At 05:18 AM 10/20/98 -0500, you wrote:
>There is an article in the NY Times today that says that humans may only be
>50 developmental genes different from chimpanzees. It talks about the
>possibility of inserting those 50 genes into a chimp embryo and seeing what
>happens. It can be found at
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/science/102098sci-chimps.html
>
>Question: Assuming (big if) that such a set of insertions actually moved
>the chimp toward the human form and cognition, what would people opposed to
>evolution then say to maintain the anti-evolutionary position? Would
>anti-evolutionary Christians finally be forced to admit that evolution
>might have occurred?
>glenn
>
>Adam, Apes and Anthropology
>Foundation, Fall and Flood
>& lots of creation/evolution information
>http://www.isource.net/~grmorton/dmd.htm
>
>
I do not believe it will affect anti-evolutionary Christians at all, because
their stand is a faith stand not based on science or scientific evidence.
The question they and others will have to answer (and which will probably
divide them from us in another way) when such a creature is produced is what
rights will we give it? Will we call it human (and give it the same rights
we give to other humans) or an ape (and treat it as a lab specimen)?
In a land and time where a human fetus can be labeled as a nuisance or a
parasite, what chance will a organism produced as a lab experiment have.
Most anti-evolutionary Christians I have discussed this topic with would
call such a organism an ape, intelligence would not be a factor in any way.
By their definition it wouldn't be God breathed and so wouldn't have a soul.
In all likely hood it will be produced somewhere where rights are not a
problem for the researchers but what will our response be? I am sure for
most it will be pragmatic and guarantee profits.
My response would be more conservative. I would call it human with all the
rights and privileges that go with that title, if for no other reason then
that someone would be trying to make a human and we need to put limits on
that type of activity.
John