What If?

[Azrael]

Since cloning and genetics are at the forefront of sciene these days and I've seen a number of books dealing with the issue from a christian perspective I curious as to what everyone here thinks.

 

This will be 2 hypothetical situations:

Situation 1: Your another loved one is dying of an incurable disease and will die within the week. Your doctor tells you that he/she knows another doctor who can and will clone people and offers to put you in touch with the doctor. You would be able to have your loved one cloned and they would come back with no signs of the disease, you would be able to pick up where you left off with your lives.

Situation 2: Your loved one has a genetic disease that can be taken care of by reprogramming their DNA. Without the treatment they will die.

 

I would like to hear everyones thoughts on this and its consequences. Please think about this, just dont give me quotes from the bible.

 

[Mike Beidler]

Originally posted by Azrael
Since cloning and genetics are at the forefront of sciene these days and I've seen a number of books dealing with the issue from a christian perspective I curious as to what everyone here thinks.

 

This will be 2 hypothetical situations:

Situation 1: Your another loved one is dying of an incurable disease and will die within the week. Your doctor tells you that he/she knows another doctor who can and will clone people and offers to put you in touch with the doctor. You would be able to have your loved one cloned and they would come back with no signs of the disease, you would be able to pick up where you left off with your lives.

Situation 2: Your loved one has a genetic disease that can be taken care of by reprogramming their DNA. Without the treatment they will die.

 

I would like to hear everyones thoughts on this and its consequences. Please think about this, just dont give me quotes from the bible.

Two problems with this from a practical standpoint:

(1) The transfer of memories from one body to the other.  There is no proof that memories are genetically recorded.

(2) The length of time it would take to grow another body.  What if they were 40 when they died?

In both cases, how can you really start back where you "left off"?

 

[Stormy]

Tell me... If you were the one who was dieing... would you feel that your life was renewed by a clone of yourself or when you died would you still feel dead?

We are more than dna.

 

[Blessed-one]

great thought, Stormy!

cloning a person's just so different, the memories shared will not be the same. I think there's a meaning behind grief.

 

[Stormy]

Situation 2: Your loved one has a genetic disease that can be taken care of by reprogramming their DNA. Without the treatment they will die.

I do not understand.

Are we talking of a medical treatment that prolongs life?

What reason would there be not to approve?

 

[KraKto$is8]

Question 1) we do not know how memories are stored, but it is very likely not in the DNA or RNA or whatever, so a clone would have to learn things again. A clone is esentially an identical twin of the person.

Question 2) yeah, why not?

 

[NumberOneSon]

Problem #1: I do not understand the "they would come back" idea. Cloning creates an entirely different life - it would not be the same person, even if you could transfer the memories. Your spouse wouldn't "be back"; that person would be dead, while you'd be with another person who just happened to share your spouse's DNA and memories. The movie "the 6th Day" illustrates this quite well.

Only transfering your spouse's spirit from a sickly body to a new healthy body would accomplish bringing them "back", but this is connected with question #2. I don't see anything unethical or unbiblical about reprogramming DNA or "growing" a new body.

By the way, Azrael, are you a Batman fan? Your username makes me curious.

In Christ,

Acts6:5

 

[budoka]

If the 'clone' had all the memories of the original up to the point of death, and came into being at that point (or very soon afterwards) he/she would feel very much like the original ... and would they be wrong?

We renew all our cells every 7 years or so. I am not literally the same person I was 7 years ago but because of my continuity of experience, I feel that I am.

Ever read any Greg Egan?