Save America Ministries

Chuck Crismier: What does it mean to be post-human? Is it even possible to become post-human? Is it possible to become more than human? Is it possible for humanity to actually become divine?

We're said that we're made in the image of God. That's what the Bible tells us. But what does that mean? Does it mean that we're in the process of becoming God? That's what the Mormons teach. But will humans be satisfied to be like God, or will we persist to become God?

The goal of modern science is to ascend the human race, believe it or not. It's true. The warning has come from Andrew Torba, the CEO of Gab.com, who asserts that the tech giants are looking at creating a post-human race, destroying our humanity by appending technology to our bodies, and they believe also to our souls. This is what is called transhumanism.

And it can be fairly argued that technology is a modern quasi-religion whose daily miracles are commonplace. Well, today on Viewpoint, we're not going to talk just about transhumanism. We're going to talk about the increasing links between algorithms, algorithms, between codes, between AI. All of these things that are really rushing in upon us very, very quickly.

But we may think that this is all new. In reality, it may not be as new as we might think. And so today on Viewpoint, we're going to take a look at that first, going all the way back to 1486. That's right. 1486. And then we'll springboard further into our current age of the 21st century and see where we really are with regard to the Renaissance humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, who was an early advocate of transhumanism.

We're going to see how all this connects here on Viewpoint today, and it has everything to do with you, with me, with our view of life, our view of our relationship with God, and our view of our relationship with one another. And indeed, if we're becoming post-human, does that mean that we no longer need relationships? That we are entities in and of ourselves and no longer need relationships, and if that's true, then why the massive occurrence of loneliness that is becoming a plague all over the world, right as AI is exploding in our midst?

All of that here today on Viewpoint, and I'm glad that you've joined us. It's conversation as always with ever-increasing conviction, talk that transforms, and I trust that today will be no exception. So, interestingly, the July-August edition of Christianity Today was focused almost entirely on this matter of AI and intelligence, artificial intelligence, the transhumanist question, and all of the interrelationships between these things.

A whole series of essays from experts, very unusual for something in a magazine called Christianity Today, which actually was started by Billy Graham and his associates many, many years ago. So, here is an article called "The Transhumanist Question" written by Miroslav Volf. He says, "Is our being merely human something that ought to be overcome?" And what does it even mean to be human?

He says, "Far before our time, the Renaissance humanist Giovanni Pico della Mirandola was an early advocate of transhumanism." In his writing, "Oration on the Dignity of Man" in 1486, he has the creator God, the creator speak the following words to Adam, the first human. And here's what the creator supposedly says: "We have made you neither of heaven nor of earth, neither mortal nor immortal."

"You shall have the power out of your soul's judgment to be reborn into the higher forms which are divine." Very astounding statement. "You shall have the power out of your soul's judgment, your mind, to be reborn into the higher forms which are divine."

Pico della Mirandola is the unofficial saint of transhumanists. He believed that the higher forms of humans are, in fact, more than human, they are actually divine. So, in the 21st century, philosopher Nick Bostrom defined a post-human as being for whom at least one general central capacity, such as health span, cognition, or emotion, is greatly exceeding the maximum attainable by any current human being. A post-human.

Have you seen any post-humans lately? Anybody that you thought was post-human? Maybe the liberal, God-hating folk in the United States of America and around the world that decided to put a shot into the neck of Mr. Kirk, Charlie Kirk, maybe they thought that he was on the verge of being post-human and they didn't like it. I don't think he was, but maybe that's what they thought. So they're going to gain dictatorial control and put him to death by assassination.

But what does it mean to be post-human? We want to look at that here today on Viewpoint, is it even possible? Is there such a thing as being post-human? Let me give you an insight, going back about 25 years. I've shared this before here on Viewpoint, concerning a layover that I had in the Los Angeles International Airport. And during that layover, in the Delta waiting room, I had a gentleman across from me, and we engaged in conversation.

And he identified himself as an international engineer for the Sony, for Sony. And we were having a fantastic conversation, everything seemed to be going well, and he was just exalting in all of the great technological benefits that were coming along, even saying that the time is not too far off when we won't need telephone instruments, they will all be implants. And then in the midst of the conversation, he abruptly stated this: "We will soon become God."

"The time is coming when we will become God." That was his Viewpoint as a scientist, as an engineer. We will become God. That's the vision, my friends, of the ultimate post-human. That was the vision all the way back in 1486. And it looks like we're heading that direction as we speak. Is that even possible? Or are we losing our humanity completely?

Guest (Male): Once upon a time, children could pray and read their Bibles in school. Divorces were practically unknown as was child abuse. In our once great America, virginity and chastity were popular virtues and homosexuality was an abomination. So what happened in just one generation? Hi, I'm Chuck Crismier, and I urge you to join me daily on Viewpoint, where we discuss the most challenging issues touching our hearts and homes. Could America's moral slide relate to the Fourth Commandment? Listen to Viewpoint on this radio station or anytime at saveus.org.

Artificial intelligence seems to be at the very root and heart of the so-called post-human era, heading toward the divinity of humankind, superseding everything that is human to become post-human. Truly post-human. The 21st century proved to be a new era for AI, artificial intelligence, fueled by massive data availability, advances in computing power, and breakthroughs in neural networks. A deep learning system built at the University of Toronto dramatically improved image recognition, sparking renewed interest in AI.

Today, AI is embedded in everyday life from virtual assistants to recommended recommendation algorithms and continues to evolve quickly as it grows more powerful and integrated into society. Discussions about ethics, safety, and human AI collaboration have become more crucial than ever, says an article in the latest issue or next to last latest issue of Christianity Today.

What is an algorithm? Well, I'm going to tell you what this article says, and maybe or maybe not, you'll be able to understand it. Algorithm, a defined sequential set of instructions that a computer program follows to solve a specific problem or complete a task. The algorithm works step by step, following code written by humans. Algorithms are often informed by machine learning. So what is machine learning?

A system that can identify patterns, learn from data, and improve its performance. Machine learning can adapt through an automated process and make decisions without being explicitly programmed for every possible scenario. So then what is generative AI? Well, it's an artificial intelligence model that uses its training data and learning patterns to create original content such as text, images, or music. In other words, it's replacing humans.

So what is agentic? That is having to do with the agency of AI. An AI system that operates with autonomy, enabling it to make decisions, take actions, and interact with its environment to achieve specific goals. Like a self-driving car, that would be an example of agentic AI. Well, if agentic AI, how far is it going to go before it replaces humans altogether?

And is it just a matter of replacing what humans do, or are the algorithms actually replacing how people think, actually recreating counterfeit thoughts for them to lead them into a false world of artificial thinking that is contrary to that which God would have us engage in? Interesting, isn't it? And we're just barely skirting the surface here today on Viewpoint.

A recent issue of The Epoch Times contained this headline: "Staying Human in a World of AI Companions." A 2025 survey conducted by Common Sense Media found that 72% of teenagers have used AI companions at least once. In other words, they make them their friends. Of these teens, 52% get together with chatbots several times per month. 13% interact with these digital companions every day.

And 17% are in friendships or romantic relationships with chatbots, one having even married a chatbot. Now, what do you think this is doing to the human relationship, to humankind? And this is just the earliest stage. These are just the early stages, friends. They haven't come to the fullness of their implications. So the article says, "What do we stand to lose when AI chatbots become therapists, friends, and even partners?"

Well, we lose humanity. We substitute humanity with artificiality. Now, if you allow yourself to think just a bit, you might begin to realize that this is exactly the kind of environment that the world will be engaged in, will have embraced, when the counterfeit Christ makes his appearance. How easy it will be for the world to be deceived. How easy it will be for artificial information programmed by algorithms to lead humankind astray.

No wonder Jesus said that the deception was going to be so great that if it were possible, even the very elect, the very remnant elect, would be deceived. Wow. That's some kind of deception. These things are more serious than any of us would possibly imagine. And more and more people are commenting about this, and they're not necessarily Christians. The secular world is commenting about these things as well.

Kay Rubacek, on behalf of The Epoch Times, wrote a piece called "Why Humanity Can't Code Its Way to Purpose." Why humanity cannot code its way to purpose? So she says, "If you grew up in America in the middle of the 20th century, you remember a world where change was steady, but you could keep up with it. The television set entered the living room, the rotary phone gave way to push buttons, then cordless, then to the first cell phones."

"The family typewriter was replaced by a home computer." And all of those things, by the way, I experienced personally, even from the moment I began to practice law. All of those things took place during that period of time. The move from the television entering the living room, the rotary phone giving way to push buttons, then cordless, then to first cell phones, and the family typewriter, even the office typewriter, was replaced by a human by a home computer.

"These shifts," she said, "were big, but they happened over years. There was time to adapt, to learn, and to keep a sense of stability." "But sometime in the past 20 years, the pace of change quietly shifted gears. Without fanfare, our daily lives were pulled into the hidden machinery of algorithms and big data. Social media didn't just connect friends, it studied every click and scroll to keep us hooked."

"And to disconnect us from others, and connect us with artificial intelligence. Where every benefit of efficiency," she says, "a little more of human judgment and connection was quietly outsourced." "But early adopters began to delegate something even deeper: their sense of purpose to a machine, their vision." "And soon others followed suit."

"And the era prepared the ground for what we are witnessing right now." "Today the curtain has been pulled back, and artificial intelligence isn't trickling into our lives the way past technologies did, it's pouring in full force. Overnight, programs appear that can write your emails, draft legal briefs, design ad campaigns, diagnose illnesses, or simulate a loved one's voice."

"Big corporations and governments are delegating decision-making to machines more than they are willing to admit." She writes, "These are not abstract changes. They are the lived reality of people trying to find their place in a world that feels like it's moving too fast." "To some this is the dawning of humanity's great augmentation." What's the great augmentation?

The post-human society where we're becoming greater than human, moving toward Godhood. She says, "It now feels like a free fall." "The thinning out of what makes human work, effort, and creativity meaningful." "Tech companies are pushing AI into every corner of life at breakneck speed. And the deeper reason it feels unstoppable is not about money or power, it's about human nature itself."

"We're meaning-seeking beings," she writes. "Meaning comes from the same place it always has: the spirit, the conscience, and the inner seeking that no system, no ideology, no machine can erase." So she said, "The future will not be defined by the intelligence of algorithms. It will be defined by the meaning we choose to embody."

"And our choices have never been more important." I agree with that, but she doesn't tell us where that goes ultimately spiritually. She hints at it, but doesn't actually tell us. So here on Viewpoint, I'm going to tell you, we've already hinted at it very strongly. It is setting the stage for the massive deception that Jesus warned about in Matthew chapter 24.

Just before his crucifixion, two days before, Jesus' disciples encountered him on the Mount of Olives overlooking the eastern gate of Jerusalem. And they asked him what would be the sign of his coming and of the end of the age. You remember that. We've talked about it here on this program so many times, but we need to remember it. We need to be reminded. And the very first thing that Jesus did or said in response was, "Take heed that no man deceive you."

Now, he didn't say, "Take heed that no artificial intelligence deceive you," or that no algorithm deceive you. He didn't say that. He said, "No man." They would not have had any way to comprehend artificial intelligence or algorithms. That would have been completely outside the sphere of their ability to comprehend. But man? Yes. "Take heed that no man deceive you." Well, who's creating these algorithms?

Who's creating the artificial intelligence? Humankind. Men, mankind. And technological people who actually, for the most part, are godless people. They really are. They're interested in the salvation role of science. They really do believe and are convinced deep in their hearts that science ultimately can solve everything because, well, after all, we created science, they think.

We are science, like, hate to mention his name, the COVID Czar. Remember he said, "Follow the science." And if you don't follow me, you're not following the science. In other words, he was saying that he was science incarnated. Science incarnated. But he's not science incarnated. That was a viewpoint. And his science-incarnated viewpoint was manifested in massive deception of not only the American people, but people worldwide.

To the point where Congress right now is talking about the possibility of filing charges against him, having the government, the Department of Justice, file charges, criminal charges against him for deceit. "Take heed that no man deceive you." Now, in Matthew chapter 24, Jesus didn't leave it at that. He said, "Actually, the deception is not going to be just generic," from mankind in general or any particular man.

He said, "Many are going to come even in my name and deceive many." He didn't say, "Deceive a few." He didn't say, "Deceive a large number." He just said, "Deceive many." That means a lot of people are going to be deceived by those coming even in the name of the Lord. So what happens when the name of the Lord is sacrificed on the altar of algorithms?

They begin to redefine God himself. They begin to redefine the meaning of salvation. They're actually exalting humankind as their own saviors, because that's the belief of the science behind it. But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to say, "Look, guys," speaking to his disciples, "this deception is going to be so great, so overwhelming, that if it were possible, even the very small remnant elect would be deceived."

In other words, he's saying, "The whole world is going to be deceived, except for a very small remnant of people." Now, if we're living in a world in which AI, artificial intelligence, coupled with massive growth of algorithms that are designed to control how you think, in the direction that you think, the choices that you make, and why you make those choices, do you not think that this is setting the stage for a kind of massive deception that will be overwhelming to the world?

That's why we're talking about it now. It's not to have a nice conversation about AI. It's to look at what it really means and its impact for us. We'll be back.

Guest (Male): There is so much more about Chuck Crismier and Save America Ministries on our website, saveus.org. For example, under the Marriage section, God has marriage on his mind. Chuck has some great resources to strengthen your marriage. First off, a fact sheet on the state of the marital union. A fact sheet on the state of ministry marriage and morals, saveus.org. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage, what does the Bible really teach about this? Find all of this at saveus.org. Also, a letter to pastors, The Hosea Project, saveus.org. And many more resources to strengthen your marriage. It's all on Chuck's website, saveus.org. Again, you can listen to Chuck's Viewpoint broadcast live and archived, Save America Ministries' website at saveus.org.

Chuck Crismier: Again, I welcome you back to Viewpoint. I'm Chuck Crismier. If you were not aware of it, this program is not sponsored by any commercial advertising sources. And the reason for that is that we deal with issues here on this program primarily from a Christian and spiritual viewpoint, not informationally, but transformationally. In other words, we deal with things in such a way that a lot of companies, even Christian businesses, don't want to be related to.

Why is that? Because Jesus said, "Truth divides." And they don't want to be part of that. And therefore, they may go along with you at first, and then all of a sudden say, "You know what? We didn't like the fact that you talked about divorce and remarriage, and half of our people, our customers, are divorced and remarried. Therefore, we just can't support you anymore." A lot of churches are that way, friends. They just are.

So we have to rely upon God's people being moved by the Holy Spirit to underwrite what we do. There are no big organizations to support or underwrite, no massive church with 30,000 members to underwrite. It's dependent solely, and always has been dependent solely on God's people being moved in their hearts to support. Some have been so faithful over the years, it's just amazing to me.

And you would be astounding, you know, some hundreds of dollars a month. But let me tell you, they're few and far between. If they were vast, that would be another story. But they're not. And so, I want to bring before you, if you value this program, if you do, and the program has been not just informative to you, but perhaps even transformative.

One person once wrote, "You cannot listen to Viewpoint long and not be transformed." In other words, you have to change. You have to change. That's what it's about. That's what the Bible's about. The Bible's not about information, it's about transformation. If you think it's about information, you're solely, you're just completely wrong. We don't study the Bible for information. We study it that we might be transformed in our hearts, in our minds.

Yes, there's information that goes with it, but that's not why we study the Bible. And if that's why you study the Bible, then it's not going to have all that much implication, application for you. What we really need is application, and that's what this program is about. Transformation cannot come about by information alone. So, how should Christians think about AI?

How do we respond to AI innovations in a time of no king, no consensus, and no clear path forward? An article appeared written by Stephen Karadini, "No King Over AI." AI companies and users are doing what is right in their own eyes. Engineers, lawmakers, lobbyists, critics, consumers are operating as if we're living in one house, but in separate rooms with the doors shut.

One article describes AI as progress. The next sees it as devolution. California lawmakers overwhelmingly voted for regulations that would have have made tech companies legally responsible for rare catastrophic harms caused by their large AI models. These are all things that are coming out as we speak just in the last few days. In front of me right now is an article that came out in the September 3rd to 9th edition of The Epoch Times.

It's called, "As Schools Increase AI Use, Experts Warn of Impact on Children." We're talking about human beings. How do you stay human in a world of AI companions, as loneliness and isolation are coming more and more with so-called social media? It's anti-social media. And they're saying now that social media is one of the premier driving forces of the violence that is taking place in our country.

AI creates an intellectual laziness, stunted cognitive development, and reduced problem-solving, according to one expert. As tens of millions of children head back to school, parents and teachers are grappling with questions about how much artificial intelligence is too much. Maybe we shouldn't have any of it. The education system will be one of the primary laboratories for the global AI experiment.

Schools, to the extent that they either mandate or encourage the adoption of AI, are going to be massive petri dishes in which we'll find out whether it's better to maintain traditional cultural norms or if we turn every child possible into a cyborg. No one knows what the long-term effects will be, said Alon, who authored the book Dark Aeon, Transhumanism, and the War Against Humanity.

In the same way that popular technologies such as TV and portable transistor radios broadcast the news and musical messages of subculture moments, movements that influence a generation of children to break away from their parents like cultural norms during the 1960s, he said, AI could also affect a generation of children who are acclimated to interacting with machines, basically as if they were people. In other words, dehumanizing.

Some teachers already believe that this is taking place, that AI will have a negative impact on academic integrity. That came as a report according to 2024 poll of 850 instructors. 47% of more than 2,000 students surveyed said cheating was already easier with AI. Teachers surveyed said many assignments that students turn in either bear a striking resemblance to each other or don't sound like they're written in the student's own voice.

Even college students admit that AI is dumbing them down. 83% of mostly college-age students surveyed expressed concern that AI weakens the ability to think independently. Now, if it weakens your ability to think independently, what does it do to your spiritual life? Your spiritual life is taken over by your thought life, which is controlled by AI and algorithms.

And here's what's interesting. AI's effects on humanity likely won't be known for years, much like the long-term effects of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdowns, and so on. Extensive use of social media, especially during COVID pandemic, has been widely identified in studies as a factor in mental health problems for youth. AI add that to the mix can worsen the problem deeper and deeper and deeper.

AI products can alleviate loneliness. Can they? No. They actually create it. There are many arguments concerning AI. But as far as I'm concerned, you can talk about privacy, you can talk about losing the parent-child relation the teacher-child relationship. You can talk about all kinds of issues. You can talk about government control, but ultimately, it's about releasing your mind and your heart to channels that are not godly.

That you know are not godly, and co-opt, intend to co-opt your life, your thoughts, even your yearnings and your desires to ultimately bring and replace the innermost mind and heart that God has given to us. So the Apostle Paul says, "Let not, uh let be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the new renewing of your mind, that you might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Thoughts for serious consideration for such a time as this, especially when we know that the coming of the Antichrist will be with massive deception, and an inability through technology to rule the world. Get a copy of my book, Messiah: Unveiling the Mystery of the Ages. I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a $22 book, yours for $18 on our website, saveus.org. Call us 1-800-SAVE-USA, write to us at Save America Ministries, that's $6 for postage and handling. And please, seriously consider becoming a partner. Do it today. Don't delay. History is waiting. And so is God. God bless, and be a blessing.

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Viewpoint with Chuck Crismier. Viewpoint is supported by the faithful gifts of our listeners. Let me urge you to become a partner with Chuck as a voice to the church, declaring vision for the nation. Join us again next time on Viewpoint as we confront the issues of America's heart and home.