A True Definition of Transhumanism– Part II

causality, miracle, creation, God

In Part I of this series we looked at secular definitions of transhumanism, which inevitably point to improving our existence through a technological transformation of our humanity.

There’s little mystery that humanity is in need of improvement.  Simply observe the bloodbath of the 20th century.

In Part I, we looked at God’s solution to the problem.  The travails of the Old Testament demonstrate that humanity is beyond simple “improvement.”  We need to be remade from the inside out, and that is the work of salvation.

Where we left off yesterday is that God’s plan is to save us through communion.  Communion in this life as we join ourselves to Christ, so that we enjoy perfect and everlasting communion with the Trinity in the life to come.  When we join ourselves to Christ through His humanity, through the incarnation (from the Latin incarnari, to “be made flesh”).

So why isn’t that solution good enough for everyone?  Because that solution has two mandatory constituents: God and self-sacrifice.

The transhumanists seek to substitute science for God.

What of self-sacrifice?  The transhumanists solve that as well with “enhancements” that are peddled as easy and painless.  And that might be true in a physical sense.  But the transhumanist vision demands a different sort of sacrifice.

This brings us to satan’s plan for transhumanism, which we consider in this article, and from which will come our true definition of transhumanism.

TRANSHUMANISTS PROMISE SALVATION WITHOUT GOD

The transhumanists are seeking a salvation of sorts, but they want to get there without God.  As they put it, we’ll become “posthuman.”

The antithesis of God is satan.  Where God is not, there satan is.  There is no neutral “God free” zone.  If God isn’t there, satan rushes in.   “But upon returning, the unclean spirit finds the home swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there…”  (Lk 11:24-25)

If transhumanists are going to try for a Godless plan to solve the woes of humanity, it is by definition satan’s plan.  On a side note, God will always order events to His ultimate purposes, but we must do our part to reject satan’s schemes and help others to do the same.

First we remind ourselves that satan is creator of nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  Give satan a million years and a million laboratories and a million factories and he couldn’t create so much as a paper clip.  There is only one Creator, everything comes from Him.  Satan can only destroy.  Here are two relevant passages on the destructive thirst of satan:

“A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy” (John 10:10

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

Satan is not satisfied to simply steal our happiness and kill our bodies.  Satan’s thirst is for the utter destruction of humanity.

Let’s look deeper at that word – destroy.  The common English meaning, from Miriam Webster, is revealing – “to ruin the structure, organic existence, or condition of; to ruin as if by tearing to shreds.”

It becomes even more illuminating when we look that the Greek root of destroy (apollymi) as used in both above scripture passages.  From Strong’s Greek concordance:

“apóllymi (from apó, ‘away from,’ which intensifies ollymi, ‘to destroy’) – properly, fully destroy, cutting off entirely.”

To destroy something is to ruin the structure or the organic existence, and to cut off entirely.

If we were to destroy, say, our human nature, we would ruin our “structure and organic existence” and we would be “cut off entirely.”   The question then is – cut off from what?

Or, cut off from Who?

Recall that our humanity is our tether to the Trinity because of Christ’s incarnation.  When we cut ourselves off entirely from our humanity, we are cutting ourselves off entirely from our Creator and our Savior.

Well that can’t be good.

Hear anew the warning of Psalm 115: “Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.  They have mouths but do not speak, eyes but do not see.  They have ears but do not hear, noses but do not smell.  They have hands but do not feel, feet but do not walk; they produce no sound from their throats.  Their makers will be like them, and anyone who trusts in them.”

For transhumanists, their idols are silicon chips, implants, biochemicals and software.  They provide intelligence of sorts, but neither wisdom nor charity, and certainly not communion with the Blessed Trinity.  Their makers will be like them, and anyone who trusts in them.

TRANSHUMANISTS PROMISE SALVATION WITHOUT SACRIFICE (SORT OF)

Here’s another basic fact we must face head on – working out our salvation is difficult.  It’s not for nothing that St. Paul likens the spiritual life to an athlete disciplining his body.  Because of our fallen nature we don’t like difficult.  We like easy.  Easy will look different for different people.  For the sensualist, disciplined work is not easy.  But for the workaholic, constant labor comes easily – sitting quietly with a loved one or in adoration, not so much.  The point being, each of us in our own way, and left to our own devices, seeks the easy way out.

And so we want to take control of our redemption – we’d prefer it here and now and preferably with a few simple bolt-on parts that don’t wear out (here’s hoping they’re not made in China).

As it turns out, we’ve tried this before – attempting to seize control of God’s creation (our body and soul) and manipulate it on our own so that we can have benefits of salvation without sacrificing our vices.   Here are just three examples:

Mystical experiences through psychedelic and psychotropic drugs.  God gave us wiring in our brain (such as the limbic system) to facilitate consolation and other mystical experiences.  It’s God’s wiring to use for His purposes and His alone.  Particularly in the 1960’s (though going back for millennia) the likes of Timothy Leary sought to wrest control of this aspect of our anatomy with psilocybin, LSD and other mind-altering drugs.  Harvard Professor Leary believed he was ushering in a new age of mind expansion.  What Leary actually ushered in was a downward spiral of madness; his daughter murdered her boyfriend and then committed suicide in jail; he divorced his wife after “anointing” his friend to have an affair with her; and, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, Leary committed slow-motion suicide through a smorgasbord of drugs.  Pray for his soul.

Reproductive “technology.”  Here again, man was determined to wrest control of an aspect of our God-given nature – our ability to share in the wonder of creation through human sexuality.  This has led to the slaughter of tens of millions of unborn children, the loss of the true meaning of man and woman, ushering in no-fault divorce and now we are left with the destruction of the family and society in tatters.

Transgender ideology.  In our unbridled determination to be in complete control of every aspect of our existence we have now arrived at the point of luring children to permanently damage themselves by attempting to “transition” into what they are not.

As is painfully evident, the result for anyone who follows these “transformational” plans is separation from God.  In the case of the drug culture by the clouding of our faculties (similar to the violation of the commandment against drunkenness).  And the sexual revolution and transgenderism lure people down a dark path of self that ends only in brokenness and despair absent the healing touch of God.

The bottom line is that when we are lured into taking a bite of the apple of “salvation without sacrifice” we actually sacrifice the one thing that matters most – communion with God.

A TRUE DEFINITION OF TRANSHUMANISM

Satan was only getting warmed up with the drug culture, sexual liberation, and transgenderism.  Each was just a one more step away from the dignity of the human person.

Transhumanism is Satan’s end game.  And so we come to a true definition of transhumanism:

Transhumanism is satan’s plan to destroy humanity by deforming it into something that can no longer commune with it’s Creator.

We are created for communion.  Christ suffered and died to restore that communion.  Satan desires to deform us into something permanently incapable of communion, so that we are utterly destroyed.

Will transhumanism succeed?   Of course not.  It will fail just like the drug culture and sexual revolution.  The transhumanists will be thwarted at every juncture.  We’re not going to be able to read one another’s minds – at least not the thoughts and aspirations that reside deep in our spiritual soul.   We’re not going to be able to make our bodies live for centuries.  We’re not going to be able to download our consciousness into an iPad.

But none of that matters to satan.  He doesn’t want the transhumanist to succeed, he just wants humans to fail.  Each new part that we bolt on, each new nanobot-biochemical “enhancement” will further deform our humanity, cloud our mind and darken our spirit.   We’ll never be post-human, we’ll just be lost.

 

And so we must fervently and steadfastly proclaim God’s plan – the only true plan for the perfection of our human nature.  If anyone looks for it, the rebuke of transhumanism and the beauty of God’s plan is reflected in most every passage of scripture.  Here’s one:

“I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put my spirit within you so that you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep them.”  (Ez 36:25-27)

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