I love the parallels that the new collage draws between the risk of stem cell research and the risk of Jesus' forgiving sins/healing. He was called blasphemous for saying words that supposedly only God was allowed to say. Stem cell research is banned because of the risk that with it" we might be playing God". When do we take risks because of healing, as opposed to taking risks because we are being outrageously arrogant, inappropriate and unethical. Who decides? Jesus says, "By your fruits are you known". If stem cell research leads to amazing healing, who are we to balk at doing it? I'd say, when we balk, we are not using the gifts of intelligence God gave us to use to be helpful to each other. ANyway, these are the thoughts that this new colage produced in me. I'd love to hear what other people think. Com'on , you all, share your thoughts!!!! Don't be so bashfull!!!!!!!
To me "fruits" are a metaphor for helpfulness. We are known by our helpfulness. For me, a one-universe Christian, helpfulness is God. We are not to play God, that is, helpfulness. We are to be God, that is helpfulness. Our evalutation of stem cell research should be based on the balancing of helpfulness against harmfulness. Reaching into the second universe to find justification for a position is usually harmful and not helpful. It is often used by two-universe people to disguise their own prejudice against scientific advancement. The "risk of playing God" is a created diversion by some prejudiced two-universe Christians and should have no impact on "thinking" two-universe Christians. Stem cell research appears to have vast potentials for helpfulness with little if any harm.
David invited me a couple of weeks ago to comment on stem cell research from a bioethical point of view. So, belatedly...
My approach to ethical issues is relational, based in part on my view of God in relation to human beings. "Playing God" has nothing to do with scientists searching for knowledge about healing processes, which is what stem cell research is all about. I do not believe that using parts of very immature embryos to enable the research is truly destroying meaningful human life. The products of that research have immense healing potential.
I do have a concern about using that technology to clone human beings (that is, allowing those embryos to produce babies). My concern is that we have some evidence from cloning other mammals that the clones may be deformed and/or dysfunctional. I believe we have no right to subject human beings to that possibility.
Being afraid to "play God" is to fall back into a very old heresy, whose modern expression is Christian Science, which, as the old saw says, is neither Christian nor scientific. Ie.--any and all medical interventions into the mysterious workings of God are not permitted, since such interventions are acts of defiance of the will of God. All we have to do is be moral and good enough and ill health will not befall us! LOL!
Fertilized embryos are routinely discarded into the medical trash bin in the aftermath of in vitro fertilization procedures. A head of the pin siezed glob of cells is not a human being, for Christ's sake! What a moronic and futile non-debate!
