As a child I enjoyed comics like The Far Side,
Non-Sequitur and even Family Circle. I
loved to watch shows like Law & Order and The Simpsons as well. There was nothing in particular about any
character that drew me in, it was the fact that I wasn’t tied to anything.
There was no worry about missing a panel or missing an
episode and being Lost. There were
overarching themes for sure but each comic or show stood on its own
merits. It allowed you to just pop in
for one or buckle up for the long haul.
This is the way in which I’ve approached my writing as
well. While the overall theme is
building in my faith, I write about what pops into my head or what interests
me.
This mentality is the Genesis for today’s writing;
Should we be trying to revive any species that have gone extinct.
I read an article about reviving the moa in New
Zealand. This was a land based bird
who’s only natural predator was a giant eagle (also extinct) until the arrival
of man.
I’ve also read articles and seen documentaries about
trying to revive the Woolly Mammoth simply because we think we can.
Those who know me, know that I’m not a big “God’s
Plan” guy. I don’t really subscribe to
an overall narrative where everything happens for a reason or where God knows
what is going to happen next at all times.
These situations however have always made me
nervous. To replicate or clone or revive
animals that did not survive in the world of today, are we really playing God
more than we should. Also, why is it
that we only revive the herbivores. Have
we found any Sabre Tooth Cat’s DNA that we could maybe mix with a Lion or Tiger
to bring them back? Are we too afraid to
do that but we’re entirely cool with the consequences of plant eaters?
I’m a huge proponent of science and for us to work
hard to solve the issues of this world, but is not having enough giant birds or
fluffy elephants the best we can work on?
Could these incredible minds and piles of government money not be
redirected into something that will help humanity as a whole and this planet
that we call home.
I question what the ultimate motivation is of the
folks who are working on these projects.
Is it the fame to have their name attached to the project? Is it the desire to feel that power? To finally show people of faith that their
beliefs are wrong because a scientist can reverse what happened?
In Jurassic Park (the film adaptation of Michael
Crichton’s book of the same name) a scientist named Ian Malcolm utters the
famous line “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could
that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”
While this was paraphrased from the original text (where have I heard
that before) and was originally a work of fiction, I think it still has bearing
here.
The last 100 years have brought more innovation to the
human race than at any other time in history.
One could argue that the last 20-30 we even further advanced than that.
The question then becomes, at what point do morals and
rules and common sense come in to play.
This is a real struggle for me if I’m being honest. I will always support science and I believe
that God gave some people the ability to see these things differently. One day, I’m confident that these scientists
will cure cancer and they’ve been able to help to stem a pandemic but they’re also
rebuilding long forgotten creatures because of our knowledge of the building
blocks of life.
Perhaps I’m the one out of my mind or I’m paranoid,
but should we really be working to bring back creatures that have already been
rendered extinct in the world we currently live in? Even if it was our fault, they’ve proven to
not be able to survive.
Just because we can, does it really mean we should?
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