Here’s A Thought
I recently had a thought. I have had a lot of thoughts that revolve around the basic premise of this thought, but never as clear as it came to me today. Some of the following will sound technical, but it needs to be included, in order understand the main premise of this article. The premise: Any truly new thought, one that is not derived from a stored memory or external stimuli, is a metaphysical process, not a physical process. Even if one were to accept that there are never any truly new thoughts, that we are simply biological computers (more on that, later), then we are still left with this quandary. Computers were created by a higher intelligence.
Is belief in God simply a matter of faith? Yes and no. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” However, Roman 1:20, states that the very existence of physical things is evidence of God. “For since the creation of the word His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” In our design class we ask the students to illustrate Romans 1:20, with an illustrative analysis of some natural object that reflect the design elements (line, shape, mass, form, value, texture, color). Fifty-six years ago, I used a cow’s vertebra for this assignment. I guess that is what you expect for someone who grew up on a farm. The premise of the assignment was to illustrate the truism that design, by definition, demands a designer.
There is evidence of God in the very process of thinking a thought. It might help to use the term “words” instead of “thoughts”, since we communicate thoughts through words. Words are formed to help us understand and communicate thoughts. I believe this is one of the ways we are formed in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) In John 1:1 we read, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Our use of words reflects that we are made in the image of God.
Where do these thoughts in our brain come from? Technically, they come from a vast highway of nerves and synapses. “A brain synapse is a junction where two nerve cells (neurons)…communicate, allowing for the transmission of electrical and chemical signals.” This process is called memory. However, “thought” and “memory” are not the same, although they are closely related. “A thought can be seen as a broader concept encompassing various memories and their associated feelings and sensations, while memories are the specific details, facts, and experiences that make up a thought.” 2
What triggers this process? Brain scientists explain it this way. “When you have a thought, neurons in your brain fire up and create electrical impulses.”3 What causes the neurons to fire? One could say that a memory initiates the thought. However, memory and a new thought are two categorically different things. For the reader seeking the medical and technical aspects of this, you might want to read the following abstract from the National Library of Medicine.4 However, it is heavy reading.
Regardless of the presence of stored thoughts, memories, and emotions, there is the reality that any new thought is, in fact, not what is already stored in memory. If it were, we would be nothing more than biological computers. (AI vs. human thinking) For humans, a new thought may, or may not, be triggered by what is stored, but it is not what is stored, until after the thought comes to mind. This is a metaphysical process and a gift from God. This does not mean that every thought is God given, or Godly. On the contrary, we have free will. Perhaps the most telling aspect of this is the fact that humans have free will. Why is that? “God is love” (I John 4:8). The only way God could create mankind in a way that we could respond to His love, with love, is if we were given free will. When someone is thinking wholesome thoughts, they are in sync, so to speak, with God. When one’s thoughts are unwholesome, they are utilizing the God-given gift of thought, but out of sync with God’s will.
I would be remiss if I did not also credit God for the phenomenal brain that He has gifted humanity with. It is not to man’s credit that man is able to design and construct the great art and architecture of the world. It is not to man’s credit that humanity has been able to write great novels and compose great music. It is a gift from the Great Designer.
-John Keller
1 synapse
3 neurons