Well … I’m not sure if this post will remain, be moved, or be deleted given that I recently discovered that evolution and atheism are unwelcome topics on this forum. Still given that this is an apologetics forum and I am looking for reasons to believe hopefully the mods won’t mind.
In any case, here’s the back story. I am a (former) catholic who has been agnostic if not atheistic for the past three or four years. Recently, I had an existential crisis, because the thought came to mind that I would die and that that would be lights out. This crisis was provoked by my reading of a book, which made use of evolutionary theory. Now, I am searching. Part of me wants to believe again, but I’m afraid to believe something that isn’t true. As such, I have questions.
- What reason do you have to believe in life after death and the soul in general given that science explains consciousness as the result of neurological activity? How would you prove this? Is it provable?
- How do you rationalize the notion that humans have souls in terms of evolutionary theory? When did we as a species get our soul? Did earlier hominids have a soul?
- How do you persist with an anthropocentric view in light of the deep cosmological time that preceded our existence, the millions of years of evolution on earth, and the billions of years that will follow?
- How do you persist with an anthropocentric view in light of the vastness of the universe?
In sum, why should I think myself special enough to have an immortal soul given that I am such a ‘recent’ invention and am so small in relation to the universe as a whole. Why should I think myself special enough to have the soul when there are perfectly good (if unsettling) materialist explanations?
~ Helpmyunbelief
Let me just first say that in my times of doubt in years past, it was science that brought me back to God. With what science has discovered over the many many years, it just further solidifies my belief in a Creator. And if an intelligent Creator exists, why would He create and then “move on”? From my life experience, I can’t help but want to be involved in my own creations, and so I believe God feel this too. To answer the specific questions you’ve stated:
1) What reason do you have to believe in life after death and the soul in general given that science explains consciousness as the result of neurological activity? How would you prove this? Is it provable?
Scientific limitation ends at the observable world. Anything beyond, or metaphysical, cannot be measured by science. Think of a person in 3D space, looking at a picture on a 2D surface. If a 2D world existed, they could not experience the 3rd dimension. Only if the person in the 3rd dimension interacted with the world would anyone in the 2D world have an inclination that the 3rd dimension existed. God has interacted with this world, which can be seen by history and the way things play out, the fact that we are here at all. The soul exists beyond the physical world. It exists as metaphysical. Consciousness could be seen as the connector between the two. Scientists only say that consciousness is just neurological activity because that is all they can observe, but in fact consciousness and thought still baffle scientists.
As for life after death. That is only something that can be believed, because there is no way to prove it, since death is a barrier to science.
2) How do you rationalize the notion that humans have souls in terms of evolutionary theory? When did we as a species get our soul? Did earlier hominids have a soul?
The Church teaches that every living thing has a soul, which drives it to keep on living. Humans have a special soul, a rational and immortal soul with free will, which no other living thing has. If evolution is how God brought about mankind, then humanoid creatures would likely have had mortal souls. God would have made the decision when the first humans would have been granted immortal and rational souls and free will. The first human parents, Adam and Eve. When this happened, we don’t know.
*3) How do you persist with an anthropocentric view in light of the deep cosmological time that preceded our existence, the millions of years of evolution on earth, and the billions of years that will follow?
- How do you persist with an anthropocentric view in light of the vastness of the universe?*
My simple answer to this is, how can some scientists be so fascinated by atoms, quarks, and the like, when they are so small and seemingly insignificant to our everyday life? Even given the vastness of our own world?
Why did God choose to create us as we are and love us moreso than even the angels? That is something we can only speculate and never know for sure. There are still many things God has not revealed to us, and a good chance that He never will.
I will leave you with this. You said that you are scared to believe something that is not true. I will present you with a common and well known philosophical argument. It isn’t necessarily something to base faith on, but if it can open you up to receive real faith, then it may be worth a try.
If God doesn’t exist, and atheists are right, then Christians don’t have anything to worry about, and still haven’t wasted their lives because Christianity brought them hope and joy. So if there is nothing after death, then it doesn’t matter.
If God does exist, and atheists are wrong, then Christians don’t have anything to worry about, because God is merciful and just, so what He decides for us, we should be willing to accept. If we are contrite and sorrowful for having offended Him, He will forgive us. This is the message that has been revealed.
