In 2007, I enrolled in the Information Engineering and Management graduate program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Engineering. Although I had nearly a decade of computer and network systems administration experience, I’ve never considered myself and “engineer” (and still don’t—I’m just not wired that way). However, during those two excellent years of learning and growth, I had the opportunity to read Eliyahu Goldratt's The Goal, an excellent treatise of his Theory of Constraints told in a narrative format. I immediately wanted to find some way to incorporate my previous love of creative writing (I had been working on several collaborative fiction projects online with a great group of folks I met at Faithwriters.com in 2005) with my current pursuit of an engineering degree.
The obvious solution was science fiction. For my final project, I explored some of the ethical concerns surrounding the application of technology beyond therapeutic or rehabilitative uses. During my research, I discovered the theory of Extropianism, or Transhumanity—the humanistic belief that immortality can be achieved through applied science. Having worked as a rehabilitation counselor during the 1990’s, I was familiar with the goal of trying to establish or reestablish an adequate level of independence in persons recovering from a myriad of issues: serious mental illness, autism, head injuries, mental retardation, and various forms of depression and substance abuse--and often combinations of all the above within the same person. It was both very rewarding and extremely frustrating.
Add to that my own personal beliefs about God and the redemption of humanity through faith in Jesus Christ, and you can concoct an interesting cocktail of conflict. Many times I’ve wondered about the “problem of pain” (as C.S. Lewis explores in his work by the same name)—why would a God whom I believe loves His creation allow that creation to suffer? Why doesn’t God simply “make things right?” The answer I have accepted is rather complex and not entirely within the context of my project, so I asked another question: if God has decided not to interfere with the current state of humanity (for whatever reason), or if God doesn’t exist—should we take on the responsibility of “making things right” ourselves? Can we "save" ourselves? And assuming that the answer is “yes”, do we really want to live indefinitely?
The conclusion I drew is “no”. While I do believe science (in particular, medicine) should seek to reduce unnecessary suffering, suffering itself is necessary for emotional/spiritual—and often physical—growth. Therefore, in my opinion, the goal in life is not the removal of all suffering and death, but achieving Spiritual Maturity. If Christians look upon Christ as an example for how to live, then we clearly see he did not avoid suffering when he had the opportunity, but rather transcended suffering through total obedience to his Heavenly Father. Looking back not so many years, we can see how every humanistic attempt at creating a Utopian existence has resulted in its very antithesis—including attempts through “religious” ideals. It’s simply impossible to escape the “human condition” through a human solution; we need someone else to save us from ourselves.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
C.L.
April, 2009
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