A New Kind of Eternal Life: The Growing Christian Transhumanism Movement [Hebrews 9]

Transhumanism, the movement which aims to use science fiction-esque methods such as brain uploading, cyborgism, and cryogenics to achieve immortality and/or a higher state of evolution, is strongly associated with atheism. Not only is there a strong emphasis on science, which is often considered to be at odds with religion to a certain extent, but this particular brand of science seems particularly opposed to the notion that God should have control over life and death. But according to transhumanist Micah Redding, there's a growing contingent of Christians in the transhumanist movement who are seeking a slightly different type of eternal life than the one touted in the Bible.

In a recent article for Motherboard, Redding, who is the executive director of the Christian Transhumanist Organization, claims that religion and transhumanism are much more compatible than most people believe, and that the Christian transhumanism movement is growing rapidly. He cited pastor Christopher Benek, who recently claimed that AI can potentially be saved by Jesus Christ:

"I don't see Christ's redemption limited to human beings," said Benek. "It's redemption to all of creation, even AI. If AI is autonomous, then we... should encourage it to participate in Christ's redemptive purposes in the world."

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die , but after this the judgment: 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear * the second time without sin unto salvation.

Since the fall of man in the Garden, the sinful have sought ways to undo the bands of death through drugs, spiritual forces, and science. Perhaps one of the most visible attempts to do so has been Timothy Leary's use of cryogenics to preserve his head after death in 1996 (hoping to attach another younger body when the technology is available). Regardless of what the Ubermensch in government and science tell us, man is a created being. The God that intelligently engineered us, chose our habitation and our boundaries, our gender, our genetic makeup, and our families (like it or not).

Our loving, sentient, moral creator who gave us physical and moral boundaries did not do so to enslave us. Rather he did so to set us free. Free from what? Free from trying to be what we are not. Free from trying to be God! If each of us is God, what is to become of those who disagree with us? What about those who get in our way? Who tells a god what to do? Who can judge a god's moral action as right or wrong?

The seminal sin in the Garden of Eden, behind all others, is man's desire to "be like God". There can only be one Most High. All of us must subjugate our will to the Most High's will. For the moral God that made us knows what is good and what is evil, beyond our limited view. The closest sinful man has ever gotten to godhood, was before the flood of Noah. Fallen Angels left their estate and began to copulate with women. The resulting children were genetically modified god-men became heroes, leaders, rulers...the mighty of the earth. Some scholars believe the Greek gods may have actually inhabited the earth! The Most High looked down at the wickedness of these god-men, and had to destroy the earth.

Jesus said that the days before his return would be the same. Man's incessant attempt to transgress God's line, to reach out and grab what God has forbidden goes on...

I've read a lot of science fiction exploring this them. Here's the thing, as I see it. Even if you could upload your intelligence to a computer, it would not be you. It might think it was you, but it is not.

A simple thought experiment will show the point. Suppose you upload your intelligence to the computer, and it comes on-line before you die. Now there are two beings that think they are you. Which one is? The first one, of course.

Or, suppose you are supposed to up load every week, but you miss your appointment? In fact, you are so busy preaching the new gospel, that you miss a whole month.

On your way to the appointment, a Hillary supporter, in a feminist rage, runs over you and the crowd of people you were walking with. The computer comes on line, thinks it's you, but has no recollection of the month of evangelization you've had, complete with first class air fare to a conference in Brussels.

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