Is consciousness a product of the brain or/and a divine act of God? Concise insights from neuroscience and Christian theology

Abstract

Over several years now, notable research has been undertaken on consciousness from various disciplines in the natural sciences, especially in neuroscience and Christian theology. This paper will therefore attempt to add to the current literature in these areas by addressing briefly the following three main aspects, namely, (1) Presenting a succinct explanation of the various views of consciousness by select scholars. (2) Exploring briefly the question, ‘Is the emergence of consciousness a product of an evolved brain?’ (3) Concisely examining the question, ‘Is consciousness of God and spiritual experiences a divine act and/or a process of an evolved brain?’

Examining the function of neurobiology in Christian spiritual experiences and practice

“…As stated before, this article explores whether spiritual experiences are a result of neurobiological correlates or supernatural intervention by God, or both. In this sense, and according to the view of Pretorius (2018:152), when studying the reality of spiritual experiences, there is a metaphysical side to it, specifically first principles of phenomena which, according to this framework, is God and 1.Note that some information in this article was used in three previous papers published by the author: see Pretorius (2016Pretorius ( , 2017Pretorius ( , 2018.…”