Christian Influence in a Secular World

That's the strapline of the Christian Institute and we're delighted to be hosting one of their meetings here at St John's on Thursday 8th November. Full details are elsewhere in this magazine. It promises to be a stimulating evening for all who are concerned to apply

biblical values to some of the issues in today's world. As a taster of the insightful thinking we can expect here's a letter from their director Colin Hart, first published in their recent 'Update' magazine.

Cloning Humans

Everyone agrees.' Stem cells are most remarkable cells. Many have the capacity to develop into any cell of the human body. One day such cells could be used to develop pioneering medical treatments. Here an ethical problem arises. Some stem cells are found in the human embryo. Scientists have specifically created human embryos in the lab so that the stem cells can be removed from them. This process destroys the human embryo. This would be a criminal offence in many countries but not in the UK.

'Adult stem cells' by contrast, can be obtained without destroying human life. They are found in certain parts of the body such as the bone marrow or the nasal cavity. Back in 2000 Government Ministers were saying the science was "very obvious": there'd be no breakthrough with adult stem cells until research on embryonic stem cells had been done first. 1. This claim was used to help justify legalising human cloning for research (so-called 'therapeutic cloning'). By cloning human embryos in the lab more stem cells could be harvested.

That was the theory. But the Government has been proved wrong. Research into embryonic stem cells has so far cured no none. Adult stem cells on the other hand are now being developed for 73 medical treatments. 2. The Government had predicted that one day research using embryonic stem cells would help treat spinal cord injury and heart disease. This has not happened but today both conditions are being treated by adult stem cells.

The Government's predictions were wrong. So too were its ethics. It can never be right to kill one person to help another. For Christians who believe in the sanctity of life from conception, the embryo must be treated as a human person. Since Jesus Christ became man at his conception and he was made in every way like us yet without sin (Hebrews 2:14,17; 14:15), then our humanity begins at conception. Experiments on embryos create human life only to destroy it.

The Human Tissues and Embryos Bill

Human cloning has not created enough stem cells for the scientists. They now want to obtain stem cells from animal-human embryos. The Government brought forward a Bill to legalise this procedure and many others. Hybrids, cybrids and chimeras - whatever the technique to combine human and animal material the ethical problem is the same.

Manufacturing new creatures out of humans and animals is deeply repugnant. It offends against the principle that human life is uniquely made in the image of God. It offends against the created order that humans and animals are of different kinds. Mixing them has rightly been called 'in-vitro bestiality'.

The Government wants to go even further than this. Its Bill creates an exception to the ban on reproductive cloning. It permits the replacement of mitochondria in order to combat the transmission of hereditary disease. Under this proposal babies will be conceived with genetic material from two mothers and a father.

Instead of being 'begotten' children will be made. Made to order. With certain hereditary conditions parents can already choose the sex of their baby. Now human genes will be mixed up in the lab. This is to usurp God, to break the link between procreation and sexual intercourse, and to turn children into commodities.

1. 1. House of Commons, Hansard 19 December 2000, col 260
2. 2. http://www.stemcellresearch.org/facts/treatments.htm as at 16 July 2007
   

The Christian Institute work hard to make these meetings professional, encouraging and informative. There will be people from other

local churches joining us - don't miss Thursday 8 November!

Yours as ever, Simon