IN THE NEWS TODAY is the invention of the first so-called "synthetic cell," the implication being that somehow some scientists were able to create LIFE out of NOTHING. But if we look carefully at what really occurred, we hear the inventors say that this new cell is "more of a re-creation of existing life -- changing one simple type of bacterium into another -- than a built-from-scratch kind" of cell.
However, one of those same scientist/inventors went on to speculate that his team's project "paves the way for designing organisms that work differently from the way nature intended for a wide range of uses." Differently from the way nature intended. Hmmm.
The way the Roman Catholic Church has responded to this is enlightening. The bio-ethics people at the Vatican are warning scientists "of the ethical responsibility of scientific progress." On the one hand, they say, is "the temptation to play God," to not "respect the dignity of of the person." On the other hand, this new bio-technology can be a useful tool "toward the good" if, they say, it is utilized "to treat pathologies [diseases]."
But THEN the Vatican spokesman uses an interesting phraseology. He says, "We look at science with great interest. But we think above all about the meaning that must be given to life." The meaning. What does he mean by "the meaning?"
The hit TV show "Lost" is screening its final episode this coming Sunday, May 23rd. I've become a fan of the show ever since the producers decided, three years ago, that the show (and its long storyline) would stop right about now. For me, because the story now HAD an ending, watching the show would be more meaningful. "Lost" would not be just a series of random episodes; the program had a point.
That is what Christians like those in the Vatican and you and me should be asking any new technology, any new tool. What is the point? What is its overall effect on humanity? What is the meaning, the ultimate purpose of this new stuff? I recall how over the last 65 years, through the invention of nuclear bombs, nuclear energy, and nuclear medicine, we have found out what's helpful and what's not so helpful about harnassing the power of the atom. We are finding out its best meaning for humanity and for God's world. We can be very destructive - and, say, obliterate civilization in an all-out nuclear war -- if we lose sight of the best "meaning" and "purpose" for our use of atomic energy.
A TV critic named "Doc" Jensen has watched "Lost" for all 6 seasons. He knows that many viewers are looking for final answers this Sunday night to the show's many mysteries. But he's looking forward to the finale because, he says, "I'm ready to watch 'meaning' -- which, to be clear," he adds, "is different from 'answers'." You see, Jensen is very perceptive (he's also a church-going Christian). He knows that people who want ANSWERS are taking themselves out of the equation. He's ready to experience the deep MEANING that the show can provide -- which is the LOVE that the characters are learning to show each other.
Many times people want answers and don't realize that what they really want is meaningful, loving relationships. God in the Bible is sometimes frustrating because He refuses to answer in detail several questions: What's heaven like? How will good triumph over evil? Why does evil exist in the world? etc. Yet faith tells us, if we let it, that God has already given us the answers that count, the meaning we need...that God loves us and suffers and triumphs with us...that His plan is working out right now...and that we are called to follow the God of Jesus Christ, together, in a Spirit-led, loving community. As Jensen writes, "Lost" tells us that "the labor of our emotional, intellectual, and spiritual healing, growth and refinement isn't a solo act, but requires a community of fellow souls also seeking transformation...[who are] deeply invested iln each other's survival, growth, and flourishing."
It's through being "deeply invested" in each other that we find our ultimate purpose and meaning in life. Forming that community, in turn, guides us, together, to make the right decisions for this world, and for each other.
David Hewitt
