Post-Human Critque from a Christian Worl-View

This is a re-post from a blog that was worth sharing:
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The Scientists Take Over: C. S. Lewis Denounced Transhumanism in 1945

Old-Thinker News | March 1, 2012
By Daniel Taylor

“Dreams of the far future destiny of man were dragging up from its shallow and unquiet grave the old dream of man as god…” – C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, 1945

“No more gods, no more faith, no more timid holding back. Let us blast out of our old forms, our ignorance, our weakness, and our mortality. The future belongs to posthumanity.” – Max More, On Becoming Posthuman, 1994

The fact that a technocratic system of government is being constructed is becoming clearer by the day. We see daily open proclamations for the earth to be geo-engineered, humanity to be medicated through the water supply, and the very genetic code of the planet re-written. As Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in his 1970 book Between Two Ages: America’s Role in the Technetronic Era, “The technetronic era involves the gradual appearance of a more controlled society. Such a society would be dominated by an elite, unrestrained by traditional values.”

George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley and H. G. Wells were all contemporaries.

George Orwell, C.S. Lewis, Aldous Huxley and H. G. Wells were all contemporaries. Each of them, through their various literary works, contributed to the debate – or lack thereof – on this rising power structure. In their lifetimes, the project for the technetronic era was set into motion.
C. S. Lewis’ 1945 book That Hideous Strength ties in ideas that he put forth in another of his works titled The Abolition of Man. Hideous Strength is a work of fiction set amidst a supernatural battle between good and evil. However, as you will see, George Orwell himself saw “nothing outrageously improbable” in the mundane plot of an elite group of technocrats to seize control of life itself. Lewis’ work is a classic example of art imitating life.

Lewis’s thought as expressed in The Abolition of Man, as well as That Hideous Strength was clearly influenced by the rise of the so called “Science of Man” that took place during his lifetime. The same can be said for the other previously mentioned authors. This great work to discover the inner workings of man in order to better control him was initiated by the immense wealth of the Rockefeller empire in the early 20th Century

That Hideous Strength revolves around the National Institute for Coordinated Experiments (NICE) and the organization’s plot to seize control of all life.

Lewis writes, “What should they [the elite] regard as too obscene, since they held that all morality was a mere subjective byproduct of the physical and economic situations of men?… From the point of view which is accepted in hell, the whole history of our earth had led up to this moment.”
What exactly is this profound moment Lewis refers to? In short it is a time when mankind transcends biology. It is a revolution against the natural order. Interestingly, Lewis was one of the earliest writers to denounce transhumanist philosophy. He wrote in Hideous Strength (1945), that the elite of society will merge with technology and eliminate the masses which they call “dead-weight.”

“A few centuries ago, a large agricultural population was essential; and war destroyed types which were then useful. But every advance in industry and agriculture reduces the number of work-people required. A large, unintelligent population is now a dead-weight. The importance of scientific war is that scientists have to be reserved. It was not the great technocrats of Koeingsberg or Moscow who supplied the causalities in the siege of Stalingrad. The effect of modern war is to eliminate retrogressive types, while sparing the technocracy and increasing its hold upon public affairs. In the new age, what has hitherto been merely the intellectual nucleus of the race is to become, by gradual stages, the race itself. You are to conceive the species as an animal which has discovered how to simplify nutrition and locomotion to such a point that the old complex organs and the large body which contained them are no longer necessary. The masses are therefore to disappear. The body is to become all head. The human race is to become all technology.” p. 156-7

These ideas are ever more prescient today. Bill Joy, the cofounder of Sun Microsystems, published an article in 2000 titled “Why the future doesn’t need us.” A recent conference in Russia hosted the herald of the transhumanist era Ray Kurzweil. The Global Future 2045 Congress spoke of “The critical moment… when machines take on an artificial intelligence that matches or exceeds the brainpower of humans. No one in the academic community doubts that this will happen – the question is not if, but when.” Eventually, scientists “…will focus on improving humans…”
The Global Future conference also discussed the rise of “new barbarians” that are “easily deceived.” “Their video-game mentality means they could easily start to wreak havoc…” As Svetlana Smetanina reported from the conference, “If the proportion of people like this comes to encompass 50 percent of the Earth’s population, then a new “middle ages” are almost guaranteed.” Are these individuals the “dead-weight” to be rid of?

George Orwell, famous for his stunningly accurate portrayal of a future police state in 1984, commented on Lewis’ book Hideous Strength. His commentary was published in the Manchester Evening News in 1945 with the headline “THE SCIENTISTS TAKE OVER.” Orwell wrote,

“All superfluous life is to be wiped out, all natural forces tamed, the common people are to be used as slaves and vivisection subjects by the ruling caste of scientists, who even see their way to conferring immortal life upon themselves. Man, in short, is to storm the heavens and overthrow the gods, or even to become a god himself.
There is nothing outrageously improbable in such a conspiracy. Indeed, at a moment when a single atomic bomb – of a type already pronounced “obsolete” – has just blown probably three hundred thousand people to fragments, it sounds all too topical. Plenty of people in our age do entertain the monstrous dreams of power that Mr. Lewis attributes to his characters, and we are within sight of the time when such dreams will be realisable.”

Indeed we are living in a time when these dark dreams are completely realizable. To a great extent they have already become a vivid reality.

China Genetically Modifying Cows To Produce Human Breast Milk

Original Source Article

I remember there was a time when I would have been excited about such a development. I did not really think about future ramifications; what kind of impact this would have in a closed loop system, or what it would do to the body if actually ingested. I wouldn't have asked questions such as, 'Why is this necessary when human beings have been able to produce breast milk through the ages? Or have come up with viable alternatives due to increasing population?' Of course, it could be argued that because of the decreased population of women due to China's one child policy, combined with the cultural bias toward females and the subsequent sex-selective abortions, they truly might be running low on breast milk. I mean, it takes women to produce human breast milk, but when you're aborting them in record numbers you've got to merge the genes of a human being and a cow to fill the gap. This is of course the most logical and simple solution. Rethinking the one child policy and letting God take care of the numbers is pure madness. Besides, how else are they going to supply the carrion necessary for 'fetus soup' da jour.

Of course, what does one do with all those aborted fetuses? Cook 'em up! Yes, you read that correctly, and forewarning, the link does contain graphic content. This would normally make anyone feel sick and depraved, but it's sold as a health benefit. You know, like eating stem-cell soup? Of course, there are those who claim it is all a myth. I say, who knows. I don't know the truth regarding the specifics on the fetus soup situation, nor do I think anyone really does. I suppose only the conceptual artist who allegedly concocted the pictures displayed in the links provided. But I wonder if it's one of those cases where art is imitating life. Also, if it is true, then it could explain the lack of concern for the cannibalistic nature of eating a cow that's also part human.

*Sorry for the tangent. I know that the main claim of the article is that this is for nutritional reasons, however, I just find the world generally hostile toward women and see this development as another example of industrial exploitation of women's bodies.* 

What I do know is that the architects of society have created enormous inequity and as a result terrible tragedy is occurring. But what's most alarming is that the worse the problem gets, the more perverse the solutions become. Of course, if one has read the article, there are specific reasons for such modifications; one being health (starting to recognize the theme here?).

"It's good," said worker Jiang Yao. "It's better for you because it's genetically modified."

I don't think so Jiang! It has been shown the GMO foods cause tremendous deformities. Epigenetics is the key to understanding why what we ingest effects our genes. There is a wonderful PBS/NOVA segment on it. I highly recommend you watch it if you want to know more about it. It's a very exciting field. Sadly, GMO foods in particular have incredibly damaging effects on test animals, and given what we understand about epigenetics we're talking about potentially altering the human being forever. The alteration process is called transgenics, which is part of an overall trans-humanistic movement.  There is intentional transgenics, meaning a proactive movement to alter the biological by crossing species as documented by Tom Horn, and then there is unintentional transgenics, where mutations occur by proxy via GMO foods and other unnatural substances we consume. Please take the time to watch Tom Horn's documentary below. It's about an hour long, but very informative.

Supposing you have watched the film before reading this paragraph, you probably feel the same way I do; that the article is more than likely a cover story and has nothing to do with producing milk for 'health benefits' by way of manufacturing 'more nutritious meat'. If you want more nutritious beef, feed it better. It's a rather simple solution. But the solutions that are being funded and presented are completely debase, and even the most uninitiated mind wonders to itself, 'What is going on here? Something is not quite right.' Well, my hope is that this blog will begin your journey into understanding why it's not right, and to assure you that you are perceiving correctly; something is wrong.

Hydra

But what are the reasons why this is happening? We are told that science and technology are the means to resolve many of the problems modernity faces. However, as I pointed out earlier, every solution we implement creates another problem, more disastrous than the the initial problem that was being solved; like the mythological hydra, we cut off one head, and two more pop up in its place. This is mainly because many of the solutions are conceptualized within the context of the same business model that created the problem in the first place. The GMO delima is a great example of indirect, or unintentional transgenics. Due to wartime efforts during WWII, large industrial complexes were built to develop machines, munitions and chemical weapons. After the war, chemical biocides were used in agriculture and directly lead to the green revolution, which increased world population. Due to the increase in population, we needed more food, increasing the use of chemical farming. However, insects and fungi started to adapt to the change in the environment and developed a resistance to the chemicals. They increased the potency of the chemicals to kill the new super bugs, who in turn adapted again. It's progressed to such a degree that they now need to genetically modify the plants to withstand the chemicals used to kill the bugs, or alternatively, put the pesticides directly into the plant. And on it goes, when will it stop, nobody knows! There seems to be a subconscious compulsion, driven by the powers and principalities, to propel humanity into oblivion.

On the other hand, there is intentional transgenics, and there are many proponents who actively seek to advance it. People like Ray Kurzweil, who claims the trajectory we are on is a wonderful thing, is one such advocate. They feel that with technological enhancements, human beings will become something vastly superior than we are now. I would like to clarify something at this point: I'm not a technophobe, nor a Luddite. I do not have a problem with technology or science. I think technology is direct evidence of our creative inheritance as we are made in the image of God. We, baring the face of God, are creative beings. To me, advances in science and technology speak to the profound truth revealed in scripture. However, something is wrong, and our creative drives propel us toward frightening futures. Why is that? Are we that bad? Well, I know we certainly don't feel that evil as individuals, however, the systems we create seem to catapult us into the proverbial wall. How is it that we create world systems that are continually against our own benefit? I find that a good friend will tell you things about yourself you don't want to hear and can't see about yourself. God, our friend, says this:

Jeremiah 17: 9-10

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” - ESV

Pretty damning. But given the current state of the world I think this is a pretty apt observation, since we're (collectively) running the show. Now, let's lick our wounds, buck up, and take a look at the above quote again. Putting it into context with the essence of this blog, what comes to my mind is that if our hearts are wicked, it then follows what we create will be wicked. Our creative drive is not the problem.  Our heart, which is the driving force behind our creative potential, is. There is also more there than just a rebuke. There is also wise instruction that can act as a guide post for us. What does 'the fruit of his deeds' mean? In scripture, fruit is used as a vehicle for understanding what certain actions will produce. The fruit produced by action is what's judged; meaning whether the end result of continued action is worthy, good, or not. Let's use that rubric and put it on the trans-humanists. What fruit will the seeds they are planting produce? Upon closer inspection, the end result of intentional trans-humanism is ultimately Godhood. Yes, that's right, it's the same old story. A VERY old story. Man, though knowledge (gnosis), obtaining ascension.

Genesis 1:5-6

"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

There is much more to be said on this, and I apologize that I can't expand on every point raised in this post. I am also not a biologist, or scientist so any further information anyone has regarding these issues will be most welcome. To those who are learning about these things for the first time, I encourage you to google search trans-humanism and the Singularity: Become informed. There will be more announcements about these advances in the months and years ahead, and possibly even an opportunity for you to accept modifications in the not too distant future. I'll let you ultimately decide if this fruit will produce anything good, or provoke judgement by going against the grain of the natural order of things. With that, I will leave you with a documentary that helps underscore my point. It's called 'Building Gods'. One last thought. I wonder why these trans-humanists never ask the question, 'If nothing changes our heart, what kind of God's will we be building?'

For additional mental fodder and insight into our food chain, check out FOOD, Inc.



Peace and Blessings

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