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December 19, 2005
Everything I Needed To Know About Life Extension I Learned From Jesus Christ
Going to my father's house always gets me to thinking theologically, since my dad is a United Methodist minister in a gorgeous Southern church with a cute little matching chapel attached, and if I'm there on a Sunday we all go to church together. [Note: The Mprize does not endorse or support any religion or lack thereof. But I'm allowed to write about whatever I want to!] This Sunday, between processing the excellent sermon and preventing my two year old niece from squirming out of my lap and into the aisle, I took a moment to consider how growing up in a Christian church (or several) turned me into a life-extensionist.
Weird, eh? People often think of Christians as folk who think we should all die whenever because it's God's will. I think that's an oversimplification of even the most pro-aging of positions, but like all stereotypes, it has some basis in fact. If you oppose stem cell research, which some Christian groups do, you cut off a route by which we may reach cures for many of the diseases of aging. If you believe that there's a life after death that is preferable to the one we have here on earth, you might not want to slow your progress towards the beyond. But as I sat in my dad's church, my arms encasing my wiggling niece like a boa constrictor embracing its dinner, I thought about what a different message the story of Jesus holds for me about life and life-extension.
[My father, who I am fairly sure has never given up hope that there may be a religion PhD or an ordained minister lurking in the depths of my consciousness, is probably quaking with fear at the prospect of what appears to be some bizarre theology about to manifest on the blog.]
For one thing, as my dad mentioned frequently in his book Jesus and the Pleasures, Jesus came "that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) Now I've never been one for taking the Bible literally (you can't have two parents who are New Testament Ph D's and act like that... it's worse than eating a whole meal with your salad fork!) but this one phrase really speaks to me. Jesus did a lot of talking about how people should treat each other in ways that maximized their happiness while on earth. Breaking down class and race barriers, ignoring the purity codes of the Pharisees in order to eat and drink with all sorts of wacky people, and rattling on about how the Sabbath was for people and not the other way around... not exactly a pie in the sky when you die type of guy. While his own life certainly had its awkward moments, not the least of which was that part at the end, he knew how to have a good time. And like another bearded man I know, he was fond of spirited drink.
Jesus also had a downright disrespectful attitude towards death. When confronted with Mary and Martha mourning the death of their brother Lazarus, Jesus didn't say, "Well, it was his time." He certainly didn't say, "He probably didn't want to live that long anyway!" Nope, he raised him from the dead.
Now we modern liberal Christians like to shy away from the supernatural elements of the New Testament stories, as we are most uncomfortable with miracles and anything at all weird. But even if you're devoted to taking all the miracle stories as beautiful symbols, you can't explain away Jesus' repeated disrespect of death. Maybe he was just trying to make a point, or to get our attention, but by picking death as a punching bag, he got me to thinking that maybe this death thing deserves to be kicked around a bit.
When you get to the resurrection, a lot of Christians I know get just about as squirmy as my niece trying to get out of her fancy church dress. All that rising from the dead stuff is just too bizarre. Like, we're totally cool with Christ's humanity, but DON'T GO THERE with the whole "on the third day he rose again" thing.
Now before you call me a gnostic (unless you've already called me a gnostic, in which case it's too late) and burn me at the stake, I'd like to point out that I'm not saying anything about Christ's divinity. I'm not here to tell you that Jesus was a god chilling out on earth for lack of entertainment in heaven: you figure out your religious beliefs as you will. My point is, Jesus was just not okay with death. He made fun of death! He hopped right out of the grave and went out to freak out all his friends! My favorite hymn, "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today," ends with "Where o death now is thy sting?" Like, nah-nah-ni-boo-boo!!! Call the resurrection a symbol if you want, but that's one sassy symbol!
Now I don't know what Jesus would do if he were here today, I can only answer the question WWAD? But I personally don't see any need to passively accept an early death as God's will, any more than I see AIDS or natural disasters or unfortunate haircuts as manifestations of God's will. My own theology/spirituality is way too complex and off-topic to be gotten into on the blog... it would be a lot like what happens when a cat gets ahold of an un-opened pouch of strong catnip... but what I can tell you is that I find Christ's example, whether I choose to view it as literary and symbolic or as flesh and blood reality, as a powerful demonstration of life over death, love over hate, and the triumph of hope over despair.
The thing I love most about my father's ministry is that it's so real: unlike a lot of Christians (and people of all faiths, including athiests) I've seen who just go through the motions, my dad believes that the spirit of God is working among us, and when he presides over a church service, something happens! "Dad's really good," I said to MR upon my return from North Carolina, "He's got mojo!" High praise coming from me... a cynical double preachers' kid who had heard more first rate preaching by the age of ten than most people see all century. There's something about people who really believe in what they're doing that I find inspiring, even if I disagree with them.
A couple of people I like and respect have accused SENS enthusiasts of being a bit overzealous, even religious, in their defense of the SENS project, Aubrey de Grey, and the goal of radically extending human lifespan. This is a fair critique... there are definitely those among us who state our views in strong terms, and who are perhaps less than sportsmanlike when the mission is attacked. I hope that the occasional breach of taste can be forgiven as a symptom of sincere devotion to the cause of helping us all live longer. It's not just our own lives we're out to save here, but yours too. Whether we like you or not.
I doubt that large numbers of Christians are about to sign onto the Mprize's Three Hundred, citing Jesus' example in raising the dead and removing himself from the grave as evidence that we should all support the project of extending healthy human lifespan. Efforts to say what Jesus would or would not support usually end in everyone yelling at everyone else or in someone losing their head... literally. I have no wish to inject religion into the debate about when or whether people should die. But you turn to the blog for entertaining little snippets of my psyche, and Christian imagery is so deeply embedded in my cognitive structure that occasionally it's going to pop out onto the virtual pages. Just like when I speculated as to the calorie content of the host before and after transubstantiation, or mused that the body of Christ goes well with chickpea pesto, I tend to mix metaphors the way I mix eggwhites and vegetables. It's a bit odd, but it usually comes out pretty tasty.
And don't even get me started on the Virgin Birth...
Posted by april at December 19, 2005 7:44 PM
Comments
My dad, also a pastor, died last month. He had all sorts of trouble with cancer. The decision of keeping him plugged in or not had to be made. We followed his wishes and unplugged him.
Whether it's right or wrong to let someone die may not be so right and wrong. I guess for me, the whole topic is tough to make any blanket statement or conclusion. It's so tough to be there, in the hospital room while it's going on. What nerve for someone in the happy world to make the call for us.
I don't mean to sound offensive, but I am still emotionally charged over the event. I remember thinking how tough it was and how if I were ever around anyone else in that situation, I would just support them in what they thought was right. I think that is a Jesus-like response as well. Seeing the heart and helping the people see the real issue. Thanks.
Posted by: jeff at December 19, 2005 6:14 PM
April, Wow! I would have never guessed you were the daughter of two liberal protestant ministers. You are very interesting and eclectic not to mention extroverted and articulate. K
Posted by: kathryn at December 19, 2005 11:04 PM
All:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Here is a classic article on the topic of Jesus as a life extensionist (focusing on cryonics, but more broadly applicable):
http://www.quantium.plus.com/lr/cryonics-europe/jesus.htm
It makes a surprisingly careful, line-by-line exegetical case for the idea. A somewhat more esoteric hermeneutic was at work in sections of "The ImmorTalist Manifesto" by "Elixir" -- a stimulating read.
Love is the law, love under will.
Posted by: MR at December 20, 2005 12:30 PM
MR -- en englais pour nous, s'il vous plait! ;-)
Posted by: Judith at December 20, 2005 5:40 PM