Axil, you asked an ethical question; I have no other means to answer an ethical question other to appeal to the ethical teachings of the Bible. Biblical teachings and ethics is the only ethics I consider absolute.
Yes, you are correct in that assembling DNA one piece at a time is technically
not breeding. But with this procedure, you are violating the spirit of the
commandment, even if you are not violating the letter of the commandment.
Let me ask you this. Stealing is defined are someone phycially taking
something belonging to others. If you are not involved in the physical taking,
would it not be stealing? Supposed you used your computer to transfer funds to
your account, that would not be literally stealing, but is it a violation of
the spirit of stealing?
Jojo
----- Original Message -----
From: Axil Axil
To: vortex-l@eskimo.com
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2012 10:19 AM
Subject: Re: [Vo]:Transhumanism (Was:The Fallacies of Darwinian Evolution -
Basic Definitions)
In the Bible, God does leave specific commandments against interspecies
breeding. A man laying with a beast (cow, goat, etc) is automatically stoned to
death. God has ordained that a species remain within the bounds of his own
species. Hence, it is clear that any attempt to transcend a species by genetic
engineering would be a violation of this directive, whether a natural process
or an artificial process is used.
Going back to the Bible for moral guidance is a stretch.
The operative phrase is “Commandments against intersperses breeding”. Genetic
engineering is not sexual breeding. It is a software operation were
sub-elements of genetic code are fabricated from 4 bottles of chemicals, then
these sub-elements are assembled by software into progressively larger units
until the entire genome is built.
How can simple chemistry procedure be a sin?
On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 9:16 PM, Jojo Jaro <jth...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Axil, since you are asking an ethical question that delves into religion
and the Bible, I will answer an answer from the Bible
In the Bible, God does leave specific commandments against interspecies
breeding. A man laying with a beast (cow, goat, etc) is automatically stoned
to death. God has ordained that a species remain within the bounds of his own
species. Hence, it is clear that any attempt to transcend a species by genetic
engineering would be a violation of this directive, whether a natural process
or an artificial process is used.
So, to answer your question clearly and unambigiously, genetic engineering
is wrong from a Biblical standpoint. It is one thing to develop genetic drugs
to cure genetic diseases, it is another thing to modify the human species into
something else thru a manipulation of its DNA.
As for your question on whether a "created" human, ie. a clone of some
kind, would have a soul, I am not sure. But I would tend to believe NO, it
does not. The Biblical narrative of man's creation by God says that God formed
man out of the dust of the earth and then breathe into him, and thus man became
a living soul. Man could possibly form another man via genetic engineering but
without God breathing into him, he would not be a living soul.
Jojo
----- Original Message -----
From: Axil Axil
To: vortex-l@eskimo.com
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2012 8:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Vo]:The Fallacies of Darwinian Evolution - Basic Definitions
In the context of intelligent design, the interesting question from an
ethical standpoint is as follows:
If God's plan of creation is embodied in human DNA, is it a sin for man
to modify it in order to correct flaws in it or to improve the human species as
a general principle?
Is creation of a new type of human or another species a violation of
God's plan? If humans are genetically modified to breath the Martian
atmosphere and to endure the low gravity conditions, are they conceived in sin.
Craig Venter creates synthetic life form
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/may/20/craig-venter-synthetic-life-form
Has Craig Venter sinned against the plan of God?
Julian Savulescu, professor of practical ethics at Oxford University,
said: "Venter is creaking open the most profound door in humanity's history,
potentially peeking into its destiny. He is not merely copying life
artificially ... or modifying it radically by genetic engineering. He is going
towards the role of a god: creating artificial life that could never have
existed naturally."
This is "a defining moment in the history of biology and biotechnology",
Mark Bedau, a philosopher at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, told Science.
If someone creates a man from scratch, does that created man have a soul?
On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 8:13 PM, Jojo Jaro <jth...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Cool!!! Won't be long now until we get a complete catalog of each and
every DNA sequence of each and every living plant and animal. When we have
this, it would probably is a new dawn in the study of species. No longer will
we be dependent on classification based on gross physical characteristics.
This new "Genetic" definition of a species will clear up a lot of
misunderstandings and I predict will finally discredit this idea of species
evolving from another species, ie. Darwinian Evolution.
Jojo
----- Original Message -----
From: MarkI-ZeroPoint
To: vortex-l@eskimo.com
Sent: Saturday, August 04, 2012 8:04 AM
Subject: RE: [Vo]:The Fallacies of Darwinian Evolution - Basic
Definitions
JoJo wrote:
“It won't be long now when we will have the ability to very rapidly
and cheaply sequence each and every DNA for all animals and plants.”
Already here…
http://www.nanoporetech.com/news/press-releases/view/39
<<image001.png>>
