Genetic Science: Blessings and Dangers

In earlier posts we began to examine some of the amazing developments in genetic science and technology. In general the inductive methods of modern scientists are relatively new. See The Intelligibility of Nature: How Science Makes Sense of the World by Peter Dear. Even the word scientist was unknown until coined by William Whewell in the middle of the 19th century. Prior to his time scientists were known as natural philosophers. For more details of this history check into The Philosophical Breakfast Club by Laura J. Snyder.

By definition science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world. This is done through systematic observation and experiment. The emphasis is upon systematic study. Modern scientists use a carefully devised system of inductive reasoning. They call it the scientific method. By using this method they move step by step into an ever deeper understanding of the natural world. Basically these steps are:

• Ask a question
• Do the necessary background research and observation
• Construct a hypothesis or theory as a starting point
• Test the hypothesis by experiment, trial and observation
• Analyze the data and draw conclusions
• Share your results with others working in the same field for critical review

Given that definition of the scientific method, there is no inherent or essential conflict with what God has revealed to us in His Word both about Himself and the world He created. As noted earlier, we are commanded by our Creator to "fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28). Problems arise when we must decide how to use the knowledge gained by our study of the natural world in which we live. After all, we are responsible, first to our Creator and to His plans for His creation. Then we are responsible to one another. This is but another way of saying that we are to "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5) and "love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). We must make ethical and moral decisions based upon what our Creator has revealed about how we are to fulfill these duties to love Him and our neighbors. 


For the purposes of this blog I focus particularly upon 

• Molecular medicine, including practices involving stem cell research and genetic therapy for humans and animals, personal genomics and the mapping of single nucleotide polymorphisms, and efforts to extend the longevity of human life to as much as three times today’s average. 

• Procreative activities, including prenatal testing and screening, assisted reproductive technologies, preimplantation genetic diagnoses, and the artificial creation of new life forms (synthetic biology). 

• And the social impact of the research and activities in the above fields, including discrimination based on genetic profiling, the practice of eugenics, and beliefs in genetic determinism

I will not discuss the commercial and legal applications of DNA testing and the patenting of genetic material and research processes. Nor do I plan to say anything about the military use of biological weapons and DNA identification of battlefield casualties. Others are better equipped to deal with these issues than am I.

As you can see from this brief list, developments in genetic science present us with some astounding possibilities. Already we are seeing the blessed fruits of this research in dealing, for instance, with various types of cancer. Yet genetic science research carries the potential for some terrifying personal and social evils. Michael Crichton illustrated this again and again in his fiction and non-fiction works (e.g. Jurrasic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Westworld, The Terminal Man, State of Fear, Prey, Next, etc.).

Since we humans bear the Image of God and are commanded to reflect our faith and trust in Him in all we say and do, we dare not make decisions about genetic science based solely upon our interests. Our decisions must be made with respect to the larger human community and to promote the abundance of our planet. Sadly, however, as Crichton and others demonstrate, self-interest and outright rebellion against the Creator persist in every area of human activity, also in the use of genetic science. We'll start looking at specific examples of this sad phenomenon next time.

The Best Thing We Christians Can Do For Our Nation

In the opinion pages of the NY Times David Brooks recently wrote about the tragic rise in single parenthood in the USA .  He said,

Finally, there is the problem of the social fabric. segmented societies do not thrive, nor do ones, like ours, with diminishing social trust. Nanny-state government may have helped undermine personal responsibility and the social fabric, but that doesn’t mean the older habits and arrangements will magically regrow simply by reducing government’s role. For example, there has been a tragic rise in single parenthood, across all ethnic groups, but family structures won’t spontaneously regenerate without some serious activism, from both religious and community groups and government agencies.  

How will serious activism by religious and community groups restore personal responsibility? How will activism reverse the tragic rise in single parenthood in the USA? And what kind of activism? Brooks calls for a restoration of the "vigorous virtues." And he says it won't happen merely by reducing nanny-state government. In that I strongly agree. But how shall we restore "vigorous virtues"? Here's what the Apostle Peter has to say about virtue:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.          (2 Peter 1:2-4)

In NT Greek Peter's word for virtue is aretē. Some translate the word as moral excellence. In fact, it is translated as excellence in the quote above when Peter speaks about God's divine power granting us all things that pertain to life and godliness. How does God do this? Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. There's that aretē - excellence word again. God has excellence or virtue. We are called to live that life, God's life, the life of excellence and virtue. And it happens through the knowledge of God and of Jesus. What is this knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord? Permit a brief explanation. 


To know God is much more than knowing He exists and that He is the Creator. It is above all knowing in your heart that God loves you and that He forgives you. It is knowing deep within that He chose you to be His very own child and that this all happened when Jesus died upon the cross of Calvary. It is believing that you died with Jesus on that cross and rose with Him to a new life, a life that will never end. It is believing that when Jesus returns in glory you will receive a renewed body and will live with Him forever (Col. 1:5, 3:4; John 3:16, 4:14, 5:21-24, 40, 6:39-40, 10:28-30, 14:19; Rom 5:10, 5:21, 8:2, 34-39; 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 7:25). 


God works through this knowledge. This  knowledge is the Good News, the Gospel. His power is at work in the Gospel to work virtue or moral excellence. As you grow in your faith, you grow in virtue, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love. In other words, as we Christians vigorously work to help one another to know Jesus, to love Him and to rejoice in His love for us, we are also helping one another to become virtuous, to live the life to which God has called us, to become like Jesus. This life of Jesus produces those "vigorous virtues" Brooks is calling for.

Bottom line: the best thing the church can do to regenerate our country is to proclaim and teach the Gospel. In other words, let the church be about churchly business. . . and let the government be about government business.

Must We Choose Either Darwin Or God?

In an article from Scientific American about a geneticist ordained as a Dominican priest, Francisco J. Ayala, we read,

"But Ayala thinks that scientists who attack religion and ridicule the faithful—most notably, Richard Dawkins of the University of Oxford—are making a mistake. It is destructive and gives fodder to the preachers who insist followers must choose either Darwin or God. Often students in Ayala’s introductory biology class tell him that they will answer test questions as he wishes, but in truth they reject evolution because of their Christian beliefs. Then, a couple of years later, when they have learned more science, they decide to abandon their religion. The two, students seem to think, are incompatible."

This question troubles me greatly. I've spoken to many students and scientists who struggle with the issue as well. Is Darwinian evolution compatible with the Christian faith? William Demski, writing in Intelligent Design Uncensored, thinks it is not. I summarize what he writes in a chapter titled "The Poison of Materialism."


Darwinian evolution operates under the principle that the material world is all there is. The so-called process of "natural selection" working by random selection has produced all the species there are on this planet. All that was needed (note: "all") were millions and millions of tiny steps over millions of generations. Natural selection plus random variation does the work of designing every plant, bug or animal there is on Earth. There is no need for God or a Grand Intelligent Designer.


What follows in this materialistic worldview touches us humans as well. We are not made in the image of God. We are not embodied spirits. We are nothing more than highly advanced animals who have evolved from lower forms of life. To quote Demski,

"By undermining belief in God, materialism undercut our view of humans as well. According to materialism, humans aren't made in the image of God. At bottom, humans are just a collection of atoms, a messy bundle of instincts and urges without higher purpose or significance. Ideas like free will, personal responsibility and even the intrinsic value of human life have no place in a materialistic worldview." (Kindle edition location 848-850)

There is a direct link between materialism and the eugenics movement, especially the Nazi worldview. Since we are nothing more than the result of a random selection we have no responsibility to any Creator. All our decisions are ultimately the product of natural forces. The most important thing is the survival of our species. The strong are the master race that must make such decisions. That is the ultimate good. The strongest must decide for the weakest. The flawed, the lower races, the sick, the imperfect, the old and the useless must be eliminated for the good of the master race. This is, after all, the survival of the fittest. There is no God. There is no need for God. Humans are their own god. They define what is good and right, not God.


Professor Ayala, quoted above, thinks that it is possible to reconcile these two worldviews. It is possible to be both a Christian and a materialistic evolutionist. He has written a book recently, Am I A Monkey? - Six Big Questions About Evolution. It is available also in the Kindle edition. I'm reading to see how he answers these questions.


Check back with you later. 

Modern Life and Ancient Corinth

For the past year I've been leading a Bible study with a small group. We've been examining and discussing what the Apostle Paul wrote in his so-called first letter to the Corinthians. He wrote the letter about a generation after Christ's ministry. At that time there were hundreds in Galilee and Judea who had seen the Lord Jesus alive and present with them after His resurrection. Paul makes reference to that fact in the fifteenth chapter.

The Corinthians are so interesting because their problems have so many parallels in modern urban life, as well as the life in contemporary churches. Three individuals in particular, Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, come to Paul while he was teaching in Ephesus over on the eastern side of the Aegean Sea (modern Turkey). They told him they wanted to assist him with his work, but they may also have been the ones who carried news about predicaments in the several house churches there in Corinth.

I can imagine them saying, "Brother Paul, we have some real headaches, especially with one of our families. This man--dare we call him brother--is living with his step-mother. He claims it's perfectly legal and refuses to listen to anything we have to say. We're uncertain about how to proceed."

Perhaps Paul listened intently, asked some detailed questions and assured them he would be writing a letter. Was there anything else?

"Oh, yes," they replied. "We have a whole list of hurdles. Some are even questioning your right to claim the title of Apostle. They insist they follow Apollos. Others claim to be followers of Peter. And so it goes. They don't want to listen to anything you have to say."

"Interesting," mused Paul. "Continue."

And they did, listing controversies about church leadership, lawsuits, sexual experimentation, prostitution, marriage, idolatry, the Lord's Supper, worship, the work of the Holy Spirit and on and on.

Paul must have prayed for long hours for wisdom. How should he reply? Would they even bother to listen to what he had to say? After such musings and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle wrote this wonderful letter to the believers scrattered around Corinth.

Corinth had a long history as a city and a city state, long before Paul's day. It was the home of more than 250,000 free persons, with nearly double that number of slaves. It was a harbor city, with commerce flowing back and forth across the isthmus upon which it was located. Greek to the hilt, controlled by the Romans, Corinth was home to a dozen pagan temples, many that sponsored religious prostitution. This was a center for open and unbridled immorality. At one time as many as a thousand sacred prostitutes served in the temple of Aphrodite.

In writing his letter, Paul deals with these and many other questions about morality, faith, religion, hope, life after death and the resurrection. As I said, it's a letter packed with vital and meaningful teachings that have scores of applications to modern life. I want to tackle what Paul writes and reflect upon it over the next months. Stay tuned.

Women Are Equal To Men

This afternoon I finished a beautiful, disturbing, even frightening book by a young woman born in Somalia. Her name is Ayan Hirsi Ali and the book is titled Infidel.



In her book Hirsi Ali records her life from the days when she was born into a Muslim Somalian family until the time she became a Dutch citizen and a member of that country's parliament. For years her life was threatened by fundamentalist Muslims, because she dared to expose the cruelty of that religion's teachings and ways in their dealings with women. If you want to read something that will move you deeply, get her book and read it.

She calls her book Infidel, because she has abandoned the Muslim faith, including a belief in Allah and the afterlife. Her life experiences, combined with her university studies and her work as a politician, led her to see the irrationality of such beliefs. She finds them in deep conflict with the morality of western nations, the universal need to respect the rights of women as well as men and the causes of equality and freedom for all. Reflect upon her experiences and views. You will gain a deeper insight into why we are involved in this war against terrorism promoted by fundamentalist Muslim teachings.

Of course, not all Muslims agree with her that women are not spiritually equal to men "in the sight of God." The big word among proponents of that religion is submission to Allah. That is a discussion that could go on and on.

I do not mean to turn my comments on this Blog into some kind of political discussion or into a dispute about the Muslim faith. Instead I ask myself and anyone who reads these words to consider that when we who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ point a finger (at Muslims, for instance), we must also consider that there are also three fingers pointing back at us. We all have a long journey before us before we overcome prejudice against women on all levels of our life.

Yes, in the USA we have a woman Secretary of State. Yes we have women Governors, Senators and Legislators. Yes, women play leadership roles in all the professions. Yes, women are deeply involved and respected in the arts, in religious institutions and in churches. Women are or have been CEO's of Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, Sarah Lee, Rite Aid and others. Amazing to some, a woman only recently became the president of Texas A&M. We currently have a woman running for president.

But are women seen as equal to men? Certainly not by all. The glass ceiling still exists in the world of business, for instance.

The 2005 Catalyst Census of Women Corporate Officers and Top Earners of the Fortune 500 found that in the last three years, average growth in the percentage of corporate officer positions held by women fell dramatically to 0.23 percentage points per year, the lowest yearly gain in the past ten years. Between 2002 and 2005, the total number of women corporate officers increased by a mere 0.7 percentage points to 16.4 percent. the average Fortune 500 company had 21.8 corporate officers in 2005; on average, women held only 3.6 of these positions. Women occupied only 9.4 percent of clout titles (those higher than vice president), up from 7.9 percent in 2002.

Likewise, Bible teachers tend toward generalizations that could and must be challenged at every step. Consider the following list from the Interactive Bible site, stating that the sexes are equal but different in 19 ways. I become very leery of such generalizations. Men and women are different. Who could deny that? Much of what this writer says has some truth in it. Beware, however of generalizations like "Men do not have as strong a desire and need for stability, security and enduring relationships as women do."

What are some of the things that the Bible teaches about women? I'll share a list and then drop this topic to await your comments and observations. Perhaps we can continue the discussion another day.

"So God created man in his [own] image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Genesis 1:27.

"Every one that is called by my name: for I have created him [read him/her] for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." Isaiah 43:7

"The truth is in Jesus . . . And be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."Ephesians 4:21-24

The Hebrew word for Image is Tselem. The Greek New Testament equivalent is Icon. The reference is not to a physical, outward image, but to the inner person. We who are in Christ, male or female, are being renewed by His Spirit at work in our hearts, changing us day by day into the image and likeness of Jesus Christ. The image so distorted by sin, so confused by false teachings and false religions, is being restored within us. Now, at all levels of our existence, we are learning to live, act and love as Christ. It is only in Christ that we can ever learn the meaning of equality.

The Beatitudes Are Gospel, Not Law

It finally caught up with me. I knew it was there, but hoped I could get past it without further medical help. To no avail. I finally had to admit myself to the hospital so the Docs could load my body up with anti-biotics. So went the weekend and, in a sense, so went last week. Now here it is, over a week later and I'm finally back at the computer.

So what does one do when he's flat on his back in a hospital bed? Watch TV? A little, but so much of what's on the screen truly appalls or bores me. Instead I turned to a book I've been wanting to work with for a number of weeks: Rob Warner's "The Sermon on the Mount." Rob is from England and a Bible teacher out of Queen's Road Baptist Church in Wimbledon. He has degrees in theology and English literature, but is apparently not an ordained minister.

He writes well and has some good insights into the background of the Sermon on the Mount. For instance, there's ever been confusion about what seem to be two different accounts of the sermon, one by Matthew and the other by Luke. Warner points out that it is quite plausible to suggest that Matthew and Luke are reporting the same event, but from significantly different perspectives. Both are relying on different eyewitness accounts passed on in verbal or written traditions.

He further points out that neither Gospel makes any claim to provide a verbatim account of Jesus' preaching. Jesus may well have repeated the themes of the sermon on various occasions and Luke could well be recording a different, but similar sermon from Jesus' itinerant preaching. Thus both Matthew and Luke are faithful, but not verbatim reporters of the extended preaching of Jesus.

I thought those were good points, well made. So I pressed on to discover what Warner had to say about the Sermon's introduction, Matthew 5:3-12, the Eight Beatitudes. Warner calls them Eight Steps to Fulfilment - the Characteristics of the Blessed. As soon as I read the title of that chapter I knew we were in trouble. Rob has it all upside down. He assumes that the Lord Jesus is beginning the chapter with a series of eight statements of the moral Law, a way of life the Christian is to follow in order to be blessed and reach fulfilment.

Let me explain what I mean by the moral Law. Consider Jesus' confrontation of a young man who came to him searching for eternal life (Matthew 19:16-30). Jesus told him to obey the commandments, essentially summarized in the Ten Commandments of Exodus 20. Confident that he had always been doing that, he shied from Jesus' demand that he give all his possessions to the poor and come and follow Jesus. He obviously loved his wealth. In this case, Jesus did use the Law, because the young man's sin had to be uncovered.

That is the first and primary use of the Law -- to uncover and reveal sin in our lives. There is a second, common way we are all confronted with the Law in our daily lives. That's in the civil laws that surround and hedge us all in. This morning's paper was filled with instances of stealing, cheating, killing and adultery. The only way this kind of activity is held in check at all is by the outward enforcing of the civil laws passed by our legislators or the Law written on the hearts of us all, the Law that creates our consciences.

Now Warner makes use of both these kinds of Law in his exposition of the Beatitudes. He decries the immorality of the Western world and he encourages the governments to fulfill their obligations. Then he goes one step further. He makes a third use of the Law. He speaks to Christians, those of us who have put our faith in the Lordship of Jesus Christ and accepted him as our Savior. Follow the rules or "eight steps" laid down by Jesus and you too will reach personal fulfilment!

For instance, he writes, "In order to receive the blessing due to those who are poor in spirit (emphasis added), we need to rediscover our spiritual impotence. We are simply and wholly unable to fulfil our potential as the servants of God until we discover our absolute dependence upon the resources of heaven." When we do, "we enter into the blessing that Jesus attached to the condition of being poor in spirit. The blessedness to which Jesus invites us therefore begins not from achieving sufficient spiritual merit, but from discovering our acute spiritual inadequacy" (pp.49-51).

So step one: discover your acute spiritual inadequacy and you will be blessed with the Kingdom of heaven.

Step two is much like it: mourn and agonize over the depths of your own sinfulness, the selfish instincts that find expression so easily. Then you will "experience the fullness of Jesus' promise of comfort to those who mourn. You will receive present forgiveness through the grace of God in Christ; once-for-all liberation beyond the grave from the sinful nature; and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit.

So he continues throughout his exposition, turning each of the Eight Beatitudes into a step in the new interpretation of the Law by Jesus. The final step is to gain a new perspective on the value of life and identify with Jesus, as did the early Christian martyrs. In doing so you will be persecuted, but you will gain the Kingdom.

Every one of Warner's "eight steps" is Law! Jesus is the new Law giver, the same as Moses. Accept Jesus' grace and forgiveness, yes, but then follow the "eight steps" to complete fulfillment and the blessings of the Kingdom.

How sad, I thought, how very sad. I came away from this reading feeling sick spiritually. I was already sick physically. Throughout the exposition Law was mingled with the Good News of Jesus, the Gospel. In so doing he left me confused, thrown back upon what I must do in order to obtain the blessing of Jesus and His Kingdom. Finally I threw the book down. I could read no further. I had enough problems dealing with the infection in my body. I needed not another in my soul.

If I have left you confused, I invite you to read my own exposition of the Beatitudes. All of the Beatitudes are Jesus' teaching about Himself. He is the One who became poor in spirit, who mourned over sin, who was meek, who hungered and thirsted for righteousness, was merciful, pure in heart, the peacemaker and the persecuted One - all for us. He calls us to be in Him, daily dying with Him through our Baptism and rising again with Him to the new life. The Beatitudes are not another exposition of the Law, a third use of it. They are all Gospel, all Good News brought to us by Jesus, God's Son and the King Himself. In Him the Kingdom of God is present and in Him we are truly blessed, for He is the Son with whom the Father is well pleased and because of Him the Father is pleased to grant us the Kingdom as well.