In my essay I am going to consider whether man should have the power of god to do this, I will look at the opinions and beliefs of 2 religions and my own personal opinion. The 2 religions will be looking at are Christianity and Islam.
Christians agree that only god should have the right to manipulate our genes and characteristics because ‘it is wrong to try to make the earth perfect, only heaven is perfect’. The teaching they would use to support this is that Christians believe that genetic engineering is interfering with gods plan and that scientists don’t have the knowledge or wisdom that god possesses, so they aren’t ‘qualified’ enough to attempt such delicate work.
Muslims also agree that only Allah (god) should have the right to manipulate our genes and characteristics because ‘embryo research involves abortion’. This is because the Islamic faith is against abortion as life is seen as a gift from Allah (god). However, Allah can manipulate our genes etc without using such a sinful method such as abortion, so still respecting his own laws.
Furthermore, both Christians and Muslims consider genetic engineering as ‘playing God which is a great sin’ and they also believe that it is both Allah/Gods wish in what a foetus/person has in terms of their genes and characteristics.
03.11.04
Greg Judge
11O4
RE COURSEWORK – PART B
However, other Christians and Muslims do disagree with this statement and say that humans can interfere with our genes, not just god.
Christians believe this because ‘Jesus showed that Christians should do all they can to cure disease’. Although this view is shared by all Christians, some views are shared specifically by 1 or 2 denomination. For example, Roman Catholics believe that genetic engineering is valid as long as it doesn’t involve the use of embryos. This is because ‘life begins at the moment of conception whether in a womb or a test tube and killing life is wrong’.
However, Liberal Protestants support genetic engineering as long as it is conducted only for the cure of diseases and not to manufacture ‘designer babies’. They believe this because ‘there is a difference between creating cells and creating people’; also they believe that ‘finding cures using genetic engineering is no different from finding cures using medicines and surgical treatments’.
Muslims also believe this because ‘the Qur’an and hadith teach that Muslims should do all they can to cure diseases’. This view is very similar to the ones shared by the Liberal Protestants denomination of Christianity because they both say that genetic engineering is acceptable as long as it isn’t used to create ‘designer babies’ and that it is the same as finding cures using drugs etc. Both the Muslims and Liberal Protestants views are based around the non-use of genetic engineering to produce ‘designer babies’ because it takes away Allah/Gods gift which is life and that whatever sort of baby a couple receives is the wish of god and god alone.
Another religion that shares the same view as the above religions is Judaism. Jews share similar views as some Christians and Muslims do. They agree on the ‘designer babies’ and ‘embryo/abortion’ side of genetic engineering, however, they do believe that an embryo’s aren’t alive until they are 14 days old. The Talmud and Tenakh teaches Jews they should do all they can do to cure disease, this view is also similar to the one viewed by Liberal Protestants.
In conclusion, both denominations in Christianity and Islam share views similar views on genetic engineering. Some believe that genetic engineering is acceptable as long as it is used only to cure diseases and not to create perfect people (Liberal Protestants and some Muslims), while other Christians and Muslims are against genetic engineering because it is a great sin to play god. My personal opinion is that man does have a right to manipulate its on genome, being an atheist myself god doesn’t exist for me. So the statement has no meaning, human beings were created from pure evolution and that evolution aloud us to learn how to manipulate our genes. Furthermore, if god did exist, how come he would allow man to learn how to interfere with his plan? Seems a bit foolish in my opinion.