Just recently, I had the privilege to talk to Luke Healy and David Pinkston for the Integral Christian Network podcast. The interview was inspired by the 3 essay series I completed at Medium on Mystical Christian Transhumanism.
In this casual conversation, we covered a lot of ground from deconstructing evangelical faith to integrating it into all aspects of life. I really enjoyed the conversation and would like to provide a guided summary here for those interested in listening in.
Luke started us off with a short guided meditation, setting the tone for a lively but relaxed conversation. It also helped me engage with the questions less from the head and more from the heart.
The conversation started at 4:00 when Luke asked me to give a short overview of my spiritual journey. I discussed portions of it in previous blogs like this one and this one. In the podcast, I described the path from a Charismatic militant religion to the Mystical Christian Transhumanism where I am today.
Discovering the Mystical
Next at about 7:55, Luke asked about how the mystical fits into this picture. What is the mystical part? I spoke a bit about how the mystical was a thread that was there all along. One that has run through Christian history and even embedded in our current movements. In short, the mystical is about the experience of the divine presence irrespective of how we explain it theologically. It sets a foundation of non-dualistic thinking that enables us to be open to the world.
At around minute 12, Luke asked me to dive deeper into the Christian part. He was particularly interested in the militant part of my faith upbringing. I shared how while having to shed the more combative aspects of my earlier faith, I was also grateful for how it celebrated the experiential. While this was a long a painful road, I would certainly not be who I am today without going through it.
Technology and Transhumanism
This became a good segway into discussing technology at minute 19. He first asked me about the path to integrating my work with technology with the Christian faith. That is how I told the story of how AI Theology started as a desire to integrate the technologist in me with the theologian.
From minute 24 onwards, the conversation shifted towards Transhumanism. I started by providing a brief definition. Next, I talked about engaging this emerging philosophy and its Christian roots. I then proceeded to better define Christian Transhumanism as a way to live out the faith in very practical terms.
At 29:30, Luke asked how the mystical relates to Transhumanism. Are those opposing ideas? I talked about how mystical adds a spiritual dimension to the pursuit of Transhumanism. The remainder of the conversation revolved around our relationship with technology and how it can support and uphold human flourishing. Part of this process is re-thinking how we use church buildings.
This is the first of many conversations to come on this topic. I hope you find the exploration of Mystical Christian Transhumanism helpful for your journey.
