Background & Purpose:
• My four previous ASA meeting presentations add essed a fe uestio s of what is.
• The 2015 subject was the Christian Transhumanist Association (CTA), with founders Micah Redding and Christopher Benekas co-presenters.
• Now I turn to the more important and challenging what ought to be? uestio : Should Christians embrace transhumanism?
ASA Christianity
Apostles’ Creed (390 – 650 A.D.)
I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost. I believe in the holy catholic church. the communion of saints. The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body. And the life everlasting. Amen.
Nicene Creed (325 – 451 A.D.)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son]; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
But First, What is Transhumanism?
• A philosophical and social movement that seeks fundamental transformations of human life through science and technology.
• Transhumanism anticipates in this century a o e ge e of fi e technosciences :
• Biotechnology
• Nanotechnology
• Information & Communication Technology
• Neuroscience
• Robotics
What’s Not to Like?
• Science and technology are often thought to be morally neutral (vs. products of political processes).
• Transhumanists and Christians hope for many of the same things (e.g., elimination of death).
• Some Christians even imagine that technology is how God intends to fulfill our eschatological hopes.
• As a result, many (most?) people see nothing in transhumanism that is inherently wrong.
Transhumanism presents serious philosophical and theological problems.
Philosophical Concerns:
• Transhumanism embraces views that conflict with the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed:
• Mate ialis s. thi gs isi le a d i isi le.
• Humanism vs. the doctrines of sin, salvation through Christ, and the judgment.
• This- o ld futu is s. the o ld to o e.
• Many transhumanists, and some Christians, believe progress is inevitable, even a law of nature:
• There is a strong tendency toward technological determinism and a complete rejection of limits.
• Progress is achieved by human agency now, but soon Artificial Intelligence (AI) will dominate.
Inherently Religious?
I 99 essa … I e plai ed ho t a shu a is (like humanism) can act as a philosophy of life that fulfills some of the same functions as a religion without any appeal to a higher power, a supernatural entity, to faith, and without other core features of eligio s.
Ma Mo e, The Philosoph of T a shu a is , i Ma Mo e a d Natasha Vita-More, eds., The Transhumanist Reader: Classical and Contemporary Essays on the Science, Technology, and Philosophy of the Human Future (West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2013), 8.
Transhumanism displays a wide range of attitudes toward spirituality, all contrary to Christian creeds.





Theological Concerns:
• Transhumanism is closely associated with contrary spiritual and religious commitments.
• All the leading transhumanists hold views that are contrary to Christianity:
• Atheism–exemplified by philosopher Max More.
• Derision–e p essed Ra Ku
z
eil: A p i a role of traditional religion is deathist rationalization — that is, rationalizing the
t aged of death as a good thi g.
• Idolatry–practiced by the TerasemTransreligion that seeks to eate God.

Stanley Hauerwas






1.We elie e that God’s issio i ol esthe tra sfor atio and renewal of creation, including humanity, and that we are called by Christ to participate in that mission: working against illness, hunger, oppression, injustice, and death.
CTA Declaration
2.We seek growth and progress along every dimension of our humanity: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental—and at all levels: individual, community, society, world.
As members:
3.We recognize science and technology as tangible expressions of our God-given impulse to explore and discover, and as a natural outgrowth of being created in the image of God.
4.We are guided y Jesus’ greatest o a ds to Lo e the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and st e gth…a d lo e ou eigh o as ou self.
5.We believe that the intentional use of technology, coupled with following Christ, will empower us to become more human across the scope of what it means to be creatures in the image of God.

1.We elie e that God’s issio i ol esthe tra sfor atio and renewal of creation, including humanity, and that we are called by Christ to participate in that mission: working against illness, hunger, oppression, injustice, and death.
Obscurantism?
2.We seek growth and progress along every dimension of our humanity: spiritual, physical, emotional, mental—and at all levels: individual, community, society, world.
3.We recognize science and technology as tangible expressions of our God-given impulse to explore and discover, and as a natural outgrowth of being created in the image of God.
4.We are guided y Jesus’ greatest o a ds to Lo e the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and st e gth…a d lo e ou eigh o as ou self.
5.We believe that the intentional use of technology, coupled with following Christ, will empower us to become more human across the scope of what it means to be creatures in the image of God.
Conclusions:
• T a shu a is ’s o e ge t technosciences present few problems to Christians:
• Pursuit of science and technology are consistent with the Great Commandments.
• Technological progress foreshadows (vs. constitutes) what God will do for believers when Christ returns.
• Attempts to redeem transhumanism dangerously obscures fundamental Christian doctrines.
Per Galatians 1:8, Christians should reject tra shu a is as a othergospel .

https://despair.com/products/progress
Abstract
Ch istia it , as the Apostles’ a d Ni e e C eeds defi e it, holds to esse tial do t i es of God and the natural order. Among them are the Trinity. God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; ex nihilo creation; the imago Dei; sin and its effects; the incarnation; salvation through Jesus Christ; the resurrection of the body; divine judgment; and finally, eternal life.
Notwithstanding differences in how these biblical doctrines are understood, Christians live in relationship with God, with Jesus Christ preeminent.
In contrast, secular transhumanism aspires to eternal life without reference to Christian thought. Rationalism and materialism are its presuppositions. The origins and history of human life are irrelevant compared with its destiny. Science and technology are t a shu a is ’s ea s of sal atio . The goal is o plete f eedo f o atu al li itatio s, including morphological freedom. the ability to shape our bodies at will, or to eliminate them completely through some form of virtual existence.
Some Christians have sought to integrate their faith with transhumanism. To do this, fundamental Christian doctrines are minimized or denied, the gospel of Jesus Christ among the . Ch istia s a a d should uphold t aditio al Bi li al Ch istia it , the Apostles’ a d Nicene creeds, and the value of special and natural revelation without elevating science and technology to the status of idols.