One modern conversation is whether one day computers will take over the human race. Certain modern philosophers and other technological giants who are currently influential to society such as Tesla, Stephen Hawking, and others, have warned of this potential.

Often in the theoretical, they are talking about two different scenarios. One scenario is computers and machines taking over our jobs. In some ways this has already started to happen (at least for some occupations). In other ways they are discussing artificial intelligence and whether or not, like the movie I,Robot starring Will Smith, robots will take over humans and make us extinct. In this scenario, the robots calculate that humans are the planet’s worst enemy, and the planet and robots will flourish without humans.

One problem with this conversation is that currently our society struggles with defining what a human is. It is easy to define what a human is.. The issue we have is that by defining what a human is, there are certain ethical ramifications that would not fit the agenda of their political theory, so they must avoid the subject at all costs, or change the definition.

There are even some who cannot find distinctions between humans and machines. The truth is that a true secular evolutionist cannot tell such a difference. If they are following through to their philosophical ontological ideology, then we can’t really separate true differences between machines and humans. While most of them would fight against this idea, it is what their ontology must entail if they are logically consistent with that ideology.

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Traveling back to a time before Christ, there was a famous Roman poet Lucretius. His works today still have an affect on how many think in the world. He wrote “On the Nature of Things.” He does not believe in a higher power, but believes that everything is just made of atoms, and that nothing exists beyond that.

Lucretius says in Book II 178-181 “I would dare affirm, and assert on many other grounds, that gods most certainly never made the world for you and me: it stands too full of flaws.” If we are not made for a purpose by a cosmic being, where does that leave us?

In his poem, Lucretius asked a bunch of questions concerning ontology, the study of purpose, meaning and being. Lucretius defines humanity in what he believed was rational secular evolutionary theory. He believed that all man is is material, meaning we are nothing more than atoms. He even accounted our emotions to atomic evolutionary theory. In other words, you are not a spiritual being with a soul. In reality you’re just a mechanized machine, and even your emotions are machine-like, and can be explained materially.

To view the human as such makes him or her no different than an animal or in reality a machine. It looks at man simply in a materialistic sense. Not speaking of materialism as someone who loves the material things, but saying that all we are made up of is material matter.

If man is just material matter and is just a machine, then it doesn’t matter whether individuals exist or machines exist. In fact machines are easier to control, and do not “haywire” with such things as emotion, or rogue thought. They are the easier “employee.”

This discussion is lengthy, but what I wanted to show is that it is really a secular evolutionary theory which leads to this type of thought process. For a further understanding of Lucretius’ point, read “On the Nature of Things.”

There is a better way to understand humans. A way where humans are better than machines. They may not be as consistent in the work they do, but they are full of splendor, beauty and God’s image.  Genesis 1:27 says, “so God created man in His own image.” In this way, the Christian worldview places humans not only higher than machines, but things like animals and anything else God created in this Earth. Where does your idea of what a human is come from? Are you following it to the logical end?

Thanks for taking time to read this Maddening Theology post. If you enjoyed this content you can find Pastor Tim’s sermons at www.cornerstoneforestcity.org. You can also join us at 520 Marion St. Browndale, PA 18421 on Sundays at 10:45 AM. To make following the blog easier you can also register. You can also join us on Facebook at Cornerstone Forest City. Also, don’t forget to download our APP on iTunes  or Googleplay.