Jesus Christ is a divine figure, which Kim believes can also be subjected to rational analysis.
A discussion has reignited in the popular science community regarding the relationship between intelligence, science, and religious faith following public statements by South Korean researcher Yonghoon Kim, who is attributed with one of the highest IQ scores in the world — 276, recognized by the World Council of Intellectual Sports. For comparison, IQ values above 140 are traditionally considered to be at the level of genius, while the estimated IQs of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking are around 160.
Kim is known as a researcher in artificial intelligence, an entrepreneur, and a person with an academic background in theology obtained at Yonsei University. In his public speeches and social media publications, he claims that the existence of God is not only compatible with science but can also be logically and mathematically justified. His most resonant statements assert that God exists "with one hundred percent probability," and that Jesus Christ is a divine figure, which Kim believes can also be subjected to rational analysis.
As an argument, he uses simplified logical-mathematical analogies borrowed from geometry and the theory of time. Among them is the idea of the necessity of an initial point for the existence of any line, the impossibility of traversing an infinite past without a starting moment, and the assertion that spontaneous complexity of the universe is impossible without an external source of power. He unites these arguments into the concept of a first cause, which he describes as a necessary, timeless, rational, and powerful entity.
Such arguments have a long philosophical history and refer to the cosmological proofs of God's existence developed in antiquity and the Middle Ages. However, in the scientific community, they are viewed not as strict mathematical proofs but as philosophical interpretations that utilize the formal language of logic. Modern mathematics and physics do not possess the tools to empirically confirm or refute the existence of a transcendent entity that exists outside of space and time.
Interest in such topics is heightened against the backdrop of a broader discussion about the limits of science. Kim, like some other highly intelligent thinkers, expresses ideas that consciousness and information may exist independently of a physical medium. In this context, he supports the views of American theorist Chris Langan, author of the cognitive-theoretic model of the universe, which suggests that reality has a computational structure, and consciousness may transition into other forms of existence after death.
Such reasoning is often linked to quantum physics, where information is indeed regarded as a fundamental quantity; however, there is currently no direct evidence for the preservation of individual consciousness beyond the functioning of the brain. Most neurobiologists and physicists emphasize that transferring concepts from quantum theory to the realm of metaphysics requires extreme caution.
The history of science shows that high intelligence does not guarantee universal truth in philosophical or religious conclusions. Scientists with outstanding cognitive abilities often hold diametrically opposed views on questions of faith, meaning, and the nature of reality. In this sense, Kim's position represents not a scientific consensus but one of the possible interpretations that lies at the intersection of science, philosophy, and personal beliefs.
Thus, claims of a mathematical proof of God's existence should be viewed as an element of contemporary scientific-philosophical discourse rather than an established fact. They raise important questions about the limits of rational knowledge, the role of worldview in interpreting scientific data, and where the boundary lies between strict science and metaphysics.
