The Faith of Misfit Believers

As was my tradition in years past...I will repost this old past from 2010 for Christmas to remind us of who we are as Christians. It is about the unlikelihood of our faith from a human perspective. But that isn't what it is really about is it? The human perspective? It is about God's perspective.

Some of the "heroes" of the Scripture read like a list of toys on the "Island of Misfit Toys" from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Misfits one and all from a worldly and secular perspective. The rejects of society, the rejects that the godless world doesn't want. I mean...good grief man! Look at what they did to Jesus. Even our Messiah Jesus Christ was ostracized by his own people who did not recognize Him as the Son of God. Rejected and sentenced deceitfully to death by crucifixion in the greatest miscarriage of justice the world has ever known.

We then have people like David standing in for King Moonracer who has a dysfunctional family an often times rebellious lot. There is also Abraham with his faith and faithlessness the equivalent of Hermey the Misfit Elf who lives a double life as a dentist and one of Santa's helpers. And of course we have the Apostle Paul who reminds me of the big bruiser "Bumble" (abominable snowman) who initially beats the living daylights out of mostly defenseless reindeer and has a thorn in the flesh. Paul who fell off his horse on the road to Damascus and bounced into the annals of Christianity as one of the greats in the Faith.  I could go on with the comparisons but I digress...so off we go into the land of misfit and rejected believers...It is through God's eccentric lot that we truly see the glory and the power of God.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It is through God's eccentric lot that we see the earth move and the sky catch fire. I sit in bemused amazement after reading the Bible and the stories of the societal rejects God picks to accomplish the amazing tasks we see in the Bible. He has continued to pick the same type of person when he picked you and I to be His disciples and to carry on the Good News. It is the very reason that he picked them (and us) to do His work too. Flawed vessels accomplishing great things in faith by the power of God. The very power that resurrected Christ from the grave.

"For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord!” ~1 Corinthians 1:26-31

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." ~2 Corinthians 4:6-7

It was once written by novelist Frederick Buechner that the absolute improbability of the Jewish and then subsequently the Christian faith succeeding based on its followers is astounding. It is exactly this reason though that brings all the glory to our holy God, our wondrous Savior, Jesus Christ.

In what other book besides the Bible would we read the story of the very first pair of people who would violate the only thing forbidden to them? They would eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

"And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” ~ Genesis 2:16-17

That God would select an old man in the middle of the desert where it had never rained before to build a boat the size of a modern-day aircraft carrier. This same man after having been afloat for months on a foul smelling cramped zoo on an inundated world would immediately proceed to plant a vineyard, hit the bottle and pass out stone cold drunk only to be looked upon naked by his son (or possibly violated) to his great embarrassment.

We would see Abraham the father of the nations have his faith accredited to him as righteousness. He would also leave his wife out to dry by basically giving her away to Pharaoh to protect his own skin...Sarah be damned. Very manly and chivalrous I must say [sarcasm intended].

"As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.” ~Genesis 12:11-13

 Who could've imagined God would not pick Esau who was generally honest, capable, and a provider over the lying, duplicitous and conniving Jacob who was essentially a snake in the grass?

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.” ~Malachi 1:2-3

We see that God would pick the line of Judah for His Forever King Jesus to descend from, the same Judah that had a hand in throwing his brother in a well and then selling him into slavery. The same person that ended up sleeping with his daughter-in-law Tamar who he thought was a prostitute...two no-no's. "...but its not as bad as it seems, I only slept with her because she was a prostitute..." Ehhhh?

That God would invariably pick David as a King who would become the archetype of every king that would come after him until the advent of Jesus Christ to surpass him. The same David who was a known adulterer, murderer and for all intensive purposes a polygamist like his son would also be. He was man that really could not keep his house in order because he had been cursed by God for what he had done to Uriah the Hittite. This incident would drive him into exile from his very kingdom by his own son Absalom. David would also take a census of his military strength and not depend on the Lord in faith which would lead to the death of thousands.

Solomon who would be given the riches of a kingdom and wisdom from God that people would come from other lands to witness. Solomon who couldn't seem to put a clamp on what appeared to be a matrimonial obsessive-compulsive disorder. He also couldn't stop collecting horses, overtaxing his subjects and in the end allowed his nutty pagan wives to put a damper on things by introducing their false Gods and idols into the promised land. Solomon who was a perfect example of how a person can have wisdom but unless it is used correctly...it is worthless.

Then we have Moses, who was a murder and was trying to outrun the homicide rap for clobbering a man on the noggin and killing him in Egypt. If it weren't for a twisted sense of honor he'd have also just as soon thrown his brother Aaron under the bus by letting Aaron go back in his stead to take the heat from the Egyptians.

We see the likes of Rahab whom the Jews well into the New Testament (Hebrews 11:31) viewed as a paragon of faith when she cooperated with the two spies from Shittim sent by Joshua. Rahab who was also a prostitute/harlot who literally lived in a hole in the wall of Jericho. After the walls fell, her and her family were the only survivors.

...and who could forget all those prophets of God both major and minor? The whole lot of which were probably nuttier than fruitcakes based on outward appearances. They wore camel hair shirts, leather belts, and ate bugs dipped in honey. Crazed disheveled men that screamed at the top of their lungs often times with spittle flying out of their mouths in the middle of the desert wilderness at everyone and no one in particular.

Of particular note in the Minor Prophets we should lightheartedly poke at Jonah, the most miserable excuse for a prophet ever seen. Jonah who, other than telling the Ninevites to repent, ended up serving God very little. The only other thing we learn from Jonah is how to serve as a bad example. Jonah, who after having be told to, "Arise, go to Nineveh" gets up and goes...in the opposite direction (180 degrees) towards Tarshish. He is a prophet that nearly gets an entire ship of mariners drowned because of his disobedience. A prophet that literally sounds as if he is chronically depressed throughout the book named after him. After telling the Ninevites to repent (and they actually do) he gets angry about it because he wants them to be destroyed. Instead of having mercy on them as God has done he still holds on to pent-up homicidal hostility. Instead he cares more about a vine that gave him shade after it has died. A man that clearly has his priorities mixed up.

Then of course we need to look at God's chosen people as a whole. Of all the peoples or races he could have chosen to be His "Nation of Priests" and His holy people, he chose the Jews. As somebody once said, "The Jews who are just like everybody else only more so like everybody else". When they were religious, they were more religious than anybody else and when they were piously hypocritical they were so pious and hypocritical that the term for being too pious and hypocritical is to be "pharisaic". When they were secular, they were secular as if they'd invented being godless."

The people of the Covenant whom God said to them, "And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people" ~Leviticus 26:12. The very same line of descendants of Abraham whom God said, "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." ~Genesis 12:2-3.

These very people God was speaking His promises to would then apostatize and build idols to worship literally before the last of His commandments had left His mouth and had been delivered to them at the foot of Sinai. A stubborn and stiff-necked lot of misfits.

Jump forward to the New Testament and we have the thick-headed Peter who denies Christ not just once but three times even after denying to Jesus that he would deny Him. The same Peter who is the first to confess Jesus' true identity when Jesus asks him, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter responds, "You are the Messiah, Son of the living God!" Then almost immediately needs to be yelled at when Jesus tells of his coming death and Peter resists. Jesus' response? "Get behind me Satan!" The bumbling disciple never seems to get it right the first time. Even after Jesus' Resurrection Peter could've waited to until the boat reached shore but impetuously decided to swim instead in his impatience.

Finally, I mention Paul. The great apostle Paul who wrote more books of the Bible that anyone else (13) thirteen, (14) fourteen if we included Hebrews. Paul the expounder of the faith...and a slayer of the brethren. Paul formally known as Saul. Yeah, that Paul.

The list from the Bible could continue for a while, Thomas, Gideon, etc. If we look forward two millennium we now have similar situations in our church. Young idealists decked out in jeans, piercings and tattoos, share the pews with conservative white collar "suits". Teenagers and occasionally spouses tuning out sermons that others are straining to hear from the back of the congregation over top the whine of their children or other's children. Recovered and reformed drug addicts preaching from the pulpits. Former criminals, adulterers, miscreants and generally immoral people that have now become champions of the Faith. Believers gather together methodically and move through a centuries old ritual synchronized as dancers doing a waltz. Other congregations construct close intimate communities and have little or no ritual but tend to migrate together with herd mentality like the social creation they were meant to be. They seem to exist in a perpetual state of koinonia / κοινωνία or fellowship.

I often shake my head in disbelief at what appears to be outward incongruities and the absurdity of it all...but this is the way God has made it and this is the way God wants it. God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses. It has been done by his measure, for His pleasure, by His standards and according to His timeline. The idea that all these misfits and societal rejects could fit together often times near perfectly defies conventional logic. We begin to understand how something this diverse and disparate could be this way when we go back to a simple request from the Son to the Father...

"....Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one." John 17:11

This is the only possible way something this diverse and chaotic could possibly work. It sometimes looks like a zoo put through a blender. When they all sing out of tune it produces a cacophony of sound equal to that of a train wreck carrying cymbals but this is exactly how God planned it and wants it. How else could all these disparate beings become one  in the One? Only in Jesus Christ could these dissimilar cast-offs from society pull this off in unity. We are all to be one in the One, Jesus Christ.

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also." ~John 15:16-20

The world's rejects are God's chosen. He chooses them and "calls them out" specifically because they are the oddballs by the world's measure and because they are rejects of secular worldly society...myself included. We begin to realize that what God values and what people of this world value are two diametrically opposed things. The irony is that we do not stay rejects...oh no...no, no, no!

We become indwelt by the Holy Spirit and we are made new. We become new creations. New like a rewrapped Christmas gift that the world didn't want. But because we come wrapped in the blood of the Lamb we are the perfect gift to the Father. Ironically, it is only through faith that we receive "the gift" of salvation given to us by the One the world rejected as a misfit also...and that gift we accept makes us acceptable to the Father. God works in a joint effort with us to make us more holy. Sure, we'll still be treated like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer at a convention for nocturnal photosensitive animals by all the "normal" people. It is because they won't know how to deal with us so they will sit us off in a corner to make fun of us or stare at us warily to see if we implode or spontaneously combust. Who cares? My question is this: How many of them can say that they know Truth by name? Jesus. Jesus Christ. Mr. Jesus Christ to you mister!

If God could use all these offbeat characters this should give us reassurance that He can certainly use us who are the same type of people. Rejects of the world. We will be purified, cleansed and made holy for use by God...all of us misfits together. For this we were made. For this we will be used. Hallelujah!

MISFITS AND REJECTS OF THE WORLD UNTIE...UHH...UNITE!

[All images in post from Rankin/Bass 1964]

The Accelerant of Hate in the Fire of Unreason

The Age of Reason is ending, and knowledge is being de-legitimized. Truth itself is being dismantled. A scientific consensus is dismissed. A moral decision discounted. Even scientific discourse which was doing a fair to middling job in the absence of Scriptural reasoning is being removed from the public conversation. Is biblical thinking retaking its rightful crown on the throne of thought in the world replacing the disappearance of scientific thought? No, anarchy is. Unruliness and chaos are stepping into the gap. Spirituality abhors a vacuum. God will give you what you want if you are stupid enough to ignore Him and keep pursing your sin too.

In the wake of the most recent debacle of the Christianity Today bias editorial piece written by Mark Galli this all becomes brutally evident to me. Democracy, like Christianity, depends on shared truth(s). Regardless, both are now in retreat. Driven back by the stinging whip of political biases, irrationality, unfounded emotions and political correctness. In their place a form of autocracy or tyranny, which thrives on shared lies. It is advancing at an alarming pace in an immoral blitzkrieg. In the absence of God’s truth, scientific truth poorly tried to fill the gap. Now neither fulfill the need and reason is folding under the onslaught. Bedlam and confusion are usurping them.

Division is fomenting. Hatefulness is surging. There are violent, libelous and slanderous attacks on religious and non-religious alike. Yet all this discontent and division has something in common. It's being enabled by a handful of Internet companies that have become the largest most dehumanized propaganda machine in history. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and other social media platforms reach billions of people. The algorithms these platforms depend on deliberately amplify content that keeps users engaged (Cambridge Analytica, Emerdata, SCL Group) with content that appeals to humanities vilest sinful nature(s) (Romans 1). Thereby triggering rage, anger, division and idiocy.

Companies are weaponizing data against you via misinformation.

That is why fake news outperforms real news on social media. Lies spread faster than truth. In my experience most do not even fact check something before spreading it or reposting it online. Truth is, even 'fact checkers' cannot be trusted as they too are compromised politically/morally. It doesn’t matter if they are Christian or not. I’ve seen just as many Christians as non-believers propagating patently false or error laden information. We have lost a shared sense of responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the basic facts upon which democracy depends. Why? Because we’ve destroyed the family unit or are in the process of destroying it by redefinition of it. No proper fertile ground to cultivate and teach proper behavior and ideas in a well-structured family, teaching gets subverted or eliminated completely. How many criminals come from broken homes?

Society, like the church is built upon a simple premise. As a house is built upon a firm foundation so to the principles of a society. A house is a home just as a family is the rudimentary building block of not only a church but also of the society itself. Destroy the family - destroy the church. Destroy the family, destroy society. You see, the devil is concerned with destroying family because it destroys his most hated enemy’s structure for proper societal organization…the church. Fortunately for the devil though, the fringe byproduct is the degradation of society also.

How to speed the degradation along? Misinformation in the absence of the holistic educational family unit. Social media platforms make it easier for people who share the same false premises to find one another. Internet connectivity and technology act as an accelerant for toxic thinking. Like gasoline on a flame of discontent. When false information takes hold, it's like the plague or pestilence in tightly confined groups. It becomes epidemic/pandemic in its scope. The problem with making the world a smaller place is that it is easier to spread the contagion of false information. It’s like a disease.

Facebook alone already counts about a third of the world's population among its users. Social media platforms should not give violent unstable people and pervs a free platform to amplify their views and target victims. In the absence of a moral benchmark or guiding influence (parents) the worse this will get and it is exactly what we are seeing now in the world. I’ve said it before that the First Amendment says that "Congress shall make no law" abridging freedom of speech, but this does not apply to private businesses. So, when companies like Facebook censor or fail to censor based on arbitrary (censor) or non-existent rules (non-censor)… all hell breaks loose.

The social media platforms seem to equate regulation of their companies to the actions of the repressive states like China. Yet Facebook is one of only half a dozen companies that decide what information is acceptable for the world to see. Companies by their very nature are amoral. Therefore, they do not seek out the well-being of the users of their goods. When the leaders of said companies are primarily amoral or immoral, we have a recipe for disaster. That is what we are seeing. A rudderless propaganda machine a fascist state could only dream of.

Half a dozen unelected companies beholden to no one but themselves. Self- governing régimes functioning within national governments with their own sovereignty. We are witnessing a political and moral coup d'etat and our own elected officials are too morally debased and too stupid to see it. If they do see… they are doing very little to prevent it. Facebook, Google and their ilk are weaponizing data and not only turning it against the American public, they’re turning it against the government itself that is allowing it. It’s happening right under the noses and they’re blind to it…or ambivalent of it.

In the absence of our government governing the systemic default is allowing a very small group of tech giants to redefine what is moral, ethical, biblical, constitutional or even reasonable. Legislative bodies should legislate not defer to amoral corporations. The Churches should be defining what is biblical not unbiblical entities/people. Amorality breeds amorality or worse…immorality by absence of definitive morality. No answer is still and answer. No answer is a free pass and a blank check.

These companies allow for a "diversity of ideas” but sometimes bad ideas are just that…bad or evil. They should not be propagated and circulated like crap hitting the fan. A line needs to be drawn. Companies are not capable of regulating morally. They are driven by money and advertising. An amoral or unprincipled impetus. By attempting to claim freedom of thought these companies are obliquely asserting that they are somehow more noble or altruistic. In truth their sole driving force is monetizing their bottom-line. In truth these companies need to abide by basic standards and practices of morality just like the ones that apply to churches, schools, news agencies, television and movies. To me it is obvious that they cannot be trusted to regulate themselves not can most of the sinful people that use their platforms. The powers that God puts in place above us are there for reasons (Romans 13).

We as users have an obligation also. Start fact-checking posts or ads before you repost them. Stop micro-targeted lies to specific groups you don’t necessarily agree with. When statements or ads are patently false, don't publish them. In truth, if its false and you repost it, you should be held responsible. Fined if necessary. If I catch you doing something stupid like reposting something clearly wrong, you will be rebuked.

In the end, we all need to decide what kind of world we want to live in. We need to decide what type of church we wish to learn about God in. Do we wish to live in a nobler less divided world or do we wish to live in a divided falsified world of our own making due to our sin? These freedoms we hold so dear and the freewill given to us by God are not an end unto themselves. They are also a means to an end. That end being the type of life and world we chose to live in. A violent false life or a unified communal peaceful one. Sadly today, because morality and truth have had their heads bashed against the rocks, we are all threatened by hate, conspiracies and lies. I do not wish to live in a society where people are targeted, harassed or hated because of who they are, where they come from, who they love or how they pray. Let God be the judge of that stuff as He is the only one qualified. I just wish to live and let live in peace. Am I an idealist? No, I’m a sinner saved by grace.

Unnatural Selection X: Übermensch

So this will be the last post of the Unnatural Selection series.

The Übermensch comes from Friedrich Nietzsche’s 1883 book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. It's German for "Beyond-Man" or "Superman". The word starts with the German prefix über which has connotations of superiority, transcendence or intensity, depending on the words to which it is attached. It is then combined with Mensch which refers to a human being, rather than a male specifically. The adjective means super-human: beyond human strength or out of proportion to humanity.

It is a concept in Neitzsche’s philosophy in contrast to his understanding of the other-worldliness of Christianity. Zarathustra proclaims the will of the Übermensch is to give meaning to life on earth and admonishes his audience to ignore those who promise other-worldly fulfillment to draw them away from the earth. Mainly Christianity. The turn away from the earth is prompted by a dissatisfaction with life that causes the sufferer to imagine another world which will fulfill his revenge. The Übermensch grasps the earthly world with relish and gratitude.

Zarathustra then declares that the Christian escape from this world also required the invention of an immortal soul separate from the earthly body. This led to the abnegation and mortification of the body, or asceticism. Thus, enter the idea of the death of God or at least the lack of His relevance. While the concept of God was the ultimate expression of other-worldly values and their underlying instincts, belief in God nevertheless did give meaning to life for a time. "God is dead" means that the idea of God can no longer provide any value therefore point towards nihilism.

We are sort of beginning to see this in the scientific abilities to turn back the biological clock and reverse effects of aging in CRISPR and other genetic technologies. The Übermensch as the creator of new values to banish nihilism. The Übermensch acts to create new values within the moral vacuum of nihilism absent God created by modern culture. The creation of these new values cannot be motivated by the same instincts that gave birth to Christian values. Instead, they are motivated by a love of this world and of life not the afterlife. Whereas Nietzsche diagnosed the Christian value system as a reaction against life and hence destructive in a sense, the new values which the Übermensch will be responsible for will be life-affirming and creative not focused on the afterlife and escape of this life.

Enter the new and ‘improved’ human Übermensch as a goal humanity can set for itself. All human life would be given meaning by how it advanced a new generation of human beings. The aspiration of a woman would be to give birth to an Übermensch, for example; her relationships with men would be judged by this standard.

The genetically altered superior human. Perhaps designer baby? That is, if humanity is permitted to create the new human paradigm.

This of course is the inherent evil in genetic manipulation devoid of the idea of God. Usage of CRISPR technology or some other advanced genetic manipulation to unnatural ends. From the godless human viewpoint, the Übermensch is supposedly an improvement or metamorphosis/modification of mankind. That is the way Neitzsche understood it. In truth it is not an improvement of humanity at all. Instead it is an improper distortion of God’s natural order.  The Bible had a specific term for it: Abomination.

This of course then forces the question. If all can be genetically improved and longevity is increased are those not modified less or inferior? The most pronounced consideration for mankind is the end goal that humanity sets for itself. It implies, to some, that human beings can be bred for traits the culture deems proper or improvements. Considering society can’t even use the right bathroom, that is utterly frightening prospect. This interpretation of Nietzsche's doctrine focuses on the future of humanity than on God and therein lies its downfall. Therein lies the evil of the misuse to create the genetic Übermensch.

The Übermensch represents a higher biological type (or evolution) reached through unnatural selection removed of God. At the same time is also an ideal for anyone who is creative and strong enough to master the whole spectrum of human potential good and unfortunately, evil. The Übermensch is a type of supreme achievement. Genetic perfection absent God. Übermensch is Antichrist. That is where this metamorphosis/mutation leads.

We tread dangerous ground here as history has been witness to. We implement a science Hitler could’ve only dreamed of. The term Übermensch was used frequently by Hitler and the Nazi regime to describe their idea of a biological superior Aryan or Germanic master race. With the ability to actually create a biologically improved humanity, what prevents humanity from implementing Hitler’s ideology in reality? If there is a superior, there will obviously be an inferior.

Should genetic engineering be used to biohack superhumans?

The possibility of someone or some government utilizing the new tools of genetic engineering to create a superior race of humans must at least be considered as that technology is manifesting quickly or in some instances is already here. What happens when this biohack is implemented to ‘improve’ the human race. Mankind can now create, at least genetically (not morally), a superior race. What happens when genetic manipulation is not used for cure but for advantageous traits? For your child to gain an ‘edge’?

My concern is that without a redirection of the worldview of the culture back towards God and away from the idea of the godless Übermensch there will be a growing propensity to want to take over the transmutation of the human species for evil purposes. I believe because of the lack of God in the equation this should be prevented. Cure disease yes but engineer an Übermenschian abomination of a man? No way.

Humanity should opt only for repair or reversal of disabling disease and stop short of genetic enhancements. Why should a species give up the defining core of its existence and purpose (to glorify God-Isaiah 43:7) in pursuit of something less (glorifying humanity). If we do begin to try to alter humanity in this way it should be obvious that man isn’t just trying to play God in that instance. Man is essentially trying to BE a god. Taken to its logical end it amounts to nothing more than attempts to extend one’s life in perpetuity. Godless humanity is trying to make himself immortal. A modern-day genetic Tower of Babel. For a Christian this is redundant as all men are immortal anyway…just not in their bodies.

Prolonging of the mortal coil is overturning of the plan of salvation. This therefore attempts to try and undo the work of Christ on the Cross. It is appointed for man to die once and face judgement (Hebrews 9:27). Even if Christians are presented with the ability to do so, they should refuse. Why? God already has a plan for our immortality. Life and immortally would cease to have meaning otherwise. Living would become its own punishment as it would prevent our proper union with Christ.

It’s just unnatural. It's against God. It's antichrist.

Unnatural Selection IX: Replicant

Cloning is the process of producing genetically identical individuals of an organism either naturally or artificially. In nature, many organisms produce clones through asexual reproduction. Cloning in biotechnology refers to the process of creating clones of organisms or copies of cells or DNA fragments.

How should a Christian feel about cloning. There are a couple of issues to consider. First, I can discern nowhere in the Bible that implies developing a fertilized egg with the same genetic material as an adult is wrong. Twins have the same genetic material. Also, there is nothing unbiblical about fertilization performed outside of the body. In-vitro fertilization and cloning are both accomplished this way. And there is nothing blatantly unscriptural about the mechanical development of a clone blastocyst. From that point onward, however, evils abound. The problem all lies in the intent and purpose for doing so. Why would you even need to develop a fertilized egg with the same genetic material as an adult?

Nearly all justifications given for cloning are purely egocentric and selfish. Even mourning parents need God's healing, not a replica of the child they lost. Even a clone will never be the same as the original. Creating a copy of oneself is pure hubris. Cloning for medical reasons is a little more ambiguous, and parents have had children with the hope the newborn would be a genetic match for a sick sibling. But, as with IVF, several blastocysts would probably need to be developed for a single live birth. Destroying a remaining, unneeded blastocyst would literally be killing a child or abortion. Other considerations are the high likelihood of the non-viability of the embryo and the presence of birth defects. The research required to get to the point of a live birth would require the destruction of uncountable embryos. And although manipulated nature might be able to create another Einstein, there's no guarantee that even through perfect nurturing that Einstein 2.0 wouldn't turn ‘it’ into a tyrannical evil genius or Hitler 2.0.

Reproductive cloning involves creating an animal that is genetically identical to a donor animal through somatic cell nuclear transfer. In therapeutic cloning, an embryo is created in a similar way, but the resulting "cloned" cells remain in a dish in the lab; they are not implanted into a female's uterus. Therapeutic cloning is fraught with ethical problems. The entire point of therapeutic cloning is the death of the clone so that tissue can be harvested to benefit someone else. In therapeutic cloning, birth is never the goal. Instead, the stem cells are harvested about the fourteen-day mark. There is no difference in potential between a clone blastocyst and a blastocyst developed through normal fertilization—as reproductive cloning shows. According to the Bible life begins at conception in normal fertilization, therefore life begins at nucleus transplantation in a clone. And the destruction of the blastocyst at any point after is murder of a human. Not only that, it's against the Nuremberg Code which prohibits human experimentation if death is the inevitable outcome.

The birth of a viable human clone would not change the truth. Every human is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and clones are no more of an exception than identical twins as they are synonymous. Humans can start the physical process of developing a new life—as both natural conception and IVF show—but only God truly gives life (Genesis 2:7). In truth, even a clone is not a copy; it is a new individual person (Psalm 139:13-16). The problem with cloning isn't the clone; it's the processes, the motivations, and the negligent ambivalence with which embryos are treated. Therapeutic cloning is murder. Reproductive cloning will not be successful without many cases of murder. Those killings, combined with the selfish motivations which inspire cloning, make the process of cloning wholly unbiblical.

My Conclusions

The creation of humanity in God’s image means that all life has an absolute value in God’s sight. A value that is independent their genetic birthright or heritage. Genetic engineering can make a significant contribution to the prevention and cure of human disease, and to the feeding of a hungry world. If used wisely it can function as another signpost pointing towards God and his Kingdom but…it will never be His Kingdom. It will merely be a derived reflection of the real thing. Just like a nameless clone. As with any other engineering or other human attempts to improve health and happiness, biohacks and genetics are merely placebo. As important as they may seem these hacks are just that...hacks. An inelegant but effective improvisation to fix something temporarily. They’ll never represent more than a repair operation...certainly not a cure for the actual ill of humanity which is sin. No genetic engineering can fix that.

Points of Data That Define Me

Personal data, the world’s most valuable commodity it currently being traded between big tech giants free of charge gleaned from social media site profiles and online commerce sites. The Cambridge Analytica (CA)/ Facebook (FB) fiasco revealed this to the world. The data is being combed to find out what makes you tick. They determine what you love and what you fear and then propagandize you into behaving the way they want you to behave. They’re not just trying to sell you product. They’re trying to sell your data to people who want to sell you their ideas. Tell you who to hate and who to love.

You're being manipulated. My people perish for want of knowledge of God (and fake news, literally).

Cambridge Analytica was a British political consulting firm which used misappropriated of digital assets, data mining, data brokerage, and data analysis with strategic communication during the electoral processes of Brexit and the US 2016 Presidential election. That data was the personal data of up to 87 million FB users acquired via the 270,000 FB users who used a FB app called "This Is Your Digital Life." By giving this third-party app permission to acquire their data, back in 2015, this also gave the app access and visibility to information on the user's friends network. This resulted in the data of about 87 million users, the majority of whom had not explicitly given CA permission to access their data, being collected. The app developer breached Facebook's terms of service by giving the data to CA. The company closed operations in 2018 during the CA/FB data scandal most likely to legally dissolve or destroy incriminating data on themselves, although related firms still exist in different forms and under different names. The evil remains it just has a new name.

So, not only is your personal data being weaponized, it’s been done for a while now. I’ve written about this before and basically said that if you’re going to do business online and you’re a Christian with a message to get out (the Gospel) then you had better get used to complete transparency of your life. Combine the Cambridge/Facebook fiasco with the fact all of your life is recorded is a series of financial transactions and we have the Orwellian Big Brother literally in our pockets or purses. I now revisit this from a new angle.

First, nothing you do it hidden from God. In this way if we are living out lives to please Him there should be no issues. But of course, humanity generally doesn’t do this because of our nature. Second, we are to obey authorities over us unless they attempt to put themselves in the place of God in terms of authority. But what of privacy and information of a confidential manner. Are we entitled to it? Is information specific to us as people somehow unique. Does the Bible even speak of it in the modern sense of personal data?

I believe it does indirectly. Whether or not confidentiality is good, bad, or even possible, depends on whom the information is being kept from and for what purpose. As I said, data and information are impossible to keep from God but why would we even want to if He has our best interests in mind. So knowing this, we know that privacy and confidentiality is purely of the earthly realm.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” ~Hebrews 4:13

God is the revealer of secrets ~ Daniel 2:22

No, the real issue is when it comes to other people. Those with malevolent intent or even careless ones that are ignorant of possible bad end results of their actions.

In truth, sometimes some details of a person’s life are better kept out of the public eye, even if exposing those secrets would be to our advantage which would be unethical. At the same time, there are some things we might want to keep confidential, especially about ourselves, that would be better confessed and dealt with God like some of our sins that can be used against us by others. Herein lies the grab…

How things are revealed or disclosed here on earth and for what purposes are often a matter of decision. More specifically….the biblical idea I’m thinking of is discretion. A person needs to make a judgement call. The Bible says that it’s important to distinguish between information that should be made public and that which should be kept private. Distinguish what is fact and what is lie. No one would want to go to a doctor, counselor or pastor who could not maintain confidentiality yet many of us divulge our lives to what amounts to strangers on Facebook. Admit it, even some of our Facebook  ‘friends’ that we see often don’t really know us all that well. Yet we know that those that would offer advise online may not even be what they seem. Their lives are carefully crafted narratives that aren’t even real.

Threats to others or intentions of self-harm ethically cannot rightly be kept private. The book of Proverbs, which extolls the virtues of wisdom, also encourages “discretion” three times in the first three chapters (Proverbs 1:4; 2:1; 3:21). So, the biblical question isn’t whether or not it is ever acceptable but how to know when a particular piece of information ought to be kept in confidence.

One aspect of confidentiality to consider is exactly whom we are attempting to keep information secret from. Here’s the biblical catch though….not only can God see, hear, or know (Psalm 44:21; 90:8)…everything he knows will someday be made public. That thought should give pause at least to the most immoral person.

Matthew 12:36 ~ I tell you, son the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak

2 Peter 3:10 ~But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Then again, some secrets are better kept away from our enemies—something Samson failed to consider when dealing with Delilah (Judges 16:16–21). Aspects of military, law enforcement, or business may also require confidentiality (Joshua 2:1). In truth betraying confidential information in a business setting, for example, is no different from stealing or giving something away that’s not yours to give away.

As I said in older posts though…there are aspects of our lives that we are explicitly told not to maintain secrecy over, such as our faith (Matthew 5:14–16). I personally go a step farther to make myself as transparent as possible because of the witness I can give for Christ. Yet, even then there are aspects of our lives that are just between ourselves and God….

Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Bible demands confidentiality in some areas. We are obligated to honor secrets told to us in confidence. A secret or hidden truth is not the optimal condition but we live in a fallen world and discretion is warranted.

Proverbs 11:13 ~Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

Proverbs 12:23 ~A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.

Biblically, there is great value in having the discretion to know when to keep one’s mouth shut and keep something private and when to pass the information to others. We should be especially wary of hiding personal secrets so that we don’t have to deal with our own sin. Confidentiality is important, but it must be kept in a scripturally sound way. So, although I personally feel compelled to live my life as an open book with my heart on my sleeve...keeping secrets out of sound discretion is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes silence is warranted and prudent.

Conversely, the government and especially corporations have no right to reveal your data to others without your permission. By divulging your information and data for a price without your knowledge they are violating what Is your right to keep to yourself. If you’ve already divulged information publicly then the damage is on you.

So, I have two takeaways. Firstly, the government and tech giants probably already have a ton of data on you. You should carefully screen what is fed to you via Facebook and advertising banners online or even from some of your ‘friends’. Are you sure everyone on your feed is even legit? The Facebook posts and advertising banners are specifically crafted to tempt you based on information you already given to them. Sometimes what they’re tempting you with isn’t a product or goods. It is ideas. Intellectual propaganda. Secondly, if you are truly worried about your privacy, limit you online presence. It really is the old Bible adage…

Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Online our lives are literally points of light, electronic data floating out there. How clear a picture they can get of you depends on how much data they can get on you. The data can be used to help us and bring us together or they can be used to destroy and degrade us. They can divide us which is what we are seeing in America today. Perhaps discretion is warranted on what we put out there to be used against us? Perhaps discretionary behavior his warranted. Perhaps we should live our lives as if we are living them in front of the throne of God who sees all anyway? Because in reality...we already are. The God who will make all known on the day of judgement.

Unnatural Selection VII: The Planet of Dr Moreau

Replacement & Augmentation

There are two types of potential genetic therapy. Those in which defective genes are replaced, and those in which the goal is to add additional qualities to the individual which lie beyond the normal range of genetic variation currently found within human populations.

Replacement therapies could, in principle, be carried out in either germline or somatic cells methods. Somatic cell replacement therapies have already been used with limited success since 1990, as an experimental approach for treating several genetic diseases. Ethically such procedures are no different from other medical technologies that utilize existing systems to shuttle genes into the existing system. Germline therapy is a type of gene therapy where new DNA is inserted into cells using a vector, like a virus and affects subject’s descendants. Germ line therapy is "open-ended" therapy. Its effects extend indefinitely into the future. It is the genetic equivalent of the perfect participle in Greek. The new DNA replaces only faulty DNA to cure genetic diseases but stays in the hereditary offspring. Somatic cell gene therapy would aim to cure a disease only in the patient. The DNA is transferred into body tissues. It specifically targets cells in the body which are not passed on to the person's children descendants.

The ethical and safety repercussions in Germ cell replacement therapies are much more profound and echo in perpetuity. They are technically and legally banned and are technically hazardous at present. In principle the therapy could involve, for example, IVF for parents who are known carriers of lethal genes, followed by genetic surgery of a defective 4-8 cell embryo. In practice, however, there would be little point in carrying out such a procedure, since preimplant diagnosis would be available. In theory it might seem more acceptable ethically to heal the defective embryo. In practice, however, Christians who take an ‘personhood at conception’ view of life in very early embryos (which I do) need to realize that their stance may encourage development of the DNA technology for manipulation of human germ-line cells, which could increase social pressure for the use of additive therapies. For Christians it is a double-edged sword. It cuts both ways.

A futuristic alternative is the screening of sperm and eggs for defective genes prior to fertilization, followed by IVF using only healthy gametes. Such an advance could eventually make ethical discussions about embryos and abortions redundant as the therapy would circumvent the need for abortions due to genetic defects….as there wouldn’t be any.

Additive therapies, whether at the somatic cell or germ-line cell level, are currently coming to the fore in things like CRIPSR. The aim of such procedures would be to add to the individual specific qualities not already encoded by their genome. Additive therapies therefore represent a very different set of goals from those which aim to prevent or cure human disease. Fortunately, the human genome is immensely complex, and numerous genes interact to generate human capacities in ways that we understand only see in a mirror dimly. Sometimes injection of these therapies resulted in nothing more than a bad immunological response in patients. Sometimes, effects are far more profound. In general, this therapy is hotly disputed and rightfully so.

The view on this type of augmentation/manipulation changes almost weekly based on the new emerging and ever evolving CRISPR technology. Not since the atomic bomb has a technology so alarmed its inventors that they warned the world about its use. Many including the inventor of CRISPER called for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the new gene-editing tool CRISPR — that allows humanity to make heritable changes in human embryos. TO literally cut-n-paste the genome. The cheapest, simplest, most effective way of manipulating DNA ever known, CRISPR may well give us the cure to HIV, genetic diseases, and some cancers, and will help address the world’s hunger crisis. The caveat though is that the tiniest changes to DNA could have myriad unforeseeable consequences — to say nothing of the ethical and societal repercussions of intentionally mutating embryos to create “better” humans. This will literally be a step-by-step, case-by-case ethical/theological entanglement.

More importantly, the fact that we are now, with our current genetic aptitude, made ‘in the image of God’ (Genesis 1:26-7) defines what we are as human and how we are quantified. Accepting the term ‘image of God’ to refer to all those equalities which distinguish humans from animals, in particular our spiritual capacity for fellowship with God, the dangers of trying to add to what God has given us become apparent. If we tinker with this we’re in deep trouble. The builders of the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) in rebellion against God thought that their improved technology would allow them to reach up to heaven using their own human wisdom, but the result was confusion (v. 9). I am beginning to see the same happening with genetics additive therapies absent a theological guiding hand.

The biblical record makes it clear that human pretension to self-grandeur (or self-augmentation) invariably end in disaster. It is vital that we do not misuse God’s good gift of genetic engineering to repeat such mistakes. When man is devoid of God in the overall scheme of things…disaster occurs. When man contributes with their alignment totally to God…God is glorified and blessings occurred. Great things can be done to God’s glory. But the genetic changes should be on a case-by-case basis firmly rooted in biblical/theological ethics not devoid of them. Just as in the time of the Levitical priests and the medicinal effects of obedience to the Law, so too I believe the same principle applies with genetics. If there is a failure to adhere or stay aligned to this created ‘order’ we would enter a period of the Judges or judgment.

The stark reality is this. Modern mankind has tried to make science fully independent of God and therein lies our undoing in this ethical quandary. It's why we even ask the question, “Should we? Most humanity realizes that left to their own devices, man is not inherently good. Man needs a chaperone. A Shepherd.  Should it be done? It could be but it needs to be under firm watchful and knowledgeable theological principles. Otherwise, no. Otherwise we will create Nephilim, Frankenstein...or literally…monsters. You see, that’s the main underlying ethical repercussion of germ line / additive gene augmentation. It can no longer be confined to an island in time and place. It will ripple outward indefinitely. The Island of Dr Moreau will no longer be an island…it will be an entire world.