The God Part of the Brain, with Matthew Alper

94% of human beings in the world believe in God, or a form, or forms, of a Supreme Being. Could it be scientifically proven that human beings are built to have a spiritual nature as a survival function, just as we are designed to develop fingers and toes? Matthew Alper is the author of The God Part of the Brain: A Scientific Interpretation of Human Spirituality and God. Part of the emerging fields of biotheology and neurotheology, his book has been called “an essential book for those in search of a scientific understanding of man’s spiritual nature.” He speaks to Caer Hallundbaek about his journey, book, and personal discoveries. Topics in this hour include: whether human beings are hard-wired to develop spirituality and religions as a survival mechanism; the struggle with his own mortality that set Matthew off to find answers; the spiritual nature as a developed and adapted evolutionary trait; developing this survival trait to quell our fear of death; how science can measure the real effects of prayer and meditation in the human brain; Alper's interpretation of religion as delusion and imagination; the role of ethics and morality therein; Alper's eventual summation that human life has no real purpose; Caer's Tip for your  Spiritual Toolbelt;  more. For more information visit www.godspeedinstitute.com.