Tag Archives: human brain

Excellence Begins in the Heart of the Human Being – Introduction

Articles May 15, 2022 Leave a comment

“Everything that God is and does is marked by excellence.”

Andreas Köstenberger

As always, first, it is important to mention that the English version of this article has been translated from the Spanish version of Towards Excellence (https://hacialaexcelencia.org/2022/05/15/la-excelencia-comienza-en-el-corazon-del-ser-humano-introduccion/); not necessarily from the original texts and works of authors here cited.

So now, let me begin by sharing that a few years ago, I had the opportunity to venture a submarine trip in Hawaii. A short but surprising journey to the bottom of the sea, where the wonders of the marine realm only seen on the small and big screens, became a beautiful reality. This incredible experience simply confirmed me that wherever we are, we will always be surrounded by beauty and magnificence.[1]

But not only that, it was an extraordinary experience, as it led me to an unfathomable reflection. Just as even in the depths of the sea the Triune Creator God left His mark of excellence; likewise, the Triune Creator God left that same mark of excellence and even superior, in the depths of the heart of the human being, the pinnacle of His creation.

Andreas Köstenberger, in his book “Excellence: The Character of God and the Pursuit of Scholarly Virtue” states:

TE-Andreas Köstenberger-eng“Systematic theologies generally do not list excellence as one of God’s attributes…however, for excellence can be viewed as an overarching divine attribute that encompasses all the others. Everything God is and does is marked by excellence.” (Köstenberger 2011)

And as we have also noted in the previous articles, the mark of God’s excellence is present in all of creation, consequently in humans.

Wernher von Braun, the renowned German scientist who brought us into the space age, laid the groundwork for cell phones, satellite radio, the Internet, GPS, and Doppler radar. But not only that, especially he held a firm belief in the Creator God of the Bible. And we precisely quote Von Braun because after his conversion to Christianity he was a strong proponent of the Christian faith and creationism, thus defending that creationism was a feasible scientific theory for the origin of the universe, life, and man.[2] He stated:

“To be forced to believe…that everything in the universe happened by chance—would violate the very objectivity of science itself. Certainly, there are those who argue that the universe evolved out of a random process, but what random process could produce the brain of a man or the system of the human eye?” (Bergmann 2014)

Science with all its advances is still amazed at the extraordinary structure, composition and functioning of the human body, as it is the case of those who study the human brain and all the complexity that it entails, which, without a doubt, continues to leave tremendously astonished those who tirelessly, advancing in investigation after investigation, do not stop until they specify the magnitude and depth of this organ.

According to an article from the “Institute of Creation Research,” researchers found the rosehip ethereal neuron, and Sherwin, its author, says:

“…in postmortem samples and in sections of brain tissue from surgical procedures. Interestingly, this newly discovered neuron is not found in mice. They are unique to humans, and rosehip neurons can activate a unique set of genes in that single type of brain cell.” (Sherwin 2018)

TE-Human BrainExtraordinary as the brain is, although small in its physical structure, just 3 pounds if we talk about the brain of an adult, it manages the information of 1000 supercomputers. The brain is like a communication center, and it has a computer, a library, and a video camera all in one. And the more the brain is used, the better it becomes![3]

Isn’t it fascinating? But there is still something much more fascinating in the human being, something highly impenetrable. His soul! Why? Because the soul represents the very being of a person.

Coming soon “God’s Mark of Excellence,” an extraordinary topic.

[1] Cecilia Yépez, “Excellence Stems from the Heart – Part 1”, Blog “Towards Excellence”, https://towardsexcellence.org/2017/02/28/excellence-stems-from-the-heart-part-1/

[2] Jerry Bergman, “Wernher von Braun: The Father of Space Flight,” Institute of Creation Research, https://www.icr.org/article/wernher-von-braun-father-space-flight

[3] Donald B. DeYoung, “Thinking about the Brain,” Institute of Creation Research, https://www.icr.org/article/thinking-about-brain/

An Extraordinary Intelligence!

Articles August 7, 2017 Leave a comment

A heart full of God will bring about the development of a healthy mind, an extraordinary intelligence, originally created to do good and not evil; to build up and not to destroy!

The future of medicine – Epcot Center

In the past century, mankind has experienced the widest deployment of development. A development in technology, in medicine, in industry in general; a development in the conquest of space. But unfortunately, also a “development” in the different spheres of evil.

I recently saw a video, showing that with a small device that was placed slightly near a lady’s purse, it was possible to steal all her credit card information. Consequently, shortly after that, the thief could make any purchases he wanted, and charge the respective cost to the victim’s credit card.

Certainly, technology has moved forward by leaps and bounds; we can hardly keep up with it. We are saturated with networks and messaging systems: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger, just to name the best known in the market. Indeed, all these great and ingenious tools have made communication easier and have magically shortened geographic distances. They have dramatically reduced the costs of communication between loved ones, separated by diverse circumstances; and of course, have also reduced costs in business communications.

Amazing! Yes, indeed, astounding! But perhaps for our teenagers and for the generation of young people on the planet, this happens almost unnoticed. For them, it is normal to count on the service of internet and access to the world through networks. They have not stopped to think about the great advantages they have today; and let alone, the great drawbacks that come with it.

So it is, “advantages” and way too many. With just a click I have the information of the world in my hands. With just one click I can make a free call to a friend who is on the other side of the planet. With just a click I can search for the school assignment for the next day. With just one click I can hear good music that cheers my soul. Yes, “advantages” that simply demonstrate the extraordinary insights of the human brain, the extraordinary intelligence of the human being embodied in these great inventions for the benefit of society in general.

But unfortunately, this extraordinary intelligence has also been used for evil purposes. Just by taking the example of technology, we know it is true. Just as the internet could have been created to benefit in a thousand and one ways to society; this great invention today, is also a double-edged sword, with which many are seriously injured and they hardly recover from it.

A large part of the internet has become the dump and the rot of cyber space. Let me quote just a couple of examples that truly produce disgust, repugnance and even terror:

“In 2006, 89 percent of the estimated 270 million pornographic Web pages existing worldwide were produced in the United States.” [The Judges´Journal, 2013]

“Three men have been arrested in Sweden on suspicion of raping a woman in an assault that was broadcast live on Facebook, police have said.” [The Guardian, January 2017]

And I could mention not only thousands, but millions of examples that, in addition to producing disgust, it also produces a deep pain in the heart. How many children are abused? How many teenagers in the prime of life are victims of human trafficking? How many young people have lost their lives in the hands of psychopaths? How many people have been scammed out of their bank accounts or credit cards? How many boys have fallen into the “business” of the hit man? How many have been attacked in these and some other horrific ways through social networks?

So, let me ask you. How are you using your extraordinary intelligence? How are you developing the wonderful brain that God has given you as a human being? And, how is your heart?

The Word of God says in Jeremiah 17: 9-10 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure: Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

Let me invite you to open your heart to the Lord of lords, to Jesus Christ Himself and let Him test your heart. Sincerely confess your sin before the Lord Jesus Christ and be assured that the Lord will forgive you and you will certainly, experience peace like never before in your life.

A heart full of God will bring about the development of a healthy mind, an extraordinary intelligence, originally created to do good and not evil; to build up and not to destroy!

 

Excellence Stems from the Heart – Part 2

Articles, Inspiration April 10, 2017 1 Comment

“The excellence of the heart of God was definitely impregnated in our heart, now it is we who must expand the heart of God wherever we go.”

 

As I shared in the previous article – Part 1, God did not only prepare everything in advance to welcome us in this planet, but when He created us, He certainly did it with excellence, with deep love and by the way, carefully and wonderfully.  The Bible – His Word reveals it so and science does confirm it as well.
Psalm 139:13-14,16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb; I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well…Your eyes saw my unformed body.” This is expressed by this Psalm with vivid poetry that God, the Creator knotted us in such a way, which as a result every human being is truly His masterpiece. But His creation does not only encourage poetic expression; but science as such, definitely confirms how wonderful it is.

So let’s take a look at what National Geographic states about the human brain: “It is, nevertheless, one of the body’s biggest organs, consisting of some 100 billion nerve cells that not only put together thoughts and highly coordinated physical actions but regulate our unconscious body processes, such as digestion and breathing.”[1]

The brain is the most complex information management system in the universe. [Image from the Internet]

And for instance, let me quote Wernher von Braun (1912 – 1977), a space engineer who stated, “Certainly there are those who argue that the universe evolved out of a random process, but what random process could produce the brain of a man or the system of the human eye?,” [2] questioned the creator of the V-2 Rocket for Nazi Germany and Saturn V for the United States.

 

Dear friends, here we are talking only about the brain, which, by the way, we see it as one of the key organs of human life, in fact, it is the most complex information management system in the universe.
As we see, science itself leads us to study and understand that the human body is a wonderful, extraordinary machine. It is the most accurate and efficient machine that has ever existed and does not compare at all with any machine created by man.

But, not only our complex physical body as it is, is the evidence of the existence of “an intelligent being” who is certainly behind the creation of all this magnificent universe, but also our soul that is sealed with the mark of excellence of this being, called God, the Creator, Jesus Christ himself.  “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation …—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”  (Colossians 1: 15, 17)

And it is precisely our soul that was made in the image of God, the Creator, “And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created him; male and female he created them”. (Genesis 1:27).
Wernher von Braun recognized it so, God’s masterpiece is the human soul. [3] And it is in the human soul that God has impregnated His image.

Let’s just take a look around us for a few minutes… look at those living beings that are close to us and are not our peers. Namely, we contemplate the garden of our house, the plants that embellish our room, we hug our pets, or maybe we remember some of our visits to the zoo or some botanical garden. These beings are extraordinary, the animals, flowers, plants, trees; but none of them would dare to compare itself with the smallest of human beings, if it could.

Human beings are truly privileged and unique. Only men and women are the ones who reflect the extraordinary characteristics of God, the Creator.

We are highly creative beings. The creativity of the human being is evident every day, in the music we listen to, in the works of art that delight us, in the beauty of the varied crafts that characterize different peoples and nations, in the extraordinary scientific inventions.

One of the greatest inventions, the car by Ford. [Edison & Ford Winter Estates]

We are intelligent. The human brain has intelligently created the horse’s saddle, the carriage, the boat, the bicycle, the car, the light aircraft, the plane to transport increasingly faster and more comfortably.

But his creativity and intelligence is ongoing, the human brain has crossed the limits of our planet, it has reached the moon and continues to explore space non-stop.

We are beings who communicate with each other. The spoken, written word or sign language are exclusive to the human being. We have been given the privilege of expressing what is in our heart through the word. In fact, God created the universe, through His Word (Genesis 1). Through the word we have the power to build or to destroy, to spur or to discourage, to love or to hate.

These are just some of the characteristics that our God, the Creator has impregnated in our soul. We are indeed His masterpiece! And every “masterpiece” is admirable and worthy of replication.
The excellence of the heart of God was definitely impregnated in our heart, now it is we who must expand the heart of God wherever we go.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Sources:

[1]  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/brain/

[2] http://www.icr.org/article/wernher-von-braun-father-space-flight/

[3] http://www.wnd.com/2016/06/this-rocket-scientist-had-amazing-view-of-god/