Dr Michael Egnor is an experienced American brain surgeon. He chose this profession because he wanted to understand the meaning of human life. He did not believe in any kind of spiritual or supernatural reality. He was convinced that we are only biological machines.
He had studied various branches of science but he started to think that the theory of evolution was not supported by hard evidence comparable to other scientific theories.
Then he found that patients often were not mentally disabled after brain surgery, even when large parts of their brain had been removed. He started to wonder if we might be something more than biological machines.
Then something terrible happened to him. His wife had a baby boy that was disturbingly abnormal. He did not respond with eye contact with his parents. He showed no awareness that his parents were people. It was if his mother and father were just pieces of furniture.
Dr Egnor was terrified that his son might autistic. He was afraid that his son would not love him, that his son did not even know he existed as a person.
When his son was nearly 6 months old, he was working in a Catholic hospital. He went into the chapel on day and knelt to pray.
He pleaded with the God that he did not believe in.
“God. I don't know if you exist, but if you do exist, could you take this away from me please. This is something I can’t deal with. I can’t have my son be autistic and not know me.”
And then he heard a voice, the only time in his life this had happened.
The voice said:
“But that’s what you are doing to me.”
So suddenly he believed it was God speaking. He told God he would not do it to Him any more.
“I won’t be autistic to you. But please make my son not autistic to me.”
A few days later, his six-month-old baby started responding normally. He grew up to be a normal, intelligent university student.
From then on, Dr Egnor believed in Jesus. He now teaches publicly, that we are not just biological machines but living souls created by God.
Interview with Dr Michael Egnor
