There is a post over at The Panda's Thumb about science investigating religion, that I think makes some good points. I noted this paragraph:
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Modern medical science is based precisely on comparing the outcomes of different interventions in order to choose the most effective to maximize quality and/or quantity of life. And once the data are known, it is standard medical practice to allow every patient to follow the course of intervention that most satisfies one’s individual preferences and goals. Most of us would consider having the choice between more or less aggressive cancer therapy options, weighing quality of life and survival expectancy issues, to be an absolute positive. I see no reason why the very same should not apply to the option of choosing between different religious practices based on similar parameters, should they be shown to indeed significantly affect life expectancy. In fact, assuming the health benefit of religious practice could be satisfactorily demonstrated, even if the effect of changing one’s religious practice were just marginal on an individual level (say, one month’s longer lifespan on average), the cumulative effect at population level could be enormous, giving the vast numbers of faithful. Just from a public health perspective, it should arguably be considered unethical not to investigate the issue and disseminate the results.
It strikes me that while Mormons are pretty cautious about science and scholarship proving the Book of Mormon or other particular doctrines, we do seem to like touting the 'fruits' of the gospel, which usually include such things as good health (thanks to the Word of Wisdom), somewhat lower divorce (thanks to temple marriage), and so forth.
Also in the news is a neuroscience study on speaking in tongues. He is an atheist, so you would expect him be a little sour about such things, but I think PZ Myers makes good points.This is a paper that reports quite ordinary changes in the level of brain activity during glossolalia; there are no traces of possessing spirits or other extra-cranial meddling entities, and there is no provision in the work for detecting them if there were.
Mormons tend to be more practical about speaking in tongues; these days our conception of it bears little resemblence to how other Christians view it. But the larger point is that if you want to show that the brain is being acted upon by an outside influence, you're going to have to have a compelling model system.
I think that, ideally, verifiable intelligence would be communicated. That sounds like criteria that Brother Joseph would support.
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