Superintelligence, Artificial Intelligence and Christian Hope

In our study of the things of God (theology) we often use the obscure word eschatology. The word refers to the part of theology concerned with the final destiny of this world and all of us who live here. As it turns out this subject is much discussed and portrayed in movies, books and among scientists and scholars—most of whom ignore completely what the Christian church has to say about such matters. 

Once in a while I make it my business to check in on what one or the other of those scientists and scholars has to say about eschatology. So I recently read through Nick Bostrom's latest tome, Superinteligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. According to Wikipedia Dr. Bostrom is a 41 year old Swedish philosopher at St. Cross College, University of Oxford. He is known for his work on existential risk, the anthropic principle, human enhancement ethics, superintelligence risks, the reversal test, and consequentialism. I think the latter term refers to the idea that if this or that happens then this is what will result as a consequence. 

In his rather tedious manner Dr. Bostrom points out that the "singularity" is approaching. In current terms that refers to a time in the future when machine technology will take over and human affairs as we know them will not continue—at least the way they have been. He focuses upon Artificial Intelligence (AI).  By that he is not referring to Steven Spielberg's 2001 movie, but in a way he is. He is talking about the day and time when machines will far surpass us humans in intelligence, both individually and collectively. And then what, what, what will happen? 

Here are some of the things he highlights: 

• The Google search engine is, arguably, the greatest AI system that has yet been built. 

• We know that blind evolutionary processes can produce human-level intelligence, since they have already done so at least once. Evolutionary processes with foresight—that is, genetic programs designed and guided by an intelligent human programmer—should be able to achieve a similar outcome with far greater efficiency. 

He doesn't know when this singularity will happen. It is just that he's very concerned that when it does the machines will not be our friends. So what can WE do? We have to reduce the risks of the machine intelligence revolution. We must now develop some strategies. If we do not, well, we just don't know what might happen and we are very uncertain when it will. 

This is going to take lots of money. So we have to find folks who will pony up. And when they do they'll have to be both astute and altruistic, "because they may have opportunities to shape the field's culture before the usual venal interests take up position and entrench." By venal interests he refers to the nasty folks who are always wanting to use technology and machines for their own monetary and power-hungry interests. Somebody or some bodies with good hearts and deep pockets must stand up before something truly dreadful happens. Since before . . . 

"the prospect of an intelligence explosion, we humans are like small children playing with a bomb. Such is the mismatch between the power of our plaything and the immaturity of our conduct. Super intelligence is a challenge for which we are not ready now and will not be ready for a long time. We have little idea when the detonation will occur, though if we hold the device to our ear we can hear a faint ticking sound. . .  

"Nor can we attain safety by running away, for the blast of an intelligence explosion would bring down the entire firmament. Nor is there a grown-up in sight." 

Did you get that? ". . . an intelligence explosion would bring down the entire firmament."  Note: the entire firmament! And not a grown-up in sight. Sounds like something the Apostle Peter said 2,000 years ago when he wrote about the return of the Risen Christ:

They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation." For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. - 2 Pet. 3:4-7 ESV 

Of course Dr. Bostrom in true post-enlightenment fashion says nothing about the Second Coming of Christ when he writes about his foreseen explosion. Throughout his long discussion of possibilities for the future he acts and writes as if there is no God who is involved or even vaguely concerned about the destiny of our human race. After all, we are who we are by blind evolutionary chance. So with that as a given, we can only do what we can  do to control this inevitable development with some intelligent genetic programming. Perhaps, just perhaps, it will then turn out to our happy good. Who knows?

Yet we who are in Christ have such a hope do we not? The Apostle Paul writes,

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. - Rom. 8:18-25 ESV

When Paul speaks of creation he means to say that all-that-is is under the control of its Creator. And that Creator has come among us in Jesus Christ to make us one with himself. That's why we look forward with hope in spite of modern forecasts of almost certain doom. And who knows the content of that hope Paul calls "the freedom of the glory of the children of God"? All we know is that we are not afraid. Instead we wait with excitement, for, as Paul also writes in another letter, quoting the prophet Isaiah,

But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"-- - 1 Cor. 2:9 (Isa. 64:4) ESV  

My Times Are In The LORD's Hands

In my last post I promised to say one more thing about destiny, a word often misunderstood, but important. This will be relatively short, because in my own life many things are changing. I've had another major operation on my heart. This time the LORD blessed me with skillful surgeons who worked together to successfully replace my aortic valve. So, it appears that I may, under the LORD's blessings, continue my journey on the this earth for some time since the procedure was successful.

As a result of that and some other heart issues in our family, we are busy downsizing and changing our lives and are in the midst of some major negotiations. So, I'm feeling a bit stressed. Many times I visited with folks in the hospital who needed to hear God speak to them from His Word as they dealt with sickness and stress. One of the psalms I shared with them in those times was the psalm I quoted earlier.

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! - Psa 31:14-16 ESV

This is a beautifully comforting Word from the LORD and I commend it to you. Note particularly that not only are nations guided by God, but the LORD (read Jesus), my God, is the One in whom I put my trust. Since He has called me to faith in Him and assured me that He has freed me from guilt and sin upon the blessed cross, I can indeed trust Him. Therefore as I face health issues and other stresses I can turn to Him, certain that He pays very close attention to me, even as He cares personally for each and every single one of His sheep. David spoke about this in the most favorite psalm of all, Psalm 23.

Note how this psalm speaks about what is going on: "My times are in your hand." Here I'm reminded of how the LORD spoke to Abraham and Sarah about the upcoming and planned birth of their first—and only—son Isaac.

The LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?" The LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?' Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son." - Gen 18:10-14 ESV

The time was set and as impossible as it seemed, Sarah became pregnant in her advanced years and gave birth to a son. So I am reminded again of how the LORD guides the events of His children and answers prayers. This is the destiny of us who have been adopted into His family and made heirs of a life that will never end. "My times are in your hand, O LORD." And no enemies, be they human, demonic or inward, personal doubts, will ever snatch me out of Your hand, dear LORD.

Yes, we have a destiny, you, my fellow believer and I. We are in His hands for all eternity, from one age to another, forever and ever. May this be of comfort to you this day and in all the days to come.

Yes, We Have A Destiny

In my previous post I raised the question of destiny, both my own and the destiny of my nation. Is there indeed a plan for each one of us, as well as a plan for our nations or groups of people? Is the hand of God at work in all of this?

To answer these questions we are asking the Holy Spirit to guide us through the following passage from Moses' farewell speech, given on the day of his death after guiding the Children of Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. Read the entire context in Deut. 32:1-43.

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. - Deu 32:7-9 ESV

The chosen people of God are called the sons of God or the children of God. They all traced their lineage back to Jacob or Israel, the grandson of Abraham. Step by step over hundreds of years God made them into a people and prepared for them this land they were about to enter. The promises given to Abraham were about to be fulfilled.

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites." - Gen 15:18-21 ESV. See also Gen 17:1-5. 

 This covenant is celebrated in the Psalms.

O offspring of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones! He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance." - Psa 105:6-11 ESV

 We can trace God's guiding hand back to the days of Noah and the flood. So we read, 

And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth." The sons of Noah who went forth from the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.) These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the people of the whole earth were dispersed. - Gen 9:12-19 ESV

Moses invites the people to review their history. Check with your fathers, he urges. They'll teach you about how the Most High God guided these events, including your bondage in Egypt and your wandering in the wilderness these past 40 years. Now you are about to enter a land designed for you, with room for all of you, a land that does not belong to the Canaanites.

The lesson for God's people in these days? God does indeed have plans for His people and each one of us as members of His people. We are called to follow Him and to serve in the place and at the time that He has designed for us. The plans of God reach back to the days of Adam and Eve. They stretch forward across the centuries to the birth, life, death and resurrection of God's Son, Jesus, the Messiah. We who have been called to faith in Christ Jesus are His chosen people, the new Israel. Paul points to this in his letters.

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. - Gal 6:14-16 ESV

 And earlier in the same letter,

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 

... For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. - Gal 3:7-9, 27-29 ESV

Destiny? Promises? Guidance? Blessings? Indeed. The hand of God has been guiding all things up to this present day. And know with certainty that if you are in Christ Jesus you are an heir of all God's promises, promises that reach forward to the resurrection from the dead endless ages yet to come.

I'll have more to say about this in my next post.

Is Everything Predestined?

There was a lady in one of the congregations I served whose name was Moira. A friend of mine found her name difficult to pronounce. Most of us pronounced it as if it were boy-rah. Beyond that, I often wondered where her parents came up with such a strange name. I have since discovered that it is a Greek name. In Greek mythology the three fates were called the Moirai. Could it be that Moira was destined to have her name?

Seriously, what do you believe about destiny? Were you destined to grow up where you did? Were you destined to be famous or poor or tall or—more darkly—to be damned? These questions are ones most of us struggle with. My deeper concern is to ask what God's Word reveals to us. To pursue that question let's go with the Apostle Paul on his missionary journey to the city of Athens where the Greeks loved to argue about such questions. Here he is, invited to the Areopagus to present his views to the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.

"Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' - Act 17:22-28 ESV

Paul went on to talk about Jesus and the resurrection. As soon as they heard this most of them laughed at him and walked away. Such nonsense! Luke records, however, that several did pay attention. They may have become Christians, because he names them as Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. We hear no more about Dionysius and Damaris. It seems that Paul abandoned further attempts to argue philosophy. Yet this intriguing sentence persists: 

"And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him."

It seems Paul under the guidance of the Holy Spirit is saying to me that I was determined to live a certain period of time in the 20th and 21st centuries in a couple places called Minnesota and Texas. And in a broader sense is the United States, my nation, pre-determined by God to exist where it does during a certain period of time? Is that conclusion confirmed by other parts of Scripture?

In his farewell speech to the children of Israel about to enter the promised land Moses says something as intriguing as Paul. Paul probably had this in mind when he spoke at Athens.

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. - Deu 32:7-8 ESV

What's this business of giving to the nations their inheritance? And fixing the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God?

I want to pursue these questions in my next posts. Please bear with me. I have no intention of messing with Greek or any other type of philosophy. And I certainly do not want to get involved in some sort of deep abstractions. Rather I want to follow the psalmist as he writes,

But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! - Psa 31:14-16 ESV

Where Shall We Live?

The sainted Ray Stedman continues his ministry through the Ray Stedman website and the organization that publishes his writings and a series of daily devotions. I appreciate what Ray taught and feel very close to him because of them. Here's what Ray says about the many rooms in the Father's house (John 14:1-14): 

 We must ask, "What is the Father's house?" Most of us take this to mean heaven, for heaven is usually viewed as the place where God dwells, but "heaven" is a very vague term. If we let Scripture interpret Scripture (as good expositors should) we would perhaps refer to a passage in the last chapter of Isaiah, where God says, "Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool," (Isaiah 66:1). This implication is clear that God dwells in the entire universe; that this vast cosmos, of which we are but a tiny part, is the Father's house. "In it," Jesus declares, "are many rooms." The word in Greek for "rooms" really means 'a place to live.' This word appears but twice in the New Testament, here and in Verse 23 of this same chapter. In that verse Jesus says, "If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."

 The question of 'a place to live' is one that has occupied my wife and me for some time. You see, by God's grace and utmost generosity, we have the privilege of two houses we may call home, one in Texas and one in Colorado. I write these words from our Colorado house where we have lived for the past month. To this time, we've not considered this house our 'home', but rather our 'vacation home' where we come for a few weeks before returning 'home' to Texas. We're rethinking where we should live. Should we continue to move back and forth between two houses or finally sell one and settle down once and for all either in Colorado or in Texas? And yes, I know, it is a rare privilege to have two houses.

Regardless of how this all works out, the words of our Lord in John 14 are a great comfort to each one of us who believe in Him—especially for those of us who may not even own one house, let alone two. In all this vast creation, our Lord has a special place reserved just for me. He who has already set up house in my heart (John 14:23), has a plan and a place where He plans for me to be. He has reserved it for me by His cross and resurrection. He has prepared that 'room', that dwelling place, that house, that mansion where He wants me to serve Him forever and ever.

In Christ I have a purpose and a destiny. When I get there I will know with certainty that I have come home! This finally will be my place to live forever. I can hardly wait to get home. As the Apostle Paul said, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8; 2 Timothy 4:6).

Destiny And The Holy Lance

Do you believe in destiny? That question plays an important part in my forthcoming novel. Do you?  

It seems that Adolph Hitler did. He believed it was his destiny to lead the Germanic/Aryan peoples to glorious rule of the entire world. To aid in this Hitler claimed it was his destiny to own the mysterious Holy Lance—the very lance driven by the Roman centurion into the side of the crucified Christ.

The Bible Probe website describes this passion of Hitler, together with a long and detailed history of this sacred relic.

"The spear finally wound up in the possession of the House of the Habsburgs and by 1912 was part of the treasure collection stored in Hofburg Museum. According to Ravenscroft it was in September of that year, while living in Vienna and working as a watercolor painter, that a young Adolf Hitler visited the Museum and learned of the lance and its reputation. Dr. Walter Stein, who accompanied Hitler on that visit, remembered, 'when we first stood side by side in front of the Spear of Destiny it appeared to me that Hitler was in so deep a condition of trance that he was suffering almost complete sense-denudation and a total lack of self-consciousness.'

"Hitler later said, 'I stood there quietly gazing upon it for several minutes quite oblivious to the scene around me. It seemed to carry some hidden inner meaning which evaded me, a meaning which I felt I inwardly knew yet could not bring to consciousness...I felt as though I myself had held it before in some earlier century of history. That I myself had once claimed it as my talisman of power and held the destiny of the world in my hands...'

"Hitler saw the lance as his mystical connection with generations of conquering Germanic leaders that had come before him. On March 14, 1938, after he had risen to power as the chancellor of Germany, Hitler annexed the state of Austria and ordered that the spear, along with the rest of the Habsburg collection, be sent to the city of Nuremberg, heart of the Nazi movement."

Hitler was destined, to be sure, but destined to be the most horrible murderer of millions and millions in all of human history.

Historians  H. Buechner & W. Bernhart, "Adolf Hitler and the Secrets of the Holy Lance, claim that a replica of the Holy Lance was returned to the Vienna Museum after WW II, while the real lance may have been squirreled away with other secret Nazi plundered treasure by Himmler and the SS to South America or Antarctica. Many mysteries of that infamous era remain unsolved. 

The Gift of Foresight

In English the Nordic gift of fore-seeing has been variously called seid, seidh, seidr, seidhr, seith, or seithr. However you spell it, the Norsemen believed that certain women had it. And note, they believed it to be a feminine gift. Any man claiming it was suspect. 


In her trance the Volva or Wicca or Witch would be told by her guardian spirit or goddess of things that were to come. She would find answers to the future and to the needs of those begging her guidance. 

Some cultures call such a person a shaman. Among the Hebrews it was usually  a man, but sometimes a woman had the gift. The Bible refers to these Seers or Prophets in numerous passages: 


Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing - Exodus 15:20.


(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for [he that is] now [called] a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer) I Samuel 9. 


"And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer . . ." 2 Samuel 24:11.


The gift of foreseeing the future is suspect among many Christians and most particularly Lutherans. We much prefer to say that the days of seeing into the future are past. Our task now is to prophesy, that is to proclaim, what has been earlier revealed. 


The world of entertainment, however, does not avoid such questions. We humans are inevitably driven by a desire to know what the future holds for us. The TV series Flash Forward takes hold of this deep curiosity with the premise that some perverse group has somehow given the entire population of the world a two and one-half minute glimpse into the future by putting them all into a trance at the same time. 


The Nazis also embraced this desire to know their destiny. And they believed that the ancient Nordic gods had it planned for them. This fact led to the creation of Hulda Schwarz, the Volva/Wicca of my upcoming novel Freya's Child.