The World of Creation

Christian point of view on the Human Genome Project and Cloning

By Woongsang Lee,
Vice President, Korean Association of Creation Research

The first draft of the human genetic blueprint was completed last June 2000. The report on the sequencing of the humane genome that is composed of over three billion base pairs of chemicals was jointly announced by the Human Genome Project, an international consortium supported mostly by the U. S and many other advanced countries, such as Japan, Germany and France, and Celera Genomics Inc., a private company. The Human Genome Project was started in 1990 by the U.S with the financial support of three billion dollars. From the beginning the Genome Project was scheduled to produce remarkable results and achievements from their genetic research, especially the sequencing of the human genome within 15 years.

The year 2000 thus marks the beginning of the genetic revolution. This so-called genetic revolution will bring so many changes to many aspects of the human life. A new medical era will also start. It will be possible for doctors to detect gene defects or mutated genes in fetuses, prevent generically transmitted diseases before they are developed and even find a permanent cure for them. Currently a conventional way of prescribing treatment for patients is through their history. But in the future more generically-oriented prescriptions will be prevalent. This implies that by knowing distinct features of each individual's genetic make-up, doctors would be able to select the medication that would work best for each patient according to the genetic information.

Evolutionism is said to be a great challenge to creationism as far as Christian circles are concerned. However, I personally believe that the Human Genome Project or any genetic research is not necessarily all negative. The flip side of this is that it might be an excellent opportunity to prove and assure creationism. Although it seems that gravity discovered by Sir Isaac Newton, a creationist, and Mendel's Law were too revolutionary and ambivalent news for contemporaries to comprehend, they all became a cornerstone for other scientific developments and discoveries. The understanding of human genes conveyed through the Human Genome Project might end up being far better off in proving creationism than the evolutionary understanding of the whole aspect of the human genes.

The evolutionary point of view on living things seems to encourage scientists to have an attempt to do unnatural experiments on God's creation. One major example was the cloning of a sheep. Scientists at Scotland's Roslin Institute produced a sheep not in the usual fashion but by using a technique called the somatic cell nuclear transfer. This was followed by the cloning of a mouse in 1998, a bull in 1999, and the cloning of a female monkey, Tetra, by scientists in the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center and the Oregon Health Sciences University. This cloning of a monkey seems to lead to possible research on human cloning with newly developed techniques.

Wilmut, the man who made Dolly the cloned sheep, announced that human cloning should be banned. Nevertheless, the idea of human cloning had already been brought forth, discussed and debated both negatively and positively. Christians are to seek guidelines and to better understand the Human Genome Project as well as cloning. Human cloning undoubtedly goes against our ethical and moral values. Cloning of human kind, who were made in the image of God, only leads to ruining the dignity of the entire human species. One recoils at the tragic idea of disposing a cloned human after transplanting its organs, commercializing genes to be cloned in markets and duplicating the genes of bad dictators to be led to political power internationally. Human offspring are created conventionally by the love shared between a man and a woman. The natural way of producing offspring is ordained by God. Furthermore, with the idea of producing human offspring by cloning, this only leads to people re-defining marriage and parenthood.

Some biologically destructive results, such as mutated genes, might come out due to clumsy cloning experiments, unexpected mishandling of cloning techniques and over-hybridizing or intermixing of many various genes. Mutated genes and unidentified detrimental genes might be inherited and their development might harm genes of reproduction within cells. They might even inevitably cause fatal diseases or symptoms such as fast aging, cancer, and a dysfunctional immune system. As a whole, it might bring about a threat to the biological chain and human health. Isn't this kind of biotechnology or genetic alterations, if not being used and applied cautiously, biblically and ethically another Tower of Babel that will eventually bring the wrath of God and destruction upon humanity?

Christian churches, thus, should pray that some kind of legal action be taken on human cloning or, at least, legal restrictions or guidelines on the issue should be promulgated and given at this point. Scientists who do any type of genetic experiments and research on cloning with an anti-creationist attitude might propagate an arrogant idea that the prime source of living things or the creation is human beings and they can do whatever they want to do with God's creation. This is, again, the time for us to make creationism known as clear as a bell to the public as well as to those scientists. It is necessary for the public and private research groups to ask for God's wisdom as pursuing Human Genome Projects and cloning since it is, simply saying, God that created the whole universe and everything in it.

Although the Bible teaches on God's command to Adam and Eve to subdue His creation, this does not mean that in the name of science humanbeings are allowed to alter or transform the creation God ordained, operated and proceeded according to His providential, natural law. We should also realize that science is not contradictory to Christian faith. Rather, science and Christian faith can be compatible as long as they both strive to show how God created and designed His creation and that He is the author of life only to the extension of expressing our respect for God's creation.