and Serotonin levels. If there is, does this make belief chemical dependent? Do genetics play any role in belief? I’m wondering if there is anyone here in that area of expertise that may be able to shed some light on the topic?

Best regards,

Z

[Randy]

Welcome! I appreciate your thoughts. I really like Nouwen, too. I can sympathize with your doubts, including in regard to the resurrection. For what it’s worth, I am not a specialist in the cognitive science of religion,–just a family doc. So, please take what I say for what it’s worth.

I think that many of us just can’t believe on the face of it. And I think God honors us when we are honest–even if it leads us to unbelief or atheism. It’s the Emeth principle, as out of “The Last Battle.”

I like Randal Rauser, who admires NT Wright; Wright was friends with Marcus Borg,–Borg was a devout Christian who could not believe in the resurrection. Wright also considered him a Christian.

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Regarding propensities to believe, I think there is really such a basis. However, every time I think I find it, I am mistaken in its being the sole cause.

The cognitive science of religion has several notable scientists, including Justin Barrett, who says that even if we know why we believe something does not negate the reason for it.

On the other hand, a family member of mine with autism reminds me, with his skeptical questioning, that folks with autism have more difficulty with belief.

Harvard has a study that demonstrates a higher belief rate among those with intuitive vs reflective thinking Intuitive? Try God — Harvard Gazette

I often wonder why I believe–I think that my gut reason is not logical, but an affinity for my parents’ view; and Puddleglum like, I kind of hope for the best in the setting of a pessimistic outlook.

Certainly, the more I think it through, the more I trust that God, if He exists, must really understand where we come from, as the arguments are not clear.

I like your thoughts on serotonin. I’m not sure if it has more wiring to gut instinct or not, and the dopamine/serotonin reward system that also pairs with fairness or safety, as Jonathan Haidt discusses. However, he argues that neither is entirely with the God belief, I think. I have to read more about that.

Thanks. Best wishes.

[knor (Kai)]

@logos

It made me wonder about whether or not there is a connection between confidence in one’s belief and Serotonin levels. If there is, does this make belief chemical dependent? Do genetics play any role in belief?

I am not an expert so just some general observations.

Chemical imbalance in the brains has a strong effect on our mood. Combined with bad experiences about the attitudes and actions of the people around us, chemical imbalance in the brains can affect our ability to feel safe, trust others, make independent decisions or care about what happens to me, others or the world.

As our feelings may vary depending on these factors, it is important to ground our faith on something secure, not on how we feel. It includes learning to separate the solid foundation from our feelings - I can trust God even when I am not feeling confident or even care about what will happen. Doubt does not threaten faith that is built on a solid foundation - doubt may even be beneficial if it helps us to separate the truth from the false claims that are circling around us.

Genetics plays some role in the probability to experience depression or some other mental disorders that affect our mood. Environmental conditions (‘nurture’) also play a role, often combined with a genetic predisposition or susceptibility for a disorder. These can affect strongly our mood but as I wrote above, we should not build our faith on our feelings.

The core message of Christianity is about our relationship with God - Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It is good news about the possibility to restore our relationship with God and be born as His children, citizens of the Kingdom of God. As you grew up within one branch of the Pentecostal movement, I assume that you have heard this gospel often.
Knowledge of all the details is not what saves us. Salvation is tied to faith but if we dive deep into this teaching, salvation is fundamentally a work of God. He calls and saves us. Faith is what connects us to this saving work of God. Faith is not a feeling, it is turning towards God, deciding to put my trust in Him and accepting His rule in my life, despite my feelings. Even in the middle of the uncertainties and doubts we may feel, if we decide to trust God and live accordingly, in daily connection and communication with God, that is faith.

Genetic issues and harmful experiences may make our life more difficult and sometimes unbalanced but faith and salvation are not dependent on our condition.

[seamitchell]

Hello!

I know you came to have a question answered, but I also wanted to let you know that you’re not alone in this stage of your faith journey. I think part of the difficulty is, when you’ve been raised and saturated in the kind of church environment you describe, it makes other worldviews look way more plausible in comparison (like, “Why was I blind to this the whole time? It must be true!”). When I’ve stepped away from the internet-surfing addiction I have and actually tried to pray, read, or participate in genuine relationships with fellow Christ-followers, I realize that I do “experience” God. Also coming out of a dramatic religious environment myself, it may feel more ordinary most days than what is sometimes displayed by more charismatic folks… But I can also see that being in line with our day-to-day experience, which sort of acts as an evidence for me. I’m working on the confidence bit myself, and am often raising an eyebrow to supernatural claims like you seem to be. Like I said before, the shock of seeing the other, more materialistic side can do that to you. But we can both work on taking both perspectives into consideration—and maybe not always seeing the potential explanations as so black and white, as Phil McCurdy told me on my thread.

I have no expertise on the way our brains work, but I think that if chemicals and genetics do play a role in belief, the beliefs are not dependent on those things. Some people leave faith even if it’s hard and not gratifying, but some people also come to faith even if it’s hard and not gratifying. Many people stay in the faith of their families, while many people also leave the faith of their families. It may be easier to “go with the flow” of our comfortabilities and social pressures, but those things don’t always govern us mindlessly. But this is simply my layperson’s perspective from my observations .

I hope this helps!

[MarkD (A Whateverist, not a Christian)]

@Randy

Harvard has a study that demonstrates a higher belief rate among those with intuitive vs reflective thinking Intuitive? Try God — Harvard Gazette

Took a brief look but will be able to read it fully while Lia gets PT soon. I think they’re on to something. I think that is the reason I’ve always believed in something greater even while setting aside the supernatural category. Having no inherited belief to build around I have nothing supernatural which I must find room for. For Jesus you must accept resurrection, but God requires no such bargain. I think how to understand “resurrection” and “salvation” can be appreciated intuitively free of any backstory. Richard Rohr speaks of the “cloud of unknowing”. There, trusting in intuition, one can feel quite close to what is more without trying to pin it down.

My only quibble is with setting “reflection” across from “intuition” as a contrast. I would have chosen “deliberation” for that job; reflection seems like a frame of mind that allows for intuition.

Edited to add that having just begun to read it I think they have it wrong. They’re conflating intuition with jumping to conclusions impulsively. It doesn’t have to be that way. Ideally in real life everyone would make use of both intuition and careful consideration. Intuition may make us aware of something we don’t fully understand which seems promising but careful consideration guided by intuition might bring something to light. Intuition provides the bread crumbs which allows reason to follow. If anyone else is interested in reading and discussing the article I do intend to finish it now.

Finished it and it was blessedly brief. They do conclude:

People inevitably rely on both intuitive and reflective thinking, with different styles for different situations.