Designer Genes
I'm sure this article is going to spark a lot of debate, a lot of denial, a lot of anger, and a lot of publicity which is likely what the author hoped would happen all along (see previous post on offending your way to success).
For those of you who don't click on links - which by the way I'm realizing is quite a few blog readers - here's the Reader's Digest version: A geneticist - who coincidentally is about to release a new book - claims to have found proof that there is a gene which makes people more apt to believe in God. It's given all sorts of folks an excuse to get in an uproar including religious scholars and believers as well as scientists and genetic researchers.
The author is the same guy who years ago claimed to have found a "homosexual gene" so he obviously has a gift for finding genes that
This is the type of research that I don't really care about one way or another. It's not that I don't find it interesting, it's merely that to me it doesn't matter.
I have a relationship with God. This is an undisputed truth. No scientist is ever going to disprove it to my satisfaction.
I'll readily admit that how I developed that relationship is mystifying to me, so if God were to use genetics to help lead me to Him, I certainly wouldn't be shocked. After all I believe God is The Creator, not a creator.
I also believe God uses all sorts of resources available at His fingertips to touch the hearts of people. I know this is a truth...I've seen it.
I found my way to God via a bizarre mix-master which was made up of on-ramps of death, passing lanes of love, by standing birds, and ignored stop signs of self-abuse...among other things.
I know folks who found their relationship with Christ only after they abandoned the church they knew all their lives, and I know others who didn't find true faith until they had attended the same church for decades.
I know people who developed a true belief in God only upon deep reflection about their many blessings, and I have been on my knees with believers whose relationship with Jesus only became personal after they had lost everything upon which they had placed value.
Come to think of it, everyone I know amid the body of Christ it seems arrived at where they are by at the very least a slightly different, and more commonly, a radically altered or downright strange path.
So who am I to rule out God using genes?
Yet I'm not going to dwell on it at all. What a complete waste of time and energy!
It doesn't matter. In truth I find it kind of silly.
"This just in: God who created you, has been very creative in finding ways to communicate with you."
Uh...duh.
My only regret about this guy's research is that it might prompt folks who already have a tendency to "over-think" things to waste their energy pondering what this means to their theology when they could instead be deepening the most meaningful of their relationships.
Here's my take...the result of years of personal research and in-depth study: God is within me...in part and in whole...and He got there by reaching out to me with every means possible, and some seemingly impossible.
Alas, I suppose that's not quite enough to stretch into a book deal huh?
"Instead of so knowing Christ that they have Him in them saving them, they lie wasting themselves in soul-sickening self-examination as to whether they are believers, whether they are really trusting in the atonement, whether they are truly sorry for their sins--the way to madness of the brain, and despair of the heart." - "The Misguided"- George MacDonald
posted by Michael
©The Main Point by Michael Main
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Nicely said, Michael.....
I heard of the "god gene" about 3 years ago. I was a chaplaincy intern at MDACC. I didn't think about it much at the time, jus like I'm not thinking much about it now.
However, I do want to make this observation.
I think that a huge difference between humanity and the rest of the created order is our ability to make choices that go against our natural inclinations. Even though our "genetics" say, "do this," we can always say, "no."
I believe that is the essence of Fasting. Our body says, "FEED ME!" and we can say, "no." We can say it quietly and effectively. God has given us this ability. He empowers us in this ability. He teaches us thru this as well. He uses it to change us from the inside out.
Can people have a natural tendency to accept things "spiritual?" Sure, I can accept that. Are we defined by our genes? No. We are more than nature. We are more than nurture. Even though those things can have a large impact on who we are at times, it doesn't totally define us. In the end, we can choose who we are.
After all, our most defining thing is this, male and female - we are all created in the image of God.
Tim
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