Sublime Esthetic
The sublime esthetic, or what some Christians may call the "Holy Spirit" or "Light of Christ," is an evolved perception that emerges from our world and through our bodies to resonate within us as persons and peoples, thus informing ethics and guiding works. This esthetic is holistic, promoting mutual understanding and shared edification, which are elements critical to thriving and achieving human potential. It acts as a bridge connecting scientific and ethical pursuits with deeper human experiences of beauty, unity, and meaning, leading us toward transformative and enduring power. Ultimately, the sublime esthetic provokes us to create good truths and become co-creators in a divine narrative of immortality and eternal life.
This is a list of articles that Lincoln Cannon has written about the sublime esthetic. A full archive of all articles that Lincoln has published since 2005 is also available. You may also search for articles and other content that's available on any of Lincoln's websites.
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What Is True and Good?
Consequent to discussion about epistemology at a meetup of the Mormon Transhumanist Association, a friend asked me to remind her of my definitions of “truth” and “good.” This article will serve that purpose. It will also provide a brief account of esthetics. I use the concepts associated with these words, ... -
Faithful Mormon Transhumanism
A friend is exploring Mormon Transhumanism. He finds it “mind-expanding” and “faith promoting,” and even an “honest, authentic, and unexpectedly practical approach to religion.” But he’s also tentative about it, mostly because his “desire to remain in the mainstream of the Church is strong.” And he wonders whether and how ... -
8 Keys to Transformative Scriptural Understanding
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always loved scripture. My parents used scripture to teach me to read. As a child and teenager, I read both the Bible and all the Mormon scriptures – large portions of them countless times. And, although less thoroughly, I read scripture from ... -
Eternal Christ
In that day, when all the world is taxed and pregnant with prophecy, babies who will be Christ are born. Sublime messengers herald the good news to those who kept watch during the night. And they spread the word. Some wonder and ponder in their hearts. Many are troubled. Children ... -
Just as We Have, They Received the Holy Gift
Imagine our surprise. Peter has finished preaching. We love him. We follow him despite the risks. After all, he teaches fulfillment of the Law in Messiah. He reveres the Law. He lives it. He still epitomizes all that was most grounding, meaningful, and purposeful in our lives before Messiah. And ... -
Mormon Life Extension, Desecration or Glorification?
Pew Research recently published some brief summaries of religious leaders’ views on radical life extension, in conjunction with the results of a study on Americans’ views on radical life extension. The summaries included one positioned to represent Mormonism (and particularly the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is ... -
Post-Secularism and the Resurrecting God
God is dead, proclaimed Nietzsche. He was right and wrong. Following their God, traditional forms of religion have been dying, particularly in many technologically advanced, specialized, and prosperous countries. Consequently, many have embraced the secularization hypothesis: religion itself is dying. That hypothesis, however, now embraced less by experts than by ... -
Becoming God Can Be Cruel and Irrational
“God is cruel,” says Hank Pellissier, managing director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technology. Here are my thoughts in response. Hank, there’s considerable irony in your post. The charge that theism is illogical presents significant practical and logical challenges for a Transhumanist. You trust in humanity’s posthuman potential. ... -
What Are You Creating, Heaven or Hell?
Each morning as I merge on to the freeway to commute to work, I pass a billboard that asks me, “Where are you going? Heaven or Hell.” That’s so completely the wrong question, and the religious fundamentalism that provokes funding of these billboards is so completely evil. Yes. You read ... -
Transhumanist Stories for the Child in Each of Us
In her article entitled “Transhumanism and Children”, Nikki Olson touches on the greatest weakness of secular transhumanism: poor esthetics. As Nikki rightly points out, children may find it difficult to understand or care much for transhumanist ideas because the ideas tend to be delivered with weak or absent story. The ... -
Inject the Scientific Esthetic with a Divine Symphony
Some of us perceive science as dry, boring, aloof, impersonal, elite, callous and perhaps disturbing, confusing or even stifling. This is an esthetic problem – a spiritual problem. The consequences include unnecessary and ineffective forms of communal division and relational stress, slowed progress in knowledge and its application, and increased ... -
The Holy Spirit is an Esthetic
The Holy Spirit is an esthetic that emerges from our environment through our anatomy and into us as individuals and communities. As we resonate with it, it informs our ethics, which in turn directs our works as we seek to shape the world. Faith, trust in, and will toward this ...