Stem Cell Research...Continued
There was a time when a reasonably educated person (as we assume our clergy are) was versed in all areas. At one time, it was reasonable to conclude that the clergy had read all the important books and were conversant in science, music, architecture, literature, political theory and history, as well as theology and philosophy. Then the knowledge explosion came. Today it is hard to stay up-to-speed in even one small area of one discipline. Thus, I try not to be dogmatic in areas where I am ignorant. I am on a very steep learning curve with stem-cell research. Last Monday's Faith Focus resulted in an avalanche of e-mails - more than I have received on any subject. Here is a sampling:
"Some human embryos are spontaneously aborted which we call miscarriages.... I feel that any abortion except spontaneous abortion is murder of a human embryo."
"My personal concern is with the temptation to sell embryos from pregnancies and abortions for the economical motivation..the stem cell issue is real and does not have easy answers." (from a retired MD)
"In my experience, the search for grant money (especially from the government) prompts researchers to make all kinds of claims, which may or may not ever be substantiated... sorry - even scientists are corrupted by money!"
"I am counting on the advancement of this research for a cure (then mentioned his own disease). I never understood the politics associated with this research"
"There's lot of confusion between embryonic and non-embryonic scientific research"
"At what point do we say that's far enough? Shall we create clones of individuals so that should they need a new organ or a new limb, we can create one? At what point are we playing God? It is a slippery slope, and once we have opened that door, we had better be sure how far we want to go, because pure science with no restrictions will always push the envelope."
Thank you for the response. Thank you to those who sent me e-mail links for further reading. Let's remain in conversation about the blessings/challenges of this research.
In faith,
Pastor Tim
