Does Human Consciousness Point to God?

Consciousness—the inner awareness and experience of reality—is one of the most undeniable yet puzzling phenomena of human existence. Despite advances in neuroscience, materialism struggles to account for its irreducible nature, while theism offers a coherent and comprehensive explanation.

Logical Syllogism

1. Consciousness exists and is characterized by irreducible qualities such as subjectivity, intentionality, and rationality.

2. Physical processes alone cannot fully account for these irreducible qualities.

3. A non-physical, purposeful, and rational source best explains the existence of consciousness.

4. This source must itself possess intentionality, rationality, and purpose, aligning with the attributes of God.

Conclusion: Therefore, the existence of consciousness provides strong evidence for the existence of God.

Explanation

Premise 1: Consciousness exists and is characterized by irreducible qualities.

Consciousness is the subjective, first-person experience of reality. It includes qualia (what it “feels like” to experience something), intentionality (the mind’s ability to be “about” something), and rationality (the capacity for reasoning and logical thought). These qualities are not merely physical—they cannot be reduced to neurons firing in the brain.

Philosopher David Chalmers explains:

“We are conscious creatures. There is something it is like to be us. This subjective experience is central to our existence, yet its explanation remains a deep mystery.”¹

These features of consciousness demand an explanation that goes beyond material interactions.

Premise 2: Physical processes alone cannot fully account for these irreducible qualities.

Materialist explanations attempt to reduce consciousness to brain processes, but they fail to explain how subjective experiences arise from physical matter. This is the “hard problem of consciousness.”

Neuroscientist Christof Koch admits:

“The link between the physical and the phenomenal remains shrouded in mystery. We don’t even know what such an explanation would look like.”²

Even emergent theories, which posit that consciousness “emerges” from neural complexity, cannot explain why subjective experience exists at all. Philosopher Thomas Nagel writes:

“Emergence does not solve the problem—it merely pushes it back a step. The question of why conscious states arise from certain physical processes remains unanswered.”³

If materialism is inadequate, we must consider non-physical explanations.

Premise 3: A non-physical, purposeful, and rational source best explains the existence of consciousness.

The irreducibility of consciousness points to a cause that transcends physical reality. This cause must have intentionality and rationality to explain these same qualities in human consciousness. Alvin Plantinga highlights this connection:

“Naturalism cannot account for the reality of intentionality or rationality. Theism, by contrast, provides a robust framework for understanding these features as reflections of a divine mind.”⁴

Furthermore, a purely physical universe lacks purpose or meaning. The emergence of beings with intentionality and rationality suggests a purposeful designer.

Premise 4: This source must itself possess intentionality, rationality, and purpose, aligning with the attributes of God.

If consciousness requires a cause that is itself rational and intentional, this source must also transcend the limitations of material reality. God, as traditionally understood in classical theism, fits this description. Richard Swinburne concludes:

“A conscious God provides the simplest and most comprehensive explanation for the existence of conscious beings in the universe.”⁵

Thus, God is the most plausible explanation for the existence of consciousness.

Objections

Objection 1: Consciousness may eventually be explained by neuroscience.

Response: While neuroscience can describe correlations between brain states and mental states, it does not address the hard problem of why subjective experiences exist at all. Philosopher Colin McGinn states:

“Science may explain the structure and function of the brain, but it cannot explain how these physical processes give rise to the rich inner world of consciousness.”⁶

The gap is not merely one of current ignorance but a fundamental limitation of materialist explanations.

Objection 2: Consciousness could be an emergent property of complexity.

Response: Emergent theories fail to address the nature of subjectivity. Emergent properties like liquidity in water arise from molecular interactions, but they do not involve what it feels like to be liquid. Philosopher John Searle argues:

“Emergent properties cannot bridge the explanatory gap between objective neural activity and subjective conscious experience.”⁷

Thus, emergence as an explanation is insufficient for subjective consciousness.

Objection 3: Other non-theistic explanations (e.g., panpsychism) could account for consciousness.

Response: Panpsychism—the idea that consciousness is a fundamental property of matter—lacks explanatory power and raises more questions than it answers. It cannot explain why consciousness exists or why it manifests in complex beings like humans. In contrast, theism provides a purposeful cause: an intelligent, immaterial mind intentionally created conscious beings.

Objection 4: The argument commits a “God of the gaps” fallacy.

Response: This is not a “God of the gaps” argument but an inference to the best explanation. Theism is not invoked to fill ignorance but to provide a coherent explanation for the known features of consciousness. Richard Swinburne defends this approach:

“The existence of God is not posited as a stopgap but as the simplest and most unified explanation of the observed data, including the irreducibility of consciousness.”⁸

The unique qualities of consciousness—subjectivity, intentionality, and rationality—remain unexplained by materialist frameworks. Theism offers a robust and coherent explanation for consciousness as the result of a purposeful, immaterial source. God, as a rational and intentional being, best accounts for the existence of conscious beings in the universe.

It is because of consciousness that we possess the ability to know, reason, and reflect, enabling us to recognize the presence and truth of God. Our awareness of morality, purpose, and eternity points to a divine source beyond ourselves. This consciousness, a gift from God, makes it possible to enter into a personal relationship with Him. Through Jesus Christ, God revealed Himself fully, bridging the gap between the divine and human. Christ invites us to use the very consciousness He has given us to seek Him, know Him, and experience eternal life with Him. As Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3, LSB).

Footnotes

1. David J. Chalmers, The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996)

2. Christof Koch, Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist (Cambridge: MIT Press, 2012)

3. Thomas Nagel, Mind and Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature Is Almost Certainly False (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012)

4. Alvin Plantinga, Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011)

5. Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004)

6. Colin McGinn, The Mysterious Flame: Conscious Minds in a Material World (New York: Basic Books, 1999)

7. John Searle, Mind: A Brief Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004)

8. Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God

7 Verses about consciousness:

1. Psalm 139:23-24

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

2. Proverbs 20:27

“The spirit of man is the lamp of Yahweh, searching all the innermost parts of his being.”

3. Romans 12:2

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may approve what the will of God is, that which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

4. Isaiah 55:8-9

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares Yahweh. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.’”

5. Ecclesiastes 3:11

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”

6. Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, consider these things.”

7. 2 Corinthians 10:5

“We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

All verses are from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).