15 years of Cloning, not the Panacea we were Told

Remains of Dolly the sheep.

Would cloning be a scientific way for a person to achieve immortality, or at least for a succession of copies of him to live for an indeterminate length of time? Fifteen years ago, a sheep named “Dolly” was cloned from the mammary-gland cell of a six year old donor. There was discussion as to whether humans were next (Anonymous 2002).

One would expect that by today, fifteen years after Dolly was cloned, the cloning of animals would have advanced far beyond Dolly’s example. Yet this is not what has happened. Notice the extended quote below taken from a recent fact sheet put out by the U.S. Government’s Genome Project web site (Anonymous, 2011):

Reproductive cloning is a very inefficient technique and most cloned animal embryos cannot develop into healthy individuals. For instance, Dolly was the only clone to be born live out of a total of 277 cloned embryos. This very low efficiency, combined with safety concerns, presents a serious obstacle to the application of reproductive cloning.

Researchers have observed some adverse health effects in sheep and other mammals that have been cloned. These include an increase in birth size and a variety of defects in vital organs, such as the liver, brain and heart. Other consequences include premature aging and problems with the immune system. Another potential problem centers on the relative age of the cloned cell’s chromosomes. As cells go through their normal rounds of division, the tips of the chromosomes, called telomeres, shrink. Over time, the telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide and, consequently, the cell dies.

This is part of the natural aging process that seems to happen in all cell types. As a consequence, clones created from a cell taken from an adult might have chromosomes that are already shorter than normal, which may condemn the clones' cells to a shorter life span. Indeed, Dolly, who was cloned from the cell of a 6-year old sheep, had chromosomes that were shorter than those of other sheep her age. Dolly died when she was six years old, about half the average sheep's 12-year lifespan.

Marko comments: There seems to be something very mysterious that is at work here. Cloning evidently does not work as the way to eternal life. Bible believers who understand the fall of all mankind into sin would say that the finger of God is at work here....

References (selected)

Anonymous. 2002. Class Notes: The Cloning of Dolly, 'Cc', and other Mammals (see paragraphs V and VI). IUPUI Department of Biology. Retrieved August 18, 2011 from
www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k2cloning.html

Anonymous. 2011. What are the potential drawbacks of cloning animals? Fact Sheets about Science: Cloning. National Human Genome Research Institute. Retrieved August 19, 2011, from www.genome.gov/25020028#al-11

(based on Timothy R. Stout, The Testimony of Clones & Telomeres, published in Creation Matters, a publication of Creation Research Society, Volume 16, Number 4, July/August 2011, to appear at http://www.creationresearch.org/creation_matters/pdf/2011/CM16%2004%20low%20res.pdf)

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Jesus rescues Muslims from the occult side of Islam

The evil eye is a subject that generates a great deal of fear and superstitious bondage among Muslims of many countries. It is commonly believed that a jealous or hateful glance, or even a look of admiration, can deliberately or unwittingly bring a curse on others. Babies and young children are thought to be especia1ly vulnerable. For this reason, mothers typically pin blue and white charms on their little ones in the hope that this will protect them.

Occult practices are common in the world of the average Muslim. Many pray to Muslim saints at their tombs, visit astrologers and fortune tellers, wear protective lockets with verses from the Kor'an, and hire shamans and witches to place spells or curses on others.

A Christian camp in a Muslim country recently ministered to teens from horrific backgrounds surrounded by occult practices. Some of their families make sacrifices to folk gods, have incestuous relationships, are prone to violence, and are infested with demon possession.

Pray that these young people and their loved ones will be delivered from satanic bondage and experience the joy of salvation. Pray that Muslims who become followers of Christ will be diligent to forsake such practices, and will use the authority of Jesus to deal with such evils.

(from a Christian prayer letter, November 2011)

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Jerusalem, sung by Marko

I sang "Jerusalem" on September 25th at Fellowship Bible Church of Philadelphia. This song is originally by the Hoppers, a wonderful song.



If you don't see the DivShare control above, you can listen at
http://www.divshare.com/download/16030413-696.

Our pastor preached his final sermon on the book of Revelation that morning, this song was the perfect one to sing for the occasion. Come, Lord Jesus, come to us soon!

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Nov 13th - International Day of Prayer for the persecuted church

IDOP is a time set apart for us to remember thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters around the world who suffer persecution, simply because they confess Jesus Christ as Lord.

In the traditional church calendar, “All Saints Day” and “All Souls Day” stand out in the month of November, set apart to remember the saints of the church and the souls of those who departed this world. It is fitting, then, that the modern church has set apart the month of November to remember and pray for the persecuted church, through the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP).

There are many countries in the world today where Christians are martyred for their faith. Believers in Afghanistan are facing death threats; Christians in Uzbekistan, Nigeria and many other countries all around the world face violence, imprisonment and even death. There are other places in the world such as North Korea where acts of persecution take place, but we don’t see or hear of it. Brother Andrew of Open Doors once said, “Our heroes are not with us simply because they are in prison.”

We invite you to explore this website and hope you will join Christians worldwide in praying for persecuted Christians this November.

Please note that while Sunday, November 13 (Sunday, November 6 in the UK and Ireland) is the designated date for IDOP, you are free to choose another date if you wish.

(reposted from http://www.idop.org/)

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A Gift of a Penny Leads 1500 People to Christ

About a century ago, a dear Christian lady began preparations to send a box of goods and supplies to missionaries from her church. A neighborhood child heard of her project and desired to help. But being only a small child, she had very little that would be useful to the missionaries. The child did have a penny, however—a gift from a favorite uncle—which she cheerfully presented to the dear lady to help her friends on the mission field.

Touched by the child’s heartfelt generosity and not wanting to offend her in spite of her small gift, the lady graciously accepted the penny. But the child’s gift was too small to purchase supplies and the lady was uncertain how she could put it to good use. Then an idea occurred to her, and she used the child’s penny to purchase a single gospel tract.

On the day when all the necessary supplies had been gathered, the lady asked the child to help her prepare the box for shipment. One by one, the lady and the child packed the items, being careful to include the gospel tract purchased with the child’s penny. The box was finally sealed and addressed, and together the lady and the small child took it to the post office to be shipped to their friends halfway around the world.

Some weeks later, the box reached the missionaries, who joyously unpacked it. The supplies it held brought sweet relief to their modest circumstances. Near the bottom of the box, the missionaries discovered the gospel tract, which they soon gave to one of the local people.

The tract was passed among the people, eventually reaching a great chief who lived in a nearby region. Intrigued by its message, but unsure of its meaning, the chief called for the missionaries to come and explain the teachings. They came and began to share the gospel, and in time the chief accepted Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. The chief told the story of his conversion to his people, many of whom also believed. Eventually a church was established and over fifteen hundred people were brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus.

This remarkable story, started by a gift of a child’s penny that culminated in the salvation of many souls, marvelously demonstrates the power our gifts can have on the work of the Kingdom.

(reposted from Henry M. Morris IV, Acceptable Gifts of Power, Acts & Facts, October 2011, Institute for Creation Research)

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