The human body is an absolutely wonderful thing, I am so thankful that God has given this world very intelligent people who study the body and help other people understand it all.
If you’re anything like most people in the world, you’ve probably asked the question ‘Who am I and why am I here?’ Some people answer this question by saying that people are just a bunch of matter that has somehow come together, but there are others who argue that there is a purpose and a meaning to humanity.
Sharon Dirckx has written a really good and helpful book that analyses the current understanding of what the brain is, discusses how our brain relates to our mind and the question of a persons soul.
If we are nothing more than our brains then how do we go about understanding free-will, identity, the idea of having a soul and thinking about if we are nothing but machines that are programmed to act in a certain way.
These are all very relevant questions that are being asked by both the Christian and the non-Christian. Are science and religion compatible?
I have never read any scientific books on this matter because they always seem to be far too academic for me, but Dirckx has written this book which is easy to read and is presents a very complex argument in such a simple straightforward way.
Maybe you’re a Christian who is thinking through the topic of whether or not you have a soul, maybe you’re thinking through the relationship between science and faith, or maybe you just fancy picking up a book that presents a scientific study of the brain in a simple way. But this book, it will not disappoint!
This book doesn’t just think about the question of what we, as humans, are. It goes beyond that and touches on some real questions that people have ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ These questions are being asked by people all over the world and the Christian message has an answer!
Am I just my brain?
Spoiler alert… No!
This book confronts some of the ideas that people use against Christianity and blows them out of the water in a logic, easy to read way. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in science and the study of the human body. But it doesn’t just look at it from one point of view. Dirckx approaches this topic from many different angles; biology, philosophy, psychology and theology.
This book stretched my mind and my understanding and is making me want to pick up similar books to understand more about the brain and how the miracle of life works. Why not pick up a copy here and get learning folks?
Rating 5/5
Sharon Dirckx is a Senior Tutor at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics (OCCA). Originally from a scientific background, she has a PhD in brain imaging from the University of Cambridge and has held research positions at the University of Oxford, UK, and the Medical College of Wisconsin, USA. She is a regular speaker at Universities, conferences and other events. Sharon lives in Oxford with her husband and two young children.
Chalmers' Blog 
I’m afraid I can’t read your whole comment
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I have a different response to Dr. Dicrkx’s argument:
https://betterrightthanhappy.com/another-failed-attempt-to-promote-supernatural-neuroscience/
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Thanks Faizal,
I havne’t listen to the lecture that you reference in your post, nor am I by any means schooled in the area of neuroscience. Have you engaged with Sharon on this topic?
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No, I haven’t had any direct contact with her. I presume the lecture is a summary of the material in her book.
I do have to ask: If you have no background in neuroscience, how do you know whether to accept what she writes about the subject is accurate?
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In the book she presents different views and argues why she has come to the conclusion she has. It seemed logical and well argued. Like I say in the post, I am no expert and I haven’t looked into her research. However, I know that there are people who are fascinated with the topic and would therefore appreciate the book to wrestle with.
Don’t we all always read or hear information on topics that we are experts in and take it to be accurate?
Is your issue with her position the science or the fact that she concludes that God exists?
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My issue is with the logic of her arguments. Her conclusions do not follow from the evidence she presents. Again, I base this just on the lecture I posted. But I have no reason to think the presents the arguments differently in her book.
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I can’t comment on the lecture as I haven’t listened to it. I’d encourage you to engage with her online.
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“Don’t we all always read or hear information on topics that we are experts in and take it to be accurate? ”
Yes. So if I am reading a book that summarizes the consensus findings of experts in a field, such as a school text book or a book that is written by one such expert to explain things to a lay audience, I take it at face value as a reflection of the current thinking among the experts.
But if someone is making a radical new claim such as “The pyramids were built be space aliens” or “We are living in a computer simulation” or “Our minds are not the product of our brains, but are someone created and sustained by a god”, I will wait until they have presented their evidence to their fellow experts in the scholarly press and convinced them of the idea’s merits.
Dirckx is NOT an expert in the sort of neuroscience she discusses. As far as I can tell, she just obtained a graduate degree in the technology of doing brain scans which is far different from cognitive neuroscience, and she is not even working in the field of neuroscience as a researcher or educator. So she is not a reliable authority on this subject.
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