Behold, Nietzsche's Übermensch.
For millennia the great philosophers of mankind have been discussing the dualism of man—the clash between our body and our spirit, between our material and non-material, the physical man and the spiritual/soul of man. Now, we are back to it—and it is becoming increasingly more vital to understand the unity of man. We are fully both our physical, material bodies and spirits/souls.
Christian parents, you thought you needed to keep up with the times to prepare your kids to deal with homosexual marriage, right?
Nope, keep going...Our culture is way past that. I hear some ask,"Oh, you mean transgenderism, where gender is fluid and men can be women and visa versa?"
No—continue. "Are you kidding me? Do you mean trans-speciesism, where humans are physically and genetically blending with animals?"
No—that's nothing—continue.
This next generation will not just be deciding what person or thing they shall be sexually attracted to, or the choice of which of the many and expanding number of genders are available (currently 58). The next generation will have the right to decide if they will become cyborgs:
A cyborg--short for cybernetic organism-- is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. Coined in 1960, the word means humans with enhanced abilities due to the integration of some artificial component or technology.
The future is one where trans-humanism will be normalized. And the future is now. Already there is a movement to merge humans with robots. Some of those involved with trans-humanism are attempting to be able to download all human thoughts and experiences into a chip, that one day, man and robot can fully integrate.
No, really. Actually. It's happening. We are truly that far into it. Now, legally, cyborgs have rights. The Cyborg Foundation was created to defend the rights of cyborgs.
Think about the implications. If man and robot are united, this gives man immortality. Humans can live forever—they shall not surely die.
What is Man?
This brings us to the question, what is man? Are we nothing but a set of experiences, memories, thoughts that can be downloaded and processed as a computer?
Who are you? What tells us who you are? What makes you, you?
Some people self-identify in terms of our capitalistic culture--where they are in the capitalistic flow, which cog on the wheel--a banker, a teacher, salesman, etc. They may then self-identify based on their salary.
Some people self-identify with their gender, age, sexual-orientation, race, nationality. Others describe their looks. Others might claim their identities around the things they love and associate themselves with such as family, patriotism, religion, sports teams, universities, political organizations, cars, motorcycles, our garden clubs, technology, ancestry, or even their favorite entertainers.
Most of those are externals—they can be duplicated in a robot to be either as authentic or seemingly as authentic. Moods, emotions can be mimicked.
What is unique about humanity that cannot be downloaded? If the scientists downloaded all the above things into a robot, would that be someone completely? If they downloaded all the above of how you described yourself would it be you? Or would something substantive be missing?
What is unique about humanity that cannot be downloaded? If the scientists downloaded all the above things into a robot, would that be someone completely? If they downloaded all the above of how you described yourself would it be you? Or would something substantive be missing?
Now I have to ask: Have we become robots already? Has the Devil reduced us into living a life so superficial, so enslaved in the material, the physical, the empirical, based on our senses, that we truly could be fully downloaded into a machine, because we have gone no deeper?
The Devil and God are at odds with whom and what they want us to identify. Satan wishes us to be nothing but the sum of our parts. He wants us to be what we love, as long as what we love is material things that are outside of us. He wants us to bring worldly things into our souls and become so fully bond with them that it is impossible to extricate who we are from temporal and transient things.
The Devil and God are at odds with whom and what they want us to identify. Satan wishes us to be nothing but the sum of our parts. He wants us to be what we love, as long as what we love is material things that are outside of us. He wants us to bring worldly things into our souls and become so fully bond with them that it is impossible to extricate who we are from temporal and transient things.
Christ wants more:
He tells us that He is the vine,"you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit." While every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. "If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned" and "apart from me you can do nothing."
Christ wants us to self-identify as His and by the fruits He produces in us. Often, how we self-identify can constrict our ability to produce who we really are. We are so obsessed with the material, we do not develop the fruits of authentic personhood.
Maybe we should start self-identifying with the fruits we produce through His grace.
Galatians 5 records that these fruits are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
I Cor. 12 and 13 tells us that our identity is formed through the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are: wisdom, knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, miraculous powers, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, speaking in different kinds of tongues and interpretation of tongues.
In fact, in the new cyberworld, St. Paul's words sound prophetic, if we do not have love, we are, "only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." (Sounds like the emptiness of a trans-human soul.) In fact, if the cyborg has the ability to prophesy, has all knowledge and can move mountains, but has not love, it is nothing.
Human love is patient, kind, not envious, nor boastful, nor proud. Fully humans do not dishonor others, nor are self-seeking, nor easily angered, they keep no record of wrongs. Humans with real love do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. They protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
These things can never be downloaded. Can the Holy Spirit enter a cyborg? Some things are eternal: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The devil wants us to be fully downloadable, with souls having loved and nurtured nothing more than superficialities, having so
For those who enter the presence of God, we will be both flesh and spirit, material and non-material. The temporal things that we were tempted to love and self-identify as will be stripped away: patriotism, religious identifications, political affiliation, socio-economic status. Only the things of God will remain, forever.
We must learn to develop these gifts of the Holy Spirit, for they can never be duplicated in a cyborg.
