Scientists can not explain human thought, sensation and perception by brain function. But your Bible reveals the mystery.
Transcript
The question is as old as human history but you can know the answer. Almost 2,500 years ago Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine tried to discover the answer. Since the 1700's western philosophers have been writing about it and discussing it. Modern psychology tries its best to understand it. Geneticist, biologist, astronomers and even mathematicians have delved into the difficulty. Millions of dollars are spent on research to try and answer this seemingly unanswerable question. What's the question? Stay tuned to Beyond Today as we examine, what is the secret of the mind?
What is the fattest organ in the body? Not sure? Here's a hint, it's the same organ that's the most complex. It's the brain. Even though your brain may be about 60% fat it produces you're every thought, feeling, action, recollection and experience. Now science knows a tremendous amount about the human brain. It's composed of about 100 billion nerve cells or neurons. Science knows that the brain has an incredible design. But can science, by observation and experimentation explain the mind? How much do they really know?
Now it's been discovered that your brain can process information in a split second. Now that takes a bit of energy. So while you're awake, your brain generates enough energy to power up a light bulb. It's fast and it's powerful but did you know it's painless? The brain itself feels no pain. That's because there's no pain receptors in the brain.
Brain surgeon, Roger Speery, said in the human head there are forces within forces, within forces as in no other cubic half foot of the universe that we know. Now when you add in the factor of the mind, it becomes a mystery inside a mystery. Now even though science has discovered a great deal about the brain there are still crucial mysteries, the biggest and most baffling, how does the brain produce consciousness?
In other words, what's the secret of the human mind?
Our thoughts, sensations, perceptions, those things that define us as humans, they can't be explained in terms of brain activity. What are the researchers missing? Is there a component they're observations can't detect?
Now to try to and answer this mystery and gain a better understanding, neuroscientists have studied animal brains. But instead of learning more about the human brain, science has run into a dilemma. Comparing the animal brain to the human brain, researchers have discovered that there's really not a momentous difference. Neurobiologists have found that parts of the cerebral cortex look pretty much alike. In simple terms when we crack open the skull of a human, of course we don't recommend you do this at home, but when you crack open a human skull and an animal skull you see pretty much the same material. The human brain is only slightly larger than a chimpanzees but it's much smaller than an elephant's brain. Yet the output of the human brain is immensely superior to both the chimps and an elephants. So science has found that fantastic output of our brains is not because of size, it's not because of more cells, it's not even because of an improved design. It's no wonder that science wrestles with the unexplained riddle of the mind.
Now no doubt there are functions of the brain that are only human. Language is probably the best example. Animals, they can communicate with sounds and movements. It's only human beings that can talk and write. Animals, they can't appreciate art or music or religion or philosophy. Human beings, we can think, we can reason, we can make choices. Animals, they have no such choice. They are limited to doing things based on instinct or repetitive training. You see when it comes right down to it, no scientist has been able to explain why the human brain gives us the function of the mind. Now science wants to convince us that they know but the truth is they simply don't.
The latest research on the human brain is based on what can be observed, what can be measured, or what can be subjected to experimentation. Cognitive science with very, very few exceptions will not admit that anything other than just the physical exists. They won't consider that there might be a non-physical part of the human brain that gives us mind power.
Now here's an example, Richard Dawkins, the famous British biological theorist and author of the God Delusion , said this, “Consciousness is the biggest puzzle facing biology, neurobiology, computational studies and evolutionary biology”. He went on to say, “It is a very, very, big problem. I don't know the answer, nobody knows the answer. I think one day they probably will know the answer but even if science doesn't know the answer, I return to the question, what on earth makes you think that religion will?”
You see in other words he's saying that man is only physical, his mind, his thinking, his emotions can only be explained by biology or genetics and yet Mr. Dockens admits that science can't explain consciousness, it cannot understand the human mind. Why? Because it won't recognize God as Creator.
The fact is that the secret of the mind is revealed in your Bible. Now many view the Bible with hostility, they reject the Bible and accept evolution as fact. In academic and scientific circles criticism of the theory of evolution is often suppressed. At the same time the Bible is banned from class rooms, so serious discussion of the biblical view of creation is excluded. Does a theory rule your perception?
Well we have something to help. We have a free booklet. In this booklet, Creation or Evolution: Does it Really Matter What You Believe? , we examine the premise of evolution. We consider the evidence evolutionist site to support their theory. This booklet will help you understand the truth. You can go online right now to BeyondToday.tv and download it or you can read it online. Or you can even order your free copy of Creation or Evolution. Now most importantly we look at the scientific facts that evolutionist don't like to discuss. You can know whether evolution is true. It does matter what you believe. So request your free copy today. Thinking people, people like you are searching for meaning and it's not found in evolution. But it's found in the pages of your Bible. To request your free copy today you can click or you can call toll free 1-888-886-8632 that's 1-888-886-8632 or go online to BeyondToday.tv this booklet will help you understand the secret of the mind. Now you can also follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page.
You see scientist like Richard Dockens scoff at the idea that the Bible could explain the human mind but God reveals why the human mind is so vastly superior to animal brain. Lets notice what the Bible has to say about it. Turn to Genesis 1:24
And so we see there are animal kind, birds and cattle, insects, reptiles and fish. They were all created after their own. But man is different. Here we are just a couple of verses later. You see God states it so very clearly. There's a difference between animals and man. Man was made not after an animal kind but he was made after the God kind. In fact God clarifies this even more, just a chapter later, chapter 2 verse 7, notice what the Amplified Bible says,
Now we can notice two things from these verses, man was created essentially from the same materials, the dust of the ground, the same things as other creatures. So it's interesting to note that when God created all of these things, all the animals and the creeping things, He brought them to life how? By speaking, He spoke and they existed. And yet with man did you notice what God did? He had hands on personal involvement in the creation of man, there was something more. That's the second thing to notice, there was something more for mankind. When God breathed into man physical life He also spiritually breathed the human spirit into him. I mean it's the spirit that enables man to have a mind that is in the image of God's. You see the secret to the human mind is a spirit component in man's brain that is not found in animal brain. Every person is born with this spirit element that's activating the brain and gives it the power of the mind. Job 32:8 is a section of scripture that God gives us a little bit more information about this spirit. Notice what is says
So you see when you ask why is the output of the human mind so vastly superior to the animal brain? Well it's because God has placed within humans a spirit essence that gives us our distinctly human qualities, it gives us our abilities to think and to reason. So your Bible teaches that this spirit in man gives us the power and ability to know things that animals can't know. Now don't jump to the conclusion that I'm talking about an immortal soul, that is not the case at all. We'll talk about that in just a moment. But this spirit in man, it's a non-physical component, it can't be measured. It's a spirit essence, it's given by God and it actuates the brain, it turns it on. In fact in the book of Zechariah 12:1 God tells us very plainly
You see that spirit in man parts that awareness, that intellect, that creativity and free will. All those things that make human accomplishment and knowledge possible, the Bible tells us clearly, that comes from God. In fact it's not just an Old Testament thing, it's also found in the New Testament. I. Cor. 2:11 the Epistle Paul makes it so very clear for us. Look at what God inspired him to write
In other words how can man know or think, understand, perceive or have consciousness of self? Answer: it's by the spirit essence the human spirit that God adds to your physical brain. So we can feel and love, design, create and imagine the future. We can have a sense of destiny and purpose because of this spirit in us. Now it's not an immortal soul. There is no such thing. The spirit in man does not have a life of its own. It's not something that lives on after our bodies die. The Bible is very clear about that. Ecclesiasties 8:8 makes it so very clear. Let's notice what it says. It says
You see in other words, God's telling us that the human spirit has no consciousness apart from the body because man's mortal. He's apt to die. The human spirit can't see, the brain sees through the eyes. The human spirit can't hear, the brain hears through the ears. The human brain can't think. The brain thinks as it's actuated and given power to reason through the spirit in man. So when we die we have no awareness of anything. In fact just a chapter over, Ecclesiastes 9 reminds us that the dead know nothing. Now you might ask, what would a man be like without this human spirit? Is there an example of a person who doesn't have the spirit in man? Well let's consider the account of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, now he's an interesting story. Found over in the book of Daniel, Daniel 4:30 let's notice Daniel 4:30 tells us about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, it's recorded for us
You see Nebuchadnezzar taking credit for everything. And look what happens, verse 31
Now verse 33 tells us
And at the end of time Nebuchadnezzar had a revelation. Something happened, he's acting like an animal, he's out there with the cows, he's laying in the fields. He's allowed his hair to grow, he doesn't have any concept of what's going on. His nails are even like birds claws. And yet at the end of time, Nebuchadnezzar it says for us
Notice what he says
In fact it's interesting when you look up this passage in different translations it really gives you the meaning behind it. Not only did his understanding return to him, other translations tells us, “I could think normally again”. The New Living translations says
The Message says
An other translations says,
You see we have this fantastic example of a man without the spirit living like an animal. But then his mind was healed, he was given back his sanity. In fact when you skip down to verse 36 it makes even more evident. It says
In other words I can be a human being again. I can return back to being a King.
You see there is such a difference between animals and humans and that difference is the spirit in man. Without it we are like Nebuchadnezzar in the wilderness, we're like an animal. It's this spirit that makes consciousness possible. We are made in God's image and His likeness. And He's given us a mind so that we can have a relationship with Him. What is the secret of the mind? Almost no one seems to know but God has revealed the secret. It's the spirit in man that God's placed within you. Don't be taken in by those that discount the Creator of life. There's a better way and its found in the truth of God's word.
Now there's so much more to discuss on this topic. Up next we'll be talking with the Beyond Today panel. But first I have a special offer for you today. It's the Good News magazine. The goal of the Good News is to provide you with understanding. You can get your subscription absolutely free. Go online to BeyondToday.tv or where you can download it, you can read it on line or order your free subscription. Many magazines report the news or current events. They give you information but not the answers. They don't discuss the really important questions; why were you born, what's your purpose in life what lies ahead. That's why you need the Good News . It will help you with the answers. So click or give us a call toll free 1-888-886-8632, that's 1-888-886-8632. Go on line to BeyondToday.tv and get your free subscription now. The Good News not only analyses world trends and events in the light of Bible prophecy but it will also help you with your everyday life. Get your subscription today, its free. And don't forget to follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page.
We've got the Beyond Today panel with us, we've been discussing the secret of the mind, fellow hosts Darris McNeely and Gary Petty. Now guys as we talk about this secret, how is it that science just doesn't seem to be able to get to the answer of why we can really think and why we can reason?
(Gary Petty)
It's because science can't discover the gulf between what animals do and what humans do. I mean if we just look at beavers. Beavers build dams. And they go out generation after generation after generation of beavers build the same dam. They don't build the Hoover dam. The gulf between that is enormous. The engineering, the mathematics, what goes into constructing these huge dams. What is that difference? That's what science can't supply the answers to.
(Steve Myers)
So they can't measure it.
(Gary Petty)
They can't measure it.
(Steve Myers)
They can't come down to it and analyze it in that sense.
(Darris McNeely)
And that's because they are locked into a paradigm that is of course part of the scientific method, that is that they are not able to look at revelation, they are not able to look at something that cannot be seen or measured. And yet that is a contradiction with a lot of science, especially the physical sciences because the physical sciences in recent decades have made tremendous leaps of understanding of the molecular structure of life, the subatomic level. It seems the more they understand about what matter is composed of the more they realize that matter is composed of spirit or emptiness, there's space there. Now you can call it whatever you will but there are things that go on at that level that they can not explain yet they see it.
(Steve Myers)
Yeah, when you talk about neurotransmitters and you talk about the neurons in the brain, you talk about all the synopsis, that certainly can measure physical things but it doesn't explain that huge gulf between beavers and mankind. It doesn't explain why we have an awareness and you can't help but wonder why is it that God has no value when it comes to scientific research. Why is God excluded in that equation?
(Gary Petty)
You know when you look at, you said earlier that we are made in the image of God. Man is made in the image of God. With the exclusion of God, we have lost the concept of the real value of what it means to be human. So when we bring that up, we pull away from God, we destroy the Creator in our minds. Of course He's still there, and in doing so we destroy our value as the creation.
(Darris McNeely)
And its so ironic because man is created in God's image and its this understanding the scriptures gives us about the mind, the spirit in man as it is called, that really is the key to man making that connection with God. And that's the problem here, the irony of the problem, man of all the creation is able to even stand apart from himself and ask the questions about who am I, why am I, is there a God? And the answer to those questions can be discerned because we have that spirit.
(Steve Myers)
Because he gave it to, God gave you that ability.
(Darris McNeely)
He gave us that spirit in man, as it is called, to begin to not only to discern the things of the flesh, and of the physical world also but to begin to probe deeper and ask those more meaningful questions that really do direct us toward God and forms the basis for what is the ultimate connection of the relationship that we should all ultimately strive for and all ultimately have with God. But it will be made possible because we have that spirit given to us from our beginnings, from our birth.
(Steve Myers)
So when you get right down to it then it is that spirit, isn't that what gives man the ability to think and to reason.
(Gary Petty)
Now I want you to think about what you read a little bit earlier, the Apostle Paul, 2,000 years ago, a man that doesn't know science, just a fraction of what we know today about science, and he's able to understand through God's revelation when he says what knows the things of man except by the spirit of man. He understood that that component, it's not our brain but it activates our brains, it makes us different. I mean this is some of the most exciting information you can find any place because it tells you who you are and why you exist and what the Creator's purpose is for you.
(Steve Myers)
And its not a neurological thing, its not a biological thing, its not something that is a result of evolution but it's a gift from God, that spirit in man that human spirit that actuates our brain and gets it motivated and gives us the ability to have consciousness.
(Darris McNeely)
And its not a difficult matter to understand, I began learning about this 40 years ago, I mean even scientists.
(Steve Myers)
Probably most people may not even be aware of it.
(Gary Petty)
That's right.
(Darris McNeely)
No they're not, I was taught it 40 years ago by a neuroscientist who was beginning to ask the same questions and looking into it himself, and beginning to make the connection with the spiritual element of life and the scriptures and began to see that the two meshed which is what true religion and true science can be reconciled and can work together to explain life and especially this particular subject of what man is and how he functions and how he relates to God.
(Steve Myers)
I think that begins to touch on something that really shows the tremendous potential for human beings because we have this spirit in us that God has given to actuate our brain but that is only part of the story, isn't it?
(Gary Petty)
Oh, the rest of it is the exciting part. Because a cat is a complete creation, a dog is a complete creation, human beings are incomplete. We have a purpose that goes beyond this age, we have a purpose that goes into eternity as the children of God. To really move forward, we have to ask God for another spirit.
(Darris McNeely)
You just touched on it today but this is the real secret above all things that helps us to understand who we are and how we can connect with God. People understand, they're looking forward, they don't know where to find it but it's right in front of them in the Bible.
It's an amazing fact that God's given you the potential to have a wonderful relationship with him. He's blessed mankind with an amazing mind. And it didn't just happen. It wasn't just blind chance. Now you can find out more about it. To help you understand remember our free offers today, Creation or Evolution, Does it Really Matter What You Believe . Absolutely it does! This booklet will help you grasp the truth about this great mystery and its absolutely free. It's written to help you know the facts. So click or call, go online to BeyondToday.tv and you can download it, read it online or order your free copy, Creation or Evolution . Call it 1-888-886-8632. Now don't forget your free subscription to the Good News magazine, it's a magazine that will help you understand the world around you and help you with personal issues too like how to have a better marriage or how to raise your family in the right way. The Good News will help you gain understanding and you can get your subscription absolutely free. So go online to BeyondToday.tv to download it, read it online or order that free subscription. That's 1-888-866-8632 be sure you don't miss out on our free offer. Now you can also follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook fan page.
So what is the secret of the mind? Though science has discovered a massive amount about the brain, it cannot explain your thoughts, your sensations, your perceptions, it just doesn't happen in terms of brain activity. Your Bible on the other hand clearly explains the mystery. But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding. You see its a spiritual component which God gives to every person that provides awareness and intelligence. It's this human spirit that enables you to have a mind in God's image. Should this understanding make a difference in your life? Absolutely! The purpose of your life is more than making money or gaining social status. It's more than jobs, cars, houses or making your next payment. Your purpose is to become a part of the God family, the spiritual children of God. And it's possible when God adds his spirit to your human spirit. God's given you the marvelous potential to be His sons and His daughters forever. No wonder your Bible gives the credit to the creator God. You made all the delicate elements of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex. Your workmanship is marvelous. Don't take for granted what God's revealed. The secret of the human mind is the spirit in man.
That's our program for today, don't forget our free offers and be sure to join us next time, here on Beyond Today . Thanks for watching.
