There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
The architect of the globalist nightmare known as the “Great Reset” is finally stepping back — and not a moment too soon.
Klaus Schwab, the unelected mastermind behind the World Economic Forum (WEF) and its dystopian dreams of centralized control, is preparing to step down as chair of the board of trustees, according to the Financial Times.
This announcement comes after Klaus Schwab announced his resignation as executive chairman of the WEF last year.
In an email to WEF staff members, Schwab announced he would be officially stepping down as executive chairman and transitioning to non-executive chairman.
After five decades of steering the WEF into a playground for elites, Schwab’s exit signals what could be the long-overdue unraveling of a technocratic agenda that aimed to dictate how the rest of us live, eat, travel, and think.
Schwab’s announcement follows months of internal chaos, scandal, and growing global backlash against his Orwellian vision.
The WEF — best known for its annual Davos conference where billionaires, bureaucrats, and corporate overlords lecture working-class citizens on cutting back their lifestyles “for the planet” — is reeling from allegations of discrimination, harassment, and a total loss of credibility.
While Schwab insists in his internal letter that the forum is still “more important and relevant than ever,” the writing is on the wall.
The same man who once gleefully proclaimed that by 2030 “you’ll own nothing and be happy” is now preparing to quietly slip into the shadows.
“I am deeply convinced that in today’s special context the forum is more important and relevant than ever before,” Schwab said in an internal email obtained by FT.
“It is also financially very well equipped thanks to successful financial management since its beginning. What is essential now after the turmoil of the last months, is to recover our sense of mission,” he added.
Schwab did not give a timeline for his departure from the organisation, of which he was executive chair for more than half a century. But the WEF said in a statement to the Financial Times that the process should be completed by January 2027•
Schwab’s signal to the board of trustees that he would resign as non-executive chair of the board of trustees “came as a surprise” given he only transitioned into the job in the past few months, said one of the people with knowledge of the matter.
[…]
Shortly after Schwab’s resignation last May the Wall Street Journal published accusations of discrimination and harassment made by several Black and female employees against Schwab and other managers.
The organisation denied all of the claims. Last month the WEF said external lawyers hired to perform an investigation into the claims did not find it had committed any legal violations and did not substantiate allegations of misconduct against Schwab.
[…]
The founder, who will now focus on writing his memoirs, said making the announcement on April 1 had special significance given that he had started to develop the concept of a “global village” on this exact date 55 years ago.
The timing couldn’t be more telling. Just one day before Schwab’s announcement, President Trump dropped a tariff bombshell on the global economy, slapping hefty levies on imports and vowing “reciprocal tariffs” to level the playing field for American workers.
The question is no longer if the Great Reset will collapse—but how fast.
Some of the most powerful people on earth believe that one day they’ll be able to “upgrade” at least some human beings through genetic engineering and technological schemes such as brain implants. They’re so confident in their schemes they’re touting benefits as wild as eternal life and the ability to evolve into gods.
Returning to bring listeners details on this issue, Crosstalk welcomed Alex Newman. Alex is an award-winning international freelance journalist, author, researcher, educator and consultant. He is senior editor for The New American, co-author of Crimes of the Educators and author of Deep State: The Invisible Government Behind the Scenes. He’s also founder of Liberty Sentinel.
Alex pulled no punches in his opening comments. He described this as a diabolical agenda. This doesn’t mean that everyone involved is evil or even understand the implications. However, if you listen to the leaders of this movement, people like Ray Kurzweil, Yuval Noah Harari and Klaus Schwab, they explain how they feel they’ll become gods and will achieve immortality without Christ by merging with technology through things like brain implants, genetic engineering or uploading of their minds with computers systems.
Christians realize how blasphemous this is and how it’s the oldest lie in history if you go back to Genesis 3 where Satan told Eve she could be like God and that she would not surely die.
Klaus Schwab, the head of the World Economic Forum, has touted what he calls “The Fourth Industrial Revolution.” Alex noted that Schwab first mentioned this in Foreign Affairs magazine published by the Council on Foreign Relations. It comes down to two simple choices. He said your options are (A) humanity will be robotized where we will be deprived of our hearts and souls and (B) it’s going to complement the best parts of humanity, driving us into a new moral and ethical paradigm where we will share a collective sense of destiny. This will take place as we merge with our smart phone while also genetically engineering people.
For some this may sound great but in reality, it’s an attempt to overturn the moral order authored by God.
This portion of the discussion is highlighted by audio from May of 2022 where Pekka Lundmark, the CEO of Nokia, communicated that by 2030 the smart phone as we know it today will not be the most common interface and that many of these things will be built into our bodies.
If there was ever a time when it seemed like science fiction was becoming reality, this is it. Hear more about where technology is taking us, and how this may affect your biblical worldview, when you review this edition of Crosstalk.
We need to be aware of the AI and posthumanist revolutions:
Christians of all people should be keeping an eye on new developments, trends and changes in society. They need to offer a prophetic and biblical critique. The area of artificial intelligence (AI) and related issues is a clear case in point. Two years ago I posted an article featuring 22 of the top books on these issues: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2023/02/27/top-22-books-on-transhumanism-ai-and-the-new-technologies/
But this is one major growth area, with new advances happening every day. Books on this are pouring off the presses, so I have updated my list. Here then are 40 books, mostly, but not exclusively, penned by Christians.
Older works
Ellul, Jacques, The Technological Society. Alfred A. Knopf, 1964. An important earlier critique of the technological world we are now living in, warning that “technique,” efficiency, automation and the like are threatening what it means to be human.
Groothuis, Douglas, The Soul in Cyberspace. Baker, 1997. This was one of the earlier evangelical appraisals of, and warnings about, the new information technologies, cyberspace and the like. Although dated by now, it still offers plenty of useful discussion of the dangers of the god of technology, and the impact on our humanity.
Lewis, C. S., The Abolition of Man. Macmillan, 1947, 1976. The volume was certainly prophetic in its warning about scientism and our scientific elites and technocrats who can easily control the masses with their visions for a brave new world. A must read volume, along with his 1945 work of fiction, That Hideous Strength.
Postman, Neil, Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. Vintage, 1993. The deification of technology is the focus here. Following on from Ellul and others, he warns that technique and technology are replacing or undermining things like culture, art, beauty and human relationships.
Dark Aeon: Transhumanism and the War Against Humanity by Allen, Joe (Author), Bannon, Stephen K. (Foreword)
Newer volumes
Allen, Joe, Dark Aeon: Transhumanism and the War Against Humanity. War Room Books, 2023. Probably one of the best books so far, offering a careful, detailed, comprehensive and well-written assessment of AI and the transhumanist project, warning how we need to really apply some brakes to all this. He offers helpful philosophical, theological and ethical considerations.
Barrat, James, Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era. Quercus, 2013, 2023. If one simply compares the Preface to the original version to this one ten years on, one will find that the concerns and worries Barrat had have only greatly intensified. The AI juggernaut shows no signs of slowing, and the trajectory it is on is looking quite frightening.
Brooks, Ed and Pete Nicholas, Virtually Human: Flourishing in a Digital World. IVP, 2015. This volume looks more at how the Christian should think about our changing technological world, and how we can maintain a biblical view of life and the human person in light of all these changes.
Bryant, John, Beyond Human? Science and the Changing Face of Humanity. Lion, 2013. This somewhat older book discusses how changes in science and technology are resulting in changes to humanity. He looks at various issues, including genetics, medical developments, information and communication technologies, and transhumanism. A helpful assessment by a Christian ethicist and biologist.
Driscoll, Stephen, Made in Our Image: God, Artificial Intelligence and You. Matthias Media, 2024. The Australian writer seeks to apply biblical principles to the changing face of AI and related issues. The technological, social and personal changes being unleashed must be carefully assessed in light of Scripture.
Dyer, John, From the Garden to the City: The Place of Technology in the Story of God, rev. ed. Kregel, 2011, 2022. In this second edition of his earlier work, the theology professor and web designer looks at the new technologies and their negative and positive features in terms of the overall biblical story line, and how they impact on what it means to be human.
Fesko, John, The Christian and Technology. Evangelical Press, 2020. A brief look at six technological advances and their positive and negative impacts: screens, social media, cars, books, virtual reality and the internet. A short but helpful volume.
Gawdat, Mo, Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World. Bluebird, 2021, 2022. The former Google business officer thinks AI can go awry, but he optimistically hopes we can steer it in the right direction. Whether this rather upbeat view of how things will ultimately pan out remains to be seen.
Gay, Craig, Modern Technology and the Human Future: A Christian Appraisal. IVP, 2018. This is a quite detailed examination of how the new technologies are shaping our world and what it means to be human. A very helpful biblical assessment of where we are headed and how we can try to keep things in check.
Godde, Sandra, Reaching for Immortality: Can Science Cheat Death? A Christian Response to Transhumanism. Wipf & Stock, 2022. A quite brief but useful look at how the Christian should think about the transhumanism agenda. See my full length review of this helpful volume here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2022/10/26/a-review-of-reaching-for-immortality-by-sandra-godde/
Herrick, James, Visions of Technological Transcendence: Human Enhancement and the Rhetoric of the Future. Parlor Press, 2017. Belief in progress, the betterment of mankind, and human immortality has always been with us. Breakthroughs in biotechnology and computer sciences are making it a reality, but at what cost? Herrick offers a useful historical, scientific, philosophical and theological assessment – and warning – of this quest,
Herzfeld, Noreen, The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age. Augsburg/Fortress Press, 2023. Offers a theological and philosophical look at AI, drawing on Karl Barth and others. Numerous issues are discussed, ranging from procreation to just war theory. At times she is a bit speculative: She wonders for example if the Spirit of God can inhabit machines as he does humans.
Lennox, John, 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity. Zondervan, 2020. As always, Lennox offers a carefully argued and useful look at how Christians can think about the age they live in – in this case, the age of AI and transhumanism. An incisive, well-documented and helpful volume by the English mathematician and apologist.
Lennox, John, 2084 and the AI Revolution: How Artificial Intelligence Informs Our Future, Updated and Expanded Edition. Zondervan, 2024. A substantially revised and enlarged update on his earlier volume. Very helpful indeed. See my review here: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2024/12/10/john-lennox-on-ai/
Miller, Julie, Critiquing Transhumanism: The Human Cost of Pursuing Techno-Utopia. Public Philosophy Press, 2022. In this important volume the Christian apologist and philosopher offers a thorough critique of transhumanism and our brave new future. She sounds the alarm as to where this is taking us, and insists on a solid biblical response to all this. Very useful.
Peckham, Jeremy, Masters or Slaves? AI and the Future of Humanity. IVP, 2021. Having spent some 25 years working in the world of AI, Peckham brings a lot of experience and insight to bear on how the Christian should think about and make use of these new developments. A helpful and challenging work.
Rana, Fazale with Kenneth Samples, Humans 2.0: Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Perspectives on Transhumanism. Reasons to Believe, 2019. The authors, with backgrounds in biochemistry, theology and philosophy offer a detailed examination of where technology is taking us. They look at scientific and ethical matters, and assess things from a biblical framework. Many bases are covered here – a recommended volume.
Reinke, Tony, God, Technology and the Christian Life. Crossway, 2022. A lengthy and detailed examination of technology and how the Christian should approach it. A helpful and quite thorough work offering useful biblical assessment of the technological revolution.
Rose Michael, The Art of Being Human: What “Old Books” Can Tell Us (And Warn Us) About Living in the 21st Century. Angelico, 2022. This volume takes a rather different approach when dealing with issues such as transhumanism, the devaluation of persons, the new technologies, genetic engineering, and the like. He assesses the writings of people like George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, C. S. Lewis, Jonathan Swift, Aldous Huxley, John Le Carre, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and others as he seeks to show how we can preserve the person and protect human rights from where we are heading.
Rosen, Christine, The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World. W. W. Norton, 2024. Admittedly, this book talks the least about things like AI and transhumanism, but it perhaps talks the most – of all the volumes listed here – about important matters that relate to all this, such as personhood, what it means to be human, and how we can recover what we are so quickly losing.
Rubin, Charles, Eclipse of Man: Human Extinction and the Meaning of Progress. Encounter Books, 2014. The transhumanist/posthumanist agenda is not the path to a better, more glorious future, but a certain road to our ruin. The ideal of seeking the perfectibility of man has always had devastating results, and the new technologies will ensure that such utopian dreams will simply become dystopian nightmares. A very important and engaging look at our uncertain future.
Russell, Stuart, Human Compatible: AI and the Problem of Control. Penguin, 2019, 2023. Who controls the controllers? Who decides how the AI revolution proceeds. Can we ever put the genie back in the bottle? Russell, a long-standing AI scientist, says we can gain from AI, but we can also lose everything, so great care is needed.
Scott, Dan, Faith in an Age of AI: Christianity Through the Looking Glass of Artificial Intelligence. Eleison, 2023. This is more of a broad-brush look at things, not just AI in particular. Drawing upon the wisdom of past and present thinkers. Scott provides a bigger picture of how we can assess where our culture is heading.
Shatzer, Jacob, Transhumanism and the Image of God: Today’s Technology and the Future of Christian Discipleship. IVP, 2019. The American theologian examines the various new technologies and warns how so many of them are having a very real and negative impact on what it means to be a human. He utilises the biblical view of humanity and personhood to assess how and where we are heading to a posthuman future.
Song, Felicia Wu, Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence and Place in the Digital Age. IVP, 2021. Here the Christian cultural sociologist looks at how the new digital technologies are changing the world and us along with it. She shows how this new digital revolution is being driven, and offers practical help in how we can utilise them without being seduced and enslaved by them.
Spencer, Nick and Hannah Waite, Playing God: Science, Religion and the Future of Humanity. SPCK, 2024. Specific matters such as AI is just one of a number of issues covered in this book, as the authors look at how science and Christianity can cohere. The authors take a much more optimistic and positive view of where all these technologies are heading.
Suleyman, Mustafa, The Coming Wave: AI, Power and Our Future. Vintage, 2023. The artificial and biological intelligences are without doubt drastically reshaping our future, but they must be contained and controlled now before they spiral out of control. A very learned, wise, and wide-ranging look at the new technologies and how they must be reined in before it is too late.
Tegmark, Max, Life 3.0. Penguin, 2017, 2018. An important and detailed look at how life is being radically altered in the AI and AGI age. He covers quite a bit of ground here and offers a number of prospects for how the future might unfold. What eventually occurs in large measure depends on what sort of future we want, and even there we find plenty of disagreement. This volume offers helpful analysis and insight.
Thacker, Jason, The Age of AI. Zondervan, 2020. The Christian thinker and ethicist assesses information technologies and artificial intelligence, looking at how they impact on so many areas, including work, medicine and our families. These things are tools that can be quite useful if used properly, but can also be very harmful as well. Care is needed as we chart an uncertain future.
Thacker, Jason, Following Jesus in a Digital Age. B&H, 2022. This is a short, useful and practical book on how Christians can live fully human and fully God-honouring lives in this new age of technology.
Wood, Patrick, The Evil Twins of Technocracy and Transhumanism. Coherent Pub., 2022. A strong warning about how the technocrats and groups like the World Economic Forum are using the new technologies for decidedly evil ends. He discusses Gates, Schwab, Harari and others, and looks at the sinister designs they have on the rest of humanity.
Wright, John, Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth. Wisecraft, 2019. Science fiction writers have long been at the forefront of warning us about how dangerous many of the trends are in the new technologies and the like. Wright is no different, and in this collection of essays he certainly sounds the alarm, contrasting the biblical view with that of the humanists and transhumanists.
Various views
Cole-Turner, Ronald, ed., Transhumanism and Transcendence: Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement. Georgetown University Press, 2011. In this somewhat earlier collection of essays a dozen experts weigh in on the pros and cons of technological enhancement in the light of Christian concerns. Some of the writers here offer a more positive take on these issues, while others offer a more negative appraisal.
Peters, Ted, ed., AI and IA: Utopia or Extinction. ATF Press, 2019. The nine essays featured here look at the ethical and theological implications of AI and related matters. Like the above volume, the views range from rather optimistic to those who are rather pessimistic about where things are heading.
Thacker, Jason, ed., The Digital Public Square: Christian Ethics in a Technological Society. B&H, 2023. Here 13 Christian authors look at a number of issues from a range of perspectives. Topics include free speech and censorship, misinformation and the social media, pornography, hate speech and related topics.
Wyatt, John and Stephen Williams, eds., The Robot Will See You Now:Artificial Intelligence and the Christian Faith. SPCK, 2021. A number of authors look at a range of issues, including AI, robotics, personhood, surveillance capitalism, technology and the future, all assessed from historical, philosophical and theological perspectives.
Most recommended
In my view, some of the better ones (because they seem the most concerned about where things are heading), include those by Allen, Gay, Herrick, Lennox, Miller, Peckham, Ruben, Russell, Suleyman and Tegmark.
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