NEUROTHEOLOGY: A PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLOOK OF THE ISSUE OF APOTHEOSIS

Abstract

The focus of this paper is premised upon the notion that the amalgamation of nueroscience and theology, though possible is however problematic; and unless this issue is solved, it leaves the conception of neurotheology in doubt of its authenticity. Since man nds himself at the epicentre of a world of complexity where everything appears interwoven, his relevance as the harmoniser of the diverse components that make up his reality in the world is key. The major problem this paper addresses is that of reconciling two disciplines that are parallel and conicting; and in nding that singular feature that can create a bond between them, and the analysis of religious experiences. This bond is reason. Faith must be able to utilise reason, and should not see reason as contradictory to issues relating to belief. Rather than a detachment, there can be complementalism between science and theology, methodology and reason. God is not an entity that can be located in the brain, nor in the mind. He forms part of our reality, and this paper also attempts to dene what religious experience entails, how it affects our notion about God and the ontological aspect of the effects of neurotheology as a concept and as part of man's problem-solving reality. The relevance of this paper is key because the nonphysical aspect of reality cannot be jettisoned completely for the corporeal nature of ontology.