Transhumanism Christianity Diplomacy: To Transform Science .

Transhumanism-Christianity Diplomacy:To Transform Science-Religion RelationsDavid C. Winyard Sr.Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and StateUniversity in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree ofDoctor of PhilosophyinScience and Technology StudiesJames H. Collier, ChairSonja D. SchmidMatthew R. GoodrumHenry W. Spaulding IIOctober 27, 2016Blacksburg, VAKeywords: Christianity, transhumanism, diplomacy, modes of existence

Copyright 2016 by David C. Winyard Sr. All rights reserved.Table 3 – Latour’s Modes of Existence, page 102, used by permission:AN INQUIRY INTO MODES OF EXISTENCE: AN ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE MODERNSby Bruno Latour, translated by Catherine Porter, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,Copyright 2013 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Transhumanism-Christianity Diplomacy:To Transform Science-Religion RelationsDavid C. Winyard Sr.ABSTRACTTranshumanism is an emerging philosophical and social movement that aims, throughtechnology, to extend human life and radically expand intellectual, physical, and psychologicalcapabilities. Many of transhumanism’s goals overlap the eschatological hopes of Christians, suchas the elimination of sickness and death. Yet observers who see transhumanism and Christianityin monolithic terms often portray them as adversaries. Against this view, I argue that within eachcommunity are factions that have comparable, but contested, views on God, the divine attributes,and human origins, responsibility, and destiny. As a result, an emerging dialog betweenparticular transhumanists and Christians seeks to shape the future of humanity by integrating thebasic commitments of transhumanism and Christianity.Bruno Latour’s concept of modes of existence offers a framework for both developingand analyzing diplomacy between and within Christian and transhumanist communities.Specifically, Latour’s work allows for the identification of category mistakes that set the terms ofintermodal conflicts and dialog. Some transhumanists and most Christians hold beliefs about thenature and meaning of God. Christians believe in a Trinitarian God that is the preexistent,eternal, and personal creator of the universe. By contrast, elements of the transhumanistmovement believe that in the future an artificial God will inevitably emerge as an omniscient andomnipotent supercomputer. The attributes, concepts and purposes of God and, by extension,nature lend a basis for developing diplomatic relationships between factions of transhumanismand Christianity.

Diplomacy between transhumanism and Christianity exists via social media and virtualmeeting places. At the forefront of this movement is a new Christian Transhumanist Associationthat I analyze in some depth. It is only a couple of years old, but its leaders have already attractedinternational attention. Their strategy of theological minimalism seeks to reduce friction amongstakeholders. I show that this strategy sacrifices the insights that Christian theology andphilosophy could bring to the development of transhumanism. I conclude that in order to affecttranshumanism Christians must find ways to apply their insights into personal creator-creaturerelationships to the challenges of safely developing artificial superintelligence.

Transhumanism-Christianity Diplomacy:To Transform Science-Religion RelationsDavid C. Winyard Sr.GENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACTProgress in science and technology raises the possibility that essential elements of humanlife could be transformed and enhanced by applications of science and technology.Transhumanism is a philosophical and social movement that believes that such transformationsare both possible and desirable.In several respects, transhumanism’s goals overlap with the hopes of Christians, wholong for a Second Coming of Christ and the subsequent elimination of sin, suffering, and deathfor all eternity. Based on Bruno Latour’s work, I analyze the superficial similarities betweentranshumanism and Christianity to argue that diplomacy between Christians and transhumanistsis both possible and potentially beneficial.In developing this argument, I examine a new Christian Transhumanist Association, itsleaders, and their diplomatic strategy of “theological minimalism.” I argue that this strategy isflawed because it does not apply the rich insights of orthodox, biblical theology to the mostvexing problem of transhumanism development: the threat that an artificial superintelligencecould be hostile to human life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSTo begin a Ph.D. program later in life has advantages and disadvantages. Throughout mylife I have been led, taught, corrected, and inspired by many people. There have been coworkersin my engineering career: Ed Petrisko, Tom McLamb, Joe Morris, Jack Ward, Wayne Boblitt,Tom Bein, Guy Johnson, Jeff Moorman, Ed Widell, Marsha Johnson, A.J. Kendrick, PaulGrover, Randy Wendell, Dan Gearing, John Christiansen, Michael Nash, Tom Connors, EugeneSummers, Donna Vanderhoof Villarreal, and many others. My pastors have been faithful inopening up God’s word in sermons and Bible studies: Bob Smoot, Dan Cox, Bill Holiman, BillMahlow, Dale Linder, Peter Bauer, Howard Griffith, Dennis Bullock, David Vance, SachaWalichord, and Jeremy Logan. Church friends have provided similar support: Stuart Ferguson,Ann Harmon, Bill Potter, Rick Quinn, Tom and Priscilla Trice, and others. Scholars from avariety of academic institutions have been unselfish in supporting me in my studies: GeoffSackett, Craig Gay, Steve Fuller, Eric Vail, Lincoln Stevens, Esther Meek, and Trey Dunham. Anumber of friends made across the Internet have been helpful in sharing their views of mydissertation interest: Lincoln Cannon, James Ledford, Micah Redding, Christopher Benek, andothers. My Virginia Tech teachers and advisers have been outstanding: Barbara Allen, ShannonBrown, Jacob Stegenga, David Tomblin, Matt Wisnioski, Skip Fuhrman, Janet Abbate, Joe Pitt,Fritz Oehlschlaeger, and many others. I have also learned a great deal from my fellow students atVirginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center and in Blacksburg. Since coming to Mount VernonNazarene University (MVNU) in 2014, the faculty and staff of the School of Natural and SocialSciences have encouraged me as I have sought to balance my responsibilities teachingengineering and academic pursuits; Dick Sutherland and Randy Cronk have been especiallyhelpful. Finally, my advisory committee has worked with me to shape my thinking by suggestingvii

books and articles to read, asking probing questions, and freely offering constructive criticismand encouragement. Prof. James Collier has been of special help to me, prodding or encouragingme as situations required. Professors Sonja Schmid and Matthew Goodrum have been a greathelp too; I have learned a great deal from them both. MVNU President Henry Spaulding’ssupport has been a witness to the Love of Christ. I am very grateful to count all of these peopleas friends.My family has patiently supported and encouraged me along the way. It is not easy to bearound someone preoccupied with academic esoterica, and the resources expended on my studieshave come at their expense. Knowing the depths of my commitments to learning, they havegiven generously of themselves so that I would succeed. My adoptive family, the Bauers, haveloved and cared for me from a distance. My children—David Charles Jr. and Caty Winyard;Audrey and Shawn Kulbacki; and Zane Winyard—have encouraged me in my work. Finally, mywife Traci has loved me, kept my eyes on the Lord and my feet on the ground, and endured theproofreading of my work. I can only conclude with the words of Proverbs 31:29: “Many womenhave done excellently, but you surpass them all.”viii

CONTENTSABSTRACT . iiiGENERAL AUDIENCE ABSTRACT. vACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . viiCONTENTS. ixPREFACE . xiiiMy STS Journey . xiiiLatour and Diplomacy . xviOf Peace and Progress . xviiINTRODUCTION. xxiChristianity . xxiiTranshumanism . xxvThe Need for Diplomacy . xxviiClausewitz Variations . xxixThe Diplomatic Process and its Limited Goal . xxxiiiOntology and Why it Matters . xxxvMethod, Style, and Scope . xxxixOutline . xliiCHAPTER 1: CHRISTIANITY AND TECHNOLOGY . 1GENESIS, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY . 2God, Creation, and the Good . 2Mankind in the Image and Likeness of God . 5Divine-Human Collaboration . 6Of Sin and its Aftermath. 8Summary. 12POINTS OF DIVISION . 12Of the Gospel . 13What of Human Effort in Salvation? . 18Eschatological Hope . 20A Glorious Destiny . 22Human Pride and Humility in God’s Plan . 24WHAT TECHNOLOGY MEANS TO CHRISTIANITY . 25H. Richard Niebuhr: The Enduring Struggle . 26The Radical Church – Christ Against Culture . 29The Accommodationist Church – The Christ Of Culture. 31Irrelevant Extremes . 33The Synthesist Church – Christ Above Culture . 33The Dualist Church - Christ and Culture In Paradox. 35The Conversionist Church - Christ the Transformer of Culture . 38Conclusions . 40MYTHOLOGY AND ITS USES . 41CHAPTER 2: TRANSHUMANISM AND SPIRITUALITY . 47TRANSHUMANISM: DETERMINISM, MOMENTUM, AND CONVERGENCE . 48Biotechnology. 49Nanotechnology. 53ix

Information and Communication Technology . 55Neuroscience . 57Robotics . 59You Must Be Kidding? . 60TRANSHUMANISM, SPIRITUALITY, AND MODERN SOCIETY . 62Inductive Science and Faith. 62Reason and its Uses . 64Summary. 67RELIGIOUS TRANSHUMANISM EMERGES . 67Max More: Extropy and the Proactionary Principle. 67Nick Bostrom: Existential Risk and the Simulation Argument . 71Ray Kurzweil: Spiritual Machines and the Singularity . 74William Sims Bainbridge: Cosmic Religion . 78Martine Rothblatt: The Terasem Movement . 81CONCLUSION . 85CHAPTER 3: THE ONTOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE—GOD . 89FULLER’S ODYSSEY . 90Fuller’s Critique. 92Fuller’s Diagnosis and Cure . 93Side Effects . 97Another Way? . 99THE TRANSHUMANIST MODE OF EXISTENCE . 101Diplomacy . 102The Process and Modes . 104THE GOD OF TRANSHUMANISM . 107The Technological Divine . 109The Sublime. 109The Simulated . 111The Transcendent . 114Conclusion . 116GODLY DIPLOMACY? . 117Omniscience . 119Omnipotence. 120Omnificence . 121Other Attributes . 121Of the Holy Trinity and Glorification of the Saints . 122CONCLUSION . 123CHAPTER 4: DIPLOMATIC INVENTIONS . 125TRANSHUMANISM COMES TO THE CHURCH . 126Cryonics In Lieu Of Christian Burial . 126Christian Virtual Reality. 128Computer-Assisted Churches . 130Moving Forward . 131New Creation Now . 132Summary. 135CHRISTIAN TRANSHUMANISM . 136x

Internet Genesis . 136Christian Transhumanist Association . 137Micah Redding . 139Christopher Benek . 141Dorothy Deasy . 146Open Humanism . 147Diplomatic Ambiguity . 149Summary.

particular transhumanists and Christians seeks to shape the future of humanity by integrating the basic commitments of transhumanism and Christianity. Bruno Latour’s concept of modes of existence offers a framework for both developing and analyzing diplomacy between and within Christian and transhumanist communities.