Does the Bible or the Quran speak of the brain?

Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by kafer, Jul 18, 2007.

  1. #1
    I could find not a single evidence in both holy books that points to the brain as being the central organ in our body, not a word! However citations of thought, emotions or behaviour were all associated with the heart, being the control centre in our body.

    Did god not know about the brain for him not to mention it not even once? Or were the writers of the holy books just reflecting the common knowledge of the time that valued the heart as the main organ for intelligence.

    We can feel the heart and sense various emotions such as anger, fear or love. So it is not of a surprise that our ancestors thought of it as being responsible for human thought.

    I did some search on the bible and the Quran and found the following statistics.

    Searched for the following words in the Bible (new international version):

    Brain==> 0 resutls
    Heart==> 743 Results
    Head==> 309 Results
    Mind==> 156 Results
    Heart and mind==> 27 Results

    As you can see, the search results show that the heart was essential and the brain useless.

    Example:

    Zec 7:10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.

    Isa 6:10 …Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,
    understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

    Mark: 2:8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things?​


    Any mention of the head did not relate to the brain but rather something else like family head, eyes in your head, or crushed head, like:

    Gen 3:15 he will crush your head
    Gen 40:16 On my head were three baskets of bread.
    Num 1:4 each the head of his family​

    The reference to mind is ambiguous and does not state that it is from the brain. The mentioning of mind seems similar to heart, a replacement word perhaps, a repetition or just an emphasis of the heart.


    In the Quran the same story applies. No mention of the brain, only the heart is important:

    Search results containing "heart" in the Quran returned 188 Results.

    Clear examples from the Quran:

    Shakir 22:46 Have they not travelled in the land so that they should have hearts with which to understand, or ears with which to hear? For surely it is not the eyes that are blind, but blind are the hearts which are in the breasts.


    Shakir 7:179 And certainly We have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear; they are as cattle, nay, they are in worse errors; these are the heedless ones​



    Influential old views of the brain matched that of the bible and the Quran:

    What do you think?
     
    kafer, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  2. guerilla

    guerilla Notable Member

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    #2
    If you are using this thread as a theological vehicle to prove you do not have a brain, I would say, that you might be onto something. ;)
     
    guerilla, Jul 18, 2007 IP
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  3. The Webmaster

    The Webmaster IdeasOfOne

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    #3
    whats the point?


    PS: Good one guerilla.. ;)
     
    The Webmaster, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  4. Rebecca

    Rebecca Prominent Member

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    #4
    I think that this is a good thread, but I cannot find the answer. I went to this site where you can search different bibles by keyword, but cannot find the term "brain"...
    http://www.biblegateway.com/
     
    Rebecca, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  5. lorien1973

    lorien1973 Notable Member

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    #5
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/brain

    [Origin: bef. 1000; ME; OE bræg(e)n, bregen; c. LG brägen, D brein]

    Its origin is Middle English/Old English. A book written before this time wouldn't contain the word, obviously.

    Mind has root in Latin/Greek, so its a much older word.
     
    lorien1973, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  6. Ahmad_Malik

    Ahmad_Malik Peon

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    #6
    The brain is not named in the Quran because I don't think the idea of the brain existed.
    But the description of different parts of the brain exists exactly the way they are. It is explained here.
     
    Ahmad_Malik, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  7. sarathy

    sarathy Peon

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    #7
    sarathy, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  8. samantha pia

    samantha pia Prominent Member

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    #8
    [​IMG]

    i thought the brain was something they are against. given they dont like sex out of marriage , adultery, things like that
     
    samantha pia, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  9. WebdevHowto

    WebdevHowto Peon

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    #9
    Nice picture, sometimes my brain looks like that ;)
     
    WebdevHowto, Jul 18, 2007 IP
  10. kafer

    kafer Peon

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    #10

    The point is that the word “heart” is overwhelmingly repeated 100s of times in the bible and the Quran, and it went beyond the figure of speech. The writers of these books assumed the heart, this muscular organ, to be the seat of intelligence and emotions. They had no idea of the role of the brain, they had not even referred to the mind being in the head.
     
    kafer, Jul 19, 2007 IP
  11. kafer

    kafer Peon

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    #11
    Your link is nothing but BS, you live in a delusional world my brother Ahmed. Wake up!:) Try to learn a bit of Arabic to get a grasp of what the Quran talks about. That’s the only way to stop others from fooling you in their misinterpreted misguided translations.
     
    kafer, Jul 19, 2007 IP
  12. bfebrian

    bfebrian Peon

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    #12
    because 'heart' is more important. heart is the soul.
    without heart, brain will be evil.
     
    bfebrian, Jul 19, 2007 IP
  13. bfebrian

    bfebrian Peon

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    #13
    sometimes or most the time? :D
     
    bfebrian, Jul 19, 2007 IP
  14. alaska88

    alaska88 Peon

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    #14
    Isn't the mind linked to the brain?
     
    alaska88, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  15. The Webmaster

    The Webmaster IdeasOfOne

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    #15
    Well the term "brain" was not in use at the time bible was written. so obviously you wont find it in bible.
    additionally, I believe the main goal of religion was brining people together and believe in a single theory without much thinking and reasoning. Thats why they never pressed on 'thinking', 'logic', 'reasoning' etc, the moto was, dont think, just listen and follow.
     
    The Webmaster, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  16. onixz100

    onixz100 Peon

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    #16
    It doesn't speak of the brain because back then, they weren't really sure what the brain was for, and so they created this imaginary bond between the brains functions and hearts. This same lack of knowledge extends onto their deity too - and are both just gap-fillers until more knowledge can be acquired.
     
    onixz100, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  17. infonote

    infonote Well-Known Member

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    #17
    Religions speak about the soul not physical body.
     
    infonote, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  18. ezguy

    ezguy Well-Known Member

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    #18
    :D


    hahahha the most funny post of the year :D
     
    ezguy, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  19. kafer

    kafer Peon

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    #19
    Other classic languages too didn’t have that word in the bible not even in Latin/Greek.
    The term “ brain” as an organ did exist in Latin and Greek but wasn’t used by the writers of the bible, because they didn’t associate it with thoughts and intelligence. They thought of the heart instead.

    Even if they couldn’t find the word brain. The “head” was a good start for linking it to reason and intelligence or even the mind.

    The link is apparent now but it wasn’t before. The word “mind” which refers to the aspects of intellect and consciousness, was also associated with the heart and not the head where the brain sits. In other words they thought of mind as follow “All aspects of the mind are rooted in the heart”


    The term brain was in use even before the time of the bible only it wasn’t associated with thoughts. 4th centuries BC Hippocrates, believed the brain to be the seat of intelligence but his views weren’t popular. The most influential and important view did however come from Aristotle that defined the heart as the centre for intelligence, the brain was nothing but a cooling mechanism for the blood.

    For the rest of your note “believe in a single theory without much thinking and reasoning” I agree with you.
     
    kafer, Jul 20, 2007 IP
  20. The Webmaster

    The Webmaster IdeasOfOne

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    #20
    Yes, But it wasnt considered was a vital part of thinking mechanism.
    Brian was/is a physical attribute while mind is considered as mental attribute.

    As per say, you can change your mind, you cant change your brain ;)
    So while Brain is related to physical body, the mind is related to thinking and your views.

    Rest of the things(about religion) I have written in my earlier post :)
     
    The Webmaster, Jul 20, 2007 IP