Read Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks

By Winifred Guzman on Tuesday 14 May 2019

Read Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks



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We're constantly invited to think about the future of technology as a progressive improvement of tools our gadgets will continue to evolve, but we humans will stay basically the same. In the future, perhaps even alien species and intelligent robots will coexist alongside humans, who will grapple with challenges and emerge as the heroes.
But the truth is that radical technological change has the power to radically shape humans as well. We must be well informed and thoughtful about the steps we're already taking toward a transhuman or even posthuman future. Can we find firm footing on a slippery slope?
Biblical ethicist Jacob Shatzer guides us into careful consideration of the future of Christian discipleship in a disruptive technological environment. In Transhumanism and the Image of God, Shatzer explains the development and influence of the transhumanist movement, which promotes a "next stage" in human evolution.
Exploring topics such as artificial intelligence, robotics, medical technology, and communications tools, he examines how everyday technological changes have already altered and continue to change the way we think, relate, and understand reality. By unpacking the doctrine of the incarnation and its implications for human identity, he helps us better understand the proper place of technology in the life of the disciple and avoid false promises of a posthumanist vision. We cannot think about technology use today without considering who we will become tomorrow.

Read Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks


"This is a thought-provoking, critical analysis of transhumanism and how Christians can and should engage with it—and with the various forms of technology that influence who we are and how we live, for better or for worse.

The author penetrates beneath the claims and goals of transhumanism to identify its underlying values, exploring both the forces shaping those values and the degree to which they are consistent with Christianity. The book is generally critical of transhumanism, concluding that its aims are largely at odds with the Christian faith, especially with regard to what it means to be human.

I appreciate Dr. Shatzer’s willingness to explore underlying values rather than remain content with a surface-level analysis of technology and attitudes toward it. I also appreciate his desire to respond to the various questions technology raises from a firm grounding within the Christian tradition. More hard work like this needs to be done if Christians are to address technology in a way that’s both relevant and fruitful."

Product details

  • File Size 995 KB
  • Print Length 192 pages
  • Publisher IVP Academic (April 9, 2019)
  • Publication Date April 9, 2019
  • Sold by  Digital Services LLC
  • Language English
  • ASIN B07NGFZDH2

Read Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship  edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks

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Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews :


Transhumanism and the Image of God Today Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship edition by Jacob Shatzer Religion Spirituality eBooks Reviews


  • This is a thought-provoking, critical analysis of transhumanism and how Christians can and should engage with it—and with the various forms of technology that influence who we are and how we live, for better or for worse.

    The author penetrates beneath the claims and goals of transhumanism to identify its underlying values, exploring both the forces shaping those values and the degree to which they are consistent with Christianity. The book is generally critical of transhumanism, concluding that its aims are largely at odds with the Christian faith, especially with regard to what it means to be human.

    I appreciate Dr. Shatzer’s willingness to explore underlying values rather than remain content with a surface-level analysis of technology and attitudes toward it. I also appreciate his desire to respond to the various questions technology raises from a firm grounding within the Christian tradition. More hard work like this needs to be done if Christians are to address technology in a way that’s both relevant and fruitful.
  • With the growing matrix of social media, artificial intelligence, robotics, and prosthetic enhancements, people should be asking all types of questions. And they are, just not always the right ones. Some are asking “What more can be done?” while others are inquiring “What should be done?” Jacob Shatzer, assistant professor and associate dean in the School of Theology and Missions at Union University, ordained Southern Baptist minister and author, addresses more of the “What is going on, why, and how are we to rightly engage?” queries in his new 192 page softback “Transhumanism and the Image of God Today's Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship.” Shatzer focuses on technological advances, the thinking going on among transhumanists and posthumanists, and searches out ways for Christians to decrypt the ought from the is. He writes for a broad spectrum of interested people, and those who should be interested.

    The main concept running through “Transhumanism and the Image of God” is that we humans make tools, and then tools make us. We construct technological tackling and it in turn molds our perceptions and directions. Which means that technologies are “shaping us. And shaping people, after all, is just another way of talking about discipleship” (8). Therefore, “part of responsible, wise, faithful of tools is analyzing the ways that certain tools shape us to see the world in certain ways, and then to ask whether those ways are consistent with the life of a disciple of Christ” (7). Thus, the author argues “that Christians must engage today’s technology creatively and critically in order to counter the ways technologies tend toward a transhuman future…Human making is happening, and technology is a powerful part of that making, sneaking its values into us at almost every turn” (11).

    The first half of the book pointedly examines the issue. In these first five chapters the author explains what transhumanism is and how it undergirds a posthumanist aim. He unpacks the various pedigrees and personalities that formed transhumanism and where they are (from Google to Facebook and beyond). He looks into several of their tenets, where they are beneficial and how they are problematic. Shatzer also attends to the transhumanist notion of morphological freedom, which “means the ability to take advantage of whatever technology a person wants to in order to change their body in any way they desire” (56). This momentum continues, progressing to the place where the human and machine merge bringing humans to augmented reality as well as to potential mind clones.

    The author perceives that many of these aspects are already in their early stages, and we are unthoughtfully employing them from our smartphones to our newest cutting-edge gadgets. Therefore, Shatzer helpfully works through each item, and after explaining them and their advantageous uses, thoughtfully works around how we should think about these advances and changes, and where we should go; “If we want technology to serve the community, then, it must be useful to move people toward the ultimate good not defined by technology itself” (35). He further moves, in the last five chapter, to guiding the reader to a more critical position by asking important questions, such as what is real, where is real, who is real, and am I real? I appreciated how the author exposes the clearly gnostic underpinnings that flow through our technological advances – the desire to transcend the body because it is expendable – and he grounds our rightful concerns and corrections in the incarnation “The doctrine of the incarnation shows us why full, embodied humanity is the goal, and the importance of this doctrine warns us of danger in embracing a version of humanity that rejects “in the body.” Jesus’ physical presence is foundational” (122). The book, and especially the concluding chapter, offers multiple suggestions on ways to manage technological uses in a reader’s life.

    “Transhumanism and the Image of God” is neither shrill nor panic-stricken. The author helps the readers to keep their heads about them while seriously engaging technology, transhumanists and posthumanism. Clear and comprehensible, Shatzer makes a solid case, and gives sound counsel. This volume is ideal for Christians involved with IT (which is almost everyone I know!). If you have a smartphone, iphone, android, ipad, laptop, tablet, etc. you should pick up a copy and make it a reading priority. I highly recommend this book.

    My thanks to IVP Academic for sending, at my request, a copy of the book used for this review. They asked nothing in exchange other than my honest opinion. And so all of the thoughts and remarks are mine, freely given and freely bestowed.
  • Chances are, you haven't given a lot of thought to transhumanism. Theologian Jacob Shatzer has, and writes about it in Transhumanism and the Image of God Today's Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship. First of all, don't get distracted by the term transhumanism. By this he simply means the modern technology that moves us toward "a future created by the next stage of evolution (the posthuman), moving beyond what it currently means to be human." He discusses social media, smart phones, wearable technology, virtual reality, and more arcane subjects like whole mind uploading and artificial intelligence.

    The first half or so of the book explores these technological ideas and how we interact with them. He points out that "humans make tools, but tools also make humans." Technologies like computers and iPhones are tools, but they have altered the way we live, think, and interact with others, perhaps irreversibly. The "brain's nonconscious mapping changes and redefines action and the relationship between the agent and the world." The tools of modern technology "are more powerful [than earlier tools] and therefore create great change in the self-world boundary."

    In the second half of the book, Shatzer explores how our relationship with technology affects our sense of place, our relationships with others, and our self-image. After a rather technical (but accessible) discussion of the technology, Shatzer comes to a low-tech solution. We may think we are connected to others via technology, but to truly connect we need to recapture the age-old tradition of sharing meals. Homemade food, engaging story telling, and strong fellowship keep us connected in ways that social media never can.

    Further, he recommends incorporating "practices into our lives that give us space away from and formation in the face of encroaching immersive technology" primarily by practicing a Sabbath rest. Shatzer tackles technological issues thoughtfully and in such a way that the average American reader won't have much trouble recognizing and relating to the discussion. His solutions are rather obvious, but welcome and no less important in their application. The first step to recovering Christian discipleship in a technological age is recognizing how technology shapes us. Shatzer gets us on the path to do so.

    Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!