Evidence of Eternity in Our Hearts? | The Institute for Creation Research

Evidence of Eternity in Our Hearts?

We tend to think that some core in each person will somehow, somewhere live forever. Sociologists have been attempting to track down the source of this belief but so far have not been able to separate it from exposure to religious teaching. Now, a new research tactic reveals that belief in an eternal life apart from our bodies is hardwired into each of us, inadvertently confirming the Bible’s message.

Most studies investigating this question ask adult participants about the afterlife, but this new research asked children about prelife—not-yet-born souls.

Natalie Emmons and Deborah Kelemen of Boston University conducted two studies on 283 children from Ecuador.1 They reasoned that survey participants from the jungle lived closer to life and death events and would have biologically based ideas about pre-conception existence, while the Catholic student participants from the city had more exposure to religious teaching that life begins at conception and therefore would “reject the idea of life before birth.”2 Surprisingly, both groups of students maintained that a core aspect in each person lives even without the body.

Children from different backgrounds believe that everyone has prelife emotion and desires. Essentially, then, our tendency to believe in an immortal soul does not explicitly arise from religion—it’s just a part of us. But what does “religion” mean to researchers who would themselves likely ascribe to a form of religious secularism?

Buddhism and Hinduism do not teach that a person exists after death, but instead hold that one’s soul loses personal identity when it eventually merges with the universal “all,” which some call god. Though secularism is a popular religion among scientists, it is materialistic so its adherents believe that when the material body ceases, so do all of its immaterial aspects like volition, intellect, emotions, and desires.

Lead author Natalie Emmons said in a Boston University news release, “I study these things for a living but even find myself defaulting to them. I know that my mind is a product of my brain but I still like to think of myself as something independent of my body.”2 She clearly feels this conflict: Her secular doctrines affirm that her immaterial aspects are merely a product of brain chemistry and thus would not survive after bodily death, but it seems her innate awareness of her own everlasting soul keeps manifesting itself.

Since Hindus, Buddhists, and secularists don’t teach this, what major religions are left that hold to a belief in an everlasting soul or spirit? Clearly, the theistic options remain, including Christianity. And according to Solomon’s ancient book Ecclesiastes, when God made humans, “He [had] put eternity in their hearts.”3 The Complete Jewish Bible translation renders that passage, “Also, he has given human beings an awareness of eternity.”4

If God clearly says He put eternity in our hearts, it’s no wonder that sociologists find it there.

Near that same passage, Solomon asked, “Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth?,” indicating that, unlike animals, our human souls last after bodily breakdown and rise to meet our Maker.5 It appears that scientists are just now confirming what Scripture has said all along about our knowledge of eternity.

References

  1. Emmons, N. A. and D. Kelemen. The Development of Children’s Prelife Reasoning: Evidence From Two Cultures. Child Development. Published online before print January 16, 2014.
  2. Moran, B. Boston University Study Examines the Development of Children’s Prelife Reasoning. Boston University news release. Posted on bu.edu January 27, 2014, accessed January 28, 2014.
  3. Ecclesiastes 3:11
  4. Stern, D. H., trans. 1998. Ecclesiastes 3:11. In The Complete Jewish Bible. Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1077.
  5. Ecclesiastes 3:21

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on February 12, 2014.

The Latest
NEWS
Valued Longtime ICR Employee Mary Smith Retires
Mary Morris Smith, an employee of the Institute for Creation Research for many years, has retired. The second daughter of ICR founder Dr. Henry M. Morris...

NEWS
Man of Science, Man of God: George Washington Carver
Who:  George Washington Carver What: Father of Modern Agriculture When: 1864 or 1865 – January 5, 1943 Where: Diamond Grove,...

ACTS & FACTS
The Scopes Monkey Trial: A Battle of Worldviews
Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tennessee, and its statue of William Jennings Bryan Image credit: M. Mueller The Scopes Monkey...

ACTS & FACTS
Long Non-Coding RNAs: The Unsung Heroes of the Genome
Evolutionary theory holds that all living things came about through random, natural processes. So conventional scientists believe the genome has developed...

ACTS & FACTS
Yosemite National Park, Part 1: Tiny Clues of a Grand Picture
Yosemite National Park in California is a sure source of stunning scenery. It’s no wonder that American naturalist John Muir persuaded President...

ACTS & FACTS
From Inference to Theory: A Common Design Case Study
Without a doubt, humans, chimpanzees, and other organisms share similar features. An early explanation was that these features reflect similar designs...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Kids: T. rex
by Michael Stamp and Susan Windsor* You're never too young to be a creation scientist and explore our Creator's world. Kids, discover...

ACTS & FACTS
Entering By The Door
Recently, I hosted a visiting pastor from a large church at ICR’s Discovery Center. As I guided him through our Dallas museum, one conversation...

ACTS & FACTS
Creation Mission in Fiji
Michele discusses pages from Explore the World with boys at an orphanage Image credit: Brian Thomas In 2024 my wife, Michele,...

NEWS
Distant Galaxies Continue to Challenge the Big Bang
Recently, a team of scientists released data collected from 800,000 galaxies at different distances from Earth, all lying within the same narrow slice...