Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
The Mind and the Brain: “Morphic Resonance” and Other Thoughts

The Mind and the Brain: “Morphic Resonance” and Other Thoughts

Last updated on: January 25, 2023 at 8:37 am by Roger E. Olson

0 Comments

The Mind and the Brain: “Morphic Resonance” and Other Thoughts 2023-01-25T08:37:49-05:00 Roger E. Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Here I recently blogged about “dogmas of science” and recommended that my readers listen to an episode of “Science Friday” (PBS) and watch a Youtube video of a TED Talk by scientist Rupert Sheldrake about what he considers certain unquestionable “dogmas of science.” I then went on to talk about what Rupert Sheldrake calls “morphic resonance,” especially the idea that the mind extends outside the brain.

I have often had the experience of discovering a term for something I have always believed but had no term for the belief. I don’t know that I believe everything that Sheldrake means by morphic resonance, but I am delighted to discover the term and know that at least one credentialed scientist in the world believes what I have always believed—that mind and consciousness are more than the brain even if they are connected to the brain.

Since learning about Sheldrake and morphic resonance, especially the idea that the mind, even of animals, extends beyond the brain, I have “run the idea”by several people, some Christians and some non-Christians, and have found that all of them, educated as they are, also believe this—that the mind is “more” than the functions of the matter of the brain. This seems so intuitively true to many of us that the common idea among many scientists (and others) that brain and mind are simply synonyms is almost funny.

Most religious people, at least in the past, have believed that the mind can exist apart from the body, that mind somehow or other survives bodily death, even cremation. And yet, after teaching thousands of students over forty years, I have found that many, perhaps most, of them default to using “mind” and “brain” as synonymous in certain conversations. Where did they pick up this habit? Obviously from schools they attended and from popular culture. Rarely, if ever, could they cite a scientist or science book that taught them this.

Since almost all of them were Christians I would ask them “Do you believe God has a mind?” They answered affirmatively, even if cautiously, suspecting I was leading them somewhere they might not want to go. Then I would ask them “Do you believe God has a physical brain?” Of course, they would usually stop and think and then say no. Except Jesus, of course, in his incarnate state as both human and divine.

This is unfair of me, of course, but I thought it best to engage in this reductio ad absurdum thought exercise to get them to think about whether using “brain” and “mind” synonymously is correct, especially for Christian believers and believes in God who aren’t necessarily Christians (e.g., deists).

Over the years I have “sounded out” many, many people about this issue of the mind and the brain. EVEN WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF A HIGH LEVEL CONFERENCE BETWEEN SCIENTISTS AND THEOLOGIANS. That conference was held in the HQ of the world’s largest organizations of scientists that publishes the magazine “Science” in Washington, D.C. I saw that one voluntary workshop to be led by three neuroscientists was on this very subject of the brain and the mind so I eagerly attended and asked questions, as did others, both scientists and theologians. The three relatively young neuroscientists, all with doctoral degrees from major research universities, were clearly reluctant to take any stand on the subject of brain and mind. They INCLINED toward treating the mind as a function of the brain but admitted that the matter (no pun intended) is not settled by science—yet.

And yet, I have found that most Americans TEND to use “mind” and “brain” interchangeably—until I (or someone else) challenges that habit. So where does this very common habit come from? Again, I can only assume from a combination of school and popular culture. But I have not been able to put my proverbial finger on exactly what causes it.

This habit ought to be challenged by pastors and teachers of Christian thought everywhere and often. It is evidence of a deep-seated materialism in American culture. Yes, I know there are forces contrary to materialism in especially religion and popular culture, but somehow, for some reason, this element and manifestation of materialism has dug in and become commonplace in discourse among especially educated Americans, including ones who consider themselves Christians.

Why does this matter? Because as Christians we need to resist ideas in culture around us that are inimical to having a Christian worldview. Having and holding a Christian worldview is the purpose of a Christian school. Many Christian schools, including “evangelical” colleges and universities, do not push back hard enough against ideas that are contrary to the Christian worldview they claim to hold and teach. During my forty years teaching in three different Christian universities I have often met and had conversation with professors and instructors who teach things absolutely contrary to a biblically-informed Christian worldview.

My even very cautious attempts to correct some of the things I heard them say were usually met with hostility as if I were a fundamentalist (as they understand that category) trying to control them, attempting to dominate them—a fear many, many Christian educators have about the theologians among them. Many of them, the non-theologians, bring ideas into their Christian college/university classrooms and laboratories they learned in their secular university educations. Most commonly discovered, by me, is naturalism, a bias against miracles, but also a default belief that infants are born pure and pristine and that any evil they do later is the product of social influences—an implicit denial of the doctrine of original sin.

I could give numerous examples, but I will just offer one here, for now. I had a Christian colleague who taught education and communication who often said to us, her colleagues, “If they [the students] have not learned, you have not taught.” Now that might sound right to you, but if you are a Christian you need to stop and think about the fact that many of Jesus’s “students” did not “get” what he was saying to them. Did he, then, not teach? Was it his fault they didn’t learn what he was telling them? Clearly, according to the New Testament, Jesus taught even when most of those he was teaching did not learn what he was teaching them.

However, I think even just my experience of teaching students who didn’t learn puts the lie to “If they have not learned, you have not taught.” It’s an absurd statement. However, it worked its way into how some administrators evaluated instructors and professors.

My dear , dear colleague had brought into the Christian college setting an idea from her secular university education or from secular books about education. She unthinkingly accepted an idea that is clearly contrary to a Christian worldview (the noetic effects of sin) and also contrary to common pedagogical experience. But most obviously it just flatly contradicts the Jesus story of the gospels.

One experience of my teaching career especially stands out in my memory in this regard. I was asked to speak to the presidents of the Christian College Consortium, an organization of thirteen evangelical colleges (now some call themselves universities). All thirteen were present in the room. I spoke about the meaning of “evangelical Christianity.” The presidents, hardly any of them theologians, fell into debate with each other about what it means to be “evangelical.” As I listened I discerned that some, several of them were quite ignorant theologically. And a couple of them sounded unnecessarily conservative, almost fundamentalist, to me. As I listened, I thought to myself that it was no wonder many of them could not lead their colleges/universities in the practice of faith-learning integration, a concept they all affirmed.

That is why I later wrote “Essentials of Christian Thought: Seeing Reality through the Biblical Story”—as a guide to faith-learning integration in Christian schools.

As I think about that weird experience, I put the blame for the situation squarely at the feet of the regents or trustees of the schools. They consist mostly of theologically uneducated Christian lay men and women who care more about money, the “bottom line,” than about holding the line theologically. At one of the three Christian universities where I taught, a theologian-colleague and I met with the school’s regents and the theological ignorance among them was so appalling that we didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Fortunately, our president was a deeply Christian philosopher-theologian, but he struggled mightily to get the faculty to take faith-learning seriously; many of them openly rebelled against it as a violation of academic freedom. I knew some of them very well and knew that they were cultural relativists.

The idea that the “mind” IS ONLY the “brain” functioning is absolutely contrary to a spiritual-Christian worldview and ought to be contradicted by Christian instructors and educators.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

January 21, 2023

Is Materialism a “Dogma” of Science? (Yes)

Next Post

January 27, 2023 Maverick Scientists and a Spiritual Worldview

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"“Secular” means non-religious. No religion is embraced by American society anymore. Christianity remains the leading ..."

Roger Olson

Billy Graham’s Successor?

"I will look him up. Never heard of him."

Roger Olson

Billy Graham’s Successor?

"Where and when and how did I “support” a leader or church…? I said I ..."

Roger Olson

I’m Proud of Adam Hamilton (and ..."

"4-5% of the population is atheist or literally 'secular' not the entire country.Thats a really ..."

davidt

Billy Graham’s Successor?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month November 2026 October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first person raised from the dead by Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

The Centurion's servant Lazarus Jairus' daughter Widow's son