Mankind is troubled. Humans are beset with a host of social, cultural, political, financial, medical, mental and spiritual challenges that threaten our well-being. Some people even worry humans will not survive; they fear Earth will become a dead planet, reduced to rubble by nuclear war.
Mankind’s ills have a common foundation. They can be traced to a failure to understand consciousness. We suffer from a major failure to grasp the nature of human awareness. One might argue such ignorance provides the foundation for the world’s suffering. Such ignorance is the clay covering our eyes, the mud under our feet, the root of division and conflict. Failure to understand consciousness sabotages human endeavors: religion; science; culture; civil society; politics; peacemaking.
I will attempt to shed light on the situation by describing how one aspect of life, faith, is sabotaged. When a person misunderstands consciousness, his or her faith life suffers. Religion, spirituality, and theology tumble into error. This is the case because spirituality and consciousness are closely related—they both speak to our true essence as a soul.
For example, religion (faith) advances belief in an immortal soul, in an afterlife, in life beyond mortal existence. We believe in a continuity of consciousness. The person, the immortal soul, continues as a conscious being after the death of the flesh body.
Such continuity of consciousness has been confirmed by near-death experiences during which a person, a soul, is separated from the body, temporarily, and then is rejoined with the flesh. These experiences, known throughout history, confirm that consciousness continues post-mortem, as religious texts posit.
Thus, an understanding of the nature of an immortal soul, a person’s true nature or essence, requires a robust knowledge of consciousness. At the very least, a person must understand that consciousness is not a property that emerges from a body. Consciousness is not limited or constrained by the existence of a body. Rather, consciousness exists as a fundamental property of a soul that transcends bodily existence.
It is easy to see why a major conflict has broken out between people of faith and people who adhere to materialistic atheism. There is a clear dichotomy between the view that consciousness is a property of an immortal being (a soul) and the view that consciousness arises from and is dependent upon a body/brain. These two worldviews regarding our basic nature contradict one another.
On one side of the conflict is the spiritual worldview that argues a person is not simply a flesh body. Rather, we are immortal, conscious beings who transcend physical life. Our essence is not that of substance and material. We are non-physical.
In contrast, the materialistic view argues that a person is solely a biological entity whose consciousness emerges from brain chemicals interacting in a neural structure. In this view, consciousness cannot and does not survive body death. Our nature, in this view, is physical and thus transitory. We are, in essence, material conglomerations, temporary assemblages of matter.
The viewpoint differences are stark, forming a clear dichotomy. Nonetheless, with some work we can resolve the debate and come to a better understanding of our nature. Such a resolution is long overdue. However, efforts to find a new consensus, have encountered a profound unwillingness or inability to address basic facts. Biased worldviews detached from evidence continue to inhibit the discussion.
Faith leaders seem to lack of the motivation to mine the truth. Most clergy, as children, were educated in schools with a predominantly materialistic viewpoint. It is difficult for them to discard the indoctrination into the belief that consciousness arises from the brain, even though that view contradicts their faith. They’ve been taught that man is a biological entity, an animal, and no more, and their faulty schooling inhibits a robust faith.
Yet, as faith leaders, they must preach life-after-death, resurrection, and the immortality of the soul. Their cultural indoctrination strips their ministry of conviction and explanatory power. A lack of understanding of the nature of consciousness thus weakens the church.
Ideally, clergy should be able to explain, in some detail, the nature of consciousness and how it supports faith views. However, the study of consciousness is sadly lacking in seminaries. Clergy, in general, are unfamiliar with the arguments and evidence. Instead, they remain silent, fearing they’ll be spurned as anti-scientific. Yet, without a proper understanding of consciousness, faith views can be tossed aside as so much straw.
Readers may worry that I’m ignoring the extensive (academic or scientific) study of brain physiology. I’m not. To clarify, I differentiate brain operations from consciousness. Perhaps the difference might be formalized by introducing the term “sentience” for brain function and its results.
An analysis of the difference between sentience and consciousness might begin with the observation that the brain operates as a “switchboard” for managing bodily functions and physical senses. In contrast, consciousness is a separate comprehensive awareness that extends beyond body functions.
It is worth analyzing the matter further. The brain and its network of nerves reside entirely inside the body. For clarity the product of this brain-driven neural signaling system can be called “sentience.” In contrast, while consciousness may pervade the body and interact with aspects of sentience, it also extends beyond the body and its physical functions. Consciousness can detach from the physical body; sentience is confined to the body, to its bodily functions and sensory output.
At this point, an analogy may be helpful. Consider a car with its electronic signaling systems and onboard computer. Automobiles possess built-in means of synchronizing and controlling the operation of their components. The vehicles also retain a history of their operation (mileage, fuel, etc.) through electronic means.
A driver interfaces with the car’s systems through various controls, such as the accelerator, the steering wheel, and driving-mode controls. The driver does not manage the internal signaling and operation of the vehicle, which is built into the car.
The driver makes decisions regarding the path the vehicle will take, its speed, and so forth. He or she maintains a separate, and conscious, view of the trip. He or she may enjoy the ride or may struggle with traffic or road conditions. The driver may love operating the car, finding it a pleasure to drive (for example, with a high-performance sports car) or the driver may struggle with the shortcomings of the vehicle in difficult conditions. The driver retains an emotional memory of the experience that differs entirely from the mechanical record maintained by the vehicle.
While the above analogy may be crude, it captures the basics of a dualistic system, such as mind-body dualism. The sentience of the human body analogous to the electronic “sentience” built into the car, differs from consciousness.
The soul’s consciousness differs from body sentience, much as the driver’s consciousness differs from automobile mechanisms. In each case, the conscious entity, the (soul) driver, can step outside the vehicle. And, in each case, the conscious (soul) driver interfaces with a mechanical system in the operation of a physical object.
We have distinguished consciousness from sentience, but we should also note there are “types” or “states” of consciousness to be considered. Ancient religions studied and described various aspects of consciousness, but that discussion goes beyond the purpose of this essay.
Returning to our main theme, we find confusion regarding the nature of consciousness has brought meaningful science to a standstill. As all science is based on observation, to truly understand science, one must acquire an accurate understanding of consciousness. One must have a baseline understanding of the observer to “calibrate” observations. At the very least, one must be able to distinguish consciousness from brain-body sentience.
The failure to understand this topic not only hobbles scientific progress; it also creates a false division and conflict between science and religion. When the nature of a conscious soul is grasped, science will align with religious views that accurately capture Reality. The clash between religion and science will be resolved when we have a true understanding of a conscious, immortal soul. At the current time, failures in science have caused the bulk of the problem. However, one can also hold clergy responsible for not robustly exploring and preaching accurate views of spiritual belief in our immortality.
An increase in understanding will also solve the worldview clash between Idealism and Materialism, a primary cause of conflict in the world. An understanding of consciousness will lead to the discovery or realization that this universe has an Idealistic foundation. This universe is a mental construct: it can accurately be called “the Mind of God.” All substance is inherently thought forms. Creation emerges from creative consciousness. We live in a spiritual matrix.
Once these key concepts are understood, most religious precepts will be grasped as a frame of reality, not as delusion or fantasy. We will learn that individual consciousness, being an Image of God, participates in ongoing creation. And once we recognize we play a role in bringing about life’s conditions, we will apply our faith to bringing about Heaven on Earth.