Knowing too much

The growth in genetic knowledge is immense

Since the book The Genetic Revolution was written, approx. 1990, the scientific knowledge on genetics has been expanded greatly. What was not possible in that era, and that was only a short 29 years ago, is basically possible today.

This article is not about scaring people about those genetic alteration possibilities or to give them hope about creating designer babies. That kind of genetic potential is there even though there is no guarantee that negative defects can be eliminated from the process.

It is not even sure that God has even given man the authority to manipulate the genetic code and be able to produce super babies that are free from corruption. Even though the Christian knows that level cannot be obtained while life exists on this earth.

Knowing too much

This is more of the issue as on page 176 of that book, the author relates a story about a pro-life friend whose wife was expecting. He says that the doctors told his friend that they had seen some deformities during one test they had given and their diagnosis was that the child would not live a month.

Given the information, the couple decided to abort the child and when it took place at 20 weeks, the body of the child showed even more deformities and defects. The believing couple followed the advice of probably unbelieving doctors and committed sin.

We have looked at scriptures and we find no escape clause letting anyone abort a child even if it is deformed or has genetic defects. The parents separated themselves from God by committing this act.

It would have been better if they had let the child be born and let God handle the issue after that birth. The parents would not have to struggle with the sin they have committed nor to find their way back to the right way to live.

Knowing too much can lead us to make the wrong spiritual decisions.

The influence of an intolerant society

This is one of the problems the believer faces as the world around them strays further and further away from God. The unbelieving members of society, under the influence of evil, think they know better than God and can make decisions about what is normal, what is acceptable and what parents should do.

Unfortunately, they do not. God has given the believer the instructions they are to follow. Not only do those instructions help us to avoid sin, they keep us from struggling in our lives after the event has occurred.

God has taken the steps to help us live better and sin free. All we have to do is ignore what the unbelieving world wants for everyone and stick with God and his instructions.

The unbelieving world are merely unwitting tools, for the most part, in the service of evil. They have no concept of God or his ways thus the believer cannot afford to take the chance and follow the secular demands for normal or how society should live.

Nor can we allow ourselves to be blinded by the potential good things knowing too much can do for childless couples, and others who suffer from genetic defects. A lot of that is just the smoke screen that hides the sinful underbelly from the believers’ view.

We can still learn from knowing too much

Those lessons may not be what the world expects them to be. One of the first lessons from seeing unborn children who suffer from genetic defects, etc., is the validity of scripture.

No one is free from the corruption that entered the world at Adam’s sin. Even ‘innocent’ children are not immune from sin or corruption. Some people may say that is not just but it is fair as everyone suffers from the same corruption in some way.

No one has a free pass because at some stage in life even the most beautiful people suffer from diseases and other corruption sourced issues. Including death. The same for the most powerful, whether that be wealth, political or athletic power.

Another lesson that can be learned, and many parents have already learned this, is that unborn child teaches them how to get closer to God and lean upon him as the child grows older.

Being able to draw closer to God through these unfortunate events is not a curse but a blessing. Parents get to see the com[passion of God, his strength to hold them up through trying times and his power as he gives the parents strength to deal with day to day issues.

Knowing too much has its problems

With the genetic knowledge we possess, it is easy to turn aside from God’s way and think we can do it all. This is a possibility even though God may not have given man authority over some aspects of the genetic code.

The keys of life are not what the scientist thinks it is. They certainly are not in our building blocks that scientists claim that we have. Those building blocks only help us to function in this environment.

The key to life is found in Genesis 2:7 and those words are:

and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (NASB)

Science cannot and does not know what the breath of life is because it is of supernatural origin. Science is only designed to look for natural answers and with its rejection of God and the Spirit of Truth, it cannot seek out supernatural components to life.

The building blocks of life are not found in the universe but in God. Yet knowing too much may open the door for evil to lead scientists and others away from this truth and create many problems for the general population of earth.

Without the right precautions we may be looking at issues and situations that no one who has lived before the late 20^th century would have dreamed about or thought of. Sadly, there are too many corrupt people who will not follow any ethical rule or principle and ruin it for everyone they influence or experiment on.

Some final words

While genetic information can be a good and useful thing, precedents have shown us that anything that was invented for good can be turned and used for evil. Alfred Nobel is a prime example as he sought to create dynamite to end all wars.

Instead, that invention was used to make wars a thousand times worse than they ever had been. You know the story about the creation of the Nobel prize. But knowing too much can only be protected if the person holding that knowledge remains in God and under God’s guidance.

He is the only one with the strength and wisdom to handle such great knowledge correctly. When we gain in knowledge we should not stray from God but follow his lead and his instructions. That way knowing too much can be put to the best use.