[CHAPTER 5] EXCELLENCY OF WISDOM BY BISHOP DAVID OYEDEPO

Chapter 5:
Some Amazing Inventions
Of The Natural Mind
The words “mind” and “brain” are generally used interchangeably. They
both represent the intellect of man. This is a wealth of treasure with which God
has endowed man. The brain of man is terrific. The potentials embedded in its
depth are beyond the wildest human imagination.
Advancement in every sphere of life points to the fact that the natural man
has a rich depth of treasure inside him. His mind is loaded. When we talk about
the natural man, we mean the man without the redemptive force of God in him.
The man who is still in his Adamic, fallen state, the man who has not received
Jesus, (the wisdom and the power of God), into his life.
This is the natural man. He has a natural mind. A reprobate mind, a mind
which in its fallen state has to be baptized with toil and sweat before it is made
to produce. But, it still produces, in spite of the labour involved. It has by
reason of exercise been able to invent outstanding things.
A look around the world today, shows the extent to which unregenerated
man, with a reprobate brain, has been able to tax his brain and come up with
extraordinary innovations.
The brain, in spite of cultural and racial differences, is identical in terms of
size, content and structural make up in all human beings. It is the central arsenal
of the human sensory system. In addition to receiving and conveying messages
to all parts of the body, it also performs such higher neural functions as
memory, imagination, thought, and the ability to create.
In this chapter, we are going to highlight some products of the natural
mind. You might want to ask “why?” Are we trying to prove that man can do
without Jesus, since he has been able to set landmarks in history by taxing his
brain?
The answer is a resounding NO! We only want to establish the fact that, if
an unsaved, unregenerated mind could bring about such innovative creations,
how much more can a mind in which the Spirit of the Most High dwells!
If the natural mind can do good, then the supernatural mind of Jesus Christ
should excel. If the reprobate mind can produce outstanding results, then the
redeemed mind should produce “outstandingly” excellent results!
Perhaps it should be added that the mind, whether redeemed or not, requires to be challenged or spurred into productivity. Many believers who have lived unproductive lives have done so because there has been no challenge thrown to their minds to tackle.

God is the embodiment of wisdom. In fact, Proverbs 8:23 makes us
understand that right from the foundation of the earth, wisdom had been with  Him. But God, although carrying the fullness of wisdom on His person, did not  rest on His oars expecting the world to spring into being. He saw a need to  create a world with men that He could commune with, He put His wisdom into  play and produced the world we live in today. Regenerate man does not require a pressing circumstance before he  creates. The world says, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” All he requires is a healthy challenge. Having received insight from the Spirit of God, he can  develop great machines, build sophisticated houses, design ultra–modern  bridges, etc; not necessarily because a necessity is placed on him, but because it has been impressed upon his spirit. Ultimately, his inventions would meet  unforeseen needs.
This chapter is set to spur believers, the redeemed of the Lord, on to the
mark of excellence. It is meant to push the saint to attaining his position as the
creative son of the greatest Creator of all times — the Almighty God. Read on
and let your mind be spurred unto greater achievements in Jesus’ name.
Communication
The communication world has revealed the extent to which development
has eaten into the business world. Electronic message is changing business in  the world at large. Within ten years, postal delivery and telephone services have been supplemented by electronic alternatives which enable high speed, reliable  communications within and without, among organizations.

Automatic Teller Machine
The human mind has been able to manufacture an automatic teller machine to get information about banking accounts using a voice response system to order products or services, thus communicating, not with people, but with  computers. The human factor has been eliminated altogether and automated  systems now conduct necessary information exchange. Although these well– designed systems have minimized human intervention, human judgement and action when appropriate, have not been sacrificed.

The Flying Computer
Computer is virtually taking over from human beings in every sphere. The
latest in this line is the flying computer. Man has been able to come with a
computerized airplane. By this, we mean an airplane which flies itself.
Recent innovations on the Airbus Azio have made it possible for it to do
without flight engineers. The aircraft which is fully automated is a passenger
aircraft with two engines. In addition to the fact that the noise is drastically
minimized, this aircraft, in essence, flies itself!
Egg Nutrition
Who would think that by feeding chicken with a combination of sea kelp,
rice bran, alfalfa meal and vitamin E, the resultant egg meal would be so
nutritionally high that it would cost 60% more than normal eggs! It was noticed
that the fear of killer cholesterol stopped a number of Americans from eating
fried eggs, and this egg was developed.
Petroleum Technology
Would you believe that only 30% of world oil deposits is tapped? The
remaining 70% requires advanced technology in the form of enhanced oil
recovery schemes. Impossible as it may seem, it is a brain in a black skin,
Nigeria’s Ekwere Peters, who has developed a system to locate and determine
the amount of oil in rocks!
A petroleum engineer by profession, Peters adapted the X–ray system
(imaging technology — anatomy of the human body without surgery) to carry
out petroleum functions. He also came up with special drilling fluids best suited
for drilling oil wells that are over 18,000 feet deep, with temperature above 300
degrees Fahrenheit. For easy management, he went further to devise a computer
programme for predicting the properties of the drilling fluids. Peters has earned
over one million dollars from research grants and contracts in the Unites States
of America alone. An associate professor of petroleum engineering at the
University of Texas in America, Peters hails from Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.

Arms And Ammunition
1991 heralded the entrance of the scud missile. Belonging to the Soviet
ASS–1 generation of missiles, the scud–B was first displayed in 1962. The
scud–A series from which the scud–B came, was first launched in 1957.
However, the scud–B missiles used by Iraq during the 1991 war is said to have
been modified to travel farther than its original 600–650 kilometres. The Al–
Hussein and Al–Abbass, as they are named, may be old technology, but they are
performing noteworthy feats.
The scud–B missile is an improvement on the free flying rockets used
during the World War II because it is guided. It is guided in flight, and hits its
target with extreme accuracy.
The Tomohawk missile computer is the most advanced high tech. weapon
around. It is an SS missile built by General Dynamics, for the U.S.. Navy. This
missile contains a pre–programmed road map to the target. It can alter its route
along the way to adjust for variation in terrain. It cruises at very low altitudes,
therefore, it can elude being detected by a radar. It zeros in on both fixed and
moving objects. It has been described as a killer riding on a computer.
However lethal they are, the human mind has been able to come up with
interceptor missiles which are able to destroy oncoming enemy missiles in
mid–air.
One of such missiles is the Patriot. The Strategic Defence Initiative in the
United States of America, which develops and deploys weapons to fend off
tactical missiles such as Soviet–built scuds, has developed anti–ballistic
missiles like ERIS:Excrot–miospheric Reentry Vehicle Interceptor developed
by Lockhead; HEDI: the High Endo–atmospheric Defensive Interceptor, built
by McDonnell Douglas.
These missiles use high–speed nonnuclear rockets to destroy ballistic
missiles on impact. ERIS attacks enemy warheads while in orbit and HEDI
follows after missiles once they re–enter the earth’s atmosphere.
To counter the Soviet nuclear arsenal, the United States is pressing ahead
with a new concept called Brilliant Pebbles. This is being developed by
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Brilliant Pebbles is
nonnuclear, space–based rocket to be used in detecting, tracking and destroying
enemy missiles soon after being launched.
These and lots more are examples of what the natural human being has
been able to create. What is more? The depth of creativity in the brain has just
been scratched around the surface. Experts say that everything man has
invented till date forms a minimal 0.05% of the brain capacity. This is mind —
boggling. This is unbelievable but it is true. The inventions of man so far are

great, but the brain says, “You have not seen anything yet!”
References
FORTUNE – December 3, 1990
FORTUNE – January, 14, 1991
NEWSWATCH – January, 28, 1991
NEWSWATCH – February, 4, 1991
The Natural Mind: Searching For Solace
In creating religions and attempting to reach God through diverse means,
man has gone farther away from Him than he expected. Searching for peace in
a troubled world has led many to embrace religions of the east. Others delve
into the occults searching for power and control over the affairs of life.
Confucianism
One of such religions that has sprung up over the years is Confucianism.
This word literally means the followers of the teaching of Confucius. Confucius
lived between 551–479 B.C. and was of humble origin. He trained disciples
who collected, edited and interpreted pre–Confucian works. They also compiled
the sayings of Mencuis and Confucius and produced the great learning and
doctrine of the mean.
Confucious traced the source of sovereign authority to heaven. He saw
man as good and traced the evil to environment, education, a lack of
forethought and wrong judgement of life’s values.
Asked how a man can become good, Confucious taught that the mind
could be transformed by the study of the principles underlying human history,
and following the examples of “wise” men.
The cult of Confucianism consisted of the worship of heaven and earth, the
ceremony to Confucius, and ancestor worship. Confucianism combines politics,
ethics and education with the spirit of reverence and assimilative capacity: it
adjusts its beliefs based upon diverse influences. For instance, in the Han
period, Confucianism also assimilated the belief in a personal god. Stemming
from China, this world religion has become accepted by the Japanese.

Taoism
Taoism, on the other hand, became a religion between 206 B.C. and 020
A.D. As a philosophy, it sought the unity of organisms. As a religion, it desired
power over nature and over man by adjustment with the Tao through magic.
What is the Tao? It is believed to be the basic cosmic energy which informs all.
It is said to be the physical concept of the way heaven relates to earth,
transfigured and deepened by the mystic trance.
The mystic path consists of a period of isolation, detachment from the
world of things; abstinence leads to a vision and finally followed by a union
with the Tao.
Before the disciple could qualify for full membership in the Taoist
community, he had to enter a new life. This conversion is called “The renewing
of the heart.” The disciple listens to the soul emptying his spirit to take hold of
“reality.” “The union with the Tao is not obtained except by emptiness. It is this
emptiness which is the renewing of the heart.”
The Taoist’s “Holy Writ” consists of sayings from various sources and
deals with the Tao, ethics and government. It is mystic poetry with the
admixture of common sense.
Hinduism
Going further into the religions of man, I wish to discuss next, Hinduism.
John Clark Archer describes it…as a frame of mind — a mental attitude within  its own peculiar setting, socially divisive, if theologically non–creedal, unused  to common worship in a congregational…or formal way…”
The word dharma represents the “law” of life and the destiny which shapes
the Hindu’s end. Everything, from the Hindus’ scriptures, his ritual, his thoughts and conduct are guided and dominated by it. “Works” provided in the priestly  view, the first way of salvation for mankind. However, a short while later,  “works” was replaced by “Knowledge”, not a scientific knowledge, but one of  meditation.
They believe that while “the absolute cannot be known, the magic of
esoteric wisdom devoted to the quest of it is more powerful than the magic of
the sacrifice. There is evidence to show that the migrant people had a theory of
order from whence might have come the concept of a moral universe and the
notion of a holy god who functioned as the cosmic — moral order.
A search for a means of elongating eye of earth and an assurance of
immortality may have led to the theory of transmigration. It is the theory of many births in the longer span of any Hindu’s life, “the soul was subject to

rebirth…a round in which not only men but all other creatures were involved.”
Worthy of note is the fact that Hinduism is not founded by a man, but a
legion, their figures as shady as “cloud–messengers.” Its scriptures is the
dharma–shastras. No councils ever sat to formulate it. It is made up of the
“revealed” and the “remembered” (men’s own words passed on orally).
What differentiates Hinduism from other religions is the caste. This is
division of the Hindu dharma into groups, communities and classes of men,
based on such criteria as skin, colour, and conditions of birth (wealthy or poor).
One of Hinduism’s “six demons tratrons of schools” of thought is the Yoga
of Patajali. It rested upon the realm of the soul into which individuals might
gain access by an isolation from nature.
Buddhism The predominant emphasis in Buddhism is the renunciation of the world  and the normal life of man living in a Family. Buddha, founder of Buddhism,  recognized no being above himself. In words ascribed to him, he says: “I am all–wise;…I am the holy one in
the world; I am the highest teacher.” He accepted the concept of a world of
being which are ever passing from one stage of existence to another; some
higher, some lower. Summarized by August Karl Reisharueras “birth and death  and again rebirth and death” would go on indefinitely unless the Karma energy,  the blind will to be is stopped. Buddha discovered most of what he taught his followers one day as he sat  under a tree in deep meditation. He claims that a light arose on his inside which ended his search which became known as the “Enlightenment.”

 

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David Oshin is a Content Creator || Full stack Web Developer||Podcast Host || Digital Marketing Strategist. He is very passionate about UNITY of the body of Christ.

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