HURJ Volume 05 - Spring 2006

Page 24

Judaism

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The overall purpose of the Judaic faith is not ethic of rights but rather the ethics of responsibility and the preservation of life. Therefore, for therapeutic purposes, cloning, in general, would be conditionally acceptable.

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Firstly, let us examine the Jewish faith and its perception on cloning. Firstly, the Jewish faith encourages human beings to explore and work for the health and benefit of mankind. In the Talmud, the rabbinic commentaries on the Torah, their holy text, human beings are understood as associates of God in the continuing act of nature. In this distinctive setting, human beings have a divine order for mastery, including the role of searching for and expanding on health and medicine for the benefit of mankind. However, the mandate of mastery of creation comes into question when dealing for cloning in the Judaic faith. The question is no longer mastery over nature and creation, but control over human beings. Nevertheless, the overall purpose of the Judaic faith is not ethic of rights but rather the ethics of responsibility and the preservation of life. Therefore, for therapeutic purposes, cloning, in general, would be conditionally acceptable. For example, sterile woman would be eligible for children with the advancements of human cloning and such a blessing as producing Jewish children to a woman who is unable may fall under the category of acceptable. Jewish author Joshua Lipschutz claims that even though human cloning would produce replicas of other human beings, the uniqueness of the human being would produce each and every clone to have a mind different to that of its parent. Nonetheless, other Jewish scholars are still opposed to the idea of human cloning claiming that it would lead to idolatry, which is strictly prohibited in Judaism. Other than the traditional Orthodox Jews, the majority of Jews have accepted the viability of human cloning if it is done with precaution and responsibility. Overall, the Jewish faith is one of adaptability when it comes to human cloning and its research.

Christianity Now, let us examine the standpoint on human cloning from the standpoint of Christianity. Dr. Panos Zavos, at the University of Kentucky, who some claim to be the father of human cloning, argues that the Bible orders “thou shall not kill,” but claims that nowhere to be found in the Bible is the statement “thou shall not clone.” Many Christians disagree with Dr. Zavos’s ideology. To examine the Christian perspective, one must first realize that Christianity, the world’s largest religion, can be divided into two main sects, mainline Protestant and Roman Catholicism. First, let us examine the mainline Protestant point of view. As far as cloning research goes, Protestants look for a precedent that has been set in the past to answer their questions for


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