Humanity and the Challenge of Transhumanism
A Constructive Theological Study of the Bionic Human through the Concept of Christ’s Perichoresis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55935/thilo.v6i2.311Keywords:
Perichoresis, human, technology, transhumanism, bionic human, Constructive theology, ongoing process, hypostatic unionAbstract
This article explores the theological conception of humanity within the framework of technological advancement, particularly Transhumanism, through the lens of John of Damascus’s concept of Christ’s perichoresis. The perichoreticconcept demonstrates that Christ, as a single person, embodies two distinct natures—divinity and humanity. In perichoresis, these two natures, while distinct, inhabit one another, allowing for mutual presence and interaction. They give space to each other, encircle one another, and move towards one another in an interpenetrative yet unconfused union, remaining undivided and inseparable. In the Transhumanist era, human existence through robotic enhancements (bionic humans) mirrors the dynamic of perichoresis, representing the coexistence of two distinct elements: the biological and the robotic. These elements inhabit and interact with each other, complementing and permeating one another, without subsuming or eliminating either. Thus, the perichoresis of Christ, as articulated by John of Damascus, serves as a constructive metaphor for understanding human identity in an age of technological integration, which dynamics and becoming.
Downloads
References
Adiprasetya, Joas. An Imaginative Glimpse: Trinitas Dan Agama-Agama. Jakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia, 2018.
———. “Teologi Konstruktif Dan Wajah Sosial Agama.” In Sosiologi Agama, Pilihan Berteologi Di Indonesia: 25 Tahun Program Pascasarjana Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, edited by Izak Lattu, Rama Tulus Pilakoannu, Ebenhaizer Nuban Timo, and Steve Gaspersz. Salatiga: Fakultas Teologi Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, 2016.
Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy, III. Paradiso, Vol. III. Part 1: 1: Italian Text and Translation; 2: Commentary. Translated by Charles S. Singleton. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021.
Asheim, Ivar. Christ and Humanity. Minnesota, MN: Fortress Press, 1970.
Braidotti, Rosi, and Maria Hlavajova. Posthuman Glossary. Theory Series. London: Bloomsbury academic, 2018.
Butarbutar, Rut Debora, and Binsar Jonathan Pakpahan. “Konsep Trinitarian Pneumatologis Sebagai Landasan Teologi Agama-Agama.” Kurios: Jurnal Teologi Dan Pendidikan Agama Kristen 7, no. 2 (December 9, 2021): 463–77. https://doi.org/10.30995/kur.v7i2.205.
Crisp, Oliver D. Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered. Current Issues in Theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Dewi, Athanasia Octaviani Puspita. “Kecerdasan Buatan Sebagai Konsep Baru Pada Perpustakaan.” Anuva: Jurnal Kajian Budaya, Perpustakaan, Dan Informasi 4, no. 4 (November 25, 2020): 453–60. https://doi.org/10.14710/anuva.4.4.453-460.
Dwiatmaja, Alb Irawan. “Upaya Membangun Teologi Pembebasan Indonesia: Belajar Dari Konteks Siria-Irak Dan Palestina.” Borneo Review 2, no. 1 (July 2, 2023): 8–21. https://doi.org/10.52075/br.v2i1.101.
Hale, Merensiana, and Eritrika Nulik. “Konsep ‘Perikhoresis’ Dalam Pelaksanaan ‘Gereja Rumah’ Oleh Jemaat GMIT Talenalain Di Tengah Pandemi Covid-19.” Visio Dei: Jurnal Teologi Kristen 3, no. 1 (May 20, 2021): 106–26. https://doi.org/10.35909/visiodei.v3i1.207.
Harrison, Verna E. “Perichoresis in the Greek Fathers.” St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly 35, no. 1 (1991): 53.
HKBP. Pengakuan Iman HKBP: Konfessi Tahun 1951 Dan Tahun 1996 Bahasa Batak, Indonesia Dan Inggris. Pearaja: Kantor Pusat HKBP, 2013.
John Damascus. Writings. Translated by Frederic Hathaway Chase. The Fathers of the Church, a New Translation 37. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1958.
Lee, Jung Young. The Trinity in Asian Perspective. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1996.
———. The Trinity in Asian Perspective. Abingdon Press, 1996.
Norris, Frederick W., ed. Faith Gives Fullness to Reasoning: The Five Theological Orations of Gregory Nazianzen. Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, v. 13. Leiden: Brill, 1990.
Ruhama, Kezia Indianti, and Ferdinan Pasaribu. “Kecerdasan Mahasiswa Teologi Untuk Melayani Di Era Revolusi 4.0.” Jurnal Matetes STT Ebenhaezer 3, no. 1 (March 8, 2022): 69–80.
Sachin, M. S. “The Bionic Man: Future Super Human.” International Journal of Electronics Communication and Computer Engineering 5, no. 1 (2014): 30–35.
Sahinidou, Ioanna. “Christological Perichoresis.” Open Journal of Philosophy 04, no. 04 (2014): 552–59. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojpp.2014.44057.
Sarosa, Samiaji. Analisis Data Penelitian Kualitatif. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2021.
Stamatović, Slobodan. “The Meaning of Perichoresis.” Open Theology 2, no. 1 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2016-0026.
Stramara, Daniel F. “Gregory of Nyssa’s Terminology for Trinitarian Perichoresis.” Vigiliae Christianae 52, no. 3 (August 1998): 257. https://doi.org/10.2307/1584502.
Susanta, Yohanes Krismantyo. “Menuju Misi Kristen Yang Mengedepankan Dialog Antariman.” THRONOS: Jurnal Teologi Kristen 1, no. 2 (2020): 73–85.
Twombly, Charles. Perichoresis and Personhood: God, Christ, and Salvation in John of Damascus. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015.
Twombly, Charles C. Perichoresis and Personhood: God, Christ, and Salvation in John of Damascus. Princeton Theological Monograph Series 216. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2015.
Vita-More, Natasha. “History of Transhumanism.” In The Transhumanism Handbook, edited by Newton Lee, 49–62. Los Angeles, CA: Springer International Publishing, 2019.
Additional Files
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Yohana Simanjuntak, Frans Marpaung
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The author retains copyright and also agrees to grant Theologia in Loco the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0.
