I want to know what does Quran, Bible, Torah, Bhagavd Gita etc have to say about stem cell research. Obviously people who wrote these holy books were quite uneducated to comprehend stem cell research. So now while STR looks promising to fix certain illnesess, why all these ethical issues. Being a non-practicing muslim/nonmuslim (depends on personal opinion) I would like GS Muslim wannabe scholars to shed some light using Quran (leave your Hadiths out for now)/Bible etc to shed some light on this subject.
Q: Is it wrong to clone embryo and extract stem cells to fix illness?
Mods: Please leave this in religion I want to approach this issue from a religious perspective.
maybe off topic but are we assuming here that people wrote holy books like quran, bible..i always thought these are god’s words…if they are god’s words the are we assuming that god is uneducated?
^^ No that is valid and a good point. No I am not assuming I am stating my personal opinion plus the fact that God didnt write, men did, supposedly God dictated while scribes wrote.
Rest of the guppies, please try to answer the question in light of what you believe whomever wrote the holy scriptures.
Judeo-Christian activists are against it, because they claim their faith says that a human being's life begins at conception - meaning Day 0 of embryo formation. (the moment the sperm and egg unite).
Islamic tradition actually says that life begins on the 40th day or something along those lines. Day 40 in embryo formation, you'll see cell diffrentiation and migration (at least migration). So its prior to Day 40 that researchers use embryo's to extract stem cells from (in human embryos). Therefore, the researcher would not be killing a human being by conducting research on human embryonic stem cells.
'And assuredly I will lead them astray and assuredly I will arouse in them vain desires, and assuredly I will incite them and they will cut the ears of cattle; and assuredly I will incite them and they will alter Allah's creation.' And whoever takes Satan for a friend instead of Allah, he certainly suffers a manifest loss.
Here is a grave warning for those who intend to use this to alter Allah's creation for their sinister designs. Some may use it to achieve advantage over others, but they will surely face wrath of God. Others might do it with apparently good intentions, but may not be able to see all the consequences for their actions.
Having said that, Islam does not stop us from using this same knowledge for the betterment of life by curing diseases and improving quality of life. In fact, it encourages us to do so.
So set thy face to the service of religion with single-minded devotion. And follow the nature made by Allah, the nature according to which He has fashioned mankind. There is no altering the creation of Allah. That is the right religion - but most men know not -
Right, so stem cell work for the purpose of treatment of disease would be ok.
Using stem cells for cloning a new human or a super-human, probably not. At any rate, I doubt it would work. Stem cells right now are being researched for the intention of treatment, not really to create a new dolly-type human clone. What good would those be anyway? Humans are almost near carrying capacity, anyway.
^^ PCG there are diseases that little kids inherit (hence genetic) this gives hopes to people that are ok but there kid is not ,becasue the gene skipped a generation. So if a little kid can be cured and live his life to the fullest, I say why not. But Religion seems to be the thorn. Hence the question.
Sorry Pal, Not extensively discussed. You wrote the article, so they are your opinions which is fine, no issues there. But Is it safe to say that all Guppies agree to what you wrote?
Plus there was only one comment so I dont know why you say extensively discussed.
Hmmm I know for a fact that anything that can cure an illness would be allowed. Assuming it all came about by halal means. As for the rest, I wonder. I guess it depends on how far one is willing to take it to.
Cloning would be a no for the obvious reasons. But I dont think human clones can be made anytime soon.
I don’t know … given that God wrote the Quran, and God pretty much knows everything about everything, I’d say that He understands stem cell research a little bit more than anyone in the universe.
try looking for moral standards for research and scientific advancement from religion and all you get is one giant witch hunt. religions operate on suppression and unchallenged submission, while science demands the very opposite.
a lot of religious folks seem to get their panties all bunched up when it comes to "creation"/modification issues but dont let out even a peep about destruction. why dont religious people have protests against nuclear bombs and waste management on the same scale as stem cell research?
Yeah and why do the same people (in the name of science types) help to make those nuclear bombs then sit around and announce stem cell research shouldnt have any sort of opposition.
I believe the Vatican was against embryonic stem cell research because to Catholics life begins at conception, therefore using embryo’s was using a human life for scientific purposes and killing it in the process (like abortion).
zindabad 