God established the process of fetal development and what is needed to create life. Not our pontificating politicians!
We define death as the cessation of all brain activity! Conversely, the beginning of brain activity should be the start of life; however, it begins well before this! Many of our politicians, religious leaders, and their followers are trying to make something immoral out of God's doings. Consider the fact that 40 to 80 percent of naturally fertilized eggs are ejected from the female body without resulting in pregnancy. It is God who determines which fertilized egg will become a baby, no one else. Please consider the "Biblical Facts" and you decide!
Biblical Facts
First, let me say I am a Christian, I believe the Bible is God’s word, and I am against abortions on demand. Many of our laws and moral values are certainly based on what is written in the Bible. The passion over and the opposition to the stem cell issue from the average person (I am an average person with a little more of the facts) is also religiously motivated. The confusion over abortion clouds the issues. Contrary to religious assertions, stem cell research is neither covert abortion nor the destruction of fetal life. Let’s look at the biblical evidence from the New International Version (NIV). I chose this version of the Bible because it is widely used and most other versions are quite similar. In an effort to reach some balance between the different faiths, I used reference material from Catholic and Protestant sources alike.
God’s Attributes!
Believing in God and that the Bible is his true word, we know God is eternal. He is not bound by time, he has always existed; he sees the past, and the future, as clearly as the present. He knows all, sees all, and he is all powerful.
Predestination- God’s Eternal Foreknowledge and Election
This an excerpt from the Catholic encyclopedia: Predestination (Lat. prœ, destinare), taken in its widest meaning, is every Divine decree by which God, owing to His infallible prescience of the future, has appointed and ordained from eternity all events occurring in time, especially those which directly proceed from, or at least are influenced by, man's free will. It includes all historical facts, as for instance the appearance of Napoleon or the foundation of the United States, and particularly the turning-points in the history of supernatural salvation, as the mission of Moses and the Prophets, or the election of Mary to the Divine Motherhood.
Believing this, God has known about stem cell research from before the beginning of time.
What is life?
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
Leviticus 17:14 because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."
Deuteronomy 12:23 But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
The Bible clearly states the life of every creature is its blood. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) and human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have no blood, no blood no life. Our mothers provide our initial blood of life through the womb. The blastocyst (fertilized egg) inplants into the endometrium (blood rich lining of the uterus) connecting to maternal nutrients and blood. Once attached to the womb the blood of life begins to flow. Life starts here.
I have written to many nationally known Evangelists and the home offices of many denominational churches requesting their position on stem cell research. They responded quoting a total of 23 Bible verses (4 was the most from a single source) as the reasons for their opposition to stem cell research. Surprisingly, two rather large Protestant Churches are in favor of stem cell research. One other thought--when a denominational church establishes an official policy it is quite often established by a Theological Commission or Conference. Like politics, these meetings are often controlled by the traditional extremists. A majority of delegate votes create an official policy from a resolution. If the differences between factions are too severe a new sect (a group breaking away from the original body) may emerge. I am not aware of any religious group, even down to individual churches, that totally agree on everything. The establishment of an official position does not mean everyone in the faith agrees. Those who disagree include ministers, priests, and parishioners alike. The use of contraceptives often separates official church policy and the faithful, as does the stem cell research issue.
Of the 23 Bible verses I received from the Evangelists and various churches, 8 of the passages referred to the womb. A total 20 of the 23 verses were related to the womb. The remaining three included the 6th Commandment, one referring to original sin, and I am open to suggestions on the other one, Romans 3: 8. If you would like to review those verses and my analysis click here.
These are some of the
Bible passages that I find interesting:
Exodus 23: 25-26. Worship
the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water.
I will take away sickness from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be
barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. This
passage refers to miscarriages, being barren, taking away sickness, and
living a full life span.
For those who read things into Bible passages, three comments are rather
striking here. None will be barren in your land. Could this be a reference
to in vitro fertilization? In addition, I will take away sickness from among
you, I will give you a full life span. Both of these may be achieved through
stem cell research.
John 6: 12. After Jesus fed the 5,000 he instructed the disciples "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." Whose logic dictates these eggs and embryos should be destroyed (wasted) rather than serving man? They have no blood (life).
1- Timothy 2: 14-15 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. Can barren women be saved by bearing children through in vitro fertilization if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety?
There are many other passages that could be interpreted as supporting embryonic stem cell research, but I do not believe that these are any more germane to the issue (except possibly Jesus statement “Let nothing be wasted”) than those 23 ambiguous passages quoted by religious sources. Several things are quite clear; God considers the life of all creatures to be in the blood and the womb has special significance! Neither hESC nor SCNT cells have blood! The only way for them to develop beyond the bloodless simple cell stage is to be placed in a womb. Moreover, I do not believe either fertilized blastocysts or SCNT blastocysts can be classified as human life until they become attached inside of a human uterus. The difference between the two is explained in the hESC and SCNT Facts along with information on clones.
If you have come this far let’s consider the total picture. The biblical references to blood being life and the references to the womb reveal an infinitely greater knowledge of human anatomy than was medically possible when the Bible was written. It was a very common practice to bleed people from about 200 A.D. through the mid 1800s. These so-called physicians were draining the life out of their patients. The Bible, written by God through Holy men hundreds or thousands or years earlier clearly stated that blood is the life of every creature. It took all of those years for doctors and scientists to realize God was right about the blood! How much longer will it take for some religious leaders and politicians to realize what our doctors and scientists discovered 150+ years ago?
Do you believe God knew about SCNT and hESC research before the beginning of time? These cells could well be the means to the fulfillment of God’s promise to take away sickness, give us a full life span and ensure no one is barren or miscarries. Jesus stopped performing medical miracles here on earth. Although he passed this ability to his disciples it passed with them. A miracle is said to be outside, or beside, nature when natural forces may have the power to produce the effect, at least in part, but could not of themselves alone have produced it in the way it was actually brought about. Medical science is the means through which God will meet his pledge to rid us of these scourges. He has provided us with these cells without life (blood) so we won’t be violating his commandments! His commitments will be fulfilled. The question is--how long will we allow some religious leaders and politicians delay the pursuit of God’s promises?
Should there be restrictions? Certainly! These blastocysts must be protected once they are inside a womb and a blastocyst must not be maintained for more than 14 days from its first cell division, not counting any time during which it is stored at temperatures of -320 degrees Fahrenheit. The reason for this is: although it is not currently possible to artificially develop a blastocyst to the fetus stage, we don’t know what will be possible in the future.
Now comes the most important thing of all--God brought forth his son, with pure innocent blood of eternal life, so he could be sacrificed (shed his innocent blood i.e., be killed) to atone for our sins. Now Jesus tells us to drink of his blood! Why? Through this gift believers receive eternal life. The rarest blood that will ever be on earth, free from original sin, unique to one person, it hasn’t stopped flowing for 2,000 years. It will continue to flow on earth until judgment day. I believe it will flow throughout eternity within the believers who received its gift of eternal life.
