IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - March 2017 - 25
in the image and likeness of God.
Could there be a further develop-
ment in the process of evolution,
whereby some living being would
come into existence, that was cre-
ated but on a higher level than us
humans? This is a question that we
cannot really answer. But from the
religious point of view, speaking in
terms of my faith as a Christian, I
find it difficult to accept the idea
that human beings might be tran-
scended by some new kind of living
creature. I note that in our Christian
tradition we believe that God has
become human in Christ Jesus.
The second person of the Trinity
entered into our human life by tak-
ing up the fullness of our human
nature into Himself. I see the incar-
nation as a kind of limit that we
cannot surpass and that will not be
superseded. And so I do not find it
helpful to speculate about anything
beyond our human life as we have
it now. But we are not omniscient.
All I would say is that it will get us
nowhere if we try to speculate about
something that would transcend
human nature. The only way we can
transcend human nature is by enter-
ing ever more fully into communion
with God, but we do not thereby
cease to be human. Whether God
has further plans of which we know
nothing, we cannot say. I can only
say that, within the perspective of
human life as we know it, I cannot
see the possibility of going beyond
the incarnation of Christ.
different from what we truly
are, then surely they are
not. Of course that raises
the question of accept-
able, what we truly are. Here
the answer, as I have al-
ready said comes not from
science but from our reli-
gious faith.
Is human enhancement
or bodily amplification an
acceptable practice when
considered against medical
prosthesis?
What is so unique about
our spirit which we cannot
imbue or suggest into future
humanoid machines?
not feel love, does not pray, does
not have a sense of the sacred, a
sense of awe and wonder.
What if consciousness could
ever be downloaded through
concepts such as "brain
in a vat"?
[Sigh]. I become deeply uneasy
when such things are suggested,
basically because it undermines the
fullness of our personhood. Any-
thing that degrades living persons
into impersonal machines is surely
to be rejected and opposed.
In the opposite vein, what if
machines were to achieve fully
fledged artificial intelligence
through advancement?
When I spoke of what it means for
humans to be created in God's
image, I mentioned as the deepest
aspect of this that we have God-
awareness. There is as it were in our
human nature a God-shaped hole
which only He can fill. Now perhaps
robots, automatic machines, can
solve intellectual problems, can
develop methods of rational thought,
but do such machines have a sense
of right or wrong? Still more, do such
machines have an awareness of
God? I think not.
The uniqueness of the human per-
son for me is closely linked with our
possession of a sense of awe and
wonder, a sense of the sacred, a sense
of the divine presence. As human
beings we have an impulse within us
that leads us to pray. Indeed, prayer
Human enhancement and bodily
amplification are acceptable if their
purpose is to enable our human
personhood to function in a true
and balanced way but if we use
them to make us into something
march 2017
A machine however subtle does
∕
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
is our true nature as humans. Only
in prayer do we become fully our-
selves. And to the qualities that I just
mentioned, awe, wonder, a sense of
the sacred, I would add a sense of
love. Through loving other humans,
through loving the animals, and lov-
ing God, we become ourselves, we
become truly human. Without love
we are not human. Now, a machine
however subtle does not feel love,
does not pray, does not have a sense
of the sacred, a sense of awe and won-
der. To me these are human qualities
that no machine, however elaborate,
would be able to reproduce. You may
love your computer but your comput-
er does not love you.
Where does Christianity
stand on organ donation and
matters related to human
transplantation? Are there
any guidelines in the
bioethics domain?
In assessing such questions as
organ donations, heart transplants,
and the like, my criterion is: do these
interventions help the human per-
son in question to lead a full and
balanced human life? If organ trans-
plants and the like enhance our life,
enable us to be more fully ourselves,
to function properly as human
beings, then I consider that these
interventions are justified. So, the
question basically is: is the interven-
tion life enhancing?
That would bring me to another
point. As Christians we see this
life as a preparation for the life
beyond death. We believe that the
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