Is Biohacking Playing God? A Christian Take on Health, Longevity and Humility

A patient seeks out red light therapy, which is said to have positive effects on skin and overall health. (Photo: Pexels)

The Promises of Functional Health and Biohacking

In recent years, functional health and biohacking have begun to dominate the public conversation about society’s well-being, and I am here for it.

For far too long, America’s health statistics have been heading in the wrong direction. Modern medicine is, in many ways, a miracle. It has increased our longevity, ability to combat disease and overall quality of life, but it is clear that something is still missing. As we forged into the future, embracing mass food production, the promise of pharmaceuticals and stagnant lifestyles, we left behind ancient wisdom essential to our health. 

God did not intend for society to be this sick. Jesus came to offer us abundant life, which includes a body filled with energy and vitality. The alternative health and wellness landscape invites us to use what works from our modern healthcare system while returning to God-ordained paths of healing, such as eating well, moving more and treating the body more like a temple and less like a chemistry lab. 

You may have seen some of these health trends emerging in your community. Americans are approaching the end of their processed food era and are returning to whole-food nutrition. Infrared saunas and red-light beds are appearing at local gyms. Functional doctors and nutritionists are becoming increasingly mainstream, and major influencers like Joe Rogan and Alex Clark regularly interview biohackers who are changing the conversation about what our bodies need to function properly.

These trends are great! I, personally, have adopted many of them and am experiencing the benefits they claim to offer. As the biohacking space continues to grow in popularity, I am hopeful that modern medicine will evolve for the better, and everyone will benefit. 

Red Flags on the Horizon

However, because humans are flawed, it is difficult for us to maintain something good without threatening to ruin it or take it too far, and recently, I have seen some concerning red flags.

A few months ago, I heard an interview with Bryan Johnson, a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur who sold PayPal for $800 million. Not knowing what to do with all that money, Bryan decided to become a full-time biohacker. Today, he spends two million dollars yearly to reverse his biological age to eighteen. His stated goal? Don’t Die. 

It is not enough that modern technology can enable us to live well as we make the long, arduous journey back to our Heavenly home. There is a vein in the biohacking space that seeks to beat God at his own game and defeat death itself. It is not only Bryan Johnson. His contemporary, David Asprey, founder of Bulletproof Coffee, is trying to live to 180. Dr. David Sinclair, a Harvard geneticist, wrote the book, “Lifespan: Why We Age — and Why We Don’t Have To.” And Christian biohacking influencers Kayla Barne-Lentz and Warren Lentz spend six figures a year trying to hack their way to the healthy age of 150.

Age-Old Lessons from Christianity

Every time I hear biohackers speak of beating death, I think of two things:

First, the only person in history to try to defeat death and succeed is Jesus Christ, and he didn’t do it by achieving perfect vitals. He did it through perfect obedience to the Father, which led him to enter into the very thing he sought to destroy by conquering it from the inside out. Only the Son of God, through the Cross and Resurrection, has ever overcome the power of death. We healthy sinners don’t stand a chance.  

The second thought comes from a powerful lesson I learned years ago in Genesis 11 and 12. 

Genesis 11 tells the well-known story of the Tower of Babel. At that time, the whole world spoke one language, and the people decided to build a tower high enough to reach the heavens so they could live together and “make a name for themselves” (Genesis 11:4), which means they were trying to exalt themselves as equals to God by their own power. 

When God learned about the tower, he confused their language. Instead of achieving the height of human ingenuity, their tower failed, and they scattered all over the earth.  

In Genesis 12, God spoke to Abram and told him to follow him to a new land. In exchange for his submission, God promised Abram that he would make him a great nation, bless him and make Abram’s name great so that he would be a blessing (Genesis 12:2). 

Abram worshiped and obeyed. God delivered. Today, Abram (later known as Abraham) is considered the father of the three major monotheistic faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The world has indeed been blessed through him — a vastly different ending than the Tower of Babel.  

The lesson: True greatness and blessing come from seeking to glorify God, worship him and humbly submit to his will. Our attempts to glorify ourselves apart from him will fail every. single. time.

Sadly, this is a lesson that we have refused to learn since the very beginning, and the ambitions of certain biohackers are the latest in a long line of man’s attempt to build a tower to the heavens to “make a name for ourselves.” Rest assured, something will go wrong. It’s not because I want them to fail, but because there is something about the way we were created that is sacred, and every time we try to stretch our humanity past its mortal limits and into the realm of god-like control, we run straight into our limitations. God humbles us, reminding us that he is the creator and we are his creation.  

So then, what’s the lesson for us? God cares deeply about our motives. 

How We Can Approach Biohacking

In 2008, explorer Dan Buettner wrote a book called “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” In his book, Buettner chronicled his experiences visiting five locations around the globe where people lived significantly longer and healthier lives. Their secret? Their lifestyles resembled much of the ancient wisdom we are currently recovering. Their daily lives included eating moderate amounts of whole foods, engaging in plenty of natural movement, practicing a religious belief and maintaining strong ties to family and community.

For the most part, these communities did not have access to our fancy technologies, yet they experienced similar health outcomes to those of us who spend a lot of money and time chasing the latest health trends. Some of these people professed Christianity, some did not, but all humbled themselves before a creator. They did not work against God or try to reach his level, but rather lived with humility according to the laws of nature. 

Watching the documentary, I got the sense that these people were not only healthy but genuinely happy and at peace. Those who lived far into old age died around 105, with their health mostly intact. Their goal wasn’t to beat death but to live well, and they clearly achieved it. They provide an excellent example of how we should approach our health, even with access to all the latest technology. 

I have no desire to live long into my hundreds. I know I was made for Heaven and will be happy to get there. Since, God willing, I have some time to still be on this earth, caring for the body is a priority. From what I have seen of the functional medicine and the biohacking movements, it appears that a return to the wisdom of created order, with due humility, will help me do it. 

If you, like me, are passionate about health and wellness, and even if you’re not, holistic living and biohacking can significantly improve your life. So, grab some vitamin D, take a chance with the cold plunge, sync your circadian rhythm and ditch your processed foods. But pay attention to the posture of your heart and the attitude of those you follow. 

God promised us that he offers life that is truly life. Trying to grasp it apart from him is a fool’s errand. Those with massive health platforms would be wise to heed the warnings he gave us so long ago, and so would all of us who follow their influence.