One word you are going to be hearing more about is the word “transhumanism.”
Now, I realize that this may be a unfamiliar term. But we can all probably remember
when we first heard about humanism, the New Age Movement, or other philosophies.
At first the terms were unfamiliar, but we began to realize that it was important to
understand what they meant.

What exactly is transhumanism? It is an intellectual and cultural movement that
seeks to transform the human condition. The leaders of this movement want to use the
developing technologies to eliminate aging and enhance human potential (physical,
psychological, and mental). Two primary ways they want to do this is through genetic
engineering and artificial intelligence. They want to genetically create “the new man,”
and they want to use technology to turn us into “cyborgs” (which is short for cybernetic
organism).

The genetic part of this equation claims that we can use gene splicing and other
genetic modification techniques so that genes can be easily transferred between species.
This might even create a global super-organism. And while Christians would certainly
endorse the use of genetics to rid humankind of genetic diseases, we would certainly be
concerned about geneticists that want to create a super human race. In fact, one scientist
bragged that using these new technologies, we can rewrite the fifth and sixth days of
creation.

The other part of the equation concerns technology. The leaders of transhumanism
believe we are on the cusp of a technological threshold in both artificial intelligence and
human-machine technology. They call the point when humans and machines merge into
one as “the Singularity.”

The leaders of transhumanism believe we should use technology to improve the
human race so that we are perfect and immortal. In many ways, this technological
imperative harkens back to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Instead, we should use
technology wisely as we exercise dominion over the world (Genesis 1:28).