Episodes

  • What is the human consciousness?

    What is the human consciousness?
    Aug 15 2021
    To be “conscious” is to be “aware.” The general term for a person’s thoughts, emotions, sensations, and general awareness is human consciousness. Scripture does not explicitly define what human consciousness is, though the Bible provides perspectives on it. A biblical view of human consciousness might be summarized as “the soul’s awareness of itself and its surroundings.” However, defining human consciousness is notoriously difficult. Exploring consciousness means probing the deepest questions about what it means to be human. Such discussion typically involves a long list of mysteries and dilemmas. Some concepts are unresolved; others present competing or apparently contradictory truths. The Bible gives us practical ways to understand some such issues. On other details Scripture is silent, and we’re left to untangle questions on our own. Biblical terms related to this subject should be carefully understood, especially according to their immediate context. Ancient terminology did not distinguish between the “mind” and the “heart” to the same extent seen in modern languages. That’s not to say emotions and intellect were never distinguished. Rather, it means words translated as “heart” in Scripture are not necessarily references to “pure feeling.” In some cases, what the Bible refers to as “the heart,” a modern writer might well label as “the mind.” Where it touches on human consciousness, Scripture describes it as follows: • Human consciousness is part of being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:14). Human beings are composed of distinct-yet-unified members, such as the body, soul, and spirit. There is an intimate and unavoidable connection between those members, yet they are not identical. This is similar to the relationship among the members of the Trinity, and it contrasts both with entirely physical animals and entirely spiritual angels. Another aspect of this “image-bearing” is that man is capable of self-awareness and objective thinking. • Human consciousness is influenced—not initiated—by the body (Romans 7:23; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Corinthians 6:12). Physical factors influence awareness and thinking. However, the consciousness is not the same thing as the material body. Nor is it an uncontrolled, mindless effect of material processes. Myriad questions about this relationship are often referred to as “the mind-body problem.” • Human consciousness is distinct from the “self” (Colossians 3:2; 1 Peter 1:13; Romans 12:2). Our conscious thoughts are something “other” than our own selves; we are aware of this distinction. Human beings can deliberately influence their own thoughts and perspectives. We retain some level of control over such things, or, at least, we can deliberate seek to change them. • Human consciousness is perceived only by the individual and God (1 Samuel 16:7; 1 Corinthians 2:11; John 7:24). An enormous barrier to scientific study of consciousness is that it cannot be directly measured or observed. It can only be subjectively reported by the consciousness itself. Likewise, no human being can ever know with absolute certainty what another person is feeling or thinking. This is a fundamental reason to be cautious when attempting to judge others (Romans 14:4; John 7:24). • Human consciousness is not the same as the “conscience” (1 Timothy 4:2; 1 Samuel 25:31). The conscience is one narrow part of consciousness. The conscience is a God-given emotional reaction to conflict between our values and our thoughts and actions. • Human consciousness is an integrated part of the whole (Matthew 22:37; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 103:1). While Scripture implicitly distinguishes between mind, body, soul, spirit, intellect, heart, and so forth, all these are meant to be entirely focused on the will of God. So far as our daily lives are concerned, fine-tuned distinctions between these are irrelevant. All that we are, and that which we can control, should be submitted to God to the best of our ability. The...
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    13 mins
  • Why do babies die?

    Why do babies die?
    Jul 14 2021
    Experiencing the death of a child is one of life’s deepest griefs. There are many ways to lose a child, such as custody battles, waywardness, or miscarriage, but the death of an infant provokes a special kind of sorrow over a life that was never lived. Only parents who have gone through such a loss understand its devastating impact. However, grandparents, siblings, and friends wrestle with grief of their own. Arising from the grief comes the question Why? Coupled with that question is often an underlying anger at God for allowing the child to die. For those struggling to accept a baby’s death, please see our article “How Should Parents Handle the Death of a Child?” Often, the first reaction to unspeakable loss is to ask “why.” However, when we ask “why” in situations that are outside our control, that is often not what we mean. What we truly want to know is whether God is still in control of a universe that would inflict such suffering. Is He punishing us? Is He angry with us? Did we do something worthy of such sorrow? Beneath all the questions, we want to know if this child’s death serves any good purpose. When a baby dies, we see only wasted potential. We imagine birthday parties we’ll never have, graduations we’ll never see, and baby kisses we’ll never feel. The loss seems pointless, and the perception of meaningless suffering can fuel anger, depression, confusion, denial, and other negative reactions. But, when the first waves of grief pass, we may be ready to ask the real question: God, does the death of this child and the accompanying pain serve any good purpose? Psalm 131 is a go-to passage when life slams us with events too heavy to bear, such as a miscarriage or the death of a baby: “My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. Theologically, we can say that the reason anyone dies—babies included—is that we live in a fallen, broken world that bears the effects of sin: “Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (Romans 5:12, NLT). The death of a baby doesn’t sit well with us, and it shouldn’t—it’s not how God originally planned life to be. Birth defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and deformities—all factors in miscarriage and infant death—are results of death’s reign over human life. At times, God may take an infant whose earthly life would be filled with agony. As painful as it is, sometimes the death of a baby is mercy. We can know that, however long the child’s life, he or she fulfilled God’s purpose on earth, so God saw fit to take the child home. We can make general statements about sin and death and deformity, but we can’t ultimately know why babies die because we are not God. We don’t have the ability to see into the past and future as God can. We don’t know the purpose behind many things God does or allows, but we find comfort in running to Him like a little child and resting in His superior wisdom. He tells us that His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:9). And we are glad about that. His insight is not limited by our finite minds. His experience is not confined to a mere 60—70 years on one planet. He is the One who created the planet and the humans who inhabit it, and He knows far more than we do about how life works (Revelation 1:8). He is not indifferent to our sorrows, but He sees the rest of the story. God is a Father, and He invites us to understand Him as we understand a parent-child relationship. A good parent sometimes allows a child to experience painful events for the long-term good of that child. Likewise, God allows painful events in our lives for the long-term good. A child may grieve over moving to a new city, the death of a pet, or rejection by classmates....
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    14 mins
  • Are we all related?

    Are we all related?
    Jul 14 2021
    Black hair, brown hair, no hair. Black skin, red skin, tan skin. Human beings come in an inexhaustible variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and personalities. But we are all part of a single race, the human race. Genesis 1 and 2 describe in detail how human beings came into existence. In the beginning, there was one man and one woman. God did not create any more humans in the way He had created them, and He gave them the command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). All other humans came from those first parents, so in that sense, we are all related to each other. Even many evolutionary theories concede that human beings originated from a single set of parents Dorit, R. L., Akashi, H., and Gilbert, W., 1995. “Absence of polymorphism at the ZFY locus on the human Y chromosome.” Science 268:1183—1185). The theories greatly differ in their ideas of where those parents came from and what their nature was, but it is undeniable that all human being are genetically related (see Highfield, Roger, “DNA survey finds all humans are 99.9pc the same,” The Telegraph online, 20 Dec 2002, accessed 5/29/20). The Bible says that those parents were birthed in the heart of a loving and powerful God (Genesis 1:26). They were designed by Him for fellowship and love, and they were set as gardeners in His perfect world (Genesis 2:15, 19). Before the fall, they would have been genetically perfect. Adam lived for nearly a thousand years (Genesis 5:5), and we can assume Eve lived a similarly long time. Theoretically, the two could have had several hundred children, since their bodies did not age at the rate humans now age. Those children grew up and married each other, exponentially multiplying the human race within the first several hundred years of human existence. After several generations, human beings became so wicked that God sent a flood to wipe out every living thing on the earth—except one man and his family (Genesis 6:5–7). Noah, his wife, their three sons, and their wives were alone saved through the flood, along with enough animals to replenish the earth (Genesis 7:1–4). So not only are we all related to our first parents, Adam and Eve, but we are also all related to Noah and his wife. God started over with one family and told them to “be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth” (Genesis 9:1). As time went on, each of Noah’s sons had more sons, and their descendants eventually became various nations (Genesis 10). The dispersion of humanity after the Tower of Babel gave rise to the various language groups we see today, and it’s possible that it also contributed to the formation of the various “races.” Regardless of the ethnic and racial differences we observe today, all human beings are genetically related through Adam and Eve. The fact that we are all related through Adam is spiritually significant. According to the Bible, we are all born with Adam’s sinful nature: we have a predisposition to choose our own paths and be our own gods (Romans 7:14–25). Children do not have to be taught how to sin. It comes naturally because they inherited the same sinful nature that their parents and grandparents inherited. Romans 5:12 says that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” If Adam were not the father of all humankind, we could not have all inherited his nature. But because we’re all Adam’s children, we are all sinners like he was. “Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners” (Romans 5:19, NLT). Adam passed on to us the judgment his sin earned (Romans 3:23; 6:23). Understanding that every one of us is born equally undeserving of God’s mercy keeps us from passing judgment on others (Romans 2:1). And understanding that every person is also a unique individual created in the image of God helps us treat all people with respect (Genesis 1:27). C. S. Lewis explained it this way: “There are no ordinary people. You...
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    14 mins
  • What is the mind, biblically speaking?

    What is the mind, biblically speaking?
    Jul 14 2021
    There are a great many words in both Hebrew and Greek that are translated “mind.” In the Old Testament, the word that is often translated “mind” is the word for “heart.” Sometimes the word heart refers to the actual physical organ, but many times it refers to the inner being—the seat of the will and the emotions. In the New Testament, the word kardia, the Greek word for “heart,” can also refer to the physical organ but is often translated “mind” as well. Today, we often set the mind and heart against each other, as in “Even though he knew in his mind that it was a bad idea, he had to follow his heart.” Likewise, sometimes we speak of “head knowledge” versus “heart knowledge.” These are simply modern conventions that differentiate intellect from emotions. In ancient times, the distinction seems to have been less emphasized. In the New Testament, the Greek word phroneo is often translated “mind” and most often refers to a person’s understanding, views, or opinions, as in “But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. ‘Get behind me, Satan!’ he said. ‘You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns’” (Mark 8:33). Another example: “But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect” (Acts 28:22). Here, “your views” is the translation of the word in question. There are several other words that are often translated “mind.” Perhaps the most important for theological purposes is the one found in Matthew 22:37: “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’” The word dianoia is a compound word that combines dia, which might be translated “through,” and the word nous, which is another word for “mind.” This word is used many times in the New Testament. It would seem that we would have to know what the mind is in order to love God with all of it. We should not attempt to import modern notions of mind, brain, and intellect into the ancient text. The people in Old and New Testament times seem to have had a much more integrated view of humanity. There was much less emphasis on the distinction between the material and the immaterial. When Jesus says to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, He is not highlighting various aspects of personality. He is not differentiating between emotion and intellect; rather, He is saying that our love for God should be all-inclusive. The mind is simply one more way to identify the inner being—all that we are. In fact, in Matthew 22:37, Jesus uses the word kardia (“heart”), which in other contexts is translated “mind.” The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia states, “We look in vain in the Old Testament and New Testament for anything like scientific precision in the employment of terms which are meant to indicate mental operations.” Biblically, the mind is simply the “inner being” or the sum total of all our mental, emotional, and spiritual faculties, without drawing fine distinctions between them. . . . . . Keith Muoki is a KJV bible believer who is saved by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. He lives in Nairobi, Kenya, and preaches every day on Spreaker.com Podcast, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Bitchute, Soundcloud, Twitter, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Google Podcast, Castbox, Deezer, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, iTunes/Apple podcasts, JioSaavn, Amazon Music/Audible, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google play music, Blubrry, iPodder, Digital podcast, Podcasts.Alltop, Pandora, Pocket casts, Overcast, Podcast index & Podcast App. Keith got saved on the 6th of June 2020 from the teachings of Robert Breaker after spending over 30 years in church thinking he was saved by a sinners prayer but he wasn't. Since then, he's never looked back and decided to convert all his entrepreneurship & travel online channels into bible study channels and preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Please Subscribe, Like & Share our Videos and...
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    7 mins