The difference between an organism and an organization is the same as the difference between a creature and a machine. Or a living being and a mechanical mechanism. Organisms grow, organizations are assembled. It’s a very important difference, but it is difficult to describe in the contemporary world of AI and robots because AI and robots mimic the functionality of living beings.
A place to begin is to talk about personification and false gods. Every human person is unique, just as every creature that God created is unique. Of course, we creatures are created according to our kind, our genus. A genus is a genetically defined group, classification, or kind that shares common attributes or characteristics. What defines a kind or genus is the ability to mate and produce offspring of the same kind or genus. We can call it biological reproductability, which suggests the importance of marriage and family.
As biological creatures our parts—arms, legs, hearts, guts, etc.—are uniquely fitted to our organic bodies. Every part in our bodies is uniquely fitted to us. Our bodily parts are not replaceable or assembled, unlike machines. Machine parts are assembled and replaceable. It is difficult to understand this today because modern medicine can take heroic measures to overcome what is called transplant rejection.
In God’s church people are not simply interchangeable. Rather, each individual needs to uniquely fit into the organization according to their personal giftedness. It should be a natural fit, and a supernatural fit. There should be a spiritual connection that results in optimal functionality, performance, and satisfaction. …
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