Rev. David Holwick L Easter
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
April 12, 2009
John 11:17-27
BECOMING TRANSHUMAN
I. A MAUSOLEUM IN NEWTON.
A. I like old cemeteries.
Two weeks ago in Newton, I drove through the one by Route 206.
It has a long low cliff behind it.
It brought to my mind some images of the tomb of Jesus,
cut into a rock.
But Newton doesn't have tombs in the rock, just some
mausoleums.
Those are the small granite houses that hold 2 or 3 caskets.
I looked in each one, because every once in a while I'll
find one with a great stained glass window.
Even if there is no stained glass, I guess I have a weird
curiosity about what is inside.
There are usually leaves and thick dust, since decades may
go by before they are opened by anyone.
One particular mausoleum, along the back border, was a little
disturbing.
One of the vaults that holds a casket had collapsed.
It must have been empty because there was no casket.
But large shards of stone lay all over the floor.
It was a visual reminder of why death bothers us - we are
cast off, forgotten and even our expensive markers decay.
Our relatives don't bury us - time does.
B. Some people are not satisfied with this situation.
Aubrey de Grey believes people are entitled, as a human
right, to live as long as they wish to.
He began as an engineer but has become one of the world's
leading researchers in the study of longevity.
He is committed to curing aging.
De Grey has identified seven biological issues that cause death.
These are things like mutations in chromosomes, the
degeneration of cells, and the accumulation of junk
in our cells.
He anticipates that stem cell research will allow us to
rejuvenate deteriorating cells.
By his reckoning, it will take science 25 years to solve
all the problems.
Then people will be able to live thousands of years.
Maybe forever.
He calls it "transhumanism" and he is dead serious about it. [1]
II. IS IT REALLY IN OUR POWER?
A. Different approaches are being tried.
1) The artistic model.
Conceptual artists Arakawa and Gin are featured in the
Guggenheim museum in New York City.
They are also transhumanists.
They believe people degenerate and die because they
are too comfortable.
Their solution to this problem is to make people
uncomfortable.
So they have constructed homes that leave people
disoriented and unbalanced.
The homes have no doors inside, the rooms are far apart,
windows are near the ceiling or the floor.
You can buy normal furniture because the floors are
bumpy like a moonscape.
Some tenants report they feel healthier living in the
homes.
Perhaps it is the exercise in crawling out a low window
to get outside every day.
They are healthier, but not yet eternal.
What the artists call their "reversible destiny" lofts
have not vanquished death.
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2) The mouse model.
a) De Grey points to mouse longevity for support.
b) Researchers got one mouse to live 4 years and 11 months.
1> That's equivalent to 180 to 200 for a human.
2> Can they keep extending that for mice?
3> Can they apply the principles to humans?
B. Many experts have doubts.
1) Consider the "War on Cancer."
a) It was launched by President Nixon 38 years go.
b) How many hundreds of billions have been spent since
then?
c) There has been limited progress, but few dramatic
breakthroughs.
2) Ultra-longevity for humans would be much harder.
Bioethicist Wesley J. Smith argues:
"The technological breakthroughs necessary to create a
true post-humanity will almost surely never come."
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C. Perhaps the key to success is reducing our humanness.
1) Some experts say we should aim for human-robot hybrids.
a) The advantage of hybrids is that machines wear down
much slower than flesh.
b) Does anyone here have an artificial hip? Heart valve?
Pacemaker? Hearing aids? Even glasses or contacts?
c) You are a hybrid.
2) Others suggest computers with human consciousness.
a) You wouldn't have a body, but you would be "there."
b) But would you know you are there?
III. TWO RESURRECTIONS IN THE BIBLE.
A. The experience of Lazarus.
1) His role is rather limited.
a) We know more about his sisters than him.
b) There are no quotes from him.
c) He just had one decisive action - he died.
d) His next move was passive - he was raised back to life.
2) Lazarus was resuscitated rather than resurrected.
a) He was raised to live a normal life.
b) Note the almost comical detail of his body standing
there wrapped in burial cloths.
c) Years later, he would have died again.
3) Transhumanists are proposing a Lazarus experience.
a) They want to extend our lives beyond what's normal.
b) But our existence would remain exactly normal.
c) All your flaws and weaknesses would still be there.
B. The experience of Jesus.
1) He was resurrected rather than resuscitated.
a) He was physical, but supernaturally so.
1> He could be recognized or incognito.
2> He could suddenly appear or disappear.
3> He traveled from earth to heaven.
b) And he will live forever in glory.
2) Jesus offers his followers the better kind of resurrection.
a) In the future, we will be transformed.
1> Just like what happened to Jesus at Easter.
2> Our bodies will be physical but not limited to
the physical realm.
b) The old ways will be gone.
1> There will be no more pain or sorrow or sin.
2> Your heart will never break, and there will be
no more doubts.
3> Instead there will be complete knowledge and
incredible joy.
4> You will experience God face to face.
IV. WHAT WILL YOUR EXPERIENCE BE?
A. Transhumanism isn't doing too well.
1) The Japanese artists with the weird houses?
a) Their primary financial supporter was Bernie Madoff.
b) Now they are bankrupt.
2) We may never find out if crummy housing can give you the
Lazarus experience.
B. Why not choose the Jesus experience?
1) Lazarus' sister Martha assumed Jesus could do this in the
distant future, what she calls "the last day" in 11:24.
a) That is when Jews expected the resurrection.
b) For that matter, Christians do, too.
2) Jesus says that he is the resurrection.
a) There will be a future event, but the spiritual
reality can be ours right now.
b) The power that resurrected Jesus can transform us.
C. Christians should show more evidence of the resurrection.
1) Most of you look like Lazarus - barely rised from the dead.
2) We should be filled with God's power and joy.
a) Salvation is more than a decision - it is a
transformation.
b) Others should notice it!
V. WE BEGIN THE JOURNEY THE MOMENT WE BELIEVE.
A. It doesn't start the day you die - it's when you first believe.
1) In John 5:24 Jesus says,
"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me HAS eternal life
and will not be condemned;
he has crossed over from death to life."
2) That belief is very specific. It is belief in Jesus.
3) You accept that he is the Son of God.
4) More than this, you focus on him as the most important
thing in your life.
B. Jesus challenged Martha to believe.
1) I challenge you.
2) Have you accepted Christ as your Savior?
a) Are you living a resurrection life right now?
b) You can be a true Transhuman only through God's power.
c) Or are you still trapped in the Lazarus experience?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#32730 "Listening To the Transhumanists," by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
http://www.albertmohler.com, June 30, 2006.
#35246 "Discomforted And Disoriented - And Living Forever," by
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. (edited By David Holwick),
http://www.albertmohler.com, March 24, 2009.
#35249 "Do You Want To Live Forever?" by Sherwin Nuland (edited by David
Holwick), TECHNOLOGY REVIEW, Feb 2005.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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