The Spirit of a Man

The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,

searching all his innermost parts.

Proverbs 20:27

Today I caught the end of a PBS special called "The Human Spark." Allan Alda and a host of cognitive scientists and researchers tried to put their finger on what makes us distinctly human.

Alda's conclusion is insight and imagination. This was all couched in Darwinistic terms but was nonetheless immensely interesting.

With respect to insight, one scientist commented that we are the only animals who can learn apart from direct experience. "No one ever whipped up a batch of liver ice cream to taste if it was good or chewed on a handful of thumbtacks before they realized that this would be painful." Evidently, distinct parts of the brain think about what other people are thinking about. These same parts are engaged during down time, when we mull over our regrets, cherish certain memories, or prepare for the next time something happens. This is all uniquely human, as is our ability to use language symbols for writing or a few sounds to express the meaning of our insights to others.

To put this theologically, we surpass animals because we have souls created in the image of God. God imagines and creates out of nothing. We imagine and create out the the materials he spoke into existence. We form our words upon the forms he "worded" into existence. Every object is an incarnation of God's creative word. We sub-create with our imagination speaking words onto a page, into a debate, or into our lover's ear. We image God by creating our own images. We create artwork, music, a clean table, tasty food, laughter, tears, and complex technology, like my computer, that harnesses the resources of nature. We are fearfully and wonderfully made.