Human cloning – another kind of immortality?

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleClonarea umană — o altfel de nemurire?
3. Language term Romanian
4. lemma author Stavinschi, Alexandra
5. lemma category Scientific theories and disciplines > Biology - Ethics - Scientific theories and disciplines > Medicine - Orthodox view on technology and engineering
6. Publication date 20-1-2017
7. lemma work Istodor, Gheorghe [Author]. Human cloning – another kind of immortality?
8. lemma manifestations Transdisciplinarity in Science and Religion
9. Keywords fertilization - Jews - Buddhism - Hinduism - Islam - therapy - clones - bioethics
10. Url Click Here
11. Lemma body

    1. This is a very clear and comprehensive article on the modern issue of cloning, with a detailed analysis of both the scientific and the religious aspects of this practice.

       Human cloning represents one of the most serious challenges that the Christian mission is now facing. It is often presented as the “revolutionary” reality of bioethics, an extraordinary scientifical and technological achievement, but according to Istodor it is just an “offer” of the secular world, which ignores God and the Resurrection. The debate surrounding is fueled by the fact that the progress of technology makes it perfectly possible in the near future.

       Given that there are basically two types of cloning (the so-called therapeutic and the reproductive one), it is useful to look in detail at their consequences. The author concludes that the distinction between them is redundant, as they represent both an offence to God’s plans to His absolute sovereignty on human life. An essential aspect, which was overlooked by thinkers such as Ramsey, is that cloning is not a life-giving, truly creative process, but an anomalous and dangerous way of perpetuating pre-existing life. The author insists on the importance of considering the embryo as fully-fledged life, not just an amorphous mass of cells.

       The author is a priest and therefore takes for granted that humans have a soul; from this perpective, the only question is: when does life begin? The Orthodox Association for Bioethical Studies reached the conclusion that this happens as soon as the egg is fertilized. Therefore, all the attempts to gain control on life from its inception are seen as fundamentally wrong.

       Before reaching his final conclusions, Istodor takes a look at the perspective on cloning of the major religions: Buddhism, Hindu, Muslim and Jewish. All religions reject this “offer”, even though there are some people who try to find a justification for it, therapeutical cloning being presented in a positive manner.

       Orthodoxy is even more adamant in rejecting cloning – both therapeutical and reproductive – based on religious and moral grounds, and it draws attention on another “offer” (addressed to Resurrection) seen from the point of view of the Oriental religious perspective. This “offer” is Reincarnation, which is also rejected and strongly condemned.