In Brief... Miracles or Monsters?
As long as there are scientists without ethics and people willing to finance their work, the possibility of human cloning is extremely high. However, the possibility of successful human cloning is not.
Liberal scientists Panos Zavos and Severino Antinori rocked the world with their bold announcement in August that they would begin to clone humans before the end of this year. Is it possible? The rest of the scientific community does not seem to doubt that it is. The question is: What will their efforts produce?
The probability of miscarriages, premature deliveries, genetic abnormalities and stillbirths is extremely high. Much publicity has been given to Dolly, the cloned sheep that was born in 1997. However, little coverage has been given to the fact that hundreds of animals are born dead or with terrible defects in cloning attempts gone wrong.
Among those defects are serious lung problems, as well as disorders of the heart, blood vessels, the immune system, bones, brain and kidneys. Scientists have warned that we should expect similar outcomes in human clones.
Potentially, there will be additional problems that aren't easily detected in animals, such as behavioral abnormalities, learning difficulties, problems with sociability, aggressiveness and emotional instability.
Even Dr. Ian Wilmut, who was the leader of the team that cloned Dolly, issued a gloomy warning about the high probability of serious problems in human cloning efforts.
An additional unresolved problem is the fact that some fetuses grow to an enormous size, so huge that their size could threaten the health of a woman pregnant with a clone. Scientists do not know what goes haywire in the genetic coding that causes this phenomenon.
Many governments have passed legislation that bans human cloning, including a recent bill voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives. However, that's unlikely to stop the mad pursuit of cloning. It holds a certain intrigue for the scientist. "Let's see what we can do" is so loud that it shouts down the quieter whispers of conscience.
A potential candidate for the U.S. Congress has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an attempt to clone his infant son who died in surgery. Mark Hunt, a wealthy attorney, told the manager of a cloning laboratory, "I will spend every dime I have to get my son back." When the manager explained that cloning would not recreate his son, Hunt replied: "At least I will have one who looks like him."
As long as there are scientists without ethics and people willing to finance their work, the possibility of human cloning is extremely high. However, the possibility of successful human cloning is not.
Sources: Lois Rogers and Joe Lauria, Times Newspapers Ltd.; Michael Woods, The Toledo Blade; Janelle Carter, AP; Agence France Presse.
An Article from:
World News and Prophecy: September - October 2001
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Melvin Rhodes
Melvin Rhodes is a member of the United Church of God congregation in Lansing, Michigan.
Jim Tuck
Jim has been in the ministry over 40 years serving fifteen congregations. He and his wife, Joan, started their service to God's church in Pennsylvania in 1974. Both are graduates of Ambassador University. Over the years they served other churches in Alabama, Idaho, Oregon, Arizona, California, and currently serve the Phoenix congregations in Arizona, as well as the Hawaii Islands. He has had the opportunity to speak in a number of congregations in international areas of the world. They have traveled to Zambia and Malawi to conduct leadership seminars In addition, they enjoy working with the youth of the church and have served in youth camps for many years.
