The question before us is not: how does reflection on transhumanism inform our theological anthropology in general? Nor is it: what role does the interpretation of the imago Dei have in the construction of our theological anthropology in general? It is specifically about how reflection on transhumanism helps us refine our understanding of the image…

This is not just an academic question for me. As I am writing this essay, I am serving as the primary caregiver for my 88-year-old father who is suffering from multiple co-morbidities, including dementia. The frailties and limitations of our embodied condition are part of his (and, therefore, my) daily experience. Since I am a…

Ray Kurzweil’s documentary film “Transcendent Man” should be required viewing for anyone who wants to learn more about transhumanism. Kurzweil crosses off every box we have come to associate with the movement: he believes we should fix Mother Nature’s mistakes; he sees aging and death as unnecessary; he believes that technology can and must save…

I’m a big fan of science fiction, because it can spotlight the possibilities and liabilities of technology. There is a comfort in Sci-Fi, of course: it’s fiction. Not so in the case of transhumanism: Humanity+ and other transhumanist organizations seek real transformation of the human condition through technology. The transhumanists of Silicon Valley tend towards…

Isaiah Berlin famously distinguished between positive and negative freedom: freedom to be what we are meant to be versus freedom from constraint. The technological society in which we live, bolstered by centuries of the development of expressive individualism, has clearly come down on the side of negative freedom. Freedom equals choice, and technology expands the…

Can reflection on transhumanism help refine our understanding of the imago Dei? The teaching that humanity is made in the image of God is regarded as core to Christian doctrine and the bedrock of Christian anthropology—arguably, it is the reason we can speak of theological anthropology at all. But there is a surprising diversity of…

The Henry Center is pleased to announce Benjamin Parks as the winner of the 2017–18 Brown Award for Student Scholarship. The Brown Award is one of the six initiatives of the Creation Project, and was created to encourage graduate-level research at the intersection of science and the doctrine of creation. Parks’ essay, “From the Waters…

Among the more interesting and less appreciated developments of modern scientific society is the emergence of a new genre of literature: science fiction. While the works may be fictive, they should not be understood as mere entertainment. Indeed, they represent a kind of eschatological—and often apocalyptic—imagination, one inseparably tied to an important element of our…