Reclaiming Reality

The Transhumanist Delusion

• Andrew Torba • Season 2 • Episode 3

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The episode intricately unravels the implications of the transhumanist movement and the quest for immortality through the life of Brian Johnson. We dive into the intersection of technology, health, and faith, raising vital questions that resonate within our spiritual understanding of life and death.

• Discussion on the transhumanist delusion, exploring idealism versus reality 
• Evaluation of Brian Johnson's approach in reversing aging 
• Insight into mortality’s role in shaping human experience 
• The theological implications, including what it means to be created in God’s image 
• Exploration of the balance between health pursuits and spiritual faith 
• Opportunities for faith and dialogue in confronting modern existential questions 


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Speaker 1:

Welcome back folks, andrew Torba here, ceo of Gabcom. This is the Reclaiming Reality podcast. Today we're going to be talking about the second chapter in my book. It's called the Transhumanist Delusion. Now I have published a pretty long excerpt of this chapter on Gab News, so that's at newsgabcom.

Speaker 1:

So I don't want to reread that, but I will read sort of the opening paragraph or so and then I'm going to probably jump down and we're going to talk about a specific entrepreneur who I don't know if he self-identifies as a transhumanist he probably would but certainly what he's doing and sort of the ideology of the movement that he's building certainly fits within the transhumanism paradigm and he's an interesting character. I'm actually I'm actually a fan of him, believe it or not. So his name is Brian Johnson and he basically spends. You probably have seen the articles about him. You know he sold his company a number of years ago. I think he's worth, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars and every year he spends about $2 million trying to reverse aging right. So he's a longevity guy and he's trying to conduct all of these studies. He's got these teams of doctors he uses, you know, cutting edge, you know technology and has this crazy diet that he follows and measures sort of the biological age of, like, every organ in his body, so very extreme lengths that he's going to. But he's basically, you know, a big lab rat experiment. You know that he's conducting on himself experiment. You know that he's conducting on himself. It's admirable in a way, because we're learning sort of a lot from the data that he has and from all the things that he's testing and stuff.

Speaker 1:

But you know this ideology that he is pushing, which is sort of centered around this concept of this mantra that he has don't die right. So he's trying to defeat death, trying to defeat biological death. And you know, of course, as Christians, we know that only one person has defeated death and that is Christ, and that through faith in him we too can defeat death and live eternally with God. And so you know, I think Christians are going to have to have sort of an answer to some of these questions, because as AI gets better and better, what it's going to do is it's going to, you know, have new breakthroughs in biohacking and, you know, augmenting our minds with, you know, brain chips and things of this nature, and I talk about that later in the book as well. But we have to sort of think through these things and we have to ask these fundamental questions of what does it mean to be human, what is the importance of mortality for being human?

Speaker 1:

I think it's a very important thing. It's a very important part of God's design because when we're living, knowing that you know we don't live forever it causes us to sort of realign our goals and how we live our life. You know, if you know that you only get one life and that it's brutishly short, then you're going to live it in a certain way. If suddenly we have this radical life extension where we can live for hundreds of years, I don't think it'll ever get to the point where it's indefinite. But you know, if we, if we can radically extend life, you know, say we're living, um, you know, 200, 250 years, something like this. Um, you know how, how are we going to approach life, um, how are we going to live our lives, um, in such a world where we have this, this radical life extension? And then, secondly, is this going to be, is this technology, is this access to you know? Is this going to be? Is this technology, is this access to you know, longevity going to be only available to, you know the affluent, right or the wealthy. So you know these are things that in the coming years and decades humanity is going to be faced with some of these questions as these become possibilities. But you know, brian Johnson, in particular, is specifically focused with not dying, like defeating death completely, which only Christ has done. That and only Christ will do that, because I believe you know that mortality plays a very important role in God's creation. And so you know, let's dive in a little bit here. I'll read the first part just so you understand.

Speaker 1:

For those of you who maybe don't know what transhumanism is, the transhumanist movement is built on a fundamental lie. It promises that the evolution of humanity beyond its natural limits, offering a future where man merges with machine, where death is conquered through technology and where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence. This vision is presented as inevitable, as the next step in human progress. But at its core, transhumanism is not progress at all. It is a rebellion against God, an attempt to remake humanity in the image of those who reject the divine order. Transhumanism is not a new idea. It is simply a modern iteration of the oldest deception in history. The same lie whispered in the Garden of Eden you will be like God.

Speaker 1:

Since the fall, mankind has sought to escape the constraints of mortality, weakness and dependency on the creator. Today, this desire manifests in the belief that technology can free man from suffering, aging and even death itself. The central delusion of transhumanism is the belief that technology can free man from suffering, aging and even death itself. The central delusion of transhumanism is the belief that human consciousness can be uploaded into machines, that the mind is nothing more than a complex set of data that can be transferred into an artificial medium. This idea is rooted in materialism, the false philosophy that denies the soul and reduces human beings to nothing more than biological software. If the mind is just data, then it can be copied, modified and improved like a computer program. But this is a profound misunderstanding of human nature. Human consciousness is not a mere functioning of neural activity. It is the immaterial soul breathed into man by God. A machine, no matter how advanced, can never possess the essence of human personhood. An AI may mimic human responses, generate art and even engage in convincing conversation, but it does not have a soul, it does not love, it does not pray and it does not seek after God. No matter how sophisticated artificial intelligence becomes, it will always be an imitation, a counterfeit life without true being.

Speaker 1:

And so, you know, brian Johnson is again one of the most prominent transhumanists. He gets a lot of media attention and again, like I said, I'm actually, you know, kind of a fan of him from one perspective, from the perspective of, you know, focusing on your health and improving your health. Think Christians should be against that. You know, our body is a temple of the Lord and I think that we should take care of it and we should strive to be healthy and strong and to live as long as possible to glorify God. You know, I don't think that there's anything necessarily wrong with that. But you know, when you take it too far right, when you take it from health to hubris, that's where it sort of becomes this philosophical and theological and existential really problem. And so now I'll jump to the part about Brian in the chapter. That was sort of a couple of paragraphs of the intro of this chapter. If you want to keep reading that, you can check that out on Gab News. I also sent out an email about it that many of you probably saw, so I'm not going to reread it because it's there. You could check it out. But now we'll dive into sort of the second half of the chapter, where I talk about Brian, and we'll go from there.

Speaker 1:

Brian Johnson, an entrepreneur and technologist, has emerged as a prominent figure in the quest to transcend human mortality. After founding Braintree, a successful payment processing company later acquired by PayPal, he turned his attention to ventures at the intersection of technology and human potential. His company Kernel, which focuses on neurotechnology, and his ambitious project Blueprint, a meticulously engineered regimen to reverse aging, reflect his unwavering belief in science as the ultimate tool to conquer death. Reflect his unwavering belief in science as the ultimate tool to conquer death. Johnson's philosophy, distilled into the mantra of don't die, is rooted in the conviction that human ingenuity, through advancements in biotechnology, artificial intelligence and genetic engineering, can indefinitely extend human life, if not render death obsolete altogether. At first glance, johnson's quest appears noble, even heroic. Who among us does not wish to delay death, to stretch time a little longer? Medical science has extended life stands before. Why not push further? But a deeper look reveals that this ambition is not simply about health or longevity, it is about control. Simply about health or longevity? It is about control. The dream of escaping death is not new. From Gilgamesh to the alchemists, humanity has always sought ways to defy its own limits. Yet every human empire that sought to engineer perfection has ended in ruin. Johnson and the wider transhumanist movement merely update this ancient impulse with the tools of the digital age, exchanging mysticism for neuroscience, incantations for algorithms. His daily routine, a rigorous protocol of diet, exercise and medical interventions, epitomizes his commitment to this vision. Yet beneath the surface of this high-tech crusade lies a deeper, almost primal human yearning the desire to escape the inevitability of death, a theme that resonates across cultures and epochs.

Speaker 1:

From a Christian perspective, johnson's mission raises profound theological questions. Central to the Christian narrative is the acknowledgement of death as a consequence of humanity's fallen state, a rupture introduced by sin. Yet Christianity does not leave humanity in despair. The resurrection of Jesus Christ stands as the pivotal event in which death itself was defeated. The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, declares Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory, where O death is your sting. This triumph is not achieved through human effort or technological innovation, but through the sacrificial love and power of Christ. Eternal life, in this framework, is not a biochemical puzzle to be solved, but a divine gift to be received through faith. Jesus' words in John's Gospel underscore this. I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even though they will die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Here, eternal life transcends mere biological continuity. It is a transformed existence, free from the suffering and sin, rooted in communion with God.

Speaker 1:

Johnson's ideology, while ambitious, inadvertently echoes humanity's ancient longing for immortality. Yet Christianity offers a counter-narrative. The hope of eternal life is not found in prolonging mortal existence, but in surrendering to the One who has already overcome death. The Christian faith teaches that human efforts to evade death, however noble, are ultimately provisional. They may delay the inevitable, but cannot erase it. In contrast, christ's resurrection defines death not as an endpoint, but as a passage into eternal fellowship with God. This techno-utopianism also reveals a deeper spiritual blindness. It assumes that suffering, aging and death are mere glitches in an otherwise perfect system, flaws to be eliminated rather than realities to be understood. Christianity does not celebrate death, but it does place it within a greater story. Death is not an arbitrary failure of biology. It is a consequence of sin, a wound that can only be healed by the cross, not by code. The resurrection of Christ does not merely promise longer life, but a redeemed one, where there will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain. No algorithm can offer that.

Speaker 1:

The real danger of Johnson's mission is not just its futility but its idolatry. It's the same temptation that led humanity astray in Eden the belief that we can seize eternal life on our own terms, becoming gods through our own ingenuity. But Christianity offers a radical alternative. We do not ascend to godhood, we are invited into communion with God. The eternal life we seek is not achieved through medical breakthroughs, but received through grace. This is not an argument against scientific progress. Medicine, technology and innovation are gifts to be stewarded. Christianity has always championed seeing in it a reflection of God's care for creation.

Speaker 1:

But there is a difference between healing and hubris. The pursuit of health is one thing. The quest to conquer death itself, apart from God, is another. Science can extend life, but it cannot bestow meaning. It can delay death, but it cannot defeat it. Ultimately, johnson's blueprint and philosophy is a mirror reflecting the restlessness of the human heart, a heart that will never be satisfied with mere longevity, a heart that will never be satisfied with mere longevity. Augustine's words remain as true now as they were centuries ago you have made us for yourself, o Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Johnson's project, for all its brilliance, cannot offer true rest. His war on death will end, as all such wars do, with defeat. Yet for those who accept Christ's invitation, death is not the final enemy but the threshold to a glory beyond imagination. So that's another section, another excerpt from the chapter, and there's a little bit more. And then, of course, I published the first half of the chapter on Gab News at newsgabcom, if you want to read the first part of the chapter on Gab News at newsgabcom, if you want to read the first part.

Speaker 1:

But I think this is a really important topic and it's something that a lot of people aren't thinking about. I think a lot of us have seen sort of you know, probably predictive programming, frankly, with science fiction movies and TV shows. You know, one that comes to mind is Upload on Amazon Prime, if you've seen that, which is, you know, the transhumanist concept of being able to upload your consciousness to, you know, sort of the digital realm, which, of course, you know, totally negates the concept of the soul. And in the book I actually have a full chapter on this topic, the topic of the soul chapter on this topic, the topic of the soul, and this is, you know these are fundamentally important. You know spiritual questions that humanity at large is going to be grappling with, but that you know God has an answer for. You know none of these. You know really, really difficult questions that we're going to be facing. You know, as a society, as a country, we're going to be facing. You know, as a society, as a country, you know, and as people, as humans, have gone unanswered by God in his word, the answers are all there, but you know, the moral relativism of our age, you know, has made it very difficult for people to see. It's created almost like this fog, and I think that this is fundamentally a gospel opportunity. When people don't know what is real, what is true anymore, they're going to be looking for solid ground to stand on, and we, as Christians, should be pointing them to Christ and to the gospel. So this is actually probably one of the biggest gospel opportunities ever, because humanity right now is just ripe for reformation and for revival. And so you know, this is an opportunity that you know we need to lead through and God will work through us, you know, in order to lead people back to Christ and to advance his kingdom.

Speaker 1:

So I hope you enjoyed this episode. It's perhaps a little bit shorter. I'll, you know, continue doing these and I'm going to be working through the book and doing different excerpts. You know it's a lot. Some of the chapters are decently long. Actually, I was thinking the other night that perhaps I should have broken some of them up into additional chapters, but I think the stuff that we're talking about here requires a lot of deep thought, and I spent quite a lot of time writing the book and thinking through these things over the course of about a year, and so I hope that you find value in it.

Speaker 1:

And if you want to grab the book, you can get it at reclaimingrealitycom. You can also find it on Amazon. It was number one new release in a bunch of different categories, like the AI category, some philosophy categories, et cetera. So thank you guys for that, thanks to those who bought it, and I hope you enjoy it. Go check it out. These are very important things. I would also give a copy to your priest or pastor as well.

Speaker 1:

Um, I think that you know, uh, our spiritual leaders uh especially need to be thinking through these questions and uh, I don't see really too many, too many pastors talking about, talking about these, these, these subjects, and we need to be um to be. It's really crucial, especially in the coming years. Perhaps I'm early. That's sort of. One of the downsides of the spiritual gift of prophecy is being able to sort of see where things are going long before anybody else does. It was like that with Gab, right, if you look at, you know I started Gab in 2016 and you know I talked about the importance of free speech and you know the tyranny that was coming and you know we watched it unfold during COVID. And you know, after the 2020 election and during, you know, all of the election campaigns, we saw it all unfold.

Speaker 1:

And so you know, I'm trying to do the same thing now with transhumanism and with AI and with humanoid robots and all of this stuff that is coming. You know brain-human interfaces all of these things are on the horizon and the church must have a biblical response to these things and, frankly, it's going to cause probably the largest existential crisis in human history, because when AI automates all of the intellectual jobs and any job that requires sort of any form of intellect, and then when the humanoid robots take over the remaining know the remaining, you know sort of real life, sort of physical labor type jobs as well. When they get so good that they can, they can do plumbing. You know they can, they can do all that stuff. They could do all the real world type stuff. Even the trades People are going to have an existential crisis.

Speaker 1:

You know, we have to redefine like what is, instead of this modern concept of work that we have, we have to think about it as sort of a biblical vocation. We have to reframe a lot of our thinking, including the social contract. What is human existence? All of these things are just fundamental existential questions that need to be answered and, frankly, I believe are answered in God's word, and people are looking for that truth. They're looking for solid ground to stand on and we need to be pointing them to God's word and to Christ and to the gospel as the solid rock on which they can stand.

Speaker 1:

So this is again the coming years are going to be crazy. I don't think people are ready. I don't think they even realize what is coming. I don't think they see at all what is happening right under their noses and I hope that this book and this podcast and the work that I'm doing on this stuff.

Speaker 1:

It's really a passion project. It's, you know, frankly, just done out of love and out of concern and out of hope too, because I'm very, you know, despite all these things, I'm not trying to fear monger at all because I think, you know, these advancements in many ways are going to hopefully free us up, you know, from some of the toils of modern work, you know, to spend more time with our family, to spend more time raising our kids, to spend more time, you know, doing things we love, instead of toiling our lives away for some, you know, corporation or something right. You know God didn't make us to make PowerPoints, you know. But you know, if you're making PowerPoints, you know, demonstrate the love of God doing that. And certainly, you know our work is a form of worship, no matter what it is that we're doing. But you know, if we can be sort of freed from a lot of this stuff, you know, and free to spend more time with our family and raise our kids, you know that's a beautiful thing.

Speaker 1:

So you know, I'm not trying to fear monger, but at the same time we have to be prepared spiritually and mentally and physically for what is coming, and you know we need to be ready to. You know, get ready for this new world that is coming here. It's going to fundamentally change everything and it's going to happen much faster. You know, if you look at the agricultural revolution or the industrial revolution, they sort of played out over a longer period of time, but this is going to happen so quickly and it's going to change so much so fast, and I just I don't think that people are talking about this stuff enough, especially not Christians, and I want to start that conversation. So that's what this podcast is about, that's what the book was about. Hope you're getting value out of it. Hope you're learning something. Share it with a friend, if you are, and go check out the book at reclaimingrealitycom. God bless you. Christ is King.

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Andrew Torba

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