At 05:39 AM 08/05/02 -0700, Glenn Morton wrote:
> For every good, there is always a bad. We will never find a
>totally good technology and if we only accept 100% untainted technology, we
>would still be back in the stone age. And by the way, stone tools can be
>used to provide food for one's family or be used to kill your neighbor.
I fully agree. That is why I have advocated a Christian Philosophy. My
experience is that some people laugh about that, but it is usually since
they have a rather restricted view of philosophy. I believe, that God
reigns everywhere, and that God tells us that everything on earth is
condemned, because of man's sin. But, also that we believe in a new earth
coming, when Christ returns, where everything will be re-newed.
Believing that, it means that there is nothing here on earth that is not
affected by human sin, nor is there anything that will not be new on the
new earth.
The above statements mean however, that we have to develop a way of looking
at all things, a philosophy, which takes these facts into account. Abraham
Kuyper said that around 1900, and one of his pupils, Vollenhoven, had in
1918 (or was it 1916?) as subject for his doctoral thesis in Theology: (I
translate) "The Philosophy of Mathematics from a Theistic Point of
View." In the thirties he wrote a small book (again in Dutch) "The
Necessity of a Christian Logic." He and his brother-in-law Dooyeweerd
spent their lives in developing such a Philosophy. I do not claim that
their work is now finished. Many people are still working at it, and they
do not always agree.
I mention those things, since we are Christians in our scientific work as
well. As Glenn says good tools may be used for bad actions. However,
"gene" research is more than just finding new tools. The methods used may
have ethical (thus subject to Christian norms) sides as well. Even, more,
there are some actions which may be totally sinful, when stem-cells are
"harvested." Technics is always about something, and toward a certain
end. That end is subject to laws, human laws, creational laws, and divine
laws. Etc. Dooyeweerd wrote a four volume work on that.
Enough for now. We have a very heavy thunderstorm here, and I want to
disconnect.
Jaan
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