THE TRUTH IN PRINT
January 2003, Vol. 8 Issue 12
A Publication of the Valley
Note: The
following is an explanation offered by brother Tino Unlap who has simplified
this somewhat for the benefit of all.
Cloning
"Cloning of mammals is not very
difficult. The type of cloning that is under consideration has been done
in sheep, monkey, cat, cow, pig, goat, cattle, mice, and rabbit. From a
technical stand point the same can be accomplished in humans. The basic
process is this: an egg, which has 23 chromosomes in the nucleus is taken
and have its nucleus removed (enucleated). A donor somatic cell (from
anywhere on say Michael Jordan's body) which has 46 chromosomes in the nucleus
is brought in close proximity to the egg and in the presence of a low electric
current the two cells fuse and become one cell with 46 chromosomes from
Jordan's cell. Under the direction of the egg's machinery, the cell begins to
divide into an embryo. The maturation process can only take place in the
womb.
How is
this different from the process that involves a husband and wife? A sperm
cell with 23 chromosomes attaches to and egg with 23 chromosomes to generate a
fertilized egg with 46 chromosomes. The fertilized egg begins to divide,
under the direction of the egg's machinery, into an embryo in the womb. I
hope this helps some in our understanding of human cloning.
Tino Unlap
University of Alabama at Birmingham
School of Medicine”
Note: As I began to read about the “Raleans” (cult) and the baby human
clone I was wondering if some of the thoughts I was having were correct, or
whether I misconstrued what it is that they are doing so that they might
accomplish whatever goal or goals they, or for that matter others, might seek
to associate with human cloning.
Here is some additional information from brother Unlap:
“...Now on to the tough question
about cloning. For simplicity sake, I am going to choose a husband (H) and wife
(W) that can not have children because the husband is infertile. This couple
decides to seek cloning as an alternative. The natural process is for the sperm
and egg to come together to generate a fertilized egg which has 46 chromosomes
(23 from the H and 23 from the W) that can begin to divide into an embryo. This
process is impossible here since the H is infertile. So they turn to cloning. A
fertilized egg's equivalent is generated by the fusing of the H's cell with an
egg from the W with the nucleus removed. All of the 46 chromosomes in the
fertilized egg's equivalent come from the H and none from the wife. The
fertilized egg's equivalent is implanted into the W's womb and allowed to
develop into a full fledge baby after nine months.
I see two main differences between the natural and the cloned baby. The first
difference is in the formation of the fertilized egg. The natural baby resulted
from the union of the H's seed with the W's seed which required the physical
act of intimacy. The cloned baby resulted from the artificial union of the H's
body cell (not his seed) with the W's altered (enucleated) seed in the absence
of the physical act of intimacy. The second difference is that each body cell of
the natural baby contains 46 chromosomes which were contributed equally by the
H and W. Each body cell of the cloned baby , on the other hand, contains 46
chromosomes which were contributed solely by the H.
…
I hope this helps.
brotherly,
Tino Unlap”
Now, here are some Scriptures for you own meditation:
Human life is the not the same as animal life,
but those who are involved with “cloning” erringly think it is. As some often
wrongfully say, "Man is just a higher form of animal life." No, man
was created in the image of God, the Bible says (Gen. 1:27; 2:7;9:6 ). Moreover
in "breath of life" ~ “breath” (Gen. 2:7) is plural and indicates
more than physical breath (Compare Eccl. 12:7.)
The human spirit is not the flesh. We being
Christians, know that. Man has always known that:
1) Eccles. 12:7 (KJV)
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.
2) Philip. 1:23 (KJV)
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be
with Christ; which is far better:
Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of
the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
God is the God of the spirits of all
flesh: Numbers 16:22 (KJV)
“And they fell upon their faces, and said,
O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be
wroth with all the congregation?
God is said to be the Father of
spirits: Hebrews 12:9 (KJV)
“Furthermore we have had fathers of our
flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather
be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?”
A. “Spirits" (noun neuter) here refers to the human souls that will
leave the body and return to God.
God is said to “form” the spirit
within man: Zech. 12:1 (KJV)
“The burden of the word of the Lord for
Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the
foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.”
A. 1) BDB Definition:
1) to
form, fashion, frame
1a) (Qal)
to form, fashion
1a2) of
divine activity
1a2a) of
creation
1a2a1) of
original creation
1a2a2) of
individuals at conception
God is said to “give”
the spirit: Eccles. 12:7 (KJV)
“Then shall the dust return to the earth as
it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.”
A. BDB
Definition: 1) to give, put, set.
God is said to have “made”... this
soul: Jeremiah 38:16 (KJV)
“So Zedekiah the king sware secretly
unto Jeremiah, saying, As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not
put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek
thy life.
Eccl. 8:8a says "no man has
power over the spirit to retain the
spirit."
A. Retain ~ BDB Definition:
1) to restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back,
refrain, forbid:
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to shut up
1a2) to restrain
1a3) to withhold
Questions:
1. Is cloning God’s way of reproduction?
2. Would a clone have a soul?
3. Can one’s own
spirit be transferred to the clone or to anyone else for that matter?
4. Will man ever figure out a way to escape death?
5. Who made it possible for man to have eternal life and
that along with the promise of a spiritual body?
6. What must one do to acquire eternal life in heaven?
7. In what sense is death “yours” if you are a Christian?
(I Cor. 3:22)
(Additional passages to read and
consider: Gen. 1:27-28; 2:24; 4:1; Heb. 9:27, Heb. 5:9 ; Mk. 16:15-16; I Cor.
15:22, 44, 49- 58; Titus 1:2; Rev. 20:11-21:1).