From: "Ken Smith" <>

Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian,nz.soc.religion

Subject: Re: Stem Cell Research





> "Bob Howard" <> writes:

>

>

> >"John Fulton" <> wrote in message

> .

> >> :>

> >> :>March 19, 2002

> >> :>

> >> :>CHURCHES SAY: "PUT BRAKES ON EMBRYO STEM CELL RESEARCH"

>

> >John, your view is surprisingly liberal. The usual Christian principle is

>                                           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> >that life starts at conception. The Roman Catholic Church believes God

>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> >inserts a soul at conception so the use of embryo cells is wrong. That

leads

> >them to reject even test tube conception to help infertile couples.

>

> The "usual Christian position" has varied widely throughout history.

> Quite apart from the imprecise usage of the word "conception", and we

> should thank Peter Carnley for trying to get Anglicans to distinguish

> between fertilisation and the (roughly) two weeks long process of

> conception.

>

> For almost all of Christian history it was assumed that the woman was

> merely the fertile ground in which the man's ssed was nurtured.  Would

> most people be surprised to learn that mamalian fertilisation was only

> discovered in the 19th century?  Yes, less than 200 years ago even

> professional biologists didn't know that females contributed equally

> with males to the new life coming into being.

>

> And for a large part of that time it was assumed - and taught - that

> the soul was implanted in the embryo at "quickening", a phrase which

> has rather gone out of use these days.

> Since the new organism didn't have a soul until the mother felt it

> move, around 10 or 12 weeks after fertilisation, it wasn't human

> before that time.

>

> The whole question is very much more complex than the average

> Christian believes.

>

> >Like you I think that while an early stage embryo has the potential to be

a

> >human being it is nothing more than a bunch of cells. There is a feeling

we

> >are playing with life but I don't think it matters at such an early

stage.

> >As long as it is done for the right reasons I see no problem in

cultivating

> >cells for body parts or for the cure of disease.

>

> >The Christian principle is that life belongs to God but even if you

believe

> >that we have stewardship of life.

>

> >Bob Howard.

>

> Salaam,

> Ken Smith

>

> --

> Dr Ken Smith - Christian, husband, unpaid mathematician, skeptic, ...

>   ` "In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, here

>     goes -- I mean Amen," said Ransom, and hurled the stone as hard as he

>     could into the Un-man's face.' from C. S. Lewis, "Voyage to Venus"