The Hive Switch & The Experience of God: The Science Behind our Transcendent Experiences
10/05/22 • 37 min
The moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt proposed in his book The Righteous Mind that humans are "90% chimpanzee and 10% bee." According to Haidt, humans have a "hive switch" that, given the right circumstances, can be switched on and move us from self-centered concerns to a euphoric sense of being connected to some larger whole.
Exploring Haidt's work and the proposal of Emile Durkheim that there's an evolutionary mechanism that psychological moves us from "the realm of the profane" to the "realm of the sacred," we'll take a look at whether or not our experiences of God in Christian worship are nothing more than this hive switch being turned on.
Plus, I'll lay out a case of why studying the science of this should actually convict Christians all the more for the need to practice what the Apostle Paul called the "discerning of spirits."
You can purchase (and please consider reviewing) my debut book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBYBWWXR
________
If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon?
Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, forum discussions and more. STARTING THIS MONTH, WE'LL HAVE AN PATREON COMMUNITY GROUP ZOOM HANG-OUT to build relationships with others across the world and to do theology and meaning-making together.
Help us reach our first goal of 300 patrons in order to sustain weekly, ad-free theological and philosophical education to anyone with an internet connection!
https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast
To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159
Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner
Join our Discord community at:
https://discord.gg/BzWetde3
The moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt proposed in his book The Righteous Mind that humans are "90% chimpanzee and 10% bee." According to Haidt, humans have a "hive switch" that, given the right circumstances, can be switched on and move us from self-centered concerns to a euphoric sense of being connected to some larger whole.
Exploring Haidt's work and the proposal of Emile Durkheim that there's an evolutionary mechanism that psychological moves us from "the realm of the profane" to the "realm of the sacred," we'll take a look at whether or not our experiences of God in Christian worship are nothing more than this hive switch being turned on.
Plus, I'll lay out a case of why studying the science of this should actually convict Christians all the more for the need to practice what the Apostle Paul called the "discerning of spirits."
You can purchase (and please consider reviewing) my debut book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBYBWWXR
________
If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon?
Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, forum discussions and more. STARTING THIS MONTH, WE'LL HAVE AN PATREON COMMUNITY GROUP ZOOM HANG-OUT to build relationships with others across the world and to do theology and meaning-making together.
Help us reach our first goal of 300 patrons in order to sustain weekly, ad-free theological and philosophical education to anyone with an internet connection!
https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast
To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159
Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner
Join our Discord community at:
https://discord.gg/BzWetde3
Previous Episode
Where Are You, God? Why the Problem of Evil is a Problem
Last week my debut book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering was released, and I wanted to share a couple of excerpts from the book, including a personal story of one of my earliest recollections of a moment when I asked, "where are you, God?"
This question, and a host of other questions that we often uncover as we grapple with that one, can often lead those who have suffered to abandon their trust in the Christian story and push them to leave Christian community. But I do not think this has to be the result. It wasn't for me.
You can purchase (and please consider reviewing) Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBYBWWXR
______________
If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon?
Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, forum discussions and more. STARTING THIS MONTH, WE'LL HAVE AN PATREON COMMUNITY GROUP ZOOM HANG-OUT to build relationships with others across the world and to do theology and meaning-making together.
Help us reach our first goal of 300 patrons in order to sustain weekly, ad-free theological and philosophical education to anyone with an internet connection!
https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast
To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159
Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner
Next Episode
How Political Tribalism Distorts Our Ability to See the Truth | Patrick Miller | Truth Over Tribe
Patrick Miller is the co-author of Truth Over Tribe: Pledging Allegiance to the Lamb, Not the Donkey or the Elephant, and in today's episode we discuss some of the scientific and social factors that are contributing to the intense tribal polarization in America.
How does the Culture War make Truth a casualty? How might Christians learn from our past mistakes and offer a better way forward? How can we navigate politically charged conversations with friends, family, and neighbors more effectively?
You can pick up Patrick Miller and Keith Simon's book here: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Over-Tribe-Pledging-Allegiance/dp/0830784780
Check out Truth Over Tribe's podcast and blog at:
choosetruthovertribe.com
You can purchase my debut book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBYBWWXR
________
If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon?
Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, forum discussions and access to regular Group Discussions on Zoom. Help us reach our first goal of 300 patrons in order to sustain weekly, ad-free theological and philosophical education to anyone with an internet connection! https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast
To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159
Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner
Join our Discord community at:
https://discord.gg/BzWetde3
If you like this episode you’ll love
Episode Comments
Generate a badge
Get a badge for your website that links back to this episode
<a href="https://goodpods.com/podcasts/deep-talks-cultural-theology-with-paul-anleitner-70689/the-hive-switch-and-the-experience-of-god-the-science-behind-our-trans-24068125"> <img src="https://storage.googleapis.com/goodpods-images-bucket/badges/generic-badge-1.svg" alt="listen to the hive switch & the experience of god: the science behind our transcendent experiences on goodpods" style="width: 225px" /> </a>
Copy