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Divine Preference for Human Agency

 
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bsteenbock



Joined: 03 May 2021
Posts: 5
Location: Green Bay, WI

PostPosted: Wed Jul 28, 2021 12:53 pm    Post subject: Divine Preference for Human Agency Reply with quote

My thesis for one of my master's degrees was on the subject of Transhumanism. I wanted to show how Transhumanism, as a worldview, is driving the development of most of our modern conveniences, medical research, and technology advancements, and that it sells a hope separated from the hope of Scripture. The hope of Scripture is found in the person of Christ and his resurrection, and the promises he makes for our human destiny connected to his resurrection. As shepherds, we can't ignore the growing Transhumanist pattern of thought underlying our society; the term itself is not often used, but its beliefs are ubiquitous. The push for more tech in our lives, more AI in our lives, more ways to remake ourselves in whatever image we would like, it all robs people of the true hope that Jesus offers. It is a form of leading astray that is en vogue and en masse.

Key to the response to Transhumanism is an understanding of what we were created for. Laniak sums it up so well in this paragraph: "'Divine preference for human agency’, a trend which appears already in the creation account. The God of Scripture passionately seeks humans to enlist in his mission, risking it regularly in their hands. This predilection is rooted in an ideal whereby human rule is a derivative extension of divine rule. Our theology of leadership is informed by this breathtaking choice of God to grant royal prerogatives to his creatures. To be made in his image is to rule with him and for him. Reigning with him is the destiny of all those who follow the Lamb in the book of Revelation" (p. 311, Scribd edition).

Knowing that we are made to be co-regents of God on this earth does not itself give us much hope, because the record of Scripture, history, and our lives is one that testifies to our failure to live up to such a calling. However, if we understand that this what God intended us to be, that Jesus as the perfect expression of humanity fulfills the co-regency that God intended at creation, and that in his redemptive work Jesus ultimately restores us to that co-regency, then we can preach a dignity and worth for humanity that need not rely on our own technological prowess to achieve.

Our shepherding involves leading people to see that they have a destiny, it is written in eternity, and it is a coming back to the intentions of God from the start. That also guides our decision-making; convenient as new tools are, our stewardship of the earth and of the mission have as much to do with the work of our hands and our personal investment in the process as they do with the efficiency of the results. To put it another way, it's possible we could someday program a robot to explain the Gospel in a manner perfectly tailored for whoever is hearing it, and then we could deliver that Gospel much more efficiently. But that's no different than saying God could have much more efficiently sent an angel to every human, or appeared himself to every human, and preached the Gospel. God chooses to use us for this ministry, this shepherding. There is, apparently, great value in the human-ness of our efforts.
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Brandon Steenbock
"Not all those who wander are lost."
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