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used as a means for evil, they nevertheless may be a significant force for
good. An example of the beneficial use of technology has been medical
technology. Yet even those technologies may be misused. Healing, the
restoration of form and function to species-level norms, is an activity
clearly demonstrated by the life of Christ, and it is one that we should
emulate. However, it is quite another thing to attempt to reengineer
human beings and manipulate the human species into other than what
we were created to be.
Reengineering or Enhancing the Human Order
As explained in chapter 6, reengineering, or so-called enhancement,
is a repudiation of God s means to achieve a truly human future. All
human beings lament the realities of pain, suffering, and mortality.
Christian believers know that the solution to these realities does not
ultimately rest in a technological fix. No amount of evolutionary tin-
kering, or self-engineering, will achieve physical immortality. Rather,
150 CHAPTER SEVEN
Christians understand that the bodily resurrection has been promised
as the door to physical immortality. The bodily Resurrection of Jesus
along with his Ascension to God s right hand have been given to the
world as verification of this hope.22
Unavoidable Liabilities and Limits
Transhumanist technologies, however whether they involve cybernet-
ics, nanotechnology, mind uploading, or genetic engineering all re-
main enslaved to physical corruption. All these technologies will have
their liabilities (e.g., the continual need for a reliable power source,
software viruses, and mechanical decay). And we may predict that the
application of these technologies will result in an upgrade race, or even
a war, to maintain a physical or competitive edge. Just as we have to
replace our computers every few years, so human-produced advance-
ments will make our reengineered selves frequently obsolete. Neural
interfaces seem particularly troublesome; and while the idea of brain
chips may, on one level, sound appealing, we should remember that as
we change the hardware and software substrate of our thought proc-
esses, our thinking will necessarily change as well.
Furthermore, as we all know by experience, one of the major prob-
lems with the high-technology world today is incompatibility. One
company s operating system is unable to work seamlessly with the same
product of a different iteration. This problem could be devastating to
humans with implantable devices. So while one can justify the risks of
neural implants in the hopes of restoring lost function, is it really wise
to expose one s mind and body to these risks for some elusive, never
satisfied goal of enhancement ? The wisdom of scripture declares oth-
erwise: Whoever would save his life will lose it (Matt. 16:21 26; Mark
9:31 36; Luke 9:21 25; John 12:23 26).
Constructive Human Enhancement
and God s Purposes
The Christian s goal and destiny are to become like Jesus. Any con-
structive augmentation of any human being is to be undertaken by God
Conclusion: Toward a Foundation for Biotechnology 151
and for God s purposes, not ours. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, we read:
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord s glory, are being
transformed into his likeness.
Scriptural Guidance
Contrary to our culture s narcissistic orientation, life is not just about
me. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul states: We have this treasure in jars
of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from
us. In the letter to the Galatians (2:20), he further declares,
I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me. So I live my life in this
earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave him-
self for me.
Human beings are to be good stewards of their bodies. Romans 12:1
states: I urge you . . . in view of God s mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of
worship. Paul adds, in 1 Corinthians 6:19, Do you not know that
your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have
received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore, honor God with your body.
Reengineering the body does not add one whit toward the goal of
holiness or toward the realization of being a living sacrifice to God. In
fact, given most of the reasons people desire such modifications (rejec-
tion of their natural limitations, greed, competitiveness, lust, ambition,
pride), the modifications would be a desecration of God s imagers. To
attempt to wrest control of our nature and destiny in this fashion is to
repeat the same mistake of our forebears in the Garden of Eden. The
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