> 2. There is the question of motives. People conceive children in the
> traditional way for both noble reasons and less-than-noble reasons. It's
> easy to imagine less-than-noble reasons for conceiving children via cloning.
> Is it possible to have noble reasons for conceiving a child by cloning?
> Perhaps, though no clear cases spring to mind. Even so, we don't have
> laws requiring all would-be parents to have purely noble motives.
One of the "motives" for cloning is for replacement body parts, even
to the extent of replacing the brain of a clone with the brain of
the original (whole body replacement). As a Christian, I don't see
Biblical support for this position in any way:
1. It is impossible for a clone to have an identical soul as the
original, as traditional Christian thought is that only God can
create a soul. Thus the clone is either soul-less (possible avenue
for demon possession?) or has a new soul.
2. Can a human being live without a soul? I mean really, not your
former boss. ;-)
3. If a clone has a new soul, "harvesting" the clone for parts,
tissues, or a new body is both murder and ghoulish (shades of
Frankenstein!).
4. If traditional Christian thought is wrong, and souls are created
in the same way as bodies (by the joining of the parents' souls),
will there be confusion in Heaven? (Hello, I'm first John, this is
2nd John and over there is 3rd John).
There are theological issues involved but, as Christian
scientists, I believe we need to become involved now before the
debate gets to the level of the abortion/choice debate.
William M. Frix
Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering
Box 3021
John Brown University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
Phone: (501) 524-7466
FAX: (501) 524-7499
EMAIL: wfrix@engr.jbu.edu