Tuesday, December 7, 2010

THE MEN WHO PLAY GOD


I am sure some of you at least once in your life have come across somebody who made the statement "Men should never play God."

For me, I came across that particular statement last night in class when we were talking about Stem Cell research and Cloning of other human beings etc. Some of the people in the class argued that they were against both stem cell research and clonings because they think that 'human beings' should not play God. We should not mess with what God has created or made natural.

Their argument struck me as completely absurd for these various reasons. Right now in the world, we have processed foods, foods that are made artificially for example fruits, tomatoes etc. They are able to be made without being grown and that's just one instance. Not to talk about the other instances where Doctors play God by saving human life through science and technology.

One of the other arguments some people in the class made was that if we cloned ourselves, it might be a prodigy. In the sense that it may lead to the over population of the world and disrupt the natural balance. Plus the science gained from stem cell research could figure out a way to stop people from aging and that would mean that people lived way longer than they should. Their argument again struck me as odd because they were arguing that supporting that kind of science would be nothing short of human beings playing God. I then asked them if they realised that human beings had  been 'playing God' way before any of us were born? In the natural world, if you get sick or you contact natural diseases those diseases are a way of nature to root out the weak and keep the strong. It's also a natural way to balance the earth population, but human beings decided to invent drugs and medicine which would cure us from those natural diseases in essence making us live longer.

If those drugs did not exist, the only respite we as human beings would have as  a cure is to pray to God and hope he answers us just like they did in the days of the bible. If God spurned our prayers, we would basically be screwed. So when they say 'we human beings are playing God' then they should realise that in order to stop playing God we need to get rid of all the scientific advances that have been made in order to enable we humans to be more effective.

The other aspect of this that I found bemusing was the fact that the very same people who say "Human Beings should not play God" are the very same people who credit God with the advances made by doctors, scientists etc. Sometimes when you ask people if you believe in God and not science why do you not only pray to God when your sick and let him heal you, why do you go to the doctor. Some people will respond with, how do you know it's not God working through the doctors?

My point is, if then it is God working through the doctors, scientists etc. Then the breakthroughs made in the medical and science profession are obviously of God's doing abi? So cloning and stem cell research are obviously approved by God.

I will define what stem cell research is for those who may not know what it is
Stem Cell Research - Stem cell research is a developing technology that focuses on using undifferentiated cells therapeutically to treat human disease and injury. Stem cells are primitive or unspecialized cells that can assist in tissue repair and rejuvenation. When they divide, stem cells have the potential to become any type of cell needed, such as brain, blood or muscle cells.

Basically the cells when separated can become any type of cell and they can be used to cure people with diseases such as cancer etc. The controversy behind it is that the cells are gotten from human embryos and so there is this whole argument as to whether a human embryo is a human being or not. 

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