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JACKSON, Tenn. — April 9, 2019 — Jacob Shatzer, associate dean for the School of Theology and Missions at 51����, addresses the relationships between technology, Christians and discipleship in his latest book, “Transhumanism and the Image of God.”

“A lot of the time when I would read Christians thinking about technology, they would focus on how technology could be used for obvious sin or for obvious good,” Shatzer said. “But there wasn’t a lot of analysis about how technology use might change or shape us.”

Shatzer’s book, which released today, explores how technology can change the way people think about things and specifically how its use may subtly cause Christians to accept transhumanism, which he defined as a “movement to use whatever we can to overcome human limitations and become something different.”

“What a lot of Christians do know about transhumanism they think they reject,” Shatzer said. “But what I argue in the book is that the way we use our technology day in and day out is slowly changing us to actually be after that very thing.”

Shatzer said transhumanism can seem like it belongs in the realm of science fiction, but his book focuses on everyday technology that people already use, especially technology related to online life. He said everyday technology use is, in a way, discipling people and teaching them to value and pursue certain things.

“There’s still this overall mentality that technology is neutral and we just need to pick if we use it for good or use it for evil, but it’s not quite that simple,” Shatzer said. “Different technologies bring with them and encourage certain ways of being that aren’t neutral, so we need to be willing to think more critically about how they impact us.”

“Transhumanism and the Image of God” was published by InterVarsity Press and is available for today.