{"id":1551,"date":"2018-03-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering-2\/"},"modified":"2022-06-23T09:25:44","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T13:25:44","slug":"does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because human beings weren\u2019t able to manipulate the genetic code when the Bible was written, it doesn\u2019t directly address genetic engineering. It does, however, give general principles regarding medical technology that apply to genetic technologies.<\/p>\n

Humans are created in God\u2019s image and likeness, and so he charges them to exercise dominion over his creation (Gen. 1:27-28). Their mandate? To subdue and kindly master the earth, unlocking its resources to benefit themselves and their successors \u2014 in a sense continuing the spirit of creation by being subordinate \u201ccreators\u201d with God in unlocking the secrets of the creation to benefit humankind.<\/p>\n

The command to “subdue the earth” takes on added complexity after the entrance of sin into the world (Gen. 3). Exercising dominion over creation after the fall now involves dealing with sin\u2019s effects in the world. Dominion includes working toward improving the creation or reversing the effects of the entrance of sin. The most important of sin\u2019s effects is the reality of death (Gen. 3:2-3), which is universal in its scope (Rom. 5:12). That is, after the fall, every person faces death, decay, and deterioration. Thus, dominion over creation largely involves dealing with death and disease (disease being the cause of death in most cases), which can alleviate the harshness of life after the fall, even genetic disease. In order to exercise dominion, God (through general revelation) provided human beings with resources necessary for accomplishing that task. That ingenuity and wisdom come from God as his \u201ccommon grace\u201d gifts to humans (Is. 28:23-29).<\/p>\n

The knowledge and skill necessary to develop the kinds of technologies that enable humankind to subdue the creation are part of God\u2019s general revelation. Humans didn\u2019t acquire the ingenuity and skill to develop sophisticated technology on their own, apart from God. It\u2019s not an accident that these technologies came to be so useful in our exercise of dominion over creation. They are gifts from God. Thus, technologies that generally improve the lot of humanity and specifically help reverse the effects of sin\u2019s entrance into the world are part of God\u2019s common grace. The skill and expertise needed to bring about these creation-subduing technologies come ultimately from God, being His good gifts to humans in harnessing creation.<\/p>\n

This is particularly the case when it comes to medical technology. Since death is one of the primary consequences of the entrance of sin into the world, and disease is the primary cause of death and physical deterioration, medical technologies bringing cures to diseases and other afflictions are among God\u2019s most gracious gifts to the human race.<\/p>\n

Medical technology can be part of God\u2019s common grace to assist humans in fulfilling their role in exercising loving dominion. The more controversial technology of genetic engineering should be used only for therapeutic reasons (repairing damage), in keeping with the creation mandate. It should not be used for eugenic reasons (creating a kind of super race, as Hitler and the Nazis hoped to do, considering other races inferior to the so-called Aryans). C.S. Lewis warned that if \u201cthe dreams of some scientific planners are realized\u201d by using their power to make their descendants into what they please, then their \u201cconquest of Nature … means the rule of a few hundreds of men over billions upon billions of men.\u201d<\/p>\n

This post is an excerpt from the Apologetics Study Bible by Holman Bible Publishers. It is used with permission. You can purchase this resource in its entirety\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because human beings weren\u2019t able to manipulate the genetic code when the Bible was written, it …<\/p>\n

Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2241,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[9,12],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-1551","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-apologetics","topics-science"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDoes the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? - Apologetics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Because human beings weren\u2019t able to manipulate the genetic code when the Bible was written, it … Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? Read More »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Apologetics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-06-23T13:25:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/\",\"name\":\"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? - Apologetics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-03-26T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-06-23T13:25:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg\",\"width\":1500,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/\",\"name\":\"Apologetics\",\"description\":\"Just another NAMB Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? - Apologetics","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?","og_description":"Because human beings weren\u2019t able to manipulate the genetic code when the Bible was written, it … Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? Read More »","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/","og_site_name":"Apologetics","article_modified_time":"2022-06-23T13:25:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1500,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/","name":"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering? - Apologetics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg","datePublished":"2018-03-26T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-06-23T13:25:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/03\/pexels-rfstudio-3825461.jpg","width":1500,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/resource\/does-the-bible-provide-guidance-on-genetic-engineering\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Does the Bible Provide Guidance on Genetic Engineering?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/","name":"Apologetics","description":"Just another NAMB Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/1551"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1551"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=1551"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=1551"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/apologetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=1551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}