A Bluish-Green Pebble
Lincoln Cannon is an American philosopher and technologist who co-founded the Mormon Transhumanist Association in 2006, serving as its president from 2006 to 2016. He is a leading advocate of technological evolution and postsecular religion, combining software engineering expertise with degrees in philosophy and business. ¶ Cannon is also a founder and board member of the Christian Transhumanist Association. He formulated the New God Argument, a logical argument for faith in God that has become popular among religious transhumanists. His academic work includes “Mormonism Mandates Transhumanism” published in Religion and Human Enhancement: Death, Values, and Morality (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) and “Transfigurism: A Future of Religion as Exemplified by Religious Transhumanists” published in The Transhumanism Handbook (Springer Verlag, 2019). ¶ Mormon transhumanism, as articulated by Cannon, holds that humanity should learn how to be compassionate creators. This idea is central to the Mormon theological tradition, which provides a religious framework consistent with naturalism and supportive of human transformation. Cannon’s work bridges religious faith with scientific advancement, advocating for the ethical use of technology to extend human abilities in ways consistent with a religious worldview.
Bluish-Green Pebble
This is a poem that I wrote for and gifted to my father, while he was still alive. He died from his third cancer in 1998. The color of the pebble is a reference both to my father’s eyes and to the Earth.
A bluish-green pebble
bemoaning its being,
and wondering whether
‘twas doing its Doings,
regarded the heavens
and prayed with what power
a bluish-green pebble
may manage to muster.
The Sun from his glory
regarded the pebble
and lighted upon it:
Oh, bluish-green pebble,
in giving the given
you’re doing your Doings,
reflecting my light by
a bluish-green given.
The bluish-green pebble
regarded the river
which carried it closer
the goal of its going,
and wondered the reason;
so, turning toward heaven,
the bluish-green pebble
repeated its wonders.
The Sun softly smiled,
regarding the pebble,
remarking its roundness
and sensing its smoothness:
Oh, bluish-green pebble,
the river’s a wonder
you’ll understand flows for
a bluish-green reason.
Thanks for reading! You might also like “Light.”
Syndicated from Lincoln Cannon.