By JIM NICHOLS

He hoped he had put on enough antiperspirant/deodorant that morning. He was facing one of the periodic daunting challenges of being a graduate student. In this case, he was seated on one side of the conference table and three of his professors were opposite him.  There were no rules; they could ask him any questions they wished. At the end of the session, they would vote as to whether he could continue the next step toward an eventual graduation or, frankly, be dismissed from the program.

The first biology professor requested, “Name the three people who you believe made the most significant contributions to biologic history.” There is no accepted list, of course, but the student had the feeling he needed to include certain people for sure. In his list was Charles Darwin. That seemed to meet with approval and prompted further conversation around the table.

Even people not in the biologic world know the name of Darwin. In 1858 he published a lengthy book that presented the concept of what is known today as organic evolution, specifically introducing natural selection. Few know, however, that Darwin built the theory on the thinking of many others, including Alfred Wallace. Indeed, in the British Museum in London there are fascinating pages of correspondence between Darwin and Wallace before the 1858 publication event.

The relationship between Darwin and Wallace identifies a circumstance seen occasionally not only in science, but also in other aspects of life. In this case, it appears that Darwin and Wallace came up with nearly the same idea. It did not occur quickly, admittedly, but somehow they both ended up in the same position in their thinking. How does that happen?

More specifically, how does a person ever come up with an idea? How did Beethoven and Brahms first find those melodies and themes that they were able to build and incorporate marvelously? How did Shakespeare first envision specific characters and plots and weave them together? 

Author Elizabeth Gilbert gives a personal example and a potential explanation in her book Big Magic. Gilbert discusses how she started a novel and got about half-way through before becoming sidetracked by other responsibilities. After just a few months, she returned to the project only to find that she was unable to continue; it was as if the idea for the novel had gone away. She subsequently met another author two years later and found that author was well on the way toward finishing a novel that was strikingly like the one Gilbert had started.

Gilbert suggests that a possible explanation for this is the existence of a divine creative inspiration that came to her first. Then, because she became busy with other things, it moved on from her to her new friend. Stay with me here; I know this seems quite strange at first glance.

Gilbert leaves our modern disenchanted world and enters the enchanted one (where much of human history has existed) and dares to suggest that creative ideas are entities themselves. They move through the world searching for receptive humans. If that person has other interests or goals at the time, the idea moves on to another possible recipient.

Admittedly, this is not the way most people think of the world and ideas today. We are much too logical to consider such mystical movements. For followers of God, however, this does not sound too unusual. Scripture is full of impossible-to-explain events such as burning bushes and talking donkeys.

When you can explain how the Holy Spirit works, get back to me with your insights. Although we believe in and practice prayer, do we truly know what is going on when we pray? Do we fully comprehend responses from God that follow our prayers?

In faith we pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us. By doing so, we are making ourselves available to the Spirit’s efforts using our bodies, minds, and human abilities. To connect with Gilbert’s personified creative entities, it is reasonable that the Holy Spirit comes to us with offers that we can either accept or not accept. I doubt that the Spirit imposes its will on us. The offers are out there; our role is to remain open and available.

Jim Nichols is a retired Abilene Christian University biology professor and current hospice chaplain