For every physical characteristic that is universal to a species,

there must exist some gene or set of genes responsible for the
emergence of that particular trait. For example, the fact that all
cats possess whiskers means that somewhere within a cat's
chromosomes there must exist "whisker" genes. Of our own
species, that all humans possess a nose in the middle of our face
means that somewhere within our chromosomes there must exist
"nose" genes that instruct our emerging bodies to develop one in
that very place. It's not, for instance, as if a nose can develop
anywhere on one's body, only by mere coincidence, it always
ends up on our face. Apparently, humans are genetically "hard-
wired" to develop in a very specific and particular way.

The same principle not only applies to universal physical traits,

but to universal behaviors as well. Take, for instance, the fact
that all honeybees construct their hives in the same hexagonal
pattern. That all honeybee colonies, regardless of whether
they've been exposed to any other, construct their hives in such
an identical fashion means that they must be "hard-wired" to do
so. It's not as if honeybees can build their hives any way they
"desire," only by sheer coincidence all construct them in the
same exact way. Apparently, honeybees are innately, that is,
genetically "hard-wired" to construct their hives in this particular
fashion. This would suggest that somewhere in the honeybees'
brains there must exist a specific cluster of neurons that contain
genetically inherited instructions which compel the bees to
construct hexagonally shaped hives. The same principle holds
true for anything from a peacock's instinct to display its feathers
when exposed to an aroused peahen to a cat's instinct to groom
itself. In essence, any behavior that is universal to any species is,
more than likely, the consequence of a genetically inherited
impulse or instinct. The above principle not only applies to
honeybees, peacocks, or cats but to every life form, including our
own. The fact, for instance, that every human culture - no matter
how isolated - has communicated through language suggests that
our species' linguistic capacities constitute a genetically inherited
trait. Since our capacity for language represents a cognitive
function, there must exist some very specific cluster of neurons
within the brain from which our linguistic capacities are
generated.

As we know such "linguistic" sites do exist in the human brain and

include the Wernicke's area, Broca's area, and angular gyrus.
Damage incurred to any one of these "language" specific sites
will impair some very specific part of one's language capacities.
What this clearly demonstrates is that our linguistic capacities are
directly related to our neurophysiological makeup. Furthermore,
this supports the notion that for every cross-cultural behavior our
species exhibits there must exist a specific part of the brain from
which that behavior is generated.

If it's true that this principle applies to all of our cross-cultural

behaviors, should we not also apply it to spirituality? Every known
culture from the dawn of our species has maintained a belief in
some form of a "spiritual" reality. Wouldn't this suggest that
human spirituality must represent an inherent characteristic of
our species, that is, a genetically inherited trait? Furthermore,
being that spirituality, just like language, represents a cognitive
function, wouldn't this suggest that our "spiritual" instincts, just
like our linguistic ones, must be generated from some very
specific physical part within the brain? I informally refer to this
site as the "God" part of the brain, a cluster of neurons from
which spiritual cognitions, sensations, and behaviors are
generated.

How else are we to explain the fact that all human cultures - no
matter how isolated - have maintained a belief in some form of a
spiritual/transcendental reality, in a god or gods, a soul, as well as
an afterlife? How else are we to explain the fact that every human
culture has built houses of worship through which to pray to such
unseen forces? Or that every known culture has buried (or at
least disposed of) its dead with a rite that anticipates sending the
deceased person's "spiritual" component, or what we call a soul,
onward to some next plane, or what we call an afterlife? Wouldn't
the universality with which such perceptions and behaviors are
exhibited among our species suggest that we might be "hard-
wired" this way? How about the fact that every known culture has
related undergoing what we refer to as spiritual experiences?
Perhaps we are "hard-wired" to experience such sentiments as
well. Just as all honeybees are compelled to construct
hexagonally shaped hives, perhaps humans are compelled to
perceive a spiritual reality...as a reflex, an instinct.

Essentially, what I'm suggesting is that humans are innately

"hard-wired" to perceive a spiritual reality. We are "hard-wired" to
believe in forces that transcend the limitations of this, our
physical reality. Most controversial of all, if what I'm suggesting is
true, it would imply that God is not necessarily something that
exists "out there," beyond and independent of us, but rather as
the product of an inherited perception, the manifestation of an
evolutionary adaptation that exists within the human brain. And
why would our species have evolved such a seemingly abstract
trait? -In order to enable us to deal with our species' unique and
otherwise debilitating awareness of death.

With the dawn of human intelligence, for the first time in the
history of terrestrial life, an organism could point its powers of
perception back upon its own being; it could recognize its own
self as an object. For the first time, when an animal kneeled down
to drink from the watering hole, it recognized its own reflection.
Only humans possess the advanced capacity for self-awareness.
Though, in many ways, this capacity has helped to make our
species the most versatile and powerful creature on earth, it also
represents the source of our greatest affliction. This is because
once we became aware of the fact that we exist, we became
equally aware of not just the possibility that one day we might
not, but the certainty that one day we will not. With the advent of
our species, with the emergence of self-conscious awareness, a
life form became cognizant of the fact that it is going to die. All
we had to do was to look around us to see that death was
inevitable and inescapable. More terrifying yet, death could befall
us at anytime. Any moment can be our last.

All life is "hard-wired" to avoid those things that represent a

threat to its existence. When an animal gets too close to fire, for
example, it reflexively pulls away. It is this negative stimulus, this
experience we call pain, that prompts all forms of life to avoid
such potential life threats. Pain, therefore, acts as nature's
electric prod that incites us to avoid those things which may
jeopardize our existence.

In the "higher" animals, most particularly among the mammals,

threatening circumstances elicit a particular type of pain we refer
to as anxiety. Anxiety constitutes a type of pain meant to prompt
these "higher" order animals to avoid potentially hazardous
circumstances. For example, a rabbit is cornered by a mountain
lion. In such a situation, the rabbit is pumped with adrenaline,
charged with the painful symptoms of anxiety, all meant to incite
the rabbit to most effectively escape from the source of its
discomfort, in this case the mountain lion. In its healthiest form,
anxiety is meant to prompt an animal to avoid or escape a
potentially hazardous experience. In humans, however, once we
became aware of the fact that death was not only inescapable
but that it could come at any moment, we were left in a state of
constant mortal peril, a state of unceasing anxiety - much like
rabbits perpetually cornered by a mountain lion from which there
is no escape. With the emergence of self-awareness, humans
became the dysfunctional animal, rendered helpless by an
inherent and unceasing anxiety disorder. Unless nature could
somehow relieve us of this debilitating awareness of death, it's
possible our species might have soon become extinct. It was
suddenly critical that our animal be modified in some way that
would allow us to maintain self-conscious awareness, while
enabling us to deal with our unique awareness of our own
mortalities, of death.

Here lies the origin of humankind's spiritual function, an

evolutionary adaptation that compels our species to believe that
though our physical bodies will one day perish, our "spirits" or
"souls" will persist for all eternity. Only once our species was
instilled with this inherent (mis)perception that there is
something more "out there," that we are immortal beings, were
we able to survive our debilitating awareness of death.
-----Mathew Alper
Now that you understand the underlying premise of
THE "GOD" PART OF THE BRAIN:
I hope you will be inspired to read on...