Kerby Anderson

The Bible teaches that we have a soul that is separate from our body, and that would imply we also have a mind separate from our brain. Neuroscientist Dr. Michael Egnor and Denyse O’Leary (co-author of The Spiritual Brain) were on my radio program and provided evidence for the mind and soul in their book, The Immortal Mind.

Nearly fifty years ago, Probe Ministries published the book, The Mysterious Matter of Mind, that documented the brain studies at the time. We now know so much more. Drawing on their own experience and important research studies, the authors explain that the brain alone does not explain the mind.

For example, when the brain is split, the mind and consciousness are not affected. Mapping the brain of an awake person also provides significant evidence for a mind.

Can your mind exist without key brain parts? Just ask Game of Throne actress Emilia Clark. She had large parts of her brain removed due to life-threatening aneurisms. Yet she lives her life without major repercussions.

Another phenomenon is what is called “paradoxical lucidity” that surfaces in patients with severe dementia. Sometimes the clouds part well before death and the individual has memory, orientation, and responsive verbal ability.

Krista and Tatiana Hogan are conjoined twins who are joined at the head. They may share significant amounts of brain tissue, but they are separate individuals with differing tastes and perspectives.

We should also mention the evidence of the human mind beyond clinical death because of near-death experiences (NDEs). Egnor and O’Leary devote a significant chapter to this phenomenon and its evidence for a mind apart from the brain.

Skeptics deny the existence of a soul and a mind. These authors provide scientific evidence that challenges that skepticism.