Das Wunder der menschlichen Stimme

Frau Präsidentin, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen!

Ich möchte Ihnen sehr dafür danken, dass Sie mir Ihre Aufmerksamkeit schenken.

Es ist wirklich erstaunlich, welch ein Wunder die menschliche Stimme ist. Ich hoffe, Sie werden begeistert sein von dem, was Gott daraus gemacht hat.

In diesem Vortrag möchte ich Gott unerschrocken verherrlichen.

Einführung in die Wunder der Schöpfung und Literaturhinweise

Before I get started with the talk, I want to mention that I actually ordered a lot of these books. Fortunately, Dorothea, who runs one of the other bookstalls, also has the same book. There are two other books that haven't arrived yet.

One of the books is "The Wonders of Creation." Apparently, there is some interest in translating it into German, so I think that will eventually happen. This book is by Stuart Burgess, my colleague in crime, as many of my fellow professors might call us. Stuart Burgess and I have put it together, and it is edited by Brian Edwards.

The book contains all sorts of chapters—some about the human body, some about mathematics. One of my chapters is on Fibonacci numbers and various related topics. Then it moves on to the human body, which is Stuart Burgess's section. There is a chapter somewhere here on the ear. When I wrote this book, I had not yet done the talk on the voice. There is also a chapter on the eye, and another on the ear. This book is a parallel to the talk I am giving now.

You can find these talks online; I will show you a website in a moment. Stuart Burgess also has many talks available. I believe Dorothea is selling the book for around 20 euros, so please have a look at it.

If you are a poor German—I’m not sure if there are any poor Germans, judging by how efficiently you conduct yourselves—but if you feel you can’t afford the book, there is a booklet that summarizes it. My chapter on dragonflies is condensed into two pages, my chapter on the bombardier beetle is also just two pages, and so on. This booklet costs only two euros.

There are some other books as well, just to the other side of Dorothea’s bookstall. These are Answers in Genesis pocket guides, priced at six euros each. One is about a young earth and all the evidence supporting it, in a pocket-sized format. Another is titled "Best Evidences Concerning Science and the Bible," which refutes millions of years. There is also a pocket guide on dinosaurs, discussing whether there is a biblical explanation for them. Of course, there is one on creation and the flood, also for six euros.

The closest I could find to something on the voice is a pocket guide on the human body. Since the voice is partly what I will be talking about today, I thought that might interest you. There is a section on the ear in that book as well, as I mentioned earlier. It also costs six euros.

If you are interested in speaking with people who are not convinced there is a God and who identify as atheists, I have written a booklet called "Are You Really an Atheist?" There is a German translation of it, which Hans Hertel put together last year. There is a whole bundle of these booklets opposite Dorothea’s bookstore, at Monica’s bookstall. I can’t remember the names of the bookstalls, but I do know the names of the people running them.

You might consider getting a whole bundle of these booklets to give out to atheist friends. We do need to evangelize, and that is why I wrote this booklet—to influence students in my country. Many of them say, "Oh, I’m an atheist," but they haven’t really thought it through. Atheism simply will not stand up to scrutiny, and you can read the arguments in the booklet. Since there is a German version, why not buy maybe 20 of them? They cost just two for one euro, so 20 would be 10 euros.

I am involved in student work in my country. We recently ran a Truth in Science summer school. Although we had nowhere near the number of people you have here, we were pleased to get about 120 attendees. I do this every year, trying to build influence with students. That is my big burden—to raise new Christian leaders in our very dark country, Britain. It has become exceedingly dark.

We have had a tremendous run of godly people in the past, but I am very burdened that my nation has turned against God. Sadly, this has happened here as well, and it is happening in the USA, which is very sad too.

Verbindung von Wissenschaft und Glauben: Akustik und Stimme

I have spent many years in the aircraft industry and often speak during flights. I have extensive experience with wind tunnels, lecturing, combustion, and acoustics. This background is where my talk connects with the topic of the voice.

In 2021, I gave an online talk for Creaticon about the Bombardier Beetle, but I am not discussing that today. So, where is the connection with the voice? I will explain. The connection lies in acoustics.

I will show you a video of a younger version of myself demonstrating the principle of acoustics to a young boy. In the video, a flame excites what we call an organ pipe oscillation. Interestingly, in Japan, when people had more money, they built an organ powered by flames in tubes that played different notes. I doubt they could afford that now, but this is the principle, and it is relevant to what I am going to say about the voice.

Let me play the video for you and turn up the sound. We place the microphone over this device, which is called a Rekertube. It is named after a person from the Netherlands who investigated this phenomenon.

Although my subject is thermodynamics, heat transfer, and pressure waves, I am not dealing with flames here. However, I do work with pressure waves, so I understand how the voice works. The principle I just mentioned will be important for what I have to say.

Wissenschaftlicher Widerstand und die Bedeutung der Schöpfung

Just another word of introduction: I am probably Richard Dawkins' "bet noir." In other words, I am the black sheep. Frankly, I don't agree with him.

Richard Dawkins, whom I am referring to, wrote in 2006 about Stuart Burgess and myself. He said, "If maybe Burgess and Mackintosh are right, and all the rest of us—biologists, geologists, archaeologists, historians, chemists, physicists, cosmologists, and yes, thermodynamics"—he's gunning at me here—"and respectable theologians" (notice, respectable) "and the vast majority of Nobel Prize winners, fellows of the Royal Society and of the National Academies of the world are wrong. Not just slightly wrong, but catastrophically, appallingly, devastatingly wrong."

He says it is possible. Then he adds, "If Burgess and Mackintosh," in other words, this book, "are right, then the scientific establishment has fallen."

I thought that was wonderful because effectively we are saying that, because of a false ideology, science has lost its way. Not in everything—we can still build airplanes and do experimental science—but we've got it totally wrong on what we call historical science.

If you want to know more about what I am referring to and the wonderful evidence that runs throughout the scientific world, why not get a copy of that book? The only thing we don't cover—and Peter Borger did this very well this morning if you came to his talk—is genetics. Neither of us are really experts in that field, although I am working on thermodynamics and DNA. There are some very interesting things there that perhaps I will eventually be able to talk to you about.

The website where you can find some of my talks is youtube.com/andycmackintosh—don't forget the "c"—and then /videos. If you want to look at some of my videos, you can find them there.

I used to produce loads of DVDs, but DVDs have just about gone out of fashion. They've gone out with the ark, I think. So, there we go.

Die menschliche Stimme: Kommunikationsmittel und Einzigartigkeit

So, I’m going to say three things initially. First, the human voice is made for communication.

Second, every voice is unique.

Third, I want to speak about the wonder of singing. I think you’ll see that there is truly something utterly wonderful and deeply spiritual in the way our voice is made.

Die Stimme als Kommunikationsmittel nach Gottes Ebenbild

Wie ist am Anfang alles entstanden? Wie hat alles begonnen? Ihr wisst es alle: Gott sprach es. Er sprach alles ins Dasein. Gott sagte: „Es werde Licht.“ Gott sagte: „Es werde eine Ausdehnung.“ Gott sagte: „Das Wasser soll sich teilen, und das trockene Land soll erscheinen.“ Und Gott sagte: „Die Erde soll Gras hervorbringen“ und so weiter und so fort. Nur mit einem Wort setzte er 10 hoch 22 Sterne an ihren Platz – manche meinen sogar noch viel mehr. Mit nur einem kleinen Satz schuf er auch die Sterne. Es war ein gewaltiger Ausdruck von Gottes Stimme.

Und natürlich war es durchgehend so: Es geschah genau so. Die einzige Ausnahme ist die Beschreibung der Erschaffung des Menschen. Dort heißt es: „Lasset uns den Menschen machen nach unserem Bild.“ Das wird ein entscheidender Punkt sein, um unsere Stimme zu verstehen, denn unsere Stimme ist tatsächlich zur Kommunikation geschaffen. Weil Gott sagte: „Lasset uns den Menschen machen nach unserem Bild“, spiegelt das wider, dass die Dreieinigkeit selbst – oder besser gesagt, er selbst, denn es ist ein Gott in drei Personen – Kommunikation ist. Es sind nicht drei Götter, sondern ein Gott in drei Personen, die miteinander kommunizieren.

Das zieht sich durch die gesamte Schrift. Gott spricht zu Jesus, als er getauft wird, und spricht vom Himmel: „Dies ist mein geliebter Sohn, an dem ich Wohlgefallen habe.“ Und durch die ganze Schrift hindurch steht der Herr Jesus früh am Morgen auf, noch vor Tagesanbruch, bevor er die Jünger auswählt. Hier in Johannes 17, kurz bevor er ans Kreuz geht, sagt er: „Vater, verherrliche mich bei dir selbst mit der Herrlichkeit, die ich bei dir hatte vor der Weltzeit.“

Ich habe das in der King-James-Version, und wie wir gerade gehört haben, war Englisch früher viel reichhaltiger, heute ist es sehr schlicht geworden. Das wurde auch bereits in dem Vortrag über Sprache erwähnt. Ein Redner meinte scherzhaft, es sei nicht nur bei uns so, sondern auch bei den Deutschen – wobei er sich eigentlich über das Englische lustig machte. Hier noch ein weiteres Beispiel aus den Psalmen: „Ich rief mit meiner Stimme zum Herrn, und er hörte mich von seinem heiligen Berg.“ Wir sind für Kommunikation gemacht, denn wir sind nach Gottes Bild geschaffen – für Kommunikation.

Die menschliche Stimme ist für Kommunikation gemacht. Aber wie ist sie eigentlich gemacht? Kommen wir zum Kern der Sache, zur Wissenschaft und den Themen, auf die ich mich jetzt beziehe. Einige dieser Punkte wurden bereits in dem Vortrag angesprochen, den ich erwähnt habe. Der Redner kam aus der Schweiz, sein Name ist mir entfallen, aber er hielt einen sehr guten Vortrag über Sprache.

Die Stimme als Ausdruck komplexer Gedanken und Gefühle

Now, we don't just communicate basic things; we communicate ideas. If it were evolution, communication might be more like grunting—simple phrases like "Where's me food?" or "Where's me shirt?" This is often how our society is described, as descending into a kind of grunting simplicity.

However, we are actually built to communicate beauty and to speak about it. For example, we can describe a beautiful sunset or even ask profound questions like "Why am I here?" This shows that our communication is sometimes poetic and sometimes artistic. We speak about art and abstract matters, and we think about the meaning of life. These thoughts often lead to words expressed through our voice.

It's not that animals don't communicate—they certainly do—but they do not communicate abstract matters. Animals can be trained, like this dog, through reward and punishment to stay when told. My daughter has a dog named Lottie, so we see Lottie a lot. She acts like the police in the family, saying "Lottie, no," or "Go and get whatever you’re meant to get," and mostly, Lottie obeys. She receives a reward when she obeys.

The dog associates the word "stay" with a behavior it is expected to perform. But that dog doesn’t understand what you mean when you say, "Let's stay a little bit longer on the beach." In other words, it has no clue, as was shown earlier. It has no concept of syntax or grammar or the use of a word in a different situation.

Animals make noises that mean something—I’m not saying they don’t—but these noises are not constructed into sentences. We communicate ideas, often with words. Of course, sometimes we use very complicated languages that are not generally spoken but are deliberately made to communicate aesthetics.

Mathematics is a prime example of this. It is probably the purest form of human-constructed language. People might disagree, but as a mathematician, I appreciate mathematics deeply.

Funktionsweise der menschlichen Stimme

Aufbau und Steuerung der Stimme

Wie funktioniert also die Stimme? Laut Alice Roberts – ich werde das gleich abspielen, obwohl ich es nicht besonders mag – befindet sie sich im selben Hörsaal, in dem Michael Faraday einst seine brillanten Vorträge hielt. Manchmal sprach er dort vor Königin Victoria und Prinz Albert, und das war im neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Faraday war ein sehr bescheidener Mann, der aus einer armen Familie stammte. Er hatte keine universitäre Ausbildung, gilt aber dennoch als einer der größten Experimentatoren dieses Jahrhunderts, vielleicht sogar aller Zeiten. Intuitiv führte er Experimente durch, die Elektrizität und Magnetismus miteinander verbanden.

Faraday arbeitete am Royal Institution, einem Labor, das für ihn wie ein Zuhause war. Dort hielt er auch Weihnachtsvorträge für Kinder. Nun spricht hier Alice Roberts, eine atheistische Humanistin, an genau demselben Ort zu Kindern und sagt genau das Gegenteil von dem, was Faraday damals sagte. Faraday bezog sich manchmal auf die Heilige Schrift und betonte seinen Glauben an eine höhere Macht.

Hier ist sie, nicht allzu lange her, im Jahr 2018, bei den Weihnachtsvorträgen zum Thema „Wer bin ich?“. Sie sagt: „Wir sind alle Affen, jeder einzelne von euch.“ Wenn man das Tierreich betrachtet, seien unsere nächsten lebenden Verwandten Schimpansen, Bonobos und Gorillas. Hier ist also einer meiner Cousins. Wir sehen sehr unterschiedlich aus.

Das ist absolut furchtbar, weil natürlich eine Person als Assistentin agiert. Ich bin sprachlos angesichts solcher Arroganz. Sie würde niemals über den Fuß sprechen, der für Menschen einzigartig ist. Ich spreche hier nicht primär über das menschliche Skelett, sondern weiche nur kurz von meinem Hauptthema ab. Sie würde das nie erwähnen, obwohl es sofort zeigt, dass wir völlig anders sind als Affen.

Übrigens wurde bei Australopithecus nie ein Fuß gefunden, der bewiesen hätte, dass Lucy tatsächlich einer unserer Vorfahren war. Diese Idee war also schlicht Unsinn.

Ein weiteres Thema, über das sie nie spricht, ist die Stimme. Ich werde zeigen, dass die Stimme ein wunderbares Zeichen dafür ist, dass wir ganz anders sind als Affen. Wir sind nicht alle Affen.

Anatomie der Stimme: Kehlkopf, Stimmbänder und Artikulation

Wie funktioniert die Stimme? Nun, wie zu erwarten, beziehe ich mich auf den Kehlkopf, der hier sitzt. Hier befindet sich auch die Epiglottis, die die Luftleitung beim Schlucken abdeckt, sodass die Nahrung sicher in die Speiseröhre gelangt.

Wenn man die Epiglottis zurückklappt, sieht man die Stimmbänder, auf die ich mich beziehen werde. Hier ist ein weiteres Bild, das die Stimmbänder zeigt, einmal geöffnet und einmal geschlossen. Die Stimmbänder funktionieren wie ein Saiteninstrument. Sie stehen unter Spannung, sodass wir, wenn wir sie stärker anspannen, die Stimme höher klingen lassen können – also die Frequenz erhöhen. Wenn wir sie entspannen, sinkt die Tonhöhe oder Frequenz.

Unsere Stimme hängt aber nicht nur vom Kehlkopf ab. Wir erzeugen Geräusche auch auf andere Weise, und das können wir alle gemeinsam ausprobieren. Lasst uns pfeifen, zum Beispiel „Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound“. Man kann das Pfeifen auch ohne den Kehlkopf machen. Ich fange an, und so weiter. Es ist gut, dass ihr Deutschen die Melodie kennt, die natürlich ein wunderschönes Lied von John Newton ist.

Übrigens spielt ihr die Musik wunderschön. Ich habe die Musik zu Beginn des Tages und gestern sehr genossen. War es nicht wunderbar, die Musiker zu sehen, die uns so schön in den Gesang führten – zum Lob Gottes?

Wir können also auch mit den Lippen Geräusche erzeugen. Gleich werde ich euch auch zeigen, wie die Zunge dabei mitwirkt. Unsere Sprache entsteht also durch eine Kombination aus einem Blasinstrument, einem Saiteninstrument und tatsächlich auch einem Schlaginstrument, da wir auch andere eigenartige Geräusche machen, auf die ich noch eingehen werde.

Ich spreche hier nicht vom Schnarchen in der Nacht, was ich sicher tue – meine Frau sagt das jedenfalls, weshalb sie Ohrstöpsel trägt. Die Stimme funktioniert unter der Kontrolle von Muskeln.

Muskuläre Steuerung und Unterschiede zu Affen

Stuart Burgess hat freundlicherweise eine Zeichnung eines Affen angefertigt, der etwa sechsundzwanzig Gesichtsmuskeln besitzt. Außerdem hat er ein weiteres Bild gezeichnet. Er ist ein sehr talentierter Künstler und zeigt uns darauf, dass es sich um über vierzig Gesichtsmuskeln handelt.

Wir haben mehr Muskeln, die unser Gesicht und unseren Mund steuern, als Affen. Das ist eine wichtige Tatsache, denn wir haben die Fähigkeit, alle Laute, die wir erzeugen, präzise zu kontrollieren.

Ein trauriges Beispiel dafür ist, wenn Menschen einen Schlaganfall erleiden und ihre Mundmuskulatur nicht mehr kontrollieren können. Das ist meinem Schwiegervater passiert. Er war früher ein großer Redner, konnte aber nach dem Schlaganfall nicht mehr sprechen. Er konnte zwar einige Gesichtsausdrücke machen, aber sprechen war nicht mehr möglich.

Wir sind mit einer feinen Steuerung unserer Zunge und Lippen geboren. Natürlich gibt es auch andere Gründe, warum manche Menschen Probleme beim Sprechen haben. Manchmal liegt es an genetischen Ursachen, wie zum Beispiel der Spaltbildung am Gaumen, dem sogenannten Lippen-Kiefer-Gaumen-Spalt.

Dieser Zustand kann operativ behoben werden, wie hier gezeigt wird. Dennoch sprechen die betroffenen Kinder oder Menschen nie ganz perfekt. Es bleibt oft ein leichtes Lispeln oder ein kleiner Lautfehler, der nicht ganz genau richtig ist.

Obwohl Operationen durchgeführt werden und die Ergebnisse bemerkenswert sind, erreichen sie nie ganz das gewünschte Ziel. Man erkennt immer, dass die Sprachentwicklung nicht vollkommen normal ist.

Die Rolle der Zunge und des Rachens

So the human tongue is very versatile. This is perhaps the most important picture on the side for an ape: the top right, which is pushing very close to the top near the nasal cavity. Notice that the nasal cavity is a lot bigger for an ape. When you look at it, certainly the opening is much larger, and it is very evident that a lot of the noise is coming through the nasal cavity.

In contrast, our tongue can move up and down and from side to side. It has a very important tip, which actually gives the sounds I am using now as I pronounce the word "the." It is not the same as "ta." The "the" sound, as well as the "ta" sound, all depend on the movement of the tongue against the teeth.

Of course, with the "the" sound, you are not putting the tongue quite against the teeth; instead, you place it underneath the teeth. You do this instinctively if you are born in Britain. French people have a few difficulties with this, Germans are a little better, but I cannot say otherwise. I have real problems with the French "r" sound, however you do it.

There are many sounds in your language that are unique to German. There is a very strong guttural sound, which is what you would expect because there is a strong richness of possibilities. In fact, there is an infinite range of possible sounds.

I have highlighted something here, which is the pharynx, as I should have said. The yellow indicates the whole oral cavity, and the same is true here for the oral cavity of an ape. An ape cannot really open its mouth wide and move its tongue up and down much. It can do it a bit, but not a lot. It will basically push its tongue out and in, as you see them do if you go to the zoo. But you do not see much else.

Of course, they can and do use their larynx to make squeaks and noises, but they cannot get their tongue literally around words. The pharynx here is very important. This relates to what I was showing earlier with a tube going over a flame. The flame in that case was doing the vibrating, and the tube amplified the vibration.

For us, the vibration is done by the vocal cords here. From the vocal cords up to my mouth, that is a tube just a few centimeters long, but it is sufficient to amplify the noise of the larynx. This is very significant and varies from person to person. Not everybody can speak loudly. I probably tend to speak a bit loudly because I have trained myself to speak in the open air.

I actually use my diaphragm, and the human being, once properly trained in singing, will also use the diaphragm to bring the air up and really amplify the sound. This is not only done with the pharynx but, to a certain extent, particularly for a fellow, with the chest.

If you hear a baritone, a really trained baritone singer, that is what they are doing. Even ladies with the soprano voice are doing it as well.

So when people try to say that we have evolved, they have a real problem explaining where the pharynx comes from. They talk about gradually elongating the neck, but nobody has ever shown this. Even if I did believe the fossils could be arranged in a progression over time, which I do not accept, the fossils are mainly post-flood.

The fossils that are found are basically either apes, sometimes apes which we do not have today, like Lucy, Australopithecus africanus. It basically looks like an ape with very long arms and very long fingers, a knuckle walker basically. You can tell immediately from the skull that it does not have this pharynx.

We also find other skulls, like was mentioned earlier. Homo erectus is essentially Homo sapiens; it is just that they name it for convenience as a sort of progress.

So they really have difficulty explaining where the pharynx comes from. The pharynx is a creation by God, so that we might amplify our voices.

Wissenschaftliche Betrachtung der Sprachbildung

Let me now speak a little more about the science. We start with the lips, and I will soon follow this by looking down the throat. So, we go from the lips to the teeth, then to the mouth, and finally to the throat. There are two places in the throat, followed by the real narrow bit—the third part—and then the pharynx. That is what we are examining here.

This is the lips, these are the teeth, and this is the main part of the mouth. Now we come to the throat—sections four, five, and six—and finally, we reach the pharynx. So, that is the cross-section.

If you know anything about shapes, you understand that shape affects the type of sound you get. It is not just the sound wave traveling longitudinally down this long tube, which is the oral cavity. It is also the sound created by movement across, back and forth, at high frequency. Nevertheless, this produces a harmonic.

Of course, sometimes the shape is very much three-dimensional. Therefore, you cannot say that the sound is entirely due to the longitudinal effect. But just to give you the basic idea, let me address the engineers among you. I am in Germany, so there are many engineers here. I think you will appreciate the term I am going to use.

I will use the term Fourier series. If you are more attuned to music and the arts, just shut off for a moment and relax while I speak to the engineers. Then, I will switch from the engineers to the musicians shortly.

I am going to speak in terms of frequency. The Fourier series is a way to analyze a signal—like this one—using mathematics and software. You can analyze the sound wave and split it into its component frequencies. This process is called Fourier analysis, and the theory behind it is what really happens with every voice, as represented here.

I will shortly say that every one of your voices is unique because you combine frequencies in a way unique to you. Speech therapists know this, and they try to encourage children to use sounds properly and to open their mouths correctly. Like dentists, they say, “Please say ah,” then “e,” and then “ooh.”

Of course, this time I am not plotting the sound wave over time. Instead, I am plotting loudness against frequency. You could call this a frequency analysis, shown in the frequency plane. It shows that when a person says “r,” the frequencies tend to be around one thousand cycles per second, or hertz (Hz), which is the unit for cycles per second. Then, at about two thousand seven hundred Hz, there is a much higher frequency.

When we say “E,” there is a much higher frequency involved and a much lower frequency. Similarly, with “U.” Of course, this is all related to the shapes of the mouth, which this analysis shows.

Klangfarben und musikalische Aspekte der Stimme

Now the engineers can switch off, and I’m going to speak with the musicians, right? If you didn’t understand a word of what I just said, you might understand a keyboard, because that’s really what’s going on.

Instead of thinking in terms of frequencies—which I did use up at the top—think of it in terms of pitch. Imagine a big keyboard, so big that it’s even larger than a piano keyboard. We’re going to think of notes on this massive keyboard, going way down to 20 or 30 cycles per second, and going all the way up to possibly even 10, 15 thousand cycles per second.

Now, I’m going to show you something. I’ve cheated a bit here—I used some sonic visualization software. My wife is going to say a sentence in English that uses every single letter of the alphabet. You’re going to see this dancing around, because the software is plotting against the keyboard in real time. As she says the sentence, it will plot which frequencies—or which notes, for the musicians—are being used.

Okay, so hopefully you all understand me: The quick sly fox jumped over the lazy brown dog.

There is a huge richness in the possible frequencies that someone might use. Of course, I immediately recognize the voice of my wife, and you will recognize a person according to the way they speak.

I’m now going to show you that just from the consonants in English, there are all sorts of frequencies involved. Some of them are really high up, particularly with letters like S and others similar to it. So let’s just play the...

There’s a huge number of possibilities, just from the consonants alone, let alone the vowels like U, R, and E, which we looked at earlier.

Sprachentwicklung bei Kindern und biblische Bezüge

A friend of mine, who is a paediatrician working with children, once said the following:

Before a child has learned to speak its mother tongue, all the apparatus of speech production is already being practised. This includes not only the movement of the vocal cords but also the cadences, intonations, rhythms, and beauties of the native language. Remarkably, this practice happens even before the child can talk voluntarily.

I find this truly remarkable. It provides a wonderful example of how even children in the womb are learning the voice of their parents, particularly their mother. One can think of a biblical example where this occurs. When Elizabeth meets Mary, who has come to share the news that she will bear the Lord Jesus, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb—John the Baptist—leapt. This is a wonderful lesson against abortion, as it shows John the Baptist, a child in the womb, actually responding to the voice of someone else, namely Mary, the mother of the Lord.

Therefore, we should remember that paediatricians, when studying how children learn to speak, recognize that this process actually begins in the womb. This also highlights how much we should care for the child in the womb. Since some language development occurs so early, it suggests that a loving and caring bond with the baby begins even before birth. This bond is closely connected with the relationship formed with the parents, both before and immediately after the child is born.

Sprachursprung und Kritik an evolutionären Erklärungen

Noam Chomsky, who is no friend to the Christian position, wrote that too little is known about the beginnings of language to justify any far-reaching conclusions. In other words, you cannot pinpoint where language started.

We heard the talk from the Swiss gentleman earlier, which made this point extremely well: you cannot actually say that language started off simple. It has always been complicated.

A book I would recommend that discusses language and speech is by J.G. Penner, titled Evolution Challenged by Language and Speech.

Now, let me play you a video that I think is brilliant. This video shows magneto resonance imaging, which is normally done as a single picture. However, this video captures the MRI while someone is speaking.

What I want you to watch is the movement of the tongue. It is astonishing to see the fine control and movement of the tongue, enabling us to produce all sorts of different sounds.

Komplexität der Sprachproduktion

Let's watch this carefully. In one second of fluent speech, we can produce approximately five or six syllables. These syllables comprise ten to twelve phonemes and involve a variety of articulatory gestures.

This process requires coordinating dozens of muscles. These include muscles from the diaphragm and ribcage, which provide the source of sound as air passes through the larynx. Additionally, the tongue, lips, and jaw are used with precision to shape the chambers of the vocal tract.

That is just amazing, wouldn't you agree? It's incredible. It really says it all.

The movement of the tongue is especially important. For example, the lisp for the sounds "p" and "t," as I mentioned earlier, is peculiar to English. Then, there are all sorts of other sounds.

If we consider the Zulu language, for instance, there are clicks and many other incredible sounds that come from the South African Zulu warriors.

Furthermore, there are tonal languages, such as those found in Asia. In these languages, the sound "e" differs from the "e" in Mandarin, Chinese, and other Asian languages.

The richness of human language is utterly amazing. As Roger Liebel explained earlier, it is frankly astonishing.

Die Einzigartigkeit jeder Stimme

Lassen Sie uns nun weitermachen, denn ich möchte jetzt über die Einzigartigkeit jeder Stimme sprechen. Diesen Teil finde ich besonders schön, weil es bedeutet, dass wir alle eine Identität haben. Gott kennt Ihre Stimme. Wussten Sie, dass er weiß, wenn Sie sprechen? Natürlich braucht er nicht unbedingt Frequenzen, um das zu erkennen. Er kennt Ihre Gedanken und durchsucht Sie, wie es in Psalm 139 heißt. Es ist ein wunderbarer Gedanke, dass er alles über Sie weiß.

Jeder von uns hat, wie ich bereits erklärt habe, eine besondere Art, unsere Frequenzen oder die von mir erwähnten Tonhöhen zu kombinieren. Hier ist ein interessanter kurzer Ausschnitt von einem Herrn, der einen TED Talk hält – das steht für Technologie, Unterhaltung und Design. Es geht um etwas, das Cymatik genannt wird. Dabei entstehen Formen durch bestimmte akustische Signale. Dieses Beispiel ist nur in zwei Dimensionen, aber es verdeutlicht den Punkt sehr gut.

Er spielt eine bestimmte Frequenz ab, und eine Platte mit Sand vibriert in Resonanz mit dieser Frequenz. Resonanz bedeutet, dass die Platte mit der Schwingung mitschwingt. Das ist ähnlich wie bei dem Rohr, das ich vorher erwähnt habe. Es resoniert mit der Flamme, die das Rohr zum Schwingen bringt. Hier vibriert die Platte in Sympathie mit dem Geräusch, das von einer Quelle kommt, und die Sandpartikel bilden ein Muster.

Der Vortragende macht einen sehr guten Punkt. Sehen wir uns das an: Der Cymatik-Experte John Stuart Reid hat für uns das Kladney-Experiment nachgestellt. Zu sehen ist eine Metallplatte, die an einen Schallwandler angeschlossen ist und von einem Frequenzgenerator gespeist wird. Mit steigenden Frequenzen werden die Muster auf der Platte immer komplexer, wie man mit eigenen Augen sehen kann.

Wenn man das nun umkehrt und bedenkt, dass wir es mit drei Dimensionen zu tun haben und die Form unseres Mundes verändern, entstehen unterschiedliche Klänge in unserer Stimme. Das ist im Grunde alles, was gesagt wird. Man kann die Stimme, wie ich schon zuvor erwähnte, in ihre einzelnen Frequenzen zerlegen.

Natürlich wird die Einzigartigkeit jeder Stimme von Banken genutzt, und ich bin froh, dass sie das auch weiterhin tun. Einige Betrüger schaffen es zwar trotzdem, aber man muss seine eigene Stimme bei der jeweiligen Bank vorweisen, um zu beweisen, dass man es wirklich ist – zusätzlich zu Codes und anderen Sicherheitsmaßnahmen. Die Banken wissen also, dass Sie eine einzigartige Stimme haben. Sie hören nicht immer genau hin, aber sie wissen dennoch, dass Sie es sind.

Beispiele bekannter Stimmen

Ich werde nun dein Wissen über England testen. Einige von euch werden diese Fragen beantworten können, andere nicht. Kannst du mir sagen, wer diese Person ist? Diese Stimme ist einzigartig. Es handelt sich um eine bekannte Person, die relativ jung ist.

Ich habe deinen offenen Brief gelesen, den du neulich geschrieben hast. Ich fand ihn unglaublich bewegend und sehr mutig, so persönliche Gefühle niederzuschreiben. Ich wollte dich etwas fragen. Ist es richtig, dass es Prinz William ist? Ja, genau, Prinz William. Seine Stimme ähnelt der seines Bruders Prinz Harry, ist aber nicht dieselbe. Auch die Stimme seines Vaters ist ähnlich, aber nicht identisch. Sie ist einzigartig.

Diese Person ist in unserem Land sehr bekannt und historisch bedeutsam. Wer könnte das sein? Ich kann nicht umhin, darüber nachzudenken, dass, wenn mein Vater Amerikaner und meine Mutter Britin gewesen wären – andersherum als es tatsächlich war –, ich vielleicht auf eigenen Füßen hierher gekommen wäre. Diese Worte stammen aus einer schwierigen Zeit. Natürlich war es Winston Churchill, der damals nicht hier war, sondern in Amerika vor dem Senat sprach.

Wer ist diese Person? Es handelt sich um einen bekannten Moderator, der inzwischen schon etwas älter ist. Alle diese Lebewesen sind miteinander verbunden, entweder direkt oder indirekt, und alle sind abwechselnd von der Vegetation abhängig.

Es ist David Attenborough. Einige von euch haben ihn vielleicht erkannt. Das ist ein deutlich jüngeres Bild von David Attenborough, der jetzt, soweit ich weiß, in seinen 90ern ist.

Jetzt spiele ich euch noch eine letzte Stimme vor. Es ist ein Sänger, den ihr vermutlich nicht erkennen werdet. Er war als Kind in Großbritannien sehr bekannt und wurde auch als Erwachsener berühmt. Er singt. „The stars are brightly shining“ – ja, oh je, der Name ist mir gerade entfallen. Das ist schlecht, ich kann mich nicht erinnern. Es ist so bekannt, aber mir fällt der Name gerade nicht ein. Er wird mir gleich wieder einfallen. Ja, es ist mir gerade entfallen.

Er ist ein wunderbarer Sänger, der als Kind gesungen hat und jetzt als Tenor singt. Alles zeigt, dass es eine Einzigartigkeit in deiner Stimme gibt, und das ist einfach erstaunlich.

Die Faszination des Singens

Now I’m going to come to singing, and this is really where it begins to take off. We are now looking at some incredible examples of singing. I’ve chosen a German singer, and she is singing an Italian song. So I’ve got it very European for you.

Just listen to this, because it really shows the amazing capacity of the human voice. She is singing—it’s Renee Moran, and she’s singing "O mio babbino caro." This is a song where she is basically pleading with her father to let her marry the person she wants to marry.

So let me play this.

That ability is unique to human beings. Whether it be—and I’ve now found the name I was looking for—Aled Jones, although you might not have known that name, or Renee Moran, or some of the well-known Italian opera singers, their trained voices are, of course, in this range.

Combined with the instruments we’re familiar with in the orchestra, it’s all connected to what I was saying earlier. Now, combined with a larynx, which provides the basic note.

The different harmonics I spoke about in speech are now being provided in music. It’s a combination of the larynx and the pharynx, working together with a basic note coming from the larynx. Then the words are actually added on top.

This is what is unique to human singing.

Vergleich mit Vogelgesang und musikalische Vielfalt

We have other creatures that sing. Of course, birds are singing, and I could give an entire talk on birdsong. Birds actually sing within the frequency range to which our ears are very sensitive, which is roughly between 3000 and 6000 cycles per second. God has made some birds that can even mimic the human voice. As you may know, they do this by a different principle, which I will mention at the end if I have time.

When it comes to human singing, we combine words with the larynx, which provides the basic tune. For example, Renee Moran, whom we heard earlier, demonstrates this well. Now, let me give you an example of truly pure singing from a group called All Angels. They perform "In Paradisum" by Fauré, from the Requiem. It is really beautiful.

We are built for beauty, and this is what such singing shows. It is a huge overdesign. We do not need all this singing if our only purpose were to survive and pass on our genes to the next generation, as Richard Dawkins would have us believe. There is no biological necessity to have the ability to sing such pure and exceedingly beautiful notes.

Therefore, we are made in the image of God, and we should not be surprised that connected with this is the desire to sing.

Geistliche Dimension des Singens und moderne Herausforderungen

And let me play you some examples of spiritual songs now, because they give the greatest glory to God.

During Covid, it was difficult. Some of us found it exceedingly hard. Some of you singers wanted to be in a choir but couldn’t, because you were stuck in your own flat or wherever you were. You couldn’t join with others.

Some people had brilliant ideas. They would sing one part, send it electronically to somebody else, and then combine all the parts together to create a choir. But some people did everything themselves. Watch this—it is beautiful. This was done during COVID times, where this gentleman sang the tenor, bass, lean, and alto parts.

O, the matchless grace of Jesus,
deeper than the mighty rolling sea,
farther than the depth of grace,
all sufficient and all sufficient grace,
for even me, for even me,
broader than the scope of my transgression,
seeing it greater far than all my sin and shame,
O, magnify the precious name of Jesus!

I think you’ll agree with me that this is really superb. It beautifully illustrates the power of Christian music, especially when you can actually hear the words. One of my gripes with some modern songs is that you can’t always hear the words. The words are important, as well as the music. This is particularly evident in hymns done beautifully like this.

Let me play you a more modern one, which is also beautiful. It really shows the capacity of one person to sing a huge number of possible parts, just like this gentleman did with the traditional hymn.

Now listen to this one. This is “Mary, Did You Know?” and it’s really done well.

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy would one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
this child that you’ve delivered would soon deliver you?
Mary, did you know
that your baby boy would give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
that your baby...

I think that’s just utterly wonderful.

Die einzigartige Stimme Jesu Christi

And it leads me to the last point I want to add tonight: there is one voice none of us have ever heard, but it is supreme.

Consider that the whole creation groans, waiting for the day when this voice will come from Heaven. This is the voice that calmed the lake of Galilee with just the words, "Peace, be still." When Christ spoke, he used frequencies none of us have ever combined together.

Don’t ask me a difficult question like, "If there had been a tape recorder capturing Jesus’ voice, could we have reproduced it?" No, I am not suggesting that there is some magic in the frequencies themselves. However, I am saying that the voice of the Lord Jesus is unique.

When Mary mistook the Lord Jesus for the gardener at the time of the resurrection, what did Jesus do? He turned to her and said, "Mary." The way he said it made her immediately recognize him.

There is a voice none of us have yet heard, and yet it is powerful.

Die Stimme Jesu in der Schöpfung und im Evangelium

Es ist diese Stimme, die bei der Schöpfung gehört wurde, nicht wahr? Denn es heißt im Johannes-Evangelium, Kapitel 1, Vers 3: „Ohne ihn ist nichts gemacht, was gemacht ist.“ So wissen wir, dass die Stimme Jesu bei der Schöpfung zu hören war.

Es war seine Stimme, die Menschen von ihren Krankenlagern erhob. In Markus Kapitel 2 wird beschrieben, wie diese Stimme schließlich den Hauptmann vollkommen erstaunte, als dieser sagte: „Herr, ich bin nicht würdig, dass du unter mein Dach kommst; sprich nur ein Wort, so wird mein Knecht gesund.“ Genau das tat der Herr Jesus – aus der Ferne.

Und erstaunlicherweise war es in Johannes 11 diese Stimme, die einen Mann erhob, der bereits vier Tage tot war. Er musste aus dem Grab aufstehen, noch mit den Grabtüchern umwickelt. Ich glaube, ich wäre ohnmächtig geworden, wenn ich das gesehen hätte, denn die Kraft der Stimme Jesu ist einfach überwältigend.

Es war diese Stimme, die einen Hymnus sang und wahrscheinlich alle Jünger dazu führte, diesen Hymnus gemeinsam zu singen. Man nimmt an, dass es sich wahrscheinlich um einen der sogenannten „Lieder des Aufstiegs“ handelte. Die Psalmen 124 bis etwa 130 gelten als solche Lieder, doch genau wissen wir es nicht.

Aber sie sangen gemeinsam einen Hymnus, und es war diese Stimme, die im Garten Gethsemane gehört wurde, als er sagte: „Mein Vater, ist es möglich, so gehe dieser Kelch an mir vorüber; doch nicht wie ich will, sondern wie du willst.“

Die Stimme Jesu am Kreuz und ihre Bedeutung

This Voice is supreme to us, and one day we are going to hear it. Isn't that wonderful?

I talked about the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. Well, there were two other occasions when God the Father spoke from Heaven to the Lord Jesus. These are recorded in Matthew 17 at the Mount of Transfiguration and in John 12, where it says a Voice from Heaven spoke when Jesus said, "Father, glorify your Name." The Voice responded, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."

There is one occasion where Jesus' Voice appears not to get a response, and that is on the Cross. When he cries out in agony at the end of the six hours in total—and the three hours of darkness—Jesus cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Actually, there was a response. When he finally gave up the ghost—or physically controlled his own death, which is remarkable—no spear or nails could have actually killed the Lord Jesus. He decided the moment of his death. "I lay down my life," John 10 says, "and I take it again."

But anyway, when he finally died, it says the veil of the Temple was torn from the top to the bottom. That was God's response, such that the centurion said, "Truly, this was the Son of God."

Einladung zum Hören der Stimme Jesu

So I would like to ask you today: There is quite a good number of us here. Have you heard the voice of the Lord Jesus speaking to you?

You might say, "Well, none of us have heard it." But I am speaking spiritually now. God has promised to speak through His Word. Some of you, even among this group— which is clearly mainly Christians—may not yet have called on the Lord Jesus Christ.

If that is the case, you need to read the Word of God and listen to Him speaking to you through His Spirit. There is coming a day when Jesus will return, but you need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ—that He bled and died for you on the cross to take your sin.

Yes, there is coming a day when the trumpet will sound. It says in another place, 1. Korinther 15, and in another place, Johannes 5: "Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice." So that voice is definitely going to be heard by everybody, including those who have denied the Lord.

Then it says, every knee will bow. Let me ask you: Have you bowed the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ? The voice of the Son of God is unique.