Last week we posed a series of questions designed to make us think about a unique capacity that is common among human beings but is nonexistent in the rest of the animal kingdom.
That wonderful characteristic is termed the duality of man. The 18 th century philosopher Gottfried Leibnitz said “if we liken the human brain to a factory we could see any number of movable parts, but we could never see the thinking itself.” Unsurprisingly, the Darwinists have no answer as to where self-consciousness comes from. Although all people, believers and non-believers alike agree that there is an immaterial mind, the problem for the Darwinist seems to be in that there is no logical, scientific way to explain where self- consciousness comes from, or how it could have evolved from inert atoms in the animal brain.
And yet self-consciousness very much exists all the same. If the First Cause Designer and Creator of all creation was purposeful in his design and creation, and if humans were created with both a body, and a soul, (or mind), what can be the purpose of that? If the soul is the footing and foundation for the continuity of personhood, why do humans alone possess these characteristics? From a Darwinian perspective, there is no benefit to survivability obtained by humans having both a body, and a soul.
The concept of human mind/ body dualism is quite interesting considering all the other animals have survived exceptionally well without the attribute of true selfconsciousness, or we might say, without a soul. Some animals, such as the apex predators and the higher primates have no doubt excelled in their particular environments. Orthodox Christian himself. Anthony O’ Hear is helpful here writing; “The presence of thought, reflection, and self- conscious belief is what makes human activity different from the conscious but unreflective behavior of nonlinguistic animals.” No doubt about it, the human species has been gifted with many unique attributes of which body/soul dualism is both primary, and foundational. Humans truly are gifted, and have been gifted with this phenomenal and unique composition; a composition that the Darwinist cannot explain. A composition that is so radically different, and so radically distant from the next lower species.
One additional reason we know human beings are gifted with mind/body dualism is that there are things that undeniably move our souls; things taken in as stimuli through the senses that stir deep emotions within us. Of these stimuli, it is beauty that reigns supreme. Not only beauty found in nature, but also man-made beauty from the arts, from music, literature, sculpture, painting, and a host of other mediums. Join us next week as we investigate beauty as soul food in order to reaffirm mind/body dualism as uniquely human, and purposeful. All of this and more with an eversteady eye toward the everpresent question: Is God Dead? Gloria in excelsis Deo!
Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore, OK. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.