By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Thrive News Co.Thrive News Co.
0

No products in the cart.

Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
  • Home
  • About
  • Church
    ChurchShow More
    Aid to the Church in Need | UK: Catholic charity shines a light on Nigeria massacres in UK Parliament Images may be subject to
    USCIRF Renews Urgent Call After Massacre at Catholic Mission
    June 21, 2025
    che-ahn-for-governor
    BREAKING: Pastor Ché Ahn Announces Run for Governor of California
    June 20, 2025
    we-the-people
    Is There a Wall of Separation Between Church and State?
    June 19, 2025
    Indiana and Iowa have joined the growing list of states mandating pro-life fetal development videos like Baby Olivia in schools. Over 3 million students will see the humanity of unborn children.
    More States Mandate ‘Baby Olivia’ and Fetal Development Videos in Schools
    June 18, 2025
    baptize-america-newport-beach-california
    Baptize America Unites Nation and World in Historic Faith Revival
    June 9, 2025
  • Media
    MediaShow More
    tyler-perry-studios
    Tyler Perry Sued for $260 Million by Actor Derek Dixon Over Sexual Assault Allegations
    June 21, 2025
    arnold-the-view
    Arnold Schwarzenegger: “America Made Me”—And Immigrants Must Follow the Law
    June 18, 2025
    fake-news-issues
    Truth Hijacked: How Fake News and Political Bias Corrupted the Press
    April 30, 2025
    karoline-leavitt
    Karoline Leavitt Ignores Reporters Who Put This In Their Email Signature
    April 13, 2025
    The King of Kings, an animated biblical epic, sets a record with $14.6M in presales, poised to surpass The Prince of Egypt as the biggest opening for an animated biblical film. Featuring Kenneth Branagh, Uma Thurman, and Oscar Isaac, it opens in 3,200+ theaters this Friday.
    ‘The King of Kings’ Poised to Break Records as Biggest Animated Biblical Film Opening Ever
    April 11, 2025
  • Government
    GovernmentShow More
    us-customs-immigration
    The Rule of Law and the Crisis of Illegal Immigration
    June 20, 2025
    gavin-newsom
    Inside the Scathing Five-Part Report on Gavin Newsom’s Contradictions
    June 17, 2025
    New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin
    Supreme Court to Hear Case of NJ Pregnancy Center Facing Alleged Harassment
    June 16, 2025
    us-army-parade
    America Celebrates 250 Years of the United States Army
    June 14, 2025
    The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals blocks a ruling requiring President Trump to return control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom, escalating tensions over federal authority and immigration enforcement in Los Angeles.
    Appeals Court Blocks Ruling Directing Trump to Return Control of National Guard to California
    June 13, 2025
  • Arts
    • Sports
    ArtsShow More
    beach-boys-brian-wilson
    ‘I’d Give Everything I’ve Ever Done to Know that My Dad Loved Me’
    June 16, 2025
    michael-tait-grace
    Michael Tait’s Public Confession: A Christian Music Icon Confronts His Past
    June 11, 2025
    tim-allen
    Actor Tim Allen’s Faith Journey
    June 6, 2025
    Comedian Russell Brand, recently vocal about his Christian faith, faces rape and sexual assault charges tied to alleged incidents from 1999-2005. Get the latest on the case.
    Russell Brand Charged with Sexual Crimes Amid Public Faith Journey
    April 4, 2025
    Disney’s 2025 Snow White remake, with Rachel Zegler as a self-reliant heroine and CGI-rendered magical creatures replacing the dwarfs, stumbles into a “woke” wilderness. Explore its weak box office debut and the backlash over abandoning the classic’s charm.
    Disney’s Snow White Remake: A Woke Detour from its Original Storyline
    March 23, 2025
  • Education
    EducationShow More
    graduation-speech
    Valedictorian’s Faith-Filled Speech Triumphs Over Censorship Attempt
    May 28, 2025
    harvard
    DHS Revokes Harvard’s Ability To Host Foreign Students
    May 23, 2025
    oklahoma-schools-supreme-court
    Supreme Court Blocks Oklahoma’s Taxpayer-Funded Religious Charter School
    May 22, 2025
    grand-canyon-university
    Grand Canyon University Cleared of $37.7M Fine by Education Department
    May 19, 2025
    The U.S. Supreme Court appears to favor religious freedom in Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond, a case that could establish the nation’s first religious charter school. Explore the clash between the First Amendment’s Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses.
    SCOTUS Leans Toward Religious Freedom in Charter School Case
    May 1, 2025
  • Family
    FamilyShow More
    gender-confusion
    Child Transitioning is Not Progress, It’s a Tragedy
    June 19, 2025
    supreme-court-ruling-transgender
    Supreme Court Blocks Transgender Treatment for Minors
    June 18, 2025
    miss-north-florida
    Pageant Winner Stripped of Crown After Refusing to Redefine “Female”
    June 3, 2025
    #dontmesswithourkids
    Mayday USA Movement Presses Forward Despite Violence in Seattle, Pressure in Los Angeles
    June 3, 2025
    boys-to-men
    Raising Sons Who Won’t Be Swept Away: Forming Character in a Changing World
    May 24, 2025
  • More
    • Podcast
    • Advertising
    • Agency
    • Invest
  • Listings
    • Business Directory
    • Add Listing
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
Reading: More than being there: A reflection on incarnation
Share
Font ResizerAa
Thrive News Co.Thrive News Co.
0
  • Home
  • Church
  • Media
  • Sports
  • Business
  • Directory
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Categories
    • Church
    • Media
    • Sports
    • Education
    • Family
    • Movies
    • Business
  • Join Us
  • Advertising
  • Directory
  • Donate
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
  • About
  • Search Home
  • Search Result
  • All Listings
  • Single Category
  • Single Location
  • Single Tag
  • Author Profile
  • Dashboard
  • Registration
  • Login
  • Checkout
  • Payment Receipt
  • Transaction Failure
  • Job Apply Form
  • Select Your Plan
  • Messaging Terms & Conditions
  • Sign up free!
  • Directory Checkout
  • Advertising
  • News Summary
  • Christian News Feed
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
  • Sign In
  • Refund and Returns Policy
  • Refund and Returns Policy
© 2024 THRIVE! News Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
Thrive News Co. > Blog > Church > More than being there: A reflection on incarnation
Church

More than being there: A reflection on incarnation

James Spencer
Last updated: May 16, 2024 7:33 am
By James Spencer 8 Min Read
Share
man in brown coat and gray backpack posing for a photo
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com
SHARE

Christ’s incarnation points us toward a different way of embodying the world


Perhaps one of the most unexplored ways of understanding the incarnation is to think about dis-incarnation. While technology may give us new, more immersive ways to enter into simulated worlds, such dis-incarnation has always been possible. To illustrate dis-incarnation, I’ll turn to an oldie but goodie: The Matrix.

Contents
Christ’s incarnation points us toward a different way of embodying the worldPhysical presence matters in an age of virtual realityOvercoming human limitations

In The Matrix (1999), most of the human population has been taken captive by “the machines.” These machines are an advanced form of artificial intelligence using humans as an energy source by plugging them into a simulated reality. This simulated reality is called “the matrix.” This matrix provides a range of mediated experiences that create a simulation that isn’t discernible as a simulation. The movie’s plot follows a group of humans who were either born free in “Zion” or freed from the computer-simulated reality to experience non-simulated reality. That reality isn’t pretty. The matrix is, in many ways, preferable to the non-simulated world.

At one point in the movie, Cypher, a member of the rebel group seeking to defeat the machines, decides that the simulation of the matrix is worth more than his friends’ lives. He makes a deal with the machines, promising to betray the rebels in exchange for having his memory of the non-simulated world erased and being re-inserted into the matrix. Believing “ignorance is bliss,” Cypher decides to dis-incarnate.

Clearly, his body’s location contributes to his dis-incarnation. He is returning to the pink goo to be a human batter for the machines. But his dis-incarnation involves more than his physical absence. It involves his self-interest…his grasping for personal comfort regardless of what that comfort costs others. His self-interest and disregard for his friends lie at the core of his dis-incarnation. The relocation of his body is necessary but not sufficient to account for what it truly means to dis-incarnate.

Physical presence matters in an age of virtual reality


The modern development of artificial intelligence, the metaverse, and virtual reality raise important questions about the nature of incarnation. “Being there” even if only in virtual form, seems necessary for one to be incarnate. Does our physical presence matter anymore? Absolutely it does. Still, there is a way of being physically “present” without being “incarnate.” This distinction is more than just wordplay.

As Christians contemplate Jesus’s birth, the incarnation of Christ in which God took on human flesh, we do not simply consider the physical manifestation of God in the flesh. Christ’s physical presence is indispensable, but it is not the whole story. We must also consider the perspective that prompted the incarnation. It is not just that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14), but that Christ did not view equality with God as something to be used to his own advantage (Phil 2:6). The incarnation reflects a way of life characterized by self-giving and self-sacrifice that we are to emulate (Phil 2:5).

While self-giving and self-sacrifice may be viewed as abstract principles for living that anyone, Christian or not, may put into practice, both point beyond themselves and the good they do for our neighbors. They gesture toward the nature of the Triune God. If they remain abstract principles, we will have missed the point of the incarnation which is to imitate Christ’s incarnation.

Imitating Christ’s incarnation is not a matter of being present or changing the way we embody the world to suit our own preferences or interests. In part, this is why political philosophies like liberalism or ideologies like transhumanism miss the mark. They seek to empower a particular sort of embodied presence in the world determined by human individuals. Liberalism makes the liberty of individuals the basis for society. Transhumanism believes individuals should have the “morphological freedom” to use available technologies to enhance and/or overcome the limitations of their biology. Both systems provide the means for humans to embody the world in relatively self-determined ways. Without a model aligned with the reality of God, our efforts to change the way we embody the world are unguided.

Overcoming human limitations


Quests to embody the world in new ways are often motivated by a desire to benefit the human condition. Liberalism assumes that individual human freedom provides a path to a better future. Transhumanism believes that overcoming humanity’s biological limitations will improve human life. Both address important biblical themes without appealing to or sitting under the authority of the Scriptures. Human freedom from sin is crucial to allow individual humans to “walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:4). Our human limitations need to be overcome, but they are only ultimately overcome through Christ, not through our human efforts. If we want to embody the world in a different way, we must look to a model that results in a different outcome than any other human system or strategy. We overcome our human condition by imitating Christ, who has shown us what it means to be truly human through the incarnation and has been exalted by God (Phil 2:9).

Christ’s incarnation points us toward a different way of embodying the world. That way involves self-sacrifice and self-giving. We set aside our own interests and preferences. We do not look first or only to benefit ourselves. Instead, like Christ, we recognize that our own prosperity is not something to be grasped. Instead, were are to use what God has given us to server others. Christ’s incarnation provides us with the orienting model necessary to be more than physically present. It reminds us that being incarnate in the world involves a fusion of our physical presence with our ongoing commitment to emulate Christ. As we imitate Christ, the gifts God gives our willingness to serve ourselves will diminish while our desire to God and others increases. Such is the essence of Christ’s incarnation. Incarnation won’t be achieved by chasing liberty (liberalism) or seeking to overcome our own biology (transhumanism), but by embracing Christ by faith and committing to follow him by humbling ourselves as we point to and magnify the Triune God.

You Might Also Like

USCIRF Renews Urgent Call After Massacre at Catholic Mission

BREAKING: Pastor Ché Ahn Announces Run for Governor of California

Is There a Wall of Separation Between Church and State?

More States Mandate ‘Baby Olivia’ and Fetal Development Videos in Schools

Baptize America Unites Nation and World in Historic Faith Revival

TAGGED:ChristmasIncarnation

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Threads Email Print
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Surprise0
By James Spencer
Dr. James Spencer currently serves as President of Useful to God and President of D. L. Moody Center. His newest book titled “Serpents and Doves: Christians, Politics, and the Art of Bearing Witness” is available on amazon.com. He previously published “Christian Resistance: Learning to Defy the World and Follow Jesus,” “Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D. L. Moody,” “Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind,” as well as co-authoring “Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology.”
Previous Article trump-colorado-ballot Trump removed from Colorado ballot after State Supreme Court vote
Next Article hulk-hogan-faith Hulk Hogan gets baptized, ‘Total surrender and dedication to Jesus’
Donate Now

Search Articles

- Advertisement -
Ad image
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Latest News

cultural-marxism
Fallen Idols and the Inversion of Virtue: How the Left Made a Religion Out of Degeneracy
Op-Ed
tyler-perry-studios
Tyler Perry Sued for $260 Million by Actor Derek Dixon Over Sexual Assault Allegations
Media
Kash-patel
FBI Declassifies 2020 Election Documents Alleging Chinese Interference
Economy
us-customs-immigration
The Rule of Law and the Crisis of Illegal Immigration
Government
- Advertisement -
Ad image
Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

- Advertisement -
Ad image
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
TwitterFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe
LinkedInFollow
TruthFollow

You Might Also Like

A street preacher was arrested for sharing the Gospel near Broadway—but a judge’s swift dismissal of the case is being hailed as a First Amendment win and a warning to cities targeting evangelists.
Church

NYC Judge Dismisses Charges Against Street Preacher in Win for Religious Liberty

May 30, 2025
gospel-conference
Church

Europe’s Largest Evangelism Gathering in 25 Years Set to Ignite Berlin

May 27, 2025
american-faith
Church

Faith Under Fire: The Battle for Christian Expression in America

May 23, 2025
jewish-museum-washington
Church

Antisemitic Shooting in DC Claims Lives of Two Israeli Embassy Staffers

May 22, 2025
Previous Next

Daily Report

Quick Links

About

Advertising

Subscriptions

Affiliates

Directory

Links

Linktree

Marketing

 

Thrive News Co.Thrive News Co.
Follow US
© 2024 Thrive News Foundation. All Rights Reserved.
thrive-news-studio
Subscribe Today

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss the latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?