Being Fully Human in an Inhuman(e) World

Oh, Technology!

I have a love-hate relationship with it

Marshall McLuhan: “The Medium is the Message”

I’m studying its effects on spirituality and church life

I think that the real “crux of the matter” is the Incarnation

Media comes from medium = go-between (hence, the “Incarnation’)

After reviewing some of the “problems” of technology, we’ll talk about (from Hebrews)

The Challenge of the Incarnation

The Joy of the Incarnation

The Power of the Incarnation

The Problem(s) with Technology

The book of Hebrews was not written to challenge 1st-Century (or 21st-Century) technology

It was written to defend the humanity of Jesus (the Incarnation) and explain its importance and impact for the life of the Christian community

Already then we had some challenges to Jesus’ identity

How could he be both fully God and fully human?

Docetism: “appeared” to be human

Gnosticism

The material world is evil/tainted

A God who created such a world could not be perfect or even good

Jesus could not have taken on flesh (Docetism)

“Salvation” = secret/special knowledge (gnosis) that rescues our spirit from physical reality

Digital Gnosticism

The material world is broken / inadequate (needs to be fixed) - esp. the human body

If there is a God, he’s helpless to fix this

“Salvation” = knowledge (science) that frees us from physical reality

Technological Optimism

Nikola Tesla:

Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology Optimism in an Age of Technology

“We have soon to have everywhere smoke annihilators, dust absorbers, ozonizers, sterilizers of water, air, food and clothing, and accident preventers on streets, elevated roads and in subways. It will become next to impossible to contract disease germs or get hurt in the city.”

Ray Kurzweil (on singularity and the future of humanity)

Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology Optimism in an Age of Technology

“software-based humans will be vastly extended beyond the severe limitations of humans as we know them today” and will achieve a form of immortality.

Silicon Valley is pushing for all of this and more

Illustration to counter this:

Raise your hand if 25 or older

Keep it up if you use a smartphone, tablet, computer/laptop on a regular basis

Keep it up if that device is 25 years old or older

Technological Pessimism

In film and television: 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Borg in Star Trek, Terminator, I Robot, The Matrix

Optimism and pessimism have in common the belief that humanity as we know it will cease to exist

How Should the Church Respond?

Embrace technology and use it to spread the gospel?

“Can’t beat ‘em then join ‘em”

What about McLuhan’s challenge?

Reject technology and give the world an alternate narrative?

“Resistance is futile”

Makes it more difficult to “meet people where they are at”

This is where (I believe) the Incarnation comes in

The Challenge of the Incarnation

V. 14–15

On church seasons

Advent = season of anticipation

Christmas = 1 day

Epiphany (not often celebrated and sometimes quite short) = revelation of Christ

This series is pointing toward Lent (more on that later)

The fact that Jesus shared in our “flesh and blood” for 33 years often overlooked

Max Lucado:

Angels watched as Mary changed God’s diaper. The universe watched with wonder as The Almighty learned to walk. Children played in the street with him. And had the synagogue leader in Nazareth known who was listening to his sermons.…

Jesus may have had pimples. He may have been tone-deaf. Perhaps a girl down the street had a crush on him or vice-versa. It could be that his knees were bony. One thing’s for sure: He was, while completely divine, completely human.

For thirty-three years he would feel everything you and I have ever felt. He felt weak. He grew weary. He was afraid of failure. He was susceptible to wooing women. He got colds, burped, and had body odor. His feelings got hurt. His feet got tired. And his head ached.

To think of Jesus in such a light is—well, it seems almost irreverent, doesn’t it? It’s not something we like to do; it’s uncomfortable. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or blew his nose or hit his thumb with a hammer.

LD 14 of the Catechism hits well upon this point:

Lord’s Day 14

Q & A 35

Q. What does it mean that he

“was conceived by the Holy Spirit

and born of the virgin Mary”?

A. That the eternal Son of God,

who is and remains

true and eternal God,

took to himself,

through the working of the Holy Spirit,

from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary,

a truly human nature

so that he might also become David’s true descendant,

like his brothers and sisters in every way

except for sin.

Q & A 36

Q. How does the holy conception and birth of Christ

benefit you?

A. He is our mediator

and, in God’s sight,

he covers with his innocence and perfect holiness

my sinfulness in which I was conceived.

The 2nd point is really important:

Jesus didn’t just ‘appear on the scene’ as full-grown man

He “shared” in our “humanity” “in every way” (Heb 2:14, 17)

Including in our “death” (the great equalizer)

The fear of death

What kind of people want technology to be our saviour?

Want their minds to be uploaded into cyberspace so they can live eternally?

Want to be ‘augmented’ by machines so they can live longer on earth?

Those who are afraid of death

Death is the great equalizer: from the poorest and insignifcant to the richest and most powerful

Everyone tries to find a way to escape it

Addictions / substances

Technology: cryogenic freezing, “transhumanism”, etc.

The fact that Jesus shared in every aspect of our humanity is VERY significant

Which brings us to ...

The Joy of the Incarnation

V. 16–17

First, v. 15 again: his death frees “those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death”

Where the “angels” come from (v. 16)

“Abraham’s descendants” could mean Israel (and in some ways does)

But really means all of humanity

“had to” -= obligation

“made like” = homoiousia (not homoousia)

“merciful and faithful” is explained in the next verse

“high priest … make atonement” = the one sacrifice for all (a point made several times in Hebrews)

Jesus not only conquers death, but our fear of death

Freeing us to live life boldly for him

That is the joy of the incarnation!

The Power of the Incarnation

V. 18

What is it that drives us to our devices?

Fear

of death (already covered)

of loneliness (cf. AI companion bots)

of inadequacy

lack of intelligence (Google)

lack of friends (social media)

Consider: the people who designed these things did so as a way to counter those fears

Some might even say exploiting them for profit (a la Facebook algorithms)

The Incarnation cuts right into that fear

Jesus says: I have shared in your humanity in every way

Been tempted in every way as you are

He “suffered” YET did not leave his body behind

He took his resurrected body to heaven in his ascension

He overcame temptation in his body (see Matt 4:1-11)

And destroyed sin’s power in his death and resurrection

When it says he can “help those who are being tempted”, the word is dunamis, which can also mean “power”

Points to the Holy Spirit

Who lives in each of us

But expresses himself TO one another THROUGH one another (the church) — more on this in week 3

Reflection Questions

How have you allowed technology to replace God in your life? What kinds of fears have driven you to seek comfort outside of God?

Does it make you uncomfortable to think that Jesus wore diapers, went through puberty, and had normal bodily functions like us? Why or why not?

How does the Incarnation counter some of our world’s beliefs and ideas about the promise and downfalls of technology?