The Embryonic Stem Cell Debate
am typing this article up on 11/2/06. As
you all know, we have major elections set for next week -
11/7/06.
One of the issues that has risen to the
surface as a result of what is happening in the race in the
state of Missouri is the debate on embryonic stem cell
research. Missouri has an Amendment coming up for vote. This
amendment is known as Amendment 2. This amendment is basically
ensuring Missouri patients will have access to stem cell
therapies and cures if found in other states.
This amendment if passed, will make it clear that any stem
cell research and cures permitted by federal law will continue
to be allowed in the state of Missouri as long as those
activities are conducted ethically and legally. They believe
that embryonic stem cells have the potential to treat and/or
cure diseases and injuries such as diabetes, cancers,
Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, heart
disease, burns, and spinal cord injuries.
If this initiative is passed, it will just make it easier
for residents to have their injuries treated by stem cells as
long as these treatments are allowed by federal law. It will
also help and assist with the different medical institutions in
finding new stem cell cures, along with providing strict and
clear guidelines as to what they can and cannot do with this
type of research and testing.
What has added some major fuel to this fire is that famous
actor Michael J. Fox made a major public commercial endorsing
the passing of this amendment and casting his support for the
Democrat nominee, Claire McCaskill, as she is for this
amendment, while her Republican opponent, Jim Talent, is
directly opposing it.
Popular radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh then criticized
Michael J. Fox for getting into the middle of all this and
before we knew it, a major fire storm erupted over this whole
debate.
For those of you who have been following all of this, you
know that this debate has become very heated and very
controversial due to all of the ethical and moral issues that
have to be taken into consideration with this type of research.
Many conservative Christians have come out very strongly and
very passionately against this amendment and this type of
research. As a result, we now have a major divide in this
country over this type of research.
What I have found from asking many people what their
personal opinion is on all of this is that they really did not
fully understand what is really going on with this type of
research. Their initial reactions and initial leanings were
that they thought it all sounded very good due to the potential
benefit that could arise out of this research if it turns out
to be successful down the road.
For those of you who do not have a full grasp or a full
understanding on exactly what is going on with this type of
research, I thought I would draw this article up for all of you
so that you can have a good play-by-play account of what really
goes on in these labs when they start to try and experiment
with embryonic stem cells for the purpose of trying to find
cures for many of our disabling diseases.
Many people have had a hard time in trying to understand all
of this due to a lot of the scientific and technical language
that is being used to describe the actual procedure itself. But
do not be put off by all of this. This is actually very easy to
understand once you fully understand the basic terminology
being used and exactly what is involved in the actual procedure
on how they actually procure these stem cells in the first
place.
Once you fully understand all of the basic facts surrounding
this issue, then you can make up your own mind as to whether or
not you feel we are on safe ethical and moral grounds with this
type of research.
For the record, this ministry does side with the rest
of the conservative Christians who are coming out directly
against this type of research. We agree with their final
conclusions.
But to really be able to see the truth on all of
this, you have to understand exactly what is occurring in
the actual procedure being used to procure these stems
cells. The truth is in the actual facts.
This issue is like putting together pieces to a
jig saw puzzle. Once you have all of the puzzle pieces put
out on the table and then have them put properly together,
it becomes very easy to see what I believe is the real
truth on the matter.
However, this is just our own personal opinion on this very
controversial issue. I am simply trying to see this debate from
our Lord's point of view, since His point of view is the only
thing that should really matter to us on these kinds of very
controversial issues.
I believe that God has a very definite opinion on this kind
of research and His opinion is going to either fall on one of
two sides. Once I fully explain to you the actual procedure
that is being used to procure these stem cells, you will see
very quickly that there can be no grey areas with the Lord on
this issue.
Either God fully approves of this procedure and is glad that
we are using advances in technology and science to try and find
cures for some of these horrible diseases - or He will state
that we are crossing over and treading into forbidden areas
that we have no business in crossing over into in the first
place.
For those of you who have not made up your mind on
this issue, I challenge you to fully examine all of the
facts from both sides, and then go to the Lord in prayer
and ask Him to give you His direct personal opinion on this
matter.
I believe God is wanting His people to ask Him for
His direct opinion on this issue due to what we are
directly tampering with in the actual procedure itself. Ask
- and you just may receive a direct answer from the Lord on
this very heated and controversial issue.
So that you can fully understand what is being actually done
with this procedure, I will break it all down under the
following captions. I will then end with some concluding
remarks as to why we agree with the Christians who are coming
out directly against this type of research.
Before you can fully understand what is going on with this
type of research, you will need to understand some of the
specific terms and language being used. Here are some of the
major key words and key phrases being used in this type of
research, along with a description as to exactly what is going
on with this type of research.
1. Embryo
The first thing you will need to know is exactly what is an
embryo. This is the heart and crux of the whole argument.
Webster's Dictionary describes an embryo as the following:
"Embryo - fetus, thing newly born. An animal in the
earliest stages of development in the uterus or the egg,
specifically in humans from conception to about the eighth
week."
In other words, an embryo is the very first stages of human
development, and as such, it is a human life - it is a human
being! It is the period from actual conception to about the
eighth week. After the eighth week, it is then referred to as a
fetus. It is then referred to as a fetus from the eighth week
until the actual birth through the mother's womb.
Here is the key point to really grab a hold of. A human
embryo is just as much of human being between conception to the
eighth week as a fetus is from the eighth week until the actual
birth.
Per our article on abortion in the Current Issues section, we believe
that human life is equally life all along the life scale. In
other words, a baby only 2 minutes old, 2 weeks old or 2 months
old is just as much of a human being as someone who is 30 years
old outside the mother's womb. There is no difference to our
God in the sanctity or quality of that life anywhere on that
life continuum. Life is equally life all the way up and down on
that life scale.
A 2 week old human embryo is just as much of a human being
as a 3 month old fetus or a 30 year old full grown adult. As
you will see in the explanation on how this procedure is
actually done, they are creating real life human embryos when
they do this procedure.
Whether a human embryo is created from natural sexual
intercourse, some kind of cloning like Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer which will be explained below, or in a fertility
clinic using in-vitro fertilization methods - this human
embryo should never be destroyed or experimented
with.
It should be fully valued and fully protected
for what it really is - a fully living, viable, breathing
human being. Every single one of us started out as an
embryo at one time in our mother's womb. An embryo is fully
biologically alive and genetically complete - thus making
it a complete person.
Bottom line - a human embryo is a human life. It
is not just a bag of undifferentiated cells. It is a fully
living, viable human being. As such, any taking of the life
of that embryo or fetus, no matter at what stage it is in
its development, either on the inside of a mother's womb or
the outside the mother's womb in a lab dish, is first
degree murder in the eyes of God.
The ends cannot justify the means in this case.
You cannot destroy, kill, or murder human embryos for their
stem cells - even if those stem cells can be used to heal
other diseases.
Just as you would never consider putting yourself to death
in order to give someone else your human heart if they needed
your heart as a transplant - in the same way we cannot kill
human embryos for their stem cells.
I believe embryonic stem cell research is an area
that we cannot cross over with the Lord. I do not believe
we have the legal, spiritual or moral right to destroy one
human life in order to save another human life.
Life is sacred, not only to us, but to God
Almighty Himself. As such, human embryos should not be
tampered with, experimented with, or destroyed in any way,
shape or form.
2. Stem Cells
The second thing you will need to know is exactly what is a
stem cell. A stem cell is basically an undifferentiated, blank
type of cell. It has the capability of becoming more
differentiated types of cells like skin, muscle or nerve
cells.
Stem cells can be used to replace or heal damaged tissues
and cells in the body. In other words, they can act as a
built-in repair system for the human body helping to replenish
those other cells when they are damaged in any way. This is why
the medical and scientific community is exploring stem cell
research.
All of our bodies contain these stem cells. These stem cells
are the basic building blocks of the human body. They have the
unique ability to literally turn into other types of
specialized cells that make up the different tissues, bones and
organs of our bodies. They are self-sustaining and can
replicate themselves for long periods of time.
3. Two Types of Stem Cells
There are two basic types of stem cells. One is called
adult stem cells and the other is called embryonic
stem cells. The adult stem cells are also known as
non-embryonic stem cells since they do not come from human
embryos.
Embryonic stem cells are an unspecialized type of cell that
form the basic building blocks of 220 specialized cell types in
the human body. These are considered to be master types of
cells.
Embryonic stem cells are secured by harvesting living
embryos which are about 5-7 days old. This is why this type of
research is called "embryonic" stem cell research. Once the
stem cells are removed from the 5-7 day old embryo, the embryo
will then die as a result of the extraction process that was
used to extract those stem cells out of it.
In other words, the human embryo is directly sacrificed and
murdered for its stem cells - thus literally breaking one of
God's 10 commandments - thou
shall not murder.
The second type of stem cells, adult stem cells, are present
in the various organs and tissues within the human body. They
are found in our bone marrow, epidermis(skin), body fat,
retina, liver, brain, skeletal muscles and dental pulp. They
can also be found in umbilical cords and placentas.
The primary role of adult stem cells is to repair and help
maintain the tissue in which they are actually found in.
Another word for these adult stem cells is that they are called
"somatic" stem cells. The word "soma" in the Greek means "the
body."
There has already been documented cases of successes in
treating different diseases with adult stem cells. There are no
moral or ethical issues we have to deal with when using them
because no one is being killed or sacrificed in the process of
acquiring those adult stem cells since they can be taken from
different parts of the human body like the skin, muscle or body
fat.
One of the arguments for wanting to go after stem cells that
are in embryos instead of securing them direct from adult
sources is that embryonic stem cells will divide and
differentiate much easier than adult stem cells will.
However, that same ease with which they can divide and
differentiate can also pose a possible hazard in that it could
end up causing cancerous tumors once it has been injected into
a human body because they are not as stable as the adult stem
cells are. In other words, they are more genetically unstable
than the adult stem cells are due to the very young age of
them.
Adult stem cells are the more logical choice for continued
research because they already naturally exist in our bodies and
they thus provide a natural repair mechanism for many tissues
in our body in contrast to the embryonic stem cells which only
exist in a 5-7 day old embryo. As of to date, there have been
no documented cases of anyone ever being healed or cured from
their afflictions by using embryonic stem cells - but there
have been numerous cases where people have been successfully
treated for their afflictions with adult stem cells.
Embryonic stem cells can only be secured in one of two ways.
They can either be extracted from an embryo that has come about
as a result of an egg being fertilized by a sperm in the
in-vitro fertilization process from a fertility clinic, or by a
process called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, which is actually
a form of therapeutic cloning. And this will now lead us into
that actual procedure.
4. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer
Remember these 4 words very well! This is the entire heart
of this matter. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, abbreviated
SCNT, is a flat-out therapeutic cloning!
In order to be able to understand what is involved in this
process, you need to understand how natural fertilization
occurs between the egg and sperm. In natural fertilization
(which is the way God naturally intended for it to be), the
sperm of a male has exactly 23 DNA chromosomes in it. In the
female egg there is a membrane organelle in it that is a
nucleus and this nucleus also has 23 DNA chromosomes in it.
When the sperm unites with the egg, 23 chromosomes from the
sperm mix in with the 23 chromosomes from the egg. You thus end
up with 46 DNA chromosomes within the fertilized egg. When this
union occurs - a human life and a human embryo is formed inside
of the egg!
From there the cells in the fertilized egg will start to
divide and multiply and first form a zygote, then progress into
the blastocyst stage (100-150 cells), then into the fetus stage
at the eighth week, and then into a full-blown child once the
child is born through the mother's womb.
Once the embryo is initially formed at conception, we are
now looking at a real live human being, not just a bag of
cells. Once the 46 DNA chromosomes are locked into place in the
egg, then the embryo becomes entirely self-directed and
genetically complete. It now has the DNA material in place to
actually produce a human life and thus become a human
being.
Now here is what happens with this Somatic Cell Nuclear
Transfer. Instead of fertilizing the egg with a sperm in order
to create the human embryo, they are going to artificially
create the human embryo by doing something all together
different.
1) What they will first do is take out the DNA
nucleus of the female egg. In other words, they are removing
the 23 DNA chromosomes from the female egg. This is violation
#1 against the Lord, as they are now tampering with the essence
of life itself in the way that God has it set up in how we are
to be born into this world.
I do not believe that we have the moral right to remove the
DNA from the women's egg, as we are directly tampering with and
directly altering the "way" God wants to create a human
life.
They now have an egg that has no nucleus or any DNA
chromosomes in it. The nucleus of a cell contains the
organism's DNA. The egg has now been stripped of its own
natural DNA. As a result, the egg is now considered to be
"enucleated."
2) After they extract and remove the woman's
DNA from her own egg, they then take the DNA nucleus from
another part of the human body from the patient-donor, like the
skin cells, and then inject it into the egg. This DNA nucleus
from another body part such as the skin has exactly 46
chromosomes in it. This DNA will be taken from the person who
will want to be cloned.
What they have now done is altered and tampered with the
"way" God creates human life. Instead of having 23
chromosomes from the egg mixing in with 23 chromosomes from the
sperm - they now have an egg that has all of its 46 DNA
chromosomes coming only from one source - the donor who wants
to be cloned. You thus have an egg that has all of its DNA
chromosomes coming from a single donor as versus the
chromosomes being equally divided between a male and a
female.
Once these 46 chromosomes enter inside of the egg,
they then apply a small electrical pulse to fuse the cells
together in the egg. Once the electrical pulse is applied,
the egg will then start dividing.
The 46 DNA chromosomes that came from the
outside donor will now be reprogrammed by the host cell. A
human embryo will then literally develop as a result of the
cells that will start to divide!
In other words, they have just artificially
created a human life - a human embryo right in the middle
of a lab dish! And once the human embryo forms out, there
will then be stem cells that can be extracted from it
within the first 5-7 days. It can literally happen that
quick.
The human embryo is now a genetic clone of the
donor who gave his DNA nucleus through his skin cells. This
is what you call therapeutic cloning. In other words, a
human clone is created outside of the mother's womb in a
lab dish. It can literally be created in a lab dish as a
result of the enucleated egg uniting with the 46 DNA
chromosomes from the original donor.
To clone someone means to create a genetic copy
of that someone else. Cloning is thus duplicating the
genetic material of the donor and using it to actually
create a human life by way of these embryos. What you are
really doing is creating a human life with virtually the
same genetic material as the donor himself.
The theory on this kind of research is to create a clone of
the patient who will need the stem cells for his disease and
then extract the stem cells from the cloned embryo. The reason
being is that the donor-patient may have a much better chance
of having his body "accept" these stem cells instead of
rejecting them since they are coming directly from his own
genetic makeup, since it was his DNA that was initially
injected into the egg in the first place.
These stem cells are then transplanted into the donor's body
to help either try and cure his disease, or to help generate
healthy new cells and tissues, such as heart, muscle and nerve
cells.
The other way they can possibly clone someone is through
what they call reproductive cloning. In this method, all
they will have to do is take all of the above one extra step
further. They will take this embryo and then implant it into
the woman's uterus. If that egg takes inside of the women's
uterus and she becomes pregnant - she will then be giving birth
to a clone of the one who had just given his DNA for the
experiment.
This is exactly how Dolly the sheep in Scotland was cloned,
along with other animals. No sperm was ever used in their
cloning. All you have to do is take the DNA from one animal
that you want to clone, and inject his DNA into an egg that has
had its own DNA removed, and you will then create a clone of
that animal.
Once the human embryo starts to develop as a result of SCNT,
it will first reach what is called the blastocyst stage.
The blastocyst stage is the very early state of embryonic
development where you have about 100-150 cells formed out. This
blastocyst stage will be reached in 5-7 days.
It is when the embryo reaches this blastocyst stage in the
first 5-7 days that they will then extract the actual stem
cells. The actual stem cells make up the inner cell mass of
this blastocyst. Embryonic stem cells are thus derived from
cells that make up this inner mass of the blastocyst.
The inner mass of the blastocyst is what is actually
removed. The embryo is then destroyed during the actual
procedure of removing these stem cells - or to put it another
way, the embryo is literally sacrificed and put to death in
order to have its own stem cells removed for the purpose of
trying to save the donor. The stem cells will then be used
to try and treat the donor's condition, whether it be to try
and treat the disease directly or to try and treat the cells
that are actually dying from the disease.
3) What the proponents of Amendment 2 are
arguing is that they are not cloning anyone since they are not
implanting the egg into a woman's uterus, thereby causing her
to get pregnant.
However, though they are not cloning inside the
woman's uterus, they are still cloning outside of her body
in a lab dish. It is still cloning - whether this embryo
forms and grows inside the mother's womb, or whether it
forms and grows outside the mother's womb in a lab dish.
There is no difference between these two scenarios!
A human embryo is being created because of the
process of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Instead of
naturally creating a human embryo in the way that nature
has intended by way of a sperm uniting with an egg, they
are artificially creating a human embryo by injecting
someone else's DNA into the egg from another body part
instead of from an actual sperm.
Just stop and think for a moment what is being done. I
believe that this territory is very sacred territory with the
Lord. We are tampering with the "way" God creates human
life.
God has it set up that a child is first formed out as an
embryo by uniting 23 DNA chromosomes from a sperm with 23 DNA
chromosomes that are already in a woman's egg. I don't believe
God will approve or want us to "alter the way" in which
human life is first created.
To think that we are now literally extracting and removing
the woman's own 23 DNA chromosomes so that the egg is now
"empty," and then we inject 46 chromosomes, not from a sperm,
but from a different body part like the skin from an outside
donor - is enough to just give you the creeps. This is like
watching a science-fiction horror movie.
4) Some of the people arguing for this
amendment will try and say that an actual embryo has not been
created. They believe that the 5-7 day old growth that has
occurred is nothing but a bunch of "undifferentiated cells in a
lab dish that have no human organs or human features."
They feel that since they are not dealing with a fertilized
egg by way of a sperm causing it to naturally fertilize, that
they are not actually dealing with a human embryo. But I
believe the evidence proves otherwise.
Those first 100-150 cells that have developed in the
first 5-7 days, which is known as the blastocyst stage of
an embryo, all show and prove that an actual human embryo
has now been created. Otherwise these cells would not be
developing and dividing on their own. The proof is in the
pudding. The facts speak for themselves.
Only a truly living human embryo can produce
real live stem cells. And the fact that this growth goes
right into the blastocyst stage, which is the first major
stage of growth in a normal human embryo, is once more
proof that we are dealing with a real live human embryo and
not just a bag of cells that just happen to be dividing as
a result of the initial electrical impulse that was given
to it.
The fact that animals have literally been
reproductively cloned using this exact same procedure is
again more proof that a human embryo has been fully created
by using this process. This is not just a bag of
undifferentiated cells in a lab dish.
Another argument they will try and throw your way is that
what they are doing with SCNT is regeneration, not
fertilization. They will try and argue that fertilization
occurs when the sperm enters and properly unites with the egg,
but only regeneration occurs when they use this SCNT process as
described above.
But again, the SCNT process causes the egg to develop and
literally enter into the blastocyst stage, which is the first
major stage that a human embryo will go into.
The fact that the egg is immediately growing and
moving into the blastocyst stage is proving that we are
dealing with a real live human embryo, not just a bunch of
undifferentiated cells that just happened to regenerate to
this first blastocyst stage all on their own.
Conclusion
As I said at the top of this article, you will each have to
examine both sides of this debate, and then come to your own
personal conclusions as to whether or not you feel we are
entering and treading into forbidden territory with the
Lord.
After examining the actual procedure that is being used to
extract these stem cells, I believe there are 4 direct
violations that are being committed against the Lord.
1. The Initial Procurement of the Eggs
The first violation being committed against the Lord is
occurring when we initially try and procure the eggs from a
female donor. God did not arrange for females to be donating
their eggs for this kind of abominable research.
I believe that God has a natural and divine way for
human life to be created - and that natural and divine way
is through sexual intercourse in the bounds of holy
marriage where the sperm of the male enters into the egg of
the female - with the egg of the female staying on the
inside of the woman's body - not on the outside of her body
in a lab dish like they are doing with this type of
research and testing.
The minute you try and alter or change this
natural and divine way of creating human life - I believe
that we are directly violating the ways of God Almighty
Himself. A woman's eggs were meant to be fertilized on the
inside of her body - not on the outside of her body in a
petri lab dish.
As a result of going against the "way" God has it
initially set up on how we are to bring human lives into this
world, many women have either had or will be having severe
complications down the road as a result of the painful process
that is being used to extract her eggs from her.
Some of the known side effects that could occur as a result
of the extraction process being used to procure the eggs from
her are memory loss, seizures, bone loss, cancers, joint pain,
baldness, strokes, brain damage, infertility, lupus and
possibly death itself. In some of these cases they are using a
high dose of hormone therapy to get her to produce the eggs in
the first place.
It has been estimated that 2-5% of the female population
could be at risk from some of the above side effects - which
could equate to thousands of women being forced to deal with
these heavy and bad side effects down the road. So ask yourself
- do you want to take the gamble, donate your eggs for what you
feel is a noble and worthy cause, hoping that you will not be
one of those unlucky ones in that 2-5% range?
The fact that even that percentage of women are going to
have to deal with those kinds of heavy side effects are telling
me that this is not a natural procedure and women thus should
not be willing to donate their eggs for what is an abominable
type of research to begin with.
2. The Removal of the DNA Nucleus in the Woman's Egg
The next abomination and violation that I believe is
occurring is what they then do next after her egg has been
painfully extracted from her.
To start the process of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, they
first have to go into the woman's egg and literally remove her
own DNA nucleus, which has the first 23 chromosomes in it that
will start the creation of human life once it unites with the
23 chromosomes that are in the sperm of a male.
As I stated above, in order for human life to be created
inside of the egg, 23 DNA chromosomes from the male sperm has
to enter into and unite with the 23 DNA chromosomes that are
already in the egg. But instead of staying with this natural
and divine way of creating human life the way God has it set up
to be, science now has to tamper with, alter and change the way
in which a human life will now be artificially created in these
laboratory settings.
They will now literally remove the natural DNA nucleus found
inside of the woman's egg so that they can replace it with 46
chromosomes that will be coming from another donor's somatic
body part like the skin cells.
Just stop and really think for a minute what is really being
done with this process. What does your natural common sense and
natural intelligence tell you when you see that they are
literally removing the "way" in which God wants to have
human life created on the inside of a mother's womb?
I believe they are tampering with the very "essence"
of human life itself the minute they go into the woman's egg
and remove the DNA nucleus from it.
The DNA nucleus in the egg will help provide the
genetic blueprint for who we are going to physically be in
this life.
I do not believe any human has the right to go
into the woman's egg to remove the DNA nucleus that is
naturally found in it and that was initially put into it by
God Almighty Himself.
I believe that this is very sacred territory
with the Lord and we are treading into forbidden territory
with Him on this issue.
Again, the ends can never justify the means if those means
are going to go against the laws and ways of our Lord. Too many
people are thinking with their hearts and their emotions on
this issue intead of thinking things all the way through with
their intelligence. We need to try and see this from God's
point of view, not from man's point of view.
3. Using the 46 DNA Chromosomes of the Donor to
"Impregnate" the Egg Instead of Using Male Sperm
The third violation against the Lord is what they then do
next after they have removed the DNA nucleus from the woman's
egg.
After they have removed the 23 DNA chromosomes from the egg,
they then take 46 DNA chromosomes from the donor's somatic body
part, like the skin cells, and then inject His 46 DNA
chromosomes into the egg to makeup for the 23 DNA chromosomes
that they had just taken out of the egg.
In other words, instead of using 23 DNA chromosomes
naturally found in the sperm of a male, they have to use 46 DNA
chromosomes that are found in one of their appropriate body
parts. So again, they are once more tampering with, altering
and changing the way in which God wants to create a human life,
which is by way of male sperm entering and uniting with the
egg.
Even though they need an electrical impulse to start the
cells dividing so they can move into the blastocyst stage, this
could not happen unless they first had the 46 DNA chromsomes
from the donor injected into the actual egg itself.
4. The Deliberate Sacrificing and Destruction of the Human
Embryo
When the stem cells are extracted from the embryo in the
first 5-7 days, the embryo will not survive this extraction
process. The extraction process used to extract the stem cells
will kill the embryo.
Everyone knows right up front that no embryos will be
surviving this extraction process. They thus know right off the
bat that they will be killing and murdering these embryos every
time they artificially create one for the purposes of removing
its stem cells.
Again, an embryo is a "human" embryo. It is not a bag
of cells that just happen to be dividing and multiplying
out of pure random chance. These cells are initially
dividing and entering into the blastocyst stage because
real human life has now been created - even though it has
been artificially created in a laboratory setting.
Even though this human life has been artificially
created in this laboratory setting, this life is still
human life and as such, it cannot be killed, destroyed or
discarded.
Once a real life human embryo has been created,
either artificially by SCNT, or naturally by sexual
intercourse, this human embryo should be afforded all of
the legal rights that any grown adult has in our world. We
were all little embryos at one time, and there should be no
difference in the sanctity of a human life just because a
human life may be at a different stage of
development.
A 5-7 day old embryo should be looked upon as a full and
complete human being - not as bag or glob of undifferentiated
cells just dividing out of pure random chance.
Bottom line - God either has one of two opinions on
all of this. After carefully examining all of the evidence
and arguments from both sides, my own personal conclusion
is that our Lord looks at this entire scenario as a
complete and utter abomination.
Not only are we tampering with, altering, and
literally changing the way in which God has it set up to
create and bring a human life into this world - but we are
literally breaking His 6th commandment of thou "shall not
murder" when we deliberately and willfully sacrifice and
murder the life we have just artificially created in these
laboratory settings in order to secure their stem
cells.
Just because science has now found out how to artificially
create a human embryo in a laboratory setting by way of SCNT
does not mean we have to actually use it. With knowledge comes
the responsibility to use that knowledge wisely.
Whether this amendment passes next week or not, this will
not be the end of this debate. You will continue to see many in
the scientific and medical communities continue to push the
envelope with God the Father on these kinds of issues.
But sooner or later, their day in the sun will be over, and
they will all have to eventually appear before the Lord to give
a personal account of everything that they have ever done in
this life - all of the good with all of the bad. And you can
bet your bottom dollar that this particular issue will be
coming up with all of those who were actively involved in this
type of research and testing.
We will see who is right on this issue once we all have
departed from this life and have received the Lord's answer on
this issue. But for those of you who are real seekers in the
Lord, I would highly recommend that you go before the Lord and
ask Him to give you His direct personal opinion on this issue
if you have not made up your mind on this very controversial
issue.
I believe that God is really wanting to express His opinion
on this matter to His people, and I believe that if you
approach God with a sincere request - He will let you know loud
and clear through His Holy Spirit what He really thinks about
this matter. Ask and seek - and I believe that you will receive
a direct answer from the Lord on this issue.
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Sin of
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Bible 10
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