Pattern Precognition

In Genesis 1:27, one of the writers of the Bible claims that “God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created them.” The reverse is most likely true: man created a god with his attributes. Physical features are not the only qualities gods share with humans. Pattern recognition appears to be another. A god that can make sense out of patterns in nature is certainly a powerful being. According to a new study from Georgetown University, it appears that humans endowed with this skill are more likely to believe in a god.

While the more fervent religious believe their views to be correct, open-minded believers are likely to see the possibility of communication. The team observed a link between the strongest implicit learners and religious belief. Recognizing patterns before they appear is correlated with belief in a God. Cognitive science research often suggests that people are naturally inclined to detect patterns in their environment. These studies propose that the tendency toward religious or spiritual belief might be a byproduct of our brain’s pattern-seeking mechanisms. Below is an in-depth exploration of why these findings do not undermine faith but, rather, can be seen as supportive of a deeper spiritual reality. In reality it is a form of pattern precognition.

Human cognition is wired to seek out relationships and structures in the world around us. Neuroscientists and psychologists, such as Justin L. Barrett in his publication “Why Would Anyone Believe in God?”, have noted that from an early age we perceive intentionality behind events we witness. Whether it is reading symbols in clouds or inferring agency in unexplained movements, our brains instinctively look for cause and effect.

This predisposition to discern patterns is often linked to what researchers call “hyperactive agency detection.” The mind is so eager not to miss potential threats (or opportunities) that it attributes agency, sometimes even where none physically exists. Cognitive science studies thereby theorize that religious belief might arise from this same mental process of detecting agency at work in the world, culminating in belief in the Creator God of the Bible.

Patterns and meaning are not accidental within a biblical framework. Scripture recognizes that humanity is designed with a capacity to discern and pursue the divine. In Ecclesiastes 3:11, it is written, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.” This alludes to an inbuilt awareness that there is more to reality than immediate, observable material processes.

Moreover, the very act of looking for order in the natural world reflects the truth of Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities-His eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.” The Bible portrays the quest to find structure and meaning as part of humanity’s universal inheritance. We inhabit a universe that not only has physical patterns (like gravity and atomic structures) but also carries evidence of purposeful design.

When research highlights that “religious belief” can be traced to pattern recognition dispositions, it does not necessarily follow that faith is illusory. From this perspective, one might instead argue that humanity’s inherent sensitivity to order and design points back to a God who embedded an innate sense of the divine within each person.

In these pattern recognitions was see humans were designed for belief.  If the universe truly has a divine Author, it is logical to propose that our capacity to detect agency aligns with objective reality. Pattern recognition is not a defect but a feature of humanity’s created nature.

In the ability to see patterns in nature we see a convergence of Science and Faith. Mechanisms of the brain do not invalidate a transcendent source of reality. Scripture affirms that we can examine truths about God by observing His works. Cognitive tendencies that provoke questions about a Creator are consistent with that revelation. We seek God in the things that are.

Psalm 19:1: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.”

Cognitive science data showing that humans detect patterns, including the inference of intentional agency, does not negate faith. Rather, it highlights how people are created with the capacity to recognize meaning and design in the world. Scriptural revelation introduces the Source behind that design and invites humanity into relationship with the divine Author.

Thus, while pattern recognition may be part of the brain’s fundamental toolkit, the biblical narrative affirms that such cognitive tendencies are part of our God-given ability to discern His presence. This recognition finds its ultimate expression in the risen Messiah, who offers reconciliation between God and humanity. Far from diminishing belief, these studies underscore the harmony between the human mind’s quest for order and the testimony of an orderly, loving Creator revealed in Scripture.

It follows that in some people this ability of pattern recognition may even be enhanced or even more acute than the general populace if only because of statistical distribution. Some just fall outside the Bell Curve on the upper side.

Individuals who can unconsciously predict complex patterns, is an ability called implicit pattern learning, and are likely to hold stronger beliefs that God exists who creates patterns of events in the universe, according to neuroscientists. This should come as a shock to no one…except possibly an atheist. I've integrated this not only into my private life but also my vocational work life as a Quality Manager/Engineer. I see what the Quality industry calls Failure Modes. This usually happens long before the statistics or math bears out the facts and the truth.

In the end my ability to do this has usually become a net negative. I either worry about trends or patterns that seem to be pointing to something that never actually materialize or worse, they do. I saw COVID coming months in advance and the immediately shifted gears within a month of it breaking loose on the world to see it was going to be used as a tool of control. Since approximately 2017 I’ve seen the dysfunctional and irrational societal patterns before anyone else, so very few listen, and then once broader society also starts becoming aware of it, if I say anything I'm just told "you got that from [insert public figure here]".

I being able to see ideological and societal dysfunction taking place 5 years before anyone else yet being helpless to do anything about it, has been my pattern. In 2017 I started to see that politics was replacing religion and becoming a secular religion or syncretism. The offshoots like Wokism and Virulent Nationalism were basically break-off belief systems with all of the signs of cults, but no one seemed to see it then. Now people are starting to see that the rise of secular political religion is happening and becoming a problem. Back then either people couldn't comprehend what I was saying, or just told me I was crazy or wasn’t an ‘expert’.

Is it a gift? I don't know, I think it a trauma response. I see the larger picture in a thousand disparate points of data. God's in the details. More often than not it has been a burden. I speak, few listen. DO note I have never made these claims about myself. I've been told this for the last 30 years since getting off drugs. By college professors, pastors, elders, learned individuals, wise men. It has only been since my mid-20s that these things have become more manifest. Other Christians call it prophetic. Non-believers who have observed it call it uncanny. I call it a curse. I didn't ask for this.