Cloning: A Dangerous Journey Into Uncharted
Waters?
What's behind the concerted efforts to clone human beings? Is this
another attempt to climb to the loftiest heights of knowledge and defy
our Creator?
In 1818 Mary Shelley wrote a brooding novel about the dreadful consequences
of a scientist's attempt to artificially create a human being. By trying
to imitate what only God had done before- the creation of human life-this
doctor brought enormous sorrow on himself and those he loved.
Her novel, Frankenstein, is actually a far cry from the Hollywood horror
movie that made it famous. It is rather a warning to mankind about the
dangers of delving into certain realms of science, such as attempting
by artificial means to create human life. Such attempts may go beyond
man's ability to control the outcome and unleash terrible effects. As
in the novel, the created being can end up turning on its fallible creator.
Another science fiction novel that is slowly becoming a reality is the
work by Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, written in 1932. It describes
a futuristic world where all births are produced from test tubes in a
factory. Thousands of containers are filled with genetic material engineered
to produce preprogrammed individuals ranging from scientists to dim-witted
laborers. Their free will is limited, since they cannot choose what to
become, being fit only for their preassigned tasks. In the end, this supposed
dream society turns into a nightmare as well.
It
seems science fiction has a knack of becoming reality.