The Christian Attutude Towards Cloning
Christian attitudes towards cloning
By Ross Goldsborough
Since Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned in 1997, and the possibility of cloning humans became a reality, Christian leaders have been ever thinking about whether or not cloning is morally right or wrong. While many Christians tend to disagree with the practice, such as Roman Catholics and a majority of fundamentalist pastors, the views taken by various other Christian denominations are very different and often, It is hard to pinpoint any one, definite stance of the Christian religion, since there are so many Christian view points and no final decision concerning the morality of human cloning.
Many Christians, whether religious or not, object to the idea of cloning, especially if it involved humans. In many parts of the world, human cloning experiments are illegal. Most Christians agree that this is the right position to take. They argue that each human life is a unique and special gift created by God, and it is wrong for people to try and create human life artificially.
Another reason why Christians might disagree with human cloning is that the process requires many human embryos to be made, before just one successful clone is formed. If people carried out cloning procedures, they would have to throw away large quantities of unsuccessful embryos. Christians who believe that life begins at the moment of conception (such as most Roman Catholics) argue that it is wrong to throw away potential human lives.
However, other Christians argue that a certain kind of cloning is acceptable. This is ‘tissue cloning’, where the aim is not to create an entirely new human person, but to create and develop one particular kind of cell. For example, skin cells could be clones, so that someone who had suffered severe burns could have skin grafts made for his or her own cells, and then new skin which suited the patient perfectly could be grown to cover the damaged area. Other kinds of cell might be cloned to help
By Ross Goldsborough
Since Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned in 1997, and the possibility of cloning humans became a reality, Christian leaders have been ever thinking about whether or not cloning is morally right or wrong. While many Christians tend to disagree with the practice, such as Roman Catholics and a majority of fundamentalist pastors, the views taken by various other Christian denominations are very different and often, It is hard to pinpoint any one, definite stance of the Christian religion, since there are so many Christian view points and no final decision concerning the morality of human cloning.
Many Christians, whether religious or not, object to the idea of cloning, especially if it involved humans. In many parts of the world, human cloning experiments are illegal. Most Christians agree that this is the right position to take. They argue that each human life is a unique and special gift created by God, and it is wrong for people to try and create human life artificially.
Another reason why Christians might disagree with human cloning is that the process requires many human embryos to be made, before just one successful clone is formed. If people carried out cloning procedures, they would have to throw away large quantities of unsuccessful embryos. Christians who believe that life begins at the moment of conception (such as most Roman Catholics) argue that it is wrong to throw away potential human lives.
However, other Christians argue that a certain kind of cloning is acceptable. This is ‘tissue cloning’, where the aim is not to create an entirely new human person, but to create and develop one particular kind of cell. For example, skin cells could be clones, so that someone who had suffered severe burns could have skin grafts made for his or her own cells, and then new skin which suited the patient perfectly could be grown to cover the damaged area. Other kinds of cell might be cloned to help