Enjoying Transgenderism? You’ll Love Transhumanism

Transgenderism had been quietly but steadily advancing for decades before it exploded into the genuine epidemic that is upon us.

And now transhumanism is quietly but steadily advancing.

The Church could have headed off transgenderism at the outset.  She has all that is needed to guide people to the safe harbor of their true human identity.  Regrettably the Church by and large did not step into that role, and even now is still mostly fumbling around with the transgender issue.

That’s not great news because if the Church can’t find its footing with transgenderism it is going to be even tougher going in the battle against transhumanism.

Transgenderism Attacks the Body, Transhumanism the Soul

We humans are a composite of a physical body and spiritual soul.  Our spirit is the animating “form” of our body, and our body expresses our spirit.

While our body and spirit have separate operations proper to each, what we do with one affects the other.  For example, bowing in prayer with our body helps lift our spirit to the Lord.  Conversely, we can use our spiritual power of free will to master the unruly desires of our body.

Transgenderism is primarily an attack on the body, and only indirectly drags down the spirit.  Transhumanism, however, strikes more directly at the spirit.

The spirit isn’t actually accessible to the trans-loonies because it’s immaterial.  But, by going after the brain, transhumanism will do tremendous damage to the spiritual operations of intellect and free will (much like the psychedelic experiments of the 1960’s).

The main point here, however, is that transgenderism is just the opening salvo of the enemy.  It goes after our body through the low hanging fruit of disordered sexual desire.

But the complete destruction of our humanity through transhumanism is the enemy’s end game, and it’s coming soon.

The Tide of Transgenderism is Not Receding

Much ink has been spilled, and many pixels recorded, observing that the so-called “pride month” has been a disaster in 2023, and that transgenderism is in retreat (Bud Light, anyone?).

Those are good things, given that transgender ideology is literally swallowing up our young people.  A great deal of credit goes to organizations like Catholic Vote and individuals like Bishop Strickland and a handful of other bishops, who have led the spiritual and temporal battle against transgenderism.

The recent pullback, however, is most likely just temporary.

Unless there is divine intervention, a demographic tsunami will make its way to shore.  Millennials (mostly in their 30’s) and Gen Z (late teens and twenties) favor the trans agenda by a wide margin.  Once they take firm control of the levers of power, the trans agenda will be sacrosanct (again, baring divine intervention, like a wake-up call from the pending social wreckage from all the current child mutilation).

The transgenderism tide is still coming in.  And no power on earth can hold back that tide.  Only God can hold back that tide.

Failure of the Church to Head Off Transgender Madness

As I discussed in a previous article, the Church missed the boat with the rise of transgenderism.  We needed to respond to it with a well-considered, unified, and loving response years ago.

We’re still not where we need to be today.

Just look at the confusion sown by Fr. James Martin.

And then there’s the lack-luster response of the USCCB to the fiasco of the LA Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.  The bishops initially showed promise (with Bishop Baron stepping up to the plate), but quickly lost steam.

What little response the bishops mounted seemed to most often be carefully triangulated on “anti-Catholic bigotry.”  That was a safe complaint to launch against a bunch of burly guys mocking nuns.

There was notably less objection, however, to the important fact that the SPI were promoting sexually deviancy and occultic behavior.  Such behaviors endanger not only their own souls but thousands and thousands of souls who are influenced by their perversion.

What would have happened if the SPI dressed up as fairy princesses instead of nuns?  Would the bishops have had the courage to object to them on the basis of their deviant behavior rather than the politically safe objection of “Catholic bigotry”?

Lest There be Any Doubt . . .

As a further demonstration that the Church is still far behind on the transgenderism curve, consider this question – how well publicized is the Courage/Encourage ministry in your Diocese?  Do most parishioners even know it exists?

It is a marvelous ministry with tremendous wisdom from its 40+ year history.  It is brimming with faithful service to those who experience same-sex attraction.

Consider, too, how many homilies have you heard comparing the beauty of the Church’s teaching on sexuality with the errors of transgender ideology?  And is your parish actively protecting and educating parishioners about the evils of transgender ideology?

Transgenderism is the cultural issue of the moment, and the Church is responding like a ship without sails or rudder.

On a side note – one good action you can take in the battle against transgenderism, is to ask your Parish to host a talk by a local representative of Courage/Encourage.

Why Transhumanism Will be Harder to Resist

As daunting as transgenderism is, it is still only a niche issue.  While it’s true that many more people are now identifying as trans (sadly the growth is primarily among young people) it is still less than 5% of the population.

The selling points of transhumanism, however, may well appeal to the vast majority of the population.  For example, many people are suffering from anxiety and depression these days.  Our brains are overloaded with problems we can’t solve.  Perhaps we need new and improved brains!

And no matter how often we go to the gym or how many supplements we gulp down, our bodies will inevitably start falling part.  So, perhaps we need new and improved bodies!

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.  The trans-loonies will create all manner of motivations that play on the entire range of human emotions, like Yoyo Ma bowing his cello.  Greed, vanity, envy, pride, sloth, fear – they will play on all of them.

This is why it will be so much harder for the Church to save people from transhumanism.  It will appeal to everyone at a gut level.

The Slow-Drip of Transhumanism

No one will show up tomorrow and say, “we are here to transplant your brain.”  There will instead be grave reasons to coerce you to take this little enhancement here, and this little gene therapy there.

There will be social pressure to #followthescience of transhumanism and accept enhancements and therapies as “acts of love”.

And there will be competition.  Personal AI assistants may be right around the corner.   Imagine AI monitoring everything you do and guiding you to optimize your progress in certain activities.  Will this be the gateway drug for future cognitive enhancements that boost mental activity and gene therapies that boost strength and stamina for sports?

What parent, for instance, will be willing to watch their children fall behind rather than cave in to the “new normal”?

Here is the usual disclaimer – I’m not anti-science.  I’m anti-transhuman ideology that seeks to supplant God and His plan for our salvation with technologies that are forced upon us by big business, big government, and a Godless culture.

It pains me to say this, but there is little reason to rely on the Church’s guidance as these events unfold.  And it still remains to be seen whether or not the Church will take a courageous stand against transhuman ideology.   It could cave to situational ethics like, “it’s ok to take cognitive enhancements for the greater good of building more brains that can think of ways out of the pending climate Armageddon that is always just a few years away.”

Whatever the trojan horses for supposedly harmless transhuman enhancements, you can count on the forces of evil making it extremely painful to say “no, thank you.”  Just look what they did to anyone who said “no” to the Covid shot.

Weeding Does Not a Garden Make

You don’t get a beautiful healthy garden just by pulling up weeds (i.e., the errors of transgender ideology).  You get a beautiful garden by planting flowers (i.e., proclaiming the beauty of human sexuality) so that there’s little place for the weeds to spread.

Pope St. John Paul II was developing his magnificent Theology of the Body in the 1980’s, but it wasn’t diffusing into mainstream Catholic life, let alone mainstream culture.  It’s not by happenstance that no-fault divorce, birth control, and the hook-up culture, all took root alongside transgenderism.

Simply refuting the lies of transgenderism isn’t sufficient.  What is necessary is to truly proclaim, live out, and celebrate the beauty of God’s design for human sexuality.

When was the last time you heard a frank discussion about whether or not people should be dating exclusively until they’re both at a point where they are ready to pursue marriage?  But even then, they shouldn’t engage in sexual activity until marriage.  This is a difficult teaching for many to hear.  But it’s true, and it makes for a beautiful marriage when the time comes.

If we had a society living out the beauty of marriage and human sexuality, there would be little place for the errors of transgenderism to take root.

And so it will be with transhumanism.  It’s not so much saying “no” to the gateway drugs of transhumanism, “no” to (anti)social media, “no” to the culture of death, and “no” to comfort and convenience from things like automated payments and digital passports.  It’s much more about saying “yes” to rich personal relationships, “yes” to the culture of life, and “yes” to simplicity, sacrifice, and meaning.

People who experience the beauty of a Catholic life well lived will not be tempted by the empty promises of a transhuman future.