Extreme Longevity Research: A Progressive Protestant Perspective

Abstract

Protestant Christians differ from each other in their opinions on nearly everything, including science and technology, and so we should expect that Protestant responses to the prospect of extreme longevity will range from condemnation to enthusiastic endorsement. Many Protestants (but not all) will share the worries of the secular critics of longevity, who suggest that aging should be left to run its course because it focuses the mind on life’s goals and keeps the generations in balance (Boorse 2005). And many Protestants, including some of those who claim to worry about missing out on benefits of mortality, will nonetheless rush to embrace life extending technologies as soon as they go from the laboratory to the clinic.