THE HUMAN GENOME
Science and the God Within
Dr. Gerry Lower, Keystone, South Dakota
Before we all agree to follow George W. Bush in his religious crusade to
control the oil which makes the "holy lands" truly holy to right wing
corporate America, we might consider the religious ground upon which Bush bases
his "great mission." I mean, does Bush's religious attitude really
provide justification for launching an unprovoked war? Just what is the track
record beneath Bush's religion?
His religion was wrong about the organization of the solar system back in
Galileo's time and, in 1992, the Vatican finally admitted its error in
literally terrorizing poor Galileo for being honest. Every one of us today
lives and breathes in the heliocentric world which Galileo conceptualized and
defined for us. By now, in the case of Science, "if you are not with
us," you cannot be against us. You are simply lost, but not beyond help.
His religion was wrong about the causes and motivations of disease with the
discovery of infectious micro-organisms in the late 19th century. No longer did
people have to suffer the perverse notion, maintained by religion for
millennia, that their illness was related to godly retribution, the reward of
sin, this nonsense having been rejected in the beginning by both Hippocrates
and the first Christian.
His religion was wrong about the origins of the earth and 19th century
geologists had a fairly decent grasp of geologic evolution, granite uplifts and
igneous and metamorphic rock formation, knowledge which was oftentimes
instructional in locating precious minerals.
His religion was wrong about the origins of Life on Earth and 19th century
biologists were able to elucidate biological evolution from observations of the
real world, without recourse to superstition and supernaturalism. How
marvelous. So far, however, we haven't even touched the knowledge emergent
during the 20th century, molecular biologic knowledge which only affirms biologic
evolution at the molecular level of organization, knowledge of the human genome
which only affirms the concept of common human origins and human
interconnectedness with each other and all living things.
It is simply true that scientific knowledge has replaced religious conjecture
entirely in explaining the world and the way the world works. About the only
thing which science cannot ultimately explain is where we go when we die, a
concern of religion from the beginning. Does it matter where you go if you are
dead? The question is virtually irrelevant. The important question is not where
we go when we die, but who we are when we are alive.
The structure of DNA was established in the 1950s, genetic regulation was
discovered in the 1960s, the genetic code was broken in the 1970s, molecular
genetics and molecular epidemiology emerged in the 1980s, genetic engineering
and gene therapy emerged in the 1990s, and the human genome was mapped by
millennium’s end. As a result of this exponential evolution of molecular
biologic knowledge, the biomedical sciences are finally in a position to
comprehend and control the mutation-induced neoplastic diseases, in terms of
specific environmental mutagens and specific genomic defects, this knowledge
being prerequisite to both efficacious prevention and genomic therapy.
Aside from the fact that molecular biologic knowledge, like all knowledge, can
be used to both better or worsen the human condition, Arthur Caplan at the
Center for Bioethics has pointed out that the philosophical ramifications of
having mapped the human genome have been entirely missed by the press and the
public. Given the many conceptual revolutions in molecular biology over the
past 50 years, the current situation with regard to public unawareness and ignorance
is largely the failure of a compromised scientific community to keep the people
informed of the magnificent conceptual world within which molecular biologic
knowledge is acquired.
Indeed, a modest awareness of the philosophic ramifications of this new
knowledge is prerequisite for the moral and ethical employment of this
knowledge, simply because those philosophic ramifications have everything to do
with human self-concept and how we see ourselves in relation to the world and
all living things. A difficulty arises in that these philosophic ramifications
are so enormously at odds with traditional western self-concept, based as it is
on being the hapless children of a supernatural, despotic God rather than being
companions and co-creators with God. The philosophic ramifications of molecular
biologic knowledge require an overt maturation in thought in that we must look
at life from the top down as well as the bottom up.
The earthly manifestation of human genomic information is, of course, “the
people.” The highly-integrated evolutionary library inside every human provides
God’s actual written word, the hardwired information which has secured human
emergence and evolution toward self-comprehension, in this context from “Man in
the image of God” to “God in the image of
Religious creationists are remarkably wrong about the world and how it works,
imposing ignorance and superstition in their creation and defense of a
supernatural, tooth-fairyesque God, a proudly vengeful agent living in heavenly
absentia, seldom around when needed. God’s word is not found in Old Testament
text, but in the enthusiastically-directed genomic orchestration inside all
living things. The fertilized human ovum is easily the most information-dense
structure on Earth, carrying the most highly-experienced and proven copy of
God’s written word. With the shared re-creation of a whole human genome at
conception comes everything human, skin cells, liver cells, blood cells, brain
cells ... and ultimately mind and all music, all math, all religion, science,
philosophy and democracy. Everything human comes from inside out with the
expression of human genomic and ideologic information.
Evolution is continuous Creation, a work eternally in progress, from birth to
birth. Genomic evolution involves only human germ cells, ova and spermatocytes.
We are only the material expression of that information. We are spin offs from
an evolutionary process that does not know death, only life.
Human genomic information is traceable to the emergence of life on Earth and
the human genomic script is shared with those of all other living things. We
are born of the earth’s very molecules, directed into vital configuration by
genomic information resulting from billions of years of evolutionary
experience. Even in hard scientific terms, we remain entirely awesome in our
sense of comprehension, as new as tomorrow and as old as time itself. We are
not here by static creation or by random accident but here inherently, as an
integral, built-in feature of the overall evolutionary program.
God, of course, is inherent at all levels of organization in Life and it is
necessary to make a distinciton between God at the biological level of
organization and God at the conceptual (cultural) level of organization. It is
also necessary to acknowledge that God’s genomic script (which defines the
human body) has no necessary influence over God’s idealogic script (which
defines the human mind), God’s word being comprised of comprehendable
information at all levels of organization.
Making sense of the genomic script is what molecular biology is all about.
Making sense of the idealogic script is what global philosophy is all about. In
this, God is the natural, evolving information (physical, biological, cultural)
resident in matter at all levels of organization, creative potential built
right in.
At the conceptual level of organization, here is the way it goes. If one can
see the elimination of epidemic infectious disease as a blessing on this earth,
then one can see God in the work of Snow and Koch and Pasteur. If one can see
the re-emergence of Democracy as a blessing on this earth, then one can see God
in the work of Spinoza and Locke and Franklin and Jefferson. If one can see the
elimination of slavery as a blessing on this earth, then one can see God in the
work of Jefferson and Lincoln.
With regard to the idealogic script,
While Bush finds his god in Old Testament conjecture, it is clear that God is
found in the Euro-American Enlightenment values of compassion, decency,
knowledge, freedom, fairness, truth - which all three human pursuits, share on
the path to self-comprehension. Creativity is akin to Godliness, conceptual and
spiritual growth are one and the same, and God remains alive and well and
learning still, here and now ... of that we can all be certain.
Life on the whole comes of itself, and we do too, having evolved to embrace the
what, how and why of our very existence, having grown to recognize our Earthly
origins and relationships, our Earthly duties and obligations. It is in service
to that awareness that we must accept our role as the earth’s eyes and ears and
mind, a role as protectors and stewards of Life itself. Our God inside would
appreciate this modest advance in human maturity, no doubt.
Rejoice in human knowledge and the authority which it provides, because this
knowledge will allow the solution of countless human health problems and help
ensure not only human survival but human fulfillment on a global basis. Rejoice
in the utter responsibility which comes with this authority, and the resulting
sense of being needed in maintaining that responsibility.
“For Beauty comes in knowing who you are and whence you came and why you be,
Earth Child.”