A Three-Parent Child - Really Now!

This coming Sunday I will be preaching from Genesis 6-9 on the story of Noah and the Great Flood.  There are so many questions that arise within those chapters, questions that probably will await answers only when we stand before the God of the story.  Of course the main focus of the message will be on Noah's story - but that, in itself, is an amazing story. 


As Genesis 6 begins we come to understand that the world has rapidly descended into some type of moral abyss.  It is interesting to speculate on who the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" are and just who are the Nephilim.  One can do his or her own study on these questions.  But I believe it is safe to say that there were a lot of unnatural creatures during those days.  Creatures that defied the natural boundaries that God had established.  And, in the light of the growth of that which was unnatural, God stepped in and brought destruction through the flood.


Just this morning I read an article from the publishers of New Scientist magazine.  The article was written by Jessica Hamzelou and can be found at: www.newscientist.com/articles/2107219-exclusive-worlds-first-baby-born-with-new-3-parent-technique.  The article begins: "It's a boy!  A five-month-old boy is the first baby to be born using a new technique that incorporates DNA from three people. ... The controversial technique, which allows parents with rare genetic mutations to have healthy babies, has only been legally approved in the UK.  But the birth of the child, whose Jordanian parents were treated by a US-based team in Mexico, should fast-forward progress around the world, say embryologists. ... Dr. Zhang took a different approach, called spindle nuclear transfer.  He removed the nucleus from one of the mother's eggs and inserted it into a donor egg that had had its own nucleus removed.  The resulting egg - with nuclear DNA material from the mother and the mitochondrial DNA from a donor - was then fertilized with the father's sperm."


Over the past years we have seen a dramatic increase in technology in the field of embryology and reproductive science.  It began with IVF which was hailed as the solution to the problems of infertility.  And IVF has helped hundreds of thousands of families to experience the joys of having children.  More recently, with the mapping of the human genome, it is now possible to genetically alter an embryo to achieve a result that is more pleasing to parents.  Yet with both IVF and genetic alterations, you were still working with the DNA material from two parents.  This is still the natural way that God described back in Genesis 1 and 2. One half the your chromosomal account comes from your mother, the other half from your father.  This is how God intended it.


But now a child has been born whose DNA structure is not fit a normal pattern.  Now a third type of DNA has been added.  I have seen pictures of this little boy and he appears to be very normal.  Perhaps those children born to the union of "sons of God" and "daughters of men" appeared normal at first, but we know that something went very wrong.  Could that be the case with this little boy?  I guess time will tell.  But I get a sense that this is very unnatural.  It is not what God had intended. 


And to that is added the increasing and expanding role of robotics in our world.  Soon your surgery will be performed by a robotic team of surgeons.  Robots will wait upon your tables at leading restaurants.  You might engage a robot in a quiet conversation some evening.  And perhaps you might even commit adultery with a robotic partner.  The advancement of robotics and the sister science of artificial intelligence is alarming.  Computers were created to be tools to assist man to live a better life.  There is a danger that computers may become the masters over men. 


So the question begs to be asked: How much longer will God permit this descent into the world of the unnatural to continue?  The only definite response is to say, "I don't know."  Will God allow man to develop the ability to replicate themselves so, in essence, you could live forever?  Will God permit man to develop the ability to create "designer" children - those who will run faster, hit the ball farther, play the piano better, write a story better, do studies in class better?  Will God permit man to design a machine that gives the scary indications of almost being human?  "I don't know" but I do know that we are standing right on the edge of those thoughts becoming a reality. 


When the world that God created became one absorbed with the unnatural, God stepped in and brought about its destruction through a worldwide flood.  We do know from the Scriptures that God will step into His world and bring about its destruction through wars, famines, disease, and wild beasts (Revelation 6:7-8) and through earthquakes and powerful storms (Revelation 16:17-21).  Then Jesus will come to establish His kingdom here on earth (Revelation 19:11-21). 


Friends, I do not have an answer to the "how long before" question.  But I do have a confidence in knowing that God is in control and that mankind, with all his intellectual abilities, will only be permitted to go so far.  And, with the announcement today of the birth of a child with three parents' DNA, I am wondering if we are getting near that point where God says, "enough is enough."  And so I just keep looking to Him.  I trust you are as well.