FROM SCIENCE FICTION TO SCIENTIFIC FACT
Commentary
by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org
I remember the article vividly – Parents magazine, May 1981. On the front cover of the magazine, there was the following heading - “What is Science Doing with the Human Race?: A Shocking Report on Genetic Experimentation.” [1] In 1981, most readers considered genetic engineering the subject of science fiction. Today, the predictions that were made then have become reality now.
Does the Bible give us any insight why man has chosen to play God and tinker with life? According to Scripture, man was made by God and in the image of God, but God never intended that man would play God.
In April of 2004, it was announced to the world that Asian scientists had produced a mouse without a father. I immediately sent out a news bulletin to all those on our Understand The Times e-mail Update list, alerting our subscribers about the fatherless mouse that had been artificially produced. For some reason, I had assumed that everyone would understand, without making any comment, why a fatherless mouse was so significant.However, my assumption was wrong. Immediately, I received a number of responses from people. They all asked the same question: What is so significant about scientists producing a mouse without a father?
It is interesting to me, how time has a way of numbing the way society looks at moral and ethical issues - like the one we are discussing. In 1981, there was shock and dismay when predictions were being made regarding the future of genetic engineering and the potential to mold and shape life via the field of genetic engineering.
In the article “Embryo Technology” that was posted in Parents magazine in May of 81, Dr. Kurt Semm, Chief of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the University of Kiel stated his opinion about the direction genetic research was headed over 20 years ago. He said, “There is an old German expression which roughly translated means, ‘one should not poke one’s nose in God’s affairs.’”[2] He stated that because it had just been announced to the world that someday offspring might be produced without a male parent. As the article stated:
“Pierre Soupart at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, actually has the potential to make males unnecessary to parenthood. Their experiments with mice indicate two eggs can be fused so that they start to divide without the help of any sperm. [3]
While people may not understand the significance of fatherless offspring now, they did then. In the same article, there was a large illustration showing two lesbians, their nude bodies joined together by a common womb. You don’t have to use your imagination to understand the significance of this illustration – then, or now.
The Bible states that whatever man imagines he can do, he will do. [4] With regard to “fatherless offspring” in humans, it is only a matter of time. In my view, the wrath of God predicted in the Bible that will come against ungodly man may be just around the corner.
I am Roger Oakland. This has been a biblical perspective to help understand the times.
[1] Parents, May 1981, front cover.