From Digital to Divine - The Search for Eternal Life

 

June 22, 2022

For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And Jesus Christ was revealed as God’s Son by his baptism in water and by shedding his blood on the cross—not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony. So we have these three witnesses— the Spirit, the water, and the blood—and all three agree. Since we believe human testimony, surely we can believe the greater testimony that comes from God. And God has testified about his Son. All who believe in the Son of God know in their hearts that this testimony is true. Those who don’t believe this are actually calling God a liar because they don’t believe what God has testified about his Son. And this is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

 - I John 5:4-12 (NLT)

For thousands of years, humanity has tried in vain to live past its expiration date. The Bible tells us, “And as it is appointed for a person to die once, but after this the judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27). And, yet, with all we can muster, we try to push the boundaries of nature and destiny by doing all we can to prolong the inevitable.

Here are some things people have thought would bring them eternal life:
    1.) Eat a mermaid…(Not sure if they need to be baked or deep-fried)
    2.) Eat from the Peach of Immortality Tree (only ripens once every 3,000 years)
    3.) Drinking ambrosia (not sure if you have to be 21)
    4.) Touching and drinking from the Holy Grail (Indiana Jones beat you to it)
    5.) Find and attain the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter might still have this)
    6.) Drink from the Fountain of Youth (Ponce de Leon is still looking)
    7.) Make Jesus angry - (yep, according to legend a wandering Jew did this at the crucifixion and             Jesus cursed him to live forever on earth without being able to rest until the Second Coming)
    8.) Use scientific methods (break out your beakers and chemistry set!)

As for the last one, humankind is taking advantage of a plethora of medical breakthroughs. New medicines, combined with genetic research have led to serious applications. Experts actually believe that cell death can truly be prevented and immortality may only be a few decades away.

And yet, there is still another way humanity is attempting to achieve “eternal life.” Stop me if you’ve heard about this one: The 2045 Initiative, is a project started by Dmitry Itskov. Its goal is the creation of a human avatar into which a person’s consciousness would be uploaded to an avatar before the person dies. In this way the deceased person will keep on “living.”

The avatar will possess the person’s full personality, memories and will be able to talk and act like them - a digital doppelganger. The project, staffed with the brightest minds in medicine, computer science, technology, and even religion, was named Initiative 2045 because 2045 is the target year for achieving the Initiative’s stated goal of absolute singularity.

Just exactly how does this occur? You simply upload your consciousness to a computer. You will then “live” forever in the matrix - with Neo and Trinity (movie buffs will know) in whatever universe you desire. Yet, only wealthy people will be able to afford it…oh well…

Or, we could merge with robots and live on as cyborgs. Crazy? People over the globe are already using robotics to help them walk and surgeons use them to perform microscopic procedures.

So, what does all of this have to do with the Christian? Well, aside from biblical and ethical considerations, it should remind us that we have already inherited eternal life. We do not need outside help. We do not need money to pay our way for a fake immortality. The price is paid.

In his letter noted above, John specifically explains it this way: God has given us eternal life. This is through his Son, Jesus. And, there is no other way.

It’s as Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father - except through me.” No need to upload anything. No need to have money. No need to have the right connections. No need for a humanly created initiative. Nothing digital, only Divine.

Aside from the ethical dilemma this creates, the 2045 Initiative proves one simple fact - people want to be in control of their destiny. They want to captain their own ship. They want to have complete dominion and mastery of their lives.

What an illusion control is.

Not a single one of us can cure cancer. We cannot stop the drunk driver. We are unable to halt acts of violence. We cannot control the weather. We will not stop a virus. We have no control.

That’s why it is called faith: we believe; we hope; we trust.

For the believer in Jesus it is not about staying here on earth longer…it’s about the resurrection from the dead and life eternal. No more pain. No more issues. No more tears. No more death.

Paul put it this way: “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. - I Corinthians 15:12-22 (NLT)