Who or What Are You?

Every book in the Bible speaks of spiritual beings. Not just God-the-Father and The Holy Spirit, but Christ (before and after His incarnation) Angels, Seraphim, Cherubim, Watchers (Daniel 4), Disembodied Human Spirits (what remains after physical bodies have died) and, of course, Satan and his followers.

Do any of those things really exist? They all do – and you are one of them. (Psalm 139:14)

A dominant philosophy in the world today (especially in the scientific world) is materialism – the theory that matter is the only reality and it is without purpose. Materialism says that everything in the universe including our very existence can be reduced to the workings of simple atomic particles. However, there is a great and growing pile of scientific evidence that proves that belief is wrong. One place to start examining the philosophy of materialism is the statement “simple atomic particles”. That statement itself is in error because there is nothing simple about atomic particles. In fact, it seems the closer we are able to look at anything, the more complex the thing becomes. (Job 38:36)

The right and left half of our brains appear to be identical and can do the same things – one half can take over for the other half if necessary. But surgeons have learned that when the connections between the halves of the brain are removed, we do not become two people. In fact, the individual experiencing this ‘disconnection’ does not notice any perceptible change even though, at that point, they have two equal, functioning brains. Researchers have also found that while there are localized areas in the brain that control body functions, they have found no areas that control abstract functions like mathematics, logic, ethics, creativity or morality.

People who have seizures only have physical seizures – no one ever has intellectual seizures. For example, people do not suddenly begin doing addition and are unable to stop.

We are told that every cell in each of our bodies is replaced at intervals of about seven years or so. That includes muscle, bone, sinew, nerve tissue – everything. If the physical body is changed regularly and matter is the only reality, then how is it possible that ‘you’ remain ‘you’? The changes in your body suggest that ‘you’ are not a manifestation of your physical body – rather that ‘you’ and your physical body are not only quite different, but probably have different origins.

We see that even severe brain damage does not destroy some aspects of brain function. Tests on people who exist in what is called a persistent vegetative state have shown normal brain-wave patterns in response to stimuli even though the brain is massively damaged or shrunken. That research and other similar research suggests that while the brain seems to be necessary for the functions to occur, many higher functions may not actually originate in the brain.

What does all that mean? It means that while ‘you’ are the controller of your body ‘you’ exist independently from your body. Research has found nothing to indicate that your consciousness is generated by your brain. (Gen 1:26-27)

C.S. Lewis once said, “You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.”

That statement appears to be true and the scientific evidence to support it is growing rapidly.

So, who or what are you really?

Each of us is a spiritual being that stands before God as an individual. We each interact with God in a unique way. Therefore, our style of worship is unique. That concept is developed and expanded in the book “Worshiping Alone” available on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. If you haven’t read it, please consider doing so.