Christian fundamentalists can be obtuse, particularly when expressing their opinions about Transhumanism. Shocker, I know. The latest to catch my attention is Matija Štahan, who writes about “ The Original Sin of Transhumanism: The Desire to Be Like God.” Ah, Matija, how carefully have you read your Bible? According to the good book, the desire to be like God actually isn’t a sin. To the contrary, it’s encouraged. Arguably, it’s even commanded. Jesus, as usual, says it best. “ Be ye therefore perfect. ” How’s that Jesus? “Even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” You might want to think it says that we should be perfect in some way less or other than Godhood. That would work with the first sentence. But then you have to deal with the second sentence. That’s perfect as God is perfect, which is of course Godhood. Now maybe you could do some mental gymnastics to interpret this text some other way. But then you still have to deal with the remainder of the Bible, in which theosis is advocated repeatedly, over and again, until Jesus and his disciples and all the prophets are blue in the face. It’s like they knew you wouldn’t want to believe them. And yet here we are. Christian Transhumanism Matija tells us that the spirit of Transhumanism is anti-Christian. That would make the thousands of Christian Transhumanists anti-Christian. You’d like that, I imagine. But you’d be wrong. Ironically, despite the “anti-Christian” charges, Christian Transhumanists actually take Jesus more seriously than Christian fundamentalists. You know that part of the Bible where Jesus commands his disciples to console the sad, heal the sick, and raise the dead? I’ve never met a Christian fundamentalist who takes that last part seriously in any practical way. But I know many Christian Transhumanists who strive to do so. Yes. We’re that crazy serious about our Christianity. We actually think that Jesus was serious when he charged his disciples to raise the dead. So we’re working on that, whether you think it strange or arrogant or whatever. Repentance Is Change Matija has concerns with the word “Transhumanism” because it includes the prefix “trans,” which he understands to mean that we aspire to constant change. He’s right. We do. And that, too, is advocated and even commanded by Jesus. All throughout the Bible, Jesus and the prophets talk about the principle of repentance. It’s a core principle of the Gospel of Christ. And it’s change. It’s trusting in, changing toward, and fully immersing both our bodies and our minds in the role of Christ, as exemplified and invited by Jesus. That change to which we’re invited, and which Jesus exemplifies, isn’t superficial. It’s not partial. It’s not just being nicer. Rather, it’s a holistic change, of the sort that’s described as loving God with our entire souls. Repentance is the change through which the old person dies and the new rises. The transformation would make us one in Christ, as Jesus is one with God. And it would extend from the spiritual to the physical. In the end, Paul writes, we shall not all die, but we shall all change from mortality to immortality. So many Christian fundamentalists want that immortality to be an escapist abstraction. But unfortunately the Bible doesn’t back them up. You know the story of Jesus’ resurrection? When he appears to his disciples after resurrection, he consoles them by pointing out that spirits don’t have flesh and bone as they see he has. Matija says Transhumanists want to dehumanize humans before making us Gods. Well, is God human? If not, we certainly aren’t content remaining as we are in our mortal state. But if God is somehow a fullness of superhuman potential, then we have absolutely no interest in dehumanizing anyone. Sex and Gender But what about that bogey man “trans”? What about the transgender and the transsexual, and whatever other “trans” is scary to you or whomever you’re trying to impress? “Transportation,” “transaction,” “translation,” and “transistor” are also “trans.” Are you equally opposed to automobiles, money, communication, and computers – most of which you used to publish your opposition to “trans”? How about “transformation” and “transcendence”? Are you opposed to those too? That would seem strange, given that they’re functional descriptors for the core message of Christianity. So maybe it’s really just the sex that get you going. As it turns out, Transhumanists have many different perspectives on most of these “trans,” and particularly the controversial ones. In my experience, very few Transhumanists, Christian or otherwise, claim to want to be post-gender. Most of us recognize the practical challenges of the controversies related to changes in sex and gender. And many of us, hopefully most of us, attempt to approach these challenges with both wisdom and compassion. But, Matija, weren’t ...
