I recently stumbled across this amazing blog by Richard Beck, Associate Professor and Chair of Psychology at Abilene Christian University. His site is a wealth of knowledge.

Here is just one small portion of a post he has written about the conflict of traditional Christian theology with neuroscience as we seek to understand faith in an error of post-Cartesian Dualism...

1. This is the growing view in the modern world. Neuroscience is making Cartesian dualism untenable. In short, in the coming decades Christian reference to the "soul" will seem quaint and charming. Like speaking about the tooth fairy or Santa Claus.

2. We are currently training ministers to go out into a post-modern and post-Christian world. Well, that's great. But let me make clear a challenge that bible professors are wholly overlooking. We are sending ministers out into a POST-CARTESIAN world. And, I ask, are these ministers being prepared for THAT? How quaint that we are training people to go out to reason in the world with notions as charming, to the listeners, as the Easter bunny.

3. Neuroscience, like evolution before it, is setting up up for a titanic struggle between faith and reason. And this one will be much, much worse. The soul itself is at stake. But what if Christianity looses this battle as it has with evolution? What if the soul is removed as a legitimate category of discourse? How will theology need to adjust?

(Finish reading the entire series of articles here)

We have seen Christianity struggle in our lifetime with the conflict between the Biblical myths of Genesis as more and more "average" lay-people are educated in the areas of science. Centuries ago scientists had to struggle with these choices as they clashed (often violently) with the church, but in the last century the same struggles have been thrust on all of us as this knowledge became more widely available. Imagine the impact as more of us are made wise by the discoveries of neuroscience. What sort of stickers will Christian parents place on science text books when they more blatantly teach that the "soul" is a product of brain function not a divine "ghost in the machine"? This is more reason for Christianity to look for a purpose beyond belief in unbelievable things and return to the roots of our faith which are a more meaningful and lasting purpose in community (liberation from captivity), peace (return from exhile), justice (forgiveness) and transformation (rebirth/resurrection).