The Tower Of Babel Series

Scripture

Today, we conclude a series of sermons on Genesis 1-11 that I am calling, “In the Beginning.” I am preaching only six sermons on these 11 chapters. It is just an overview of redemptive history.

So far, we have looked at the Creation of all things in Genesis 1:1-2:3, the Fall of man into sin Genesis 2:4-3:24, Cain and Abel in Genesis 4:1-26, Adam’s descendants in Genesis 5:1-6:8, and Noah and the flood in Genesis 6:9-9:17. Today, I want to conclude this overview by examining the tower of Babel.

The account of the tower of Babel is one of two parenthetical accounts between the story of Noah and the story of Abraham. The story of Noah ends at the end of Genesis 9 with these words, in verses 28-29, “After the flood Noah lived 350 years. All the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.” Chapters 10 and 11 of Genesis describe “the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth” (Genesis 10:1a). The generations eventually lead to Terah at the end of chapter 11, who is the father of Abraham (11:26). The rest of Genesis tells us about Abraham and his sons.

Now, as I said, the account of the tower of Babel is one of two parenthetical accounts between the story of Noah and the story of Abraham. These two parenthetical accounts are very important accounts and they are linked together. The first parenthetical account is about Nimrod in Genesis 10:8-12:

8 Cush [the son of Ham] fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man. 9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord. Therefore it is said, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the Lord.” 10 The beginning of his kingdom was Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11 From that land he went into Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, and 12 Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.

Nimrod was a kingdom-builder. Notice in Genesis 10:10 that the beginning of his kingdom was “Babel… in the land of Shinar.” That comment links to the second parenthetical account in Genesis 11 about the tower of Babel.

Let’s read about the tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9:

1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:1-9)

Introduction

A new movement has emerged from California’s Silicon Valley. It’s a combination of philosophy, faith, and science known as transhumanism. An article in The Futurist magazine describes transhumanism as “radical life extension and life expansion.” Those devoted to the movement “perceive the human body as a work in progress.” They believe that “evolution took humanity this far… and only technology will take [humanity] further.”

As for sickness, aging, and death? Adherents call all three “unnecessary hindrances that we have the right and the responsibility to overcome…. Our bodies, frail and unpredictable, are just another problem…to solve.”

The goal of the World Transhumanist Association is to transcend all human limitations. They believe the body is a machine; the brain, a computer. With quickly advancing technology, then, man can be “upgraded.” Transhumanists are convinced that one day artificial limbs will be more efficient than real limbs. Our brains will be vastly superior, too. Researchers have theorized that Einstein’s brain had no gap between the frontal lobes. Transhumanists hope to use technology in such a way that his “advantage” can be engineered for everyone.

It probably isn’t surprising to learn that transhumanists are also staunch supporters of cryonics. Ralph Merkle, a board member of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation, says, “People think cryonics is freezing the dead. That’s incorrect. We’re freezing the terminally ill. We want a second opinion from a future doctor.” In the future they hope to unleash the power of nanotechnology to repair failed organs and dying cells. They are convinced that these billionth-of-a-meter robots will be able to “go into a deceased body, repair the dead cells, and reboot the brain.” Merkle insists that “once we get the technology in place, dying goes away. It just doesn’t happen.”