Science, Religion and Our Emerging Culture

Genetic scientists beware — the Catholic Church has declared that your work will dump you in hell. You think I’m kidding, but it’s true. And I knew the attack on genetic engineering was bound to happen.

Okay, let’s start at the beginning. I’m not a biblical scholar, so bear with me. The original seven deadly sins were proclaimed by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th century. The concept really caught fire (sorry) during the Middle Ages when Dante wrote about them in The Inferno. The original deadly sins, as you may recall, are lust, gluttony, avarice, sloth, anger, envy and pride.

Well, these sins were sufficient until the last few weeks, when the Vatican issued a more progressive, more upscale list. The old list still counts, so add seven additional deadly sins, bringing the total to fourteen. According to Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, a bud of the Pope, genetic modification, carrying out experiments on humans, polluting the environment, causing social injustice, causing poverty, becoming obscenely wealthy and taking drugs are all mortal sins.

Girotti said that “new sins have appeared on the horizon of humanity as a corollary of the unstoppable process of globalization. You offend God not only by stealing, blaspheming or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by ruining the environment, carrying out morally debatable scientific experiments, or allowing genetic manipulations which alter DNA or compromise embryos.” In addition, mortal sins included taking or dealing in drugs, social injustice which led to poverty or “the excessive accumulation of wealth by a few.”

Highlighted are the new sins that are of special concern to me. In my novel Unholy Domain, I describe a lethal new religion called the Church of Natural Humans. This Church believes that genetic engineering and artificial intelligence are tools of the Devil. Listen to First Minister Adam Jordan speaking to his congregation in 2022:

“Listen carefully to what Lucifer says,” Jordan said, his voice cracking. He swallowed, watching the faithful, his passion pressed to the limit. He took a breath, then another. “He offers this bargain: through technology, he will restore our civilization to a greater level of material riches. In order to gain this wealth, you must allow the Technos to create artificial beings, godless abominations that will rule the earth. But even that is just a step along the path to an even viler future. The elements of our human bodies and minds are to be replaced, step by step, with synthetic genes and artificial components. Humans are to evolve into a new species. Technological Man they call it.”

“Never,” cried a female voice among the believers. Others echoed her cry.

“Now why is the Devil doing this?” Jordan asked. “Why?” He paused, looking across the crowd. “The reason is simple, yet horrible beyond belief. In this secular world, your soul is your link to God. When the Devil replaces aspects of your humanity with artificial components, he weakens your connection to the Lord. When he inserts a synthetic gene into your body, he disrupts God’s plan. At some point, as your humanity shrinks and the artificiality grows, the link to the Lord will be severed. And when the Devil destroys that link, it’s gone forever.”

Maybe a touch dramatic, but Unholy Domain provides a glimpse of what’s just around the corner. The Vatican’s proclamation provides an excuse for radical fundamentalists to attack those who support genetic engineering. Once a radical believes God is on his side, any action, no matter how violent, is permitted. Not just permitted, blessed.

Now I am not claiming that violence will increase immediately, nor do I believe that the Vatican has given its blessing to violent acts. However, as genetic engineering advances, the radicals will become more adamant in their efforts to stop it. Initially non-violent protests, then acts of random violence, then systematic attacks.

This is why people fly airplanes into buildings.