The Future of Church - Book Report/Review Example

BIOTECH REVOLUTION Overview; Chimera The chapter begins by describing the actions of Dr. Weissman who injected human brain cells into a fully-healthymouse. The brain cells were shown to have grown in time, in effect giving, “a tiny sliver of human brain to a mouse (Allen 217).” The incident is apocryphal as the ensuing media controversy raised a number of pertinent ethical issues in biotechnology, which is one of the core themes of the chapter. In responding to the moral and spiritual concerns over the research, Dr. Weissman responded by saying that his primary focus in carrying out the experiment was to develop viable means of testing human brain cells to better understand things such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and even spinal cord injuries. The mouse is an example of a ‘chimera’; that is, an organism that has more than one set of genetic material. Weissman later proposed a research methodology that would inject even more human brain cells into the mouse, so that it would be almost entirely composed of human cells. The Stanford committee called it ‘creepy’ but still approved the project; they also instructed Weissman to stop the experiment if the mice began to exhibit any human tendencies. A technology critic interjected that the experiment, “stretch(ed) the limits of human tinkering with nature (218).” The chapter then considers the moral implications such a study holds within Catholic theology, and refers to an interview conducted with a high-ranking Catholic official. The official stated while it was ethically justified when there were less than 1% of human brain cells injected; Weissman’s second experiment raised serious moral questions. Definition of Biotechnology; Catholic Church response The chapter defines biotechnology as “the scientific understanding of the mechanics of human, animal, and plant biology, as well as the capacity to manipulate that biology through genetic means (220).” The cutting edge nature of the technology poses a number of pertinent questions for Catholic theology, as the appropriate theological stance has not yet been properly articulated. The issue is a multi-billion dollar business. It also currently is opposed by many strands from the political left, offering the traditionally conservative Catholic Church an opportunity to develop new political connections. IVF Arguments the Catholic Church has made concerning issues biotechnology issues such as in-vitro-fertilization are varied. While traditional Catholics oppose for a number of reasons, there is a growing trend among reform-minded Catholics to embrace its value. They point to the high number of embryos that perish before twinning; they account for the moral issue of the separation of procreation and sexual intercourse by stating that it is for a higher good, namely the birth of a child. Other technologies such as Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer have been similarly adopted by reform-minded Catholics; the article argues its acceptance is indicative of the long-term commitment Catholic theology has made with promoting conception. Cloning Another important biotechnology that is examined in terms of Catholic theology is cloning. While only fantastical accounts of the possibility of human cloning have thus far occurred, this hasn’t prevented the production of a large amount of theological doctrine on the subject. Indeed, the Pontifical Academy for Life issued ‘Reflections on Cloning’. The document contained proscriptions such as, “Each human being has the right to be born as the result of a natural sexual union” and “Human dignity requires that a person never be used as a means to an end (225).” Competing American Cultural Values American cultural values, as expressed in the policies of George W. Bush, reflect a similar apprehension towards cloning. Bush released ‘five categories for concern’ that included: a resultant identity crisis may occur because of the clones’ genetic similarity to a previous human; “children might come to be considered part of a manufacturing process”; by selecting specific traits a new form of eugenics might surface; the natural generational boundaries could be breached; could set a precedent for slavery of one generation over the next (226). There are cultural strands within American society that support the practice of cloning. These strands of society argue in favor of biotechnology by stating that infertility is a disability that can be overcome by the adoption of such technology. They also counter some of Bush’s arguments: identity crisis shouldn’t be a major concern as twins already share the same genetic traits; they also argue that clones wouldn’t become more exploited, pointing to the amount of abused children from so called normal forms of conception. Stem Cell Research Another controversial form of biotechnology is embryonic stem cell research. Soon after major advances in stem cell research were made, the Pontifical Academy for Life issued a statement in opposition to their use on the grounds that embryos were destroyed in the process, constituting murder. In response to these objections, researchers have attempted to devise methods for circumventing the termination of the embryo in the process of extracting the stem cell. Possible solutions include collecting cells from recently deceased individuals. Genetically Modified Organisms The article shows that biotechnology isn’t just restricted to humans, but is also extended to the production of plants. Researchers have argued that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) can be implemented in ways that help prevent humanity from a variety of ills and help stave off world hunger. However, there has been a corresponding ethical resistance to the use of GMOs, surprisingly from the nations and organizations that could benefit the greatest from their implementation. The argument against GMOs can be understood through a number of reasons: there is concern that copyrights on the GMOs will hurt small farmers; some groups fear viruses from GMOs will contaminate other crops; and fear that GMO food may negatively affect health. There has been mixed responses from the Catholic Church towards GMO use. The major Catholic objections included when GMOs were attempted to be placed in Brazil were: health consequences, environmental consequences, and damage to Brazilian sovereignty. More recent responses by Catholic theologians tend to increasingly support the implementation of GMOs are a response to the rise of world hunger. Chimera The article again addresses the chimera concept, as it relates to the ethical concern of slippages in the genetic differentiation between animals and humans. The articles states that the technological possibility of creating human/animal chimeras exists and meditates on the possibility of such occurrences in the future. A Senator has even introduced a ‘Human Chimera Prohibition Act’ to ban the creation of animals which human brain genes. Surprisingly, the Catholic Church thus far hasn’t opposed the idea. In 1956 the Pope even issued a statement in support of the use of chimeras if it was biologically possible and advisable. Animal rights group have not surprisingly taken a stance against chimeras. The chapter opened by stating that Dr. Weissman’s use of the mouse chimera was largely a function of developing an incubator for growing embryonic stem cells, and again the article returns to this central concern. One of the central objections to chimeras is that their promulgation would necessitate that the well-established features of natural law, or human rights’ would have to be re-imagined and interpreted for this hybrid species. Implications for the Future The article concludes by addressing a series of trends that are taking hold within Catholic theology. One of the major trends is the focus now placed on Catholic scholars that also have in-depth knowledge of genetics, as the biotech revolution is becoming increasingly technically oriented. The article argues that these people will play an increasingly larger role in defining the Catholic stance towards biotechnologies. It then goes on to discuss the nature of the Church’s claims to truth are rooted not in doctrine, but in universal human laws; it argues that there will be an increasing trend towards the promotion of Catholic principles along natural lines, as the Church receives resistance from outside institutions. It argues that there will be an increased co-optation of suffering as a virtue, as the Catholic Church finds itself morally at odds with biotechnology that can relieve human pain. Finally, it makes a case that secular genetic groups may even one-day promote a ‘god gene’ as religious faith has been shown to be beneficial. Reference Allen, J.R., John. (2009) The Future Church. Doubleday Religion. Read More