Were we created to believe in God?

The retiring Bishop of Rochester, The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, was quoted in the UK Telegraph this week as saying Britain is in a moral crisis because it has slipped so far from the Biblical world view it once held.

One particular comment by Nazir-Ali caught my attention;

"We need to get away from the constant making of moral decisions by opinion poll."

This resonates loudly in Australia where we have a habit of watching where the world is headed and following one or two steps behind, unless we can become world leaders at anything in which case we will put all our resources into getting to the front.

Lamentably, this is especially true of moral issues where we do not have a good track record of upholding Biblical standards. In fact, if you understood Australians only through public comment made by the movers and shakers in society, you would conclude we actually stand against the Bible's standards because they represent only a minority of the population and hark back to an uneducated era which we are well rid of.

Ironically, Nazir-Ali's comments come as Bristol University reveals the findings of a study into human brain activity which concludes we are naturally inclined to believe in God.

The study, at Bristol University (see the Times Online), suggests atheists are fighting a losing battle trying to convince us all to forget about God because every new generation finds a natural way to bring him back into the picture.

Bruce Hood, professor of developmental psychology at Bristol University puts it like this,

“Our research shows children have a natural, intuitive way of reasoning that leads them to all kinds of supernatural beliefs about how the world works. As they grow up they overlay these beliefs with more rational approaches but the tendency to illogical supernatural beliefs remains as religion.”

He concludes that is all part of our evolutionary makeup, which is about all you can say when you don't believe in God but your are looking at his fingerprints.

This human character trait, it seems, is universal as sin itself (although I won't hold my breath waiting for that study!) Our conscience tells there is a God, even in our unbelief and rebellion against him, and so we ponder his existence despite perhaps having never formally learned about him.

The interesting fallout will be the reaction of people like Richard Dawkins who have long cried that any religious belief is the result of brainwashing by uneducated, superstitious people - usually parents who are opposed to science and reason.

Furthermore, the report in the Times also quotes the work of Andrew Newberg whose book How God Changes Your Brain claims the human brain is physically altered by a positive belief system, which everyone seems to agree Christians have. 

Most of this will be explained away by the world's intelligentsia and that's what you would expect. People are converted to Christianity by coming under the gospel message, not through scientific studies or statistical analysis, however you have to admit the evidence is there for those you have eyes which see and ears which hear. We are without excuse.

All this must make God laugh. Modern science began with a Biblical worldview which has slowly been eradicated and now scientists are finding the evidence for God is still there.

When will we learn?