Abstract
Russell Stannard is a nuclear physicist who is also a prolific writer and apologist. The goal of his current book, The Divine Imprint: Finding God in the Human Mind, is to explain why reflecting on the human mind itself is the best means by which someone can come to know God. Instead of prioritizing the search for proof of God in the world around us, Stannard argues that we must begin by looking at ourselves – after all, if we are truly made in the image of God, what better place to search for him?
In the book’s first section, Stannard does an excellent job outlining the major traditional arguments for the existence of God and why they fall short. In his second and primary section, he then sets out to show that it is in the human mind where incontrovertible proof of God is found – specifically, by identifying those aspects of the mind that defy attempts at explanation given by evolutionary psychology. Stannard in no way denies the role of evolution as the means by which species, including the human species, came into being. Instead, he argues that there are additional qualities of human persons (awareness/consciousness, free will, altruism, the sense of beauty and morality) that did not arise through natural means but were directly imbued by God (later, he gives an unconventional attempt as to how he believes this happens). He spends most of his time in this section explaining these qualities and refuting explanations given by the evolutionary psychologists.
As someone who works within the fields of psychology and neuroscience, I appreciate Stannard’s broad knowledge of current research, and those unfamiliar with these topics will enjoy the readable overview. But I believe it is also here that Stannard leaves his project only half complete. Stannard dismantles naturalistic theories about reasons for human consciousness, appreciation of beauty, etc., but he does not answer his own questions about their purpose, apart from saying that they reflect characteristics of a personal, good God. In this way, I believe he comes too close to a ‘God of the gaps’ approach – making the argument for God from a lack of understanding rather than providing robust alternative explanations for these phenomena from the Christian worldview.
Instead, the book’s third and final section returns to the ‘insufficient’ arguments for the existence of God outlined in his first section. Stannard argues that, because he has provided the appropriate starting point for knowledge of God, these other arguments are now able to function as confirmation of belief. He then spends the rest of the book addressing classic apologetic questions such as God’s timelessness, creation and evolution, the problem of evil, and life after death.
In sum, for someone curious about evolutionary explanations for human consciousness, the human appreciation of art and beauty, or our moral and religious sense, this book provides a helpful introduction. It also offers an easily digestible overview of the major arguments for the existence of God. On the other hand, those who are looking for an articulated Christian approach to considering the complexities of the human mind will likely need to look further. For example, David Skeel’s True Paradox (2014) is another readable, apologetic-style work that offers much richer answers to some of these same questions regarding the nature and purpose of mental activity, such as consciousness and the appreciation of beauty and art.