Science Fiction and Theology - Part 7 - Cryogenics

Time to finish this series up.

Cryogenics is the science of trying to freeze living matter to the point of death but with the ability to revive that matter back to normal life. In science fiction this has been put to various uses.
1. Storage of clones as extra body parts
2. Putting criminals 'on ice'.
3. Use for space travel in that the crew is frozen for long duration while the ship travels.
4. Medical -- store the person until a cure can be found or a donor comes along.
5. Effect a form of immortality. Body is slowed in function, but brain is allowed to roam a virtual world (The Matrix)

Where this crosses into theology is in the field of ethics -- medical and social.
1. Medical ethics - is a clone life? Robert Heinlein theorized in Time Enough for Love, that cloning could get so advanced that an entire body could be cloned without a true functioning brain so that when a person got old their brain could be moved to the new body. Along with other rejuvenation technologies, this could give a person effective immortality. What happens to "appointed once to die and then the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27)
2. Is it really punishment to put criminals in cryo-freeze based on the Bible? Not really, just prolongs things and releases that criminal back into society unchanged. Not really justice from a Biblical point of view.
3. Space Travel has been discussed but what are ethics of volunteering for a trip from which you may not wake up should technology fail on the way?
4. In the case of medical waiting till a cure is found I can see some uses but at what point does it end and how do we determine who is valuable enough for this?
5. Living in a virtual world brings in the whole ethical questions of the what is life and how do we live it? Effective immortality or slavery?

Next: Lest We Forget - Robots.

Science Fiction and Theology -- Part 4 -- Brain Transplant -- Effective Immortality

Probably the most sticky questions of Science Fiction are raised when medical ethics and technology are discussed. One thing has always been organ transplant. Now many of the medical procedures that do this where originally some form of Science fiction; now many are science fact. One that remains fiction in brain transplant. Perhaps it would be better to say central nervous system transplant. Robert Heinlein postulated this in his book "I Will Fear No Evil". In it a rich beyond billionaire transplants his brain into another body. The big issue though is the body is female and is young, sensual and pretty. By so doing the man extends his life into another.

This of course leads to a whole host of ethical questions:
1. Who is the person then? The brain or the body or both.
2. Does this really constitute a sex change? Not really in a sense but this could be used to do it.
3. Who would be a donor body for this?

Now what get really frightening is when you couple this idea with cloning.
1. Could we then keep spare bodies around when we get tired of the one were in? Effective youth and immortality.
2. Are such clones persons when their only function is to be the next shell?
3. What happens to -- a man is appointed once to die and then the judgment?

Gets interesting and sticky doesn't it?

Next: The Information Hyper Highway

Science Fiction and Theology -- Part 1 -- The Challenges

New Series to break things up a bit and have a little fun.

The issues science fiction has brought to theology are numerous. People may say 'why bother' but science fiction has an alarming way of becoming science fact in a quick hurry. Robots, cell phones, landing on the moon, space stations all have moved across this line. Probably more alarming are some of the medical ones -- cloning, regenerative medicine and others.

Theology, unfortunately, always seems to be reactive to these issues mostly because we have have this 'stay in the real world' mentality. The problem is the real world has a rapid way of turning into the sci-fi one. Then we're always scrambling.

Some of the issues out there are:
1. Aliens -- existence and who.
2. Alien Religion -- if aliens do exist what about their beliefs?
3. Brain transplant -- effective immortality?
4. The continued advance of information and the spread of information.
5. Space Travel -- moral questions abound about (marriage, children and colonization)
6. Cryo sleep -- what do we do with people who sleep through centuries?
7. What does all these things do to our understanding of the Scriptures?

Next: Do Aliens Exist?