Transhumanist Advent: Lift up your eyes and look at the Earth beneath
Caleb Jones is a speaker and thinker deeply engaged with the intersection of Mormon theology, transhumanism, and intergenerational connection. His work focuses on the spirit of Elijah, as referenced in Malachi, and its implications for creating faith-based connections across generations, both living and deceased. He advocates for a broader interpretation of this principle, extending it beyond traditional temple work to encompass a reconciliation of ancient wisdom with modernity. ¶ Jones draws upon G.K. Chesterton’s concept of the “democracy of the dead” to frame his exploration of tradition and remembrance. He posits that our ancestors, through their artifacts and influence, continue to participate in the present. He sees the redemption of the dead through these artifacts—books, music, laws, traditions—as a collective human endeavor involving various disciplines such as literary scholarship, archaeology, and religious studies. ¶ His perspective emphasizes the importance of engaging with the past to inform and enrich the future, particularly within the context of Mormonism and its emphasis on family history and genealogical work. Jones champions seeking a healthy balance and ongoing reconciliation of the hearts and minds of the dead and dying with the hearts and minds of the living, to redeem rising generations.
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath” (Isaiah 51:6)
From above, the earth teaches humility before it teaches ambition.
In what is often called the overview effect, humans who have travelled into space and have viewed the earth from that elevated vantage point describe intense feelings of euphoria, interconnectedness, humility, awe, and the awareness of the fragility of life. National boundaries fade away, the atmosphere we often take for granted appears paper-thin, and the world appears as an oasis, silently suspended in an endless void.
Religion is at its best when it too produces these same sensations: euphoria, interconnectedness, humility, awe, and awareness of the sanctity of life. It is at its worst when it is used to produce the opposite: dogma, sectarianism, pride, dullness, and disregard for life. Jesus powerfully orients us towards the best in religion: “My peace I give you” (John 14:27), “In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these” (Matthew 25:40), “he that is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Matthew 23:11), and “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (Matthew 18:10). Indeed, the “fruits of the spirit” has been canonized as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel contrasted the difference between anti-science religion used to dull and oppress vs. science-welcoming religion that can awe and inspire:
“It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion–its message becomes meaningless.” (God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism)
May we turn to the example of Jesus, lift up our eyes to the heavens in spirit and with our tools and technology, then look at the earth beneath with re-invigorated humility and awe towards the sacredness of our world, life, and one another.
-Caleb Jones