Plato on Transhumanism

Michael Plato, that is.

Over the years I have posted on the transhumanist phenomenon here, here, and here. For a thoughtful and even more up-to-date piece go here to read his post, "The Immortality Machine: Transhumanism and the Race to Beat Death."

As Plato observes, "That so many atheist transhumanists look at death with hostility and hunger for immortality should be, at a very basic level, encouraging for Christians." On the other hand,

Transhumanism sharply diverges from Christianity in its rejection of the idea that our human bodies are good as is because they are created by a good God. That Christ himself has a human body and possesses a human nature affirms the goodness and completeness of the human. In this, transhumanism is more akin to the Gnosticism of centuries past, which treated the body as malleable or even outright repugnant and disposable.

Victory over death won't come by prolonging and even enhancing the lives we have. Human life, even as wonderful as it can be, is deeply flawed and death is the final exclamation point on its flaws. We need something more than more of the same and the gospel of eternal life in Christ promises more than perduration. "Eternal" partakes of the nature of Life of the one who is life and that life will transcend the paltry imitation hoped for by the transhumanists.

One more random thought. Plato references several pop cultural (TV and film) items that deal with transhumanism. FWIW, this season's X-Files does, too. And it's not flattering.