For your own good, PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED 'THE ISLAND'
There could not possibly be a better movie made this year, ok, ask me again after I've watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The island is a masterpiece. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time and not only did it enthrall me with the beauty of science, it constantly hurled philosophical and theological fastballs toward our fragile questioning minds. Beautiful.
Spent last night digging up old uni literature on cloning, in particular the small segments on the ethics of cloning. Initially I wanted to write on ethics, but after mulling over the topic for a long while, I figured it's an age old debate that can never be resolved. Science vs Religion. Do christians sit on the moral high ground? Honestly I do not know. But I visited a webite I used to read from before because i remember they have a page on cloning. http://www.religioustolerance.org (for some strange reason the damn 'turn-word-into-link' icon does not show up when I use my mac. Grunt.) I am an firm advocate of religious tolerance which probably is a conundrum to millions of my fellow christians.
Here is an exerpt from their website about cloning, in case you were wondering what on earth is cloning all about .
What is Cloning?
Cloning is the production of one or more individual plants or animals (whole or in part) that are genetically identical to an original plant or animal.
Three very different procedures have been referred to as "cloning." Two are:
Adult DNA cloning (a.k.a. cell nuclear replacement): This involves removing the DNA from an embryo and replacing it with the DNA from a cell removed from an individual. Then, the embryo would be implanted in a woman's womb and be allowed to develop in to a new human whose DNA is identical to that of the original individual. This method has been used to clone a sheep. The initial steps of the procedure were tried using human DNA in 1998-DEC. Adult DNA cloning cannot ethically be used to produce a human clone, because experiments on animals have sometimes produced defective specimens.
Therapeutic cloning: (a.k.a. Somatic cell nuclear transfer or research cloning): This starts with the same procedure as is used in adult DNA cloning. The resultant embryo would be allowed to grow for perhaps 14 days. It's stem cells would then be extracted and encouraged to grow into a piece of human tissue or a complete human organ for transplant. The end result would not be a human being; it would be a replacement organ, or piece of nerve tissue, or quantity of skin. The first successful therapeutic cloning was accomplished in 2001-NOV by Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company in Worcester, MA.
Source: THERAPEUTIC CLONING: How it is done; possible benefit, at http://www.religioustolerance.org/clo_ther.htm
It was interesting to see how MB's and my views panned out. MB obviously the theological guru and myself the lapse catholic still in the infancy stages of religous understanding. It was literally Religion vs Science. The film for me was one of hope, of the advancement of science, the possibilities. Possibility of a utopian world where we are completely erradicated of illness and diseases, where no one ever has to suffer. But that would be like playing God wouldn't it? It would seem that we are completely defying the laws of nature, but perhaps this is what was intended to happen in the first place? The next step up in evolution, all part of the divine plan?
I remember our lecturer showing us this during a lecture on genetic manipulation,
The mouse was a host for a prosthetic ear.
I thought to myself, My Gawd, we are truely at the epoch of the genetic revolution and I want to be a part of it. Then came the internship and a post graduate and I changed my mind. Anyway I digress.
MB was intrested in how clones do not have souls and the philosophical angle of the movie. It is so interesting to see that as individuals, our views and perceptions are fairly one dimesional, but when put together, we learn and sometimes try to marry the different viewpoints making our judgement and perceptions of life alot broader and open.
Life is indeed beautiful.
There could not possibly be a better movie made this year, ok, ask me again after I've watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The island is a masterpiece. It had me sitting on the edge of my seat the entire time and not only did it enthrall me with the beauty of science, it constantly hurled philosophical and theological fastballs toward our fragile questioning minds. Beautiful.
Spent last night digging up old uni literature on cloning, in particular the small segments on the ethics of cloning. Initially I wanted to write on ethics, but after mulling over the topic for a long while, I figured it's an age old debate that can never be resolved. Science vs Religion. Do christians sit on the moral high ground? Honestly I do not know. But I visited a webite I used to read from before because i remember they have a page on cloning. http://www.religioustolerance.org (for some strange reason the damn 'turn-word-into-link' icon does not show up when I use my mac. Grunt.) I am an firm advocate of religious tolerance which probably is a conundrum to millions of my fellow christians.
Here is an exerpt from their website about cloning, in case you were wondering what on earth is cloning all about .
What is Cloning?
Cloning is the production of one or more individual plants or animals (whole or in part) that are genetically identical to an original plant or animal.
Three very different procedures have been referred to as "cloning." Two are:
Adult DNA cloning (a.k.a. cell nuclear replacement): This involves removing the DNA from an embryo and replacing it with the DNA from a cell removed from an individual. Then, the embryo would be implanted in a woman's womb and be allowed to develop in to a new human whose DNA is identical to that of the original individual. This method has been used to clone a sheep. The initial steps of the procedure were tried using human DNA in 1998-DEC. Adult DNA cloning cannot ethically be used to produce a human clone, because experiments on animals have sometimes produced defective specimens.
Therapeutic cloning: (a.k.a. Somatic cell nuclear transfer or research cloning): This starts with the same procedure as is used in adult DNA cloning. The resultant embryo would be allowed to grow for perhaps 14 days. It's stem cells would then be extracted and encouraged to grow into a piece of human tissue or a complete human organ for transplant. The end result would not be a human being; it would be a replacement organ, or piece of nerve tissue, or quantity of skin. The first successful therapeutic cloning was accomplished in 2001-NOV by Advanced Cell Technology, a biotech company in Worcester, MA.
Source: THERAPEUTIC CLONING: How it is done; possible benefit, at http://www.religioustolerance.org/clo_ther.htm
It was interesting to see how MB's and my views panned out. MB obviously the theological guru and myself the lapse catholic still in the infancy stages of religous understanding. It was literally Religion vs Science. The film for me was one of hope, of the advancement of science, the possibilities. Possibility of a utopian world where we are completely erradicated of illness and diseases, where no one ever has to suffer. But that would be like playing God wouldn't it? It would seem that we are completely defying the laws of nature, but perhaps this is what was intended to happen in the first place? The next step up in evolution, all part of the divine plan?
I remember our lecturer showing us this during a lecture on genetic manipulation,
The mouse was a host for a prosthetic ear.
I thought to myself, My Gawd, we are truely at the epoch of the genetic revolution and I want to be a part of it. Then came the internship and a post graduate and I changed my mind. Anyway I digress.
MB was intrested in how clones do not have souls and the philosophical angle of the movie. It is so interesting to see that as individuals, our views and perceptions are fairly one dimesional, but when put together, we learn and sometimes try to marry the different viewpoints making our judgement and perceptions of life alot broader and open.
Life is indeed beautiful.