The opening decades of the 21st century have begun to witness a vast, exponential increase in the development and impact of technologies - biotechnology, information technology and many others. Some believe that they will rapidly lead to a near-utopia in which human life is vastly longer and disease and pain are no more. Others fear our becoming mere cogs in a world of machines. While the truth probably lies between these two, how are Christians to engage the growing debates about emerging technologies, and plan for distinctive lives for themselves in the community of the church? We believe humans bear the image of God Himself. What implications does this have in the “brave new world” that may be dawning?
The challenges are on many levels. Abortion and destructive research on embryonic humans assumes that before birth our lives can be discarded. Legal euthanasia is now slowly spreading as an acceptable practice. But the advance of technology raises subtler and potentially greater issues. Should humans be “enhanced” with chips in their brains, or merged into cyborgs? Should we be enabled to live on this planet for much longer periods and perhaps, as some suggest, forever - with our brains in digital form? How can such technologies “enhance” us without undermining our distinctively human characteristics? There are no simple answers to these questions, but beginning with our belief that we are made in God’s image, Christians are in a good place to start to think through some answers.

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Mary DeMuth
Joan Ball
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Dewi Hughes
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