Dominic Nkoyoyo*
Dr. Craig Venter an American scientist on 20th May this year announced to the world the mind blowing news has changed the history of humanity, namely: that the scientists of the Craig Venter Institute, have created the first ever living cell in a laboratory.
I believe and I think many will agree with me that this is so far the greatest scientific breakthrough in human history! Scientists have finally, after many years of research created life! So we who are living today and the future generations, we are in a new era: The Age of Synthentic Biology.
So what is our reaction and response to this new historical invention? Are we pleased with it, fearful, or angry and cursing it? Is it a hard pill for you to swallow? Does it shake your faith to its foundations or does it strengthen it all the more?
When Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) came up with his theory of Natural Selection or Evolution, many Christians of his time were not happy with him! Even today, many believers, especially, Christian fundamentalists do not want to hear of the theory of evolution! They even insist that it should not be taught in schools! For they feel it contradicts their faith, “that God created man and therefore he could not have evolved from apes as the theory holds!”
The Catholic Church is very positive bout the Darwinian theory of evolution and other evolutionary theories. The late Pope John Paul II, in the name of the Catholic Church acknowledged its value and importance. Hence on 23rd October, 1996 in his message entitled Truth cannot contradict truth to the members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences he said: “Today, more than a half a century after his encyclical Puis XII’s 1950 Encyclical Human Generis], new knowledge leads us to recognize in the theory of evolution more than a hypothesis.
So as Catholics we are well disposed and open to these scientific breakthroughs. And I find it very interesting that even the Bible itself has a special place of the Biological Sciences that deal with human life! For Sirach says: “Honour physicians for their services, for the Lord created them; for their gift of healing comes from the Most high…The skill of physicians makes them distinguished, and in the presence of the great they are admired. The Lord created medicines out of the earth and the sensible will not despise them.” (Sir.38:1-4). God gave us intelligence which we must use to unravel the truth underlying the material world and biological life.
And for me I am very pleased with this news of the creation of life by scientists. Because it confirms what I have believed all along: That behind all we see in this world there is a GREAT INTELLIGENCE at work! For behind the, synthetic cell, as the, living cell, created by the scientist is called, there is the natural intelligence of the scientists. For without the intelligence of these scientists, this, synthetic cell, could not have come into existence!
So we should all be happy, for the creation of life by scientists, proves the existence of the supernatural intelligence that created our own life. We did not come about by sheer chance! Even if it be true, that we evolved from apes, behind the whole process we ultimately have to arrive at: The Great Intelligence, Loving and Eternal, the Creator of all. So to the question, Is God the author of life? The answer remains: YES ultimately God is the Author of life.
That said, my congratulations to the great scientists: Craig Venter, Hamilton Smith, Clyde Hutchison and their colleagues whom God has use to advance our knowledge. Keep it up guys!
But does this new discovery pose any dangers? Of course the danger of misusing this knowledge and technology, for example, using it for biological weapons and also falling into the wrong hands is very real, but that is normal. We have the internet with its danger of exposing children to pornography and other dangers, but its advantages out weigh by far its disadvantages. So we shall handle the dangers of the new discovery as they come along, although we should start right away making provisions for that.
*Dominic Vincent Nkoyoyo is a monk at Monastery Val Notre-Dame, Canada.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this section do not necessarily represent the opinions of CISA.
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