Transhumanism and Transcendence : Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement

Summary: The timeless human desire to be more beautiful, intelligent, healthy, athletic, or young has given rise in our time to technologies of human enhancement. Athletes use drugs to increase their strength or stamina; cosmetic surgery is widely used to improve physical appearance; millions of men take drugs like Viagra to enhance sexual performance. And today researchers are exploring technologies such as cell regeneration and implantable devices that interact directly with the brain. Some condemn these developments as a new kind of cheating—not just in sports but in life itself—promising rewards without effort and depriving us most of all of what it means to be authentic human beings. “Transhumanists,” on the other hand, reject what they see as a rationalizing of human limits, as if being human means being content forever with underachieving bodies and brains. To be human, they insist, is to be restless with possibilities, always eager to transcend biological limits.As the debate grows in urgency, how should theology respond? Christian theologians recognize truth on both sides of the argument, pointing out how the yearnings of the transhumanists—if not their technological methods—find deep affinities in Christian belief. In this volume, Ronald Cole-Turner has joined seasoned scholars and younger, emerging voices together to bring fresh insight into the technologies that are already reshaping the future of Christian life and hope. Quotes:The diversity and quality of these contributions make the volume useful for those interested in the intersection of theological ethics and transhumanist ideals. -ChoiceA deeply engaging and critical guide to competing arguments about being human within the contemporary context. -Peder Jothen, St. Olaf College / Religious Studies ReviewThis is the most important Christian debate on transhumanism that I have ever read. Those who prefer fawning acceptance or frightened rejection of human enhancement can find simplistic monographs aplenty. But if you want to think theologically about the transformation of humanity through technology—what’s already here, and what lies ahead of us—this collection is mandatory reading. -Philip Clayton, dean, Claremont School of TheologyThis volume is an important call to a mutual dialogue between Christians and transhumanists. -Medicine, Health Care and PhilosophyAuthor Bio: Ronald Cole-Turner holds the H. Parker Sharp Chair in Theology and Ethics at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is the editor of Design and Destiny: Jewish and Christian Perspectives on Human Germline Modification and coeditor of God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning. Table of Contents:1. Introduction: The Transhumanist ChallengeRonald Cole-Turner 2. Contextualizing a Christian Perspective on Transcendence and Human Enhancement: Francis Bacon, N. F. Fedorov, and Pierre Teilhard de ChardinMichael S. Burdett3. Transformation and the End of Enhancement: Insights from Pierre Teilhard de ChardinDavid Grumett 4. Dignity and Enhancement in the Holy CityKaren Lebacqz 5. Progress and Provolution: Will Transhumanism Leave Sin Behind?Ted Peters6. The Hopeful CyborgStephen Garner7. Artificial Wombs and Cyborg Births: Postgenderism and TheologyJ. Jeanine Thweatt-Bates8. Taking Leave of the Animal? The Theological and Ethical Implications of Transhuman ProjectsCelia Deane-Drummond9. Chasing Methuselah: Transhumanism and Christian Theosis in Critical PerspectiveTodd T. W. Daly10. Human or Vulcan? Theological Consideration of Emotional Control EnhancementMichael L. Spezio11. Whose Salvation? Which Eschatology? Transhumanism and Christianity as Contending Salvific ReligionsBrent Waters12. Transcendence, Technological Enhancement, and Christian TheologyGerald McKenny13. Transhumanism and ChristianityRonald Cole-TurnerContributorsIndex