GMO

What is a GMO? A GMO is a Genetically Modified Organism, this is where a certain gene is spliced out and replaced or just added so that the organism will be better.  I am going to look at the most extreme GMO, a clone.  Cloning has become a recent topic for discussion.  Is cloning right? Where do we start cloning? Where does cloning end?  All these are questions that need to be answered.  As a Christian should we be cloning or even accepting research done into cloning. I am going to take a deeper look into the science then the morality of cloning; also what is the goal of cloning humans and animals.  I personally believe that cloning is wrong but we will examine deeper and see how and why.

First let us look at the science of cloning.  Most people do not know how cloning works.Think Quest gives us information on how cloning works, in the case of Dolly the sheep and many other present cases. “They first scraped some skin cells from the udder of the first sheep, and then they took an unfertilized egg from the second sheep and the nucleus was removed from the egg to prevent the sheep from looking different. Afterwards, the cell grew with the second sheep and it was a success.”  The sad fact is that the clone attempt for Dolly failed two hundred and seventy six times, according to the Human Genome Project.  This is a problem considering you killed 276 other sheep and you would do the same thing to humans by cloning and killing them.  The second problem with cloning is the fact that the clones are born with old genes. Dolly’s original was cloned at 6 years old; the average age of a sheep is 12.  Dolly died prematurely from arthritis and cancer, both typically found in older sheep before they die.

            Now that we have seen the science of cloning we can look at the morality of cloning.  With 276 dead sheep clearly the killing of the same amount of humans would be considered wrong, right? In today’s world the answer is no.  But that does not make it right.  We kill millions of babies through abortion so we see that the world of today does not have regards for young life.  People would consider murdering 276 children, adults, or any other earth-touching human morally wrong.  The problem does not lie in the replication of the DNA, our bodies do that every day to preserve us, the problem lies in the death and destruction it causes even the successes.  There are many problems that correlate with cloning such as the fore mentioned abortion and euthanasia.  The Bible says in Psals127:3-5: “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD; The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior.  So are the children of one’s youth.  Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.”  Children are a blessing from God and not an experiment in a Petri dish.  Mark Roberts of Westside Church in Irving, Texas brings an interesting view on what cloning could become, “How about producing a child as “spare parts” for yourself or another child that is sick.” * It would be wrong just to use a child as something just to cure diseases.  When that clone is born it still becomes a human not something to discriminate against.

            Cloning is just plain wrong, but the world does not see it.  We as Christians need to be careful in what we believe in as far as science goes.  We should not approve of unbiblical actions and try to prevent them from happening in the future.  There are some GMOs that are fine, such as one that prevent bug from eating them and other various modifications that improve the well being of the plant, but that is as far as it goes.

*Mark Roberts is emphatically against cloning.  He is just hypothetically making the statement. 

Stem Cell

Many people do not even know what stem cells are.  They only know that they are a controversial topic in the world and do not know whether they are truly good or if they are bad.  This is from the National Institute of Health, "Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. In addition, in many tissues they serve as a sort of internal repair system, dividing essentially without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential either to remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell."  They are very useful and fine until they start pulling them from embryos.


These embryonic cells are pulled from in vitro embryonic cells.  This means that these were created in the lab.  They were created and donated to the labs and then experimented on using several methods.  After growing on mice cells that they were attached to

(National Institute of Health 2). Here are a few different experiment techniques:

Photo from Cambridge.

• Growing and subculturing the stem cells for many months. This ensures that the cells are capable of long-term growth and self-renewal. Scientists inspect the cultures through a microscope to see that the cells look healthy and remainundifferentiated.
• Using specific techniques to determine the presence of transcription factors that are typically produced by undifferentiated cells. Two of the most important transcription factors are Nanog and Oct4. Transcription factors help turn genes on and off at the right time, which is an important part of the processes of cell differentiation and embryonic development. In this case, both Oct 4 and Nanog are associated with maintaining the stem cells in an undifferentiated state, capable of self-renewal.
• Using specific techniques to determine the presence of paricular cell surface markers that are typically produced by undifferentiated cells.
• Examining the chromosomes under a microscope. This is a method to assess whether the chromosomes are damaged or if the number of chromosomes has changed. It does not detect genetic mutations in the cells.
• Determining whether the cells can be re-grown, or subcultured, after freezing, thawing, and re-plating.
• Testing whether the human embryonic stem cells are pluripotent by 1) allowing the cells to differentiate spontaneously in cell culture; 2) manipulating the cells so they will differentiate to form cells characteristic of the three germ layers; or 3) injecting the cells into a mouse with a suppressed immune system to test for the formation of a benign tumor called a teratoma. Since the mouse’s immune system is suppressed, the injected human stem cells are not rejected by the mouse immune system and scientists can observe growth and differentiation of the human stem cells. Teratomas typically contain a mixture of many differentiated or partly differentiated cell types—an indication that the embryonic stem cells are capable of differentiating into multiple cell types.

We looked at embryonic but what can stem cells of adults do for us.  Adult stem cells are used to mantain and repair the body throughout the life of the person.  These are extracted from the bone marrow of the person.  What is the potential for all of these stem cells?  Well there are many, everything from repairing the heart muscles, preventing abnormal cell reproduction, and even the possibility of curing cancer cells and birth defects (National Institute of Health 8).

While God made us the way we are if stem cells can make us more healthy without harming the donor or the person recieving the stem cell then why not take better care of God's temple. We need to be as healthy as possible so that we can do as much as we can for God and his mission that he set out for us.

Intelligent Design

In a world where evolution dominates, creation is looked down upon there is a belief that there is intelligent design.  What is "Intelligent Design?"  Answers in Genesis defines Intelligent design, "The definition of ID can be best summarized as a theory that holds that “certain features” of living and nonliving things were designed by an “intelligent cause” as opposed to being formed through natural causes."  This is the result of people getting as close as possible  to the Bible without believing him.  I believe that Intelligent Design is a good way to start people into creation but it is only taking part of the Bible, twist it, and creates a false religion in a way.

Intelligent Design only takes part of what is the Word of God and throwing out the rest.  Intelligent Design (ID) gets the right idea that there is someone out there that created the world but they do not want to admit that it is God that did this. The author Dr. Purdom shares this, "Romans 1:20 states that all men know about God through His creation. However, recognizing that there is a designer is only the first step. Colossians 1:15–20 and 2 Peter 3:3–6 demonstrate how God’s role as Creator and Redeemer are inexorably intertwined. Again, God’s role as Creator is foundational to His role as Redeemer. Recognizing a designer is not enough to be saved; submitting to the Redeemer is also necessary."  There is no true knowledge of the creator if there is no Bible.  Only He created the Heavens and the Earth and He is the one who deserves full praise.

Here comes the twist, a twist of scripture that is. In the same article "Without the framework of the Bible and the understanding that evil entered the world through man’s actions (Genesis 3), God appears sloppy and incompetent. People ask why God is unable to prevent evil from thwarting His plans, resulting in such poor design, instead of understanding that because of the Fall there is now a cursed design."  It is twisted in that it is totally avoided, unaccounted for, and rejected.  As I mentioned before, ID is a great lead in tool to talking about God and His word.  


False religions thrive on ID.  The Intelligent Design Movement, an article by Answers in Genesis states each religions god has become a possibility for the creation of the world and that is why it has become so popular around the religious culture.  Muslims can say their god is the intelligent designer,  Buddha is the creator according to the Buddhists, the possibilities are endless.  The ID movement says, Hey, someone had to design it, it was probably your god.

False religions, a twist, and a lack of scripture result from the ID movement.  We need to go out and use the ID movement as a bridge to sharing creation and the Gospel.  We are not a religion we need to establish the relationship that anyone can have with the one who created everything from you to the algae in the pond.