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: [email protected] 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 <[email protected]> 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: [email protected] 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>>
