Evidence for God from Science

Over the past few years I have been drawn to the concept of the Holy Trinity and trying to understand its meaning. It seems to be the key to the most fundamental principles of reality and the nature of man. In this post I am outlining some parallels between the Holy Trinity and neuropsychology and quantum mechanics.

First, the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Father is a source from which the Son is "begotten" and the Holy Spirit "proceeds". The Father is the Creator.
The Son appears to be an individuality with clear, firm boundaries of form, like a human son. He is also referred to as Logos, which in Greek means Word. All things were created through the Word. It seems that when we name things we emphasize or acknowledge their existence as individual entities, real or imaginary, but distinct from other entities. By words we define things and thus signify their boundaries that distinguish them from other things.
The Holy Spirit is also referred to as Pneuma, which in Greek means Breath (or Air, Wind). Breath indicates a diffuse, amorphous form, with unclear or indefinite boundaries. Believers are said to be "filled" with the Holy Spirit. God promises to "pour out" His Spirit. While the emanation of the Son from the Father is described by the word "begotten", the emanation of the Holy Spirit is described by the word "proceeds". The word "proceeds" seems to indicate a flowing movement while "begotten" is more like being born like a child. When the Holy Spirit is described in a concrete form it just seems to be a metaphorical description, for example a dove or tongues of fire. God uses the Holy Spirit in creating too. Interestingly, speaking of words is impossible without the flow of breath. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 292, creation is described as the common work of the Holy Trinity where the Father is the creator/author and the Son and the Spirit are, so to speak, his hands.

And now man. The cortex of the human brain consists of two hemispheres, left hemisphere and right hemisphere, and it was found that these two hemispheres have certain specialized functions. They process information in different but complementary ways.
The left hemisphere is said to be analytic ("analysis" means "breaking up into parts") because it focuses on differentiation of details. This differentiation also seems to give rise to our sense of individuality as something separate from others. And the left hemisphere is also specialized in processing of verbal language (words).
The right hemisphere is said to be holistic because it grasps the whole, giving us a larger picture, the context, but details within the whole fade away. It's like an intuitive diffusion of perception or thinking to a broader but less differentiated area. The right hemisphere has a role in language processing too but it captures the more fuzzy or contextual aspects of language such as metaphorical meaning and the tone of voice.
So, I would compare the consciousness of the left brain hemisphere to the Son, and the consciousness of the right brain hemisphere to the Holy Spirit. The former is a consciousness of a separate individuality and the latter is a more amorphous, less differentiated consciousness transcending the boundaries of separate individuality.
And where is the parallel with the Father? Perhaps it's an element that unifies the two perspectives, combines them and uses them in creation. I think it's nicely portrayed in this picture:


(Pink Floyd - The Division Bell)

The trinity of man is often described as mind, spirit and body (or the word "soul" also seems to be used interchangeably with the word "mind" or "spirit"). Mind and spirit can be understood as the two fundamental perspectives or orientations reflected in the information processing styles of left and right brain hemispheres, respectively. Body could be seen as the unifying element that contains the two, but the unifying element could also be the source of mind, spirit and body. In that case the body is a form through which the trinity of man (source, mind and spirit) expresses itself.

The Trinity and its manifestation in the world can also be portrayed with the image of the cross:



The upper half of the cross would be the uncreated/unmanifest/formless/inner/God aspect of reality and the lower half of the cross would be the created/manifest/form/outer/world aspect of reality. Son and Holy Spirit are the two fundamental perspectives or orientations. They are both contained in the formless source (Father) but they also manifest in form (Body). Body -- in the most general sense any physical or mental form -- is formed in time and space under the creative influences of Son and Holy Spirit, issuing from the source. Son (Logos) defines and separates, Holy Spirit (Pneuma) diffuses and merges; their interplay constantly evokes and transforms the universe.

Modern physics suggests that each form is both a particle and a wave, sometimes manifesting more like a particle and sometimes more like a wave (the wave-particle duality from quantum mechanics). Particles have a definite location while waves have an indefinite location expressed in probabilities. So, the dual nature of forms could be described as a product of the creative influences of the defining Logos (Son) and the diffusing Pneuma (Holy Spirit), their source being in the formless Father (the sub-Planck-scale void where nothing is defined).

I also suggest that the Son influence manifests as masculinity and the Holy Spirit influence manifests as femininity:

masculinity - reductionist, analytic logic, focus in one direction, penetrative differentiation, hard definition, individualism

femininity - intuitive diffusion, ambiguity, softness, solidarity

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. - Genesis 1:27

I have read that the word for the spirit hovering over the waters in Genesis is feminine, but there are others here who know the original languages. I always wanted to look into that, but never have: if that is true and how often the H.S. is referred to in that way.

That image to me looks different than you say, or, just looking at it and examining it, I get an impression that is not good. The two pieces, when looked at as a whole, look like a human torso. The eyes look like nipples and the the backs coming out look like the top of legs, or the pelvis. So then, the mouths would be in the stomach area, representing appetite. Since the eyes look dazed, it makes it look to me as if the image is portraying the emphasis on appetite and how it dumbs us down. I have no idea about the album or what the image was meant to mean by the artist; I just looked at it.

Over the past few years I have been drawn to the concept of the Holy Trinity and trying to understand its meaning. It seems to be the key to the most fundamental principles of reality and the nature of man.

I like much of what you wrote here. I like the discussion regarding breath and words. Would you say that understanding the Trinity's "meaning," as you stated here, would help me in my understanding of God (not just the reality of things that we can conceptualize)? Would it help my faith? I'm wondering, if I understand everything you say here (if it is correct, that is), would it help me? How does it help you? What do you think of strings theory?

cslewislover wrote: That image to me looks different than you say, or, just looking at it and examining it, I get an impression that is not good. The two pieces, when looked at as a whole, look like a human torso. The eyes look like nipples and the the backs coming out look like the top of legs, or the pelvis. So then, the mouths would be in the stomach area, representing appetite. Since the eyes look dazed, it makes it look to me as if the image is portraying the emphasis on appetite and how it dumbs us down. I have no idea about the album or what the image was meant to mean by the artist; I just looked at it.

I must say I get mixed feelings from that image too. Some people noted that it resembles a split heart. What it was intended to mean is not clear and the album has been accompanied by a kind of mystery... you can find more here. Anyway, there is a structure in the center, behind the field between the two mouths and it is confirmed to be a cathedral in Ely, England. Its full name is the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely.

cslewislover wrote:Would you say that understanding the Trinity's "meaning," as you stated here, would help me in my understanding of God (not just the reality of things that we can conceptualize)? Would it help my faith? I'm wondering, if I understand everything you say here (if it is correct, that is), would it help me? How does it help you? What do you think of strings theory?

Maybe a practical point could be that we should value both the logical/analytic and the intuitive/holistic approach in our relationship with God and life in general and be ready to consider both literal and metaphorical interpretations of scriptures.

In the following video neuroscientist Jill Bolte Taylor describes differences between the left and right brain hemispheres and her own experience of a stroke that disrupted her left hemisphere. It was a kind of mystical experience in which she saw her mental faculties deteriorate but also her identity expand and blend with the surrounding environment. She derived a deep moral lesson from this experience.

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU
transcript: http://blog.ted.com/2008/03/jill_bolte_tayl.php