Nature Versus Nurture

     According to an article on the Wired website, (www.wired.com) a consumer genomics company called 23andMe was recently granted a patent for a system that would allow prospective parents to choose the traits of their offspring. This designer baby-making system would give parents the opportunity to pick the disease risk, hair color, athleticism, and expected lifetime health care costs of their children. 23andMe currently offers genomic analysis of more than 240 genetic traits that could potentially be pre-determined.

     Currently, with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, (PGD) doctors scan an embryo’s genome before it’s implanted in a woman. PGD is currently used to prevent genetic diseases and in some cases to choose a baby’s sex. Clinics that offer PGD don’t give customers a list of possible non-medically relevant traits.

     Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, believes that “overestimating the importance of genes could lead people to underestimate the importance of everything else.” Genetics do not account for 100% of who we are. Much of who we are is due to our education, experiences, and choices. Deutoronomy 6:4-7 tells us that we are to repeat God’s commands to our children. We are to talk about them when we’re home and when we’re on the road, when we’re going to bed and when we’re getting up. 

     At Southwinds, we provide several excellent opportunities for children to learn about God and to grow in to mature followers of Christ. In addition to this, parents must continually share their faith with the children that they share their lives with. Children may make the wrong choices, but ultimately we are to direct our children so they may work out their salvation and obey God “with deep reverence and fear.” (Phil. 2:12, NLT)

Ce n'est pas un chrétien?

     René Magritte was a Belgian surrealist and is one of my favorite artists. You may recognize his piece entitled, “The Son of Man,” which features a man wearing a suit and bowler hat with a large green apple obscuring his face. Part of why I enjoy Magritte’s work is because it challenges our preconditioned ideas regarding reality. I personally require no less than three major reality checks daily. These checks often come when I view budgets, bank statements, and mirrors.

     Another of Magritte’s pieces (which I am happy to reference here, as I now own a t-shirt that parodies the work and tire of explaining it) is a deceptively simple painting of a pipe used for smoking, captioned with the phrase “Ceci n’est pas une pipe.” (translated from French: “This is not a pipe.”) An observer at first glance might say to herself or someone standing nearby, “Ummm... That is definitely a pipe. What’s the joke here?” The esoteric art critic would respond, “This is not a pipe but merely a painting that features an image of a pipe.” Queue your mind being blown or a possible “Meh.”

     In Ephesians 5:1-2, the writer tells his audience to “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do.” (NLT) We are to “live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ.” I long attempted to over complicate my personal understanding of scripture by adding rules, traditions, and complex theology. Paul gives us the simple directive to imitate our Lord and Savior. We are to become not just an image or idea that reflects Christ, but we are to love as He loved when he gave his life on our behalf.

Let's Create TV

I came across a very interesting public access television show recently. If you aren’t familiar with public access, it allows average folks like myself to create content and broadcast it through cable television. It is perhaps a misnomer to refer to those broadcasting through public access as “average”. Often, they are anything but.
Artist John Kilduff hosts “Let’s Paint TV”, currently broadcasting through the Internet. Some episodes of the show are conventional, recorded sessions of Kilduff showing the viewer his process of oil painting. The show is famous for the live episodes, in which Kilduff paints while running on a treadmill, taking calls from viewers, making food, and blending drinks. He is quite the multi-tasker.
Kilduff, holding a masters of fine arts from UCLA in California, aims to encourage people of all skill levels to paint or become involved in another form of creative self-expression. Some have speculated that the show is an ironic piece of performance art but Kilduff is sincere about his mission. Though many call in to the show to express prejudice, curse, insult Kilduff, or make derogatory comments about rival gangs, Kilduff continues to take calls, paint, and run.
I emphasize the importance of creativity quite a bit as it’s become my passion. I think that everyone needs to find out where he or she fits in the work of God. Rom. 12:6-8 and several other passages emphasize our varied gifts. Creativity can be a weapon used to battle depression and other forms of adversity. Plenty of people who can’t talk, walk, or see lead fulfilling lives. If a particular path you’ve chosen isn’t working for you or some outside force is working against you, it often takes creativity to find your way to God.

Consider the Flintstones

I remember using the Internet in its earliest stages. I would walk several blocks while waiting for a single picture to download. When I sent e-mail, a bird flew out of the back of my computer and made a sarcastic comment about catching a flight to Cleveland. Oh wait, that was an episode of the Flintstones. You know, there is a number of individuals out there in today's world that simply would not tolerate "back talk" delivered by a kitchen appliance. If my baby elephant vacuum cleaner even considered saying something like "It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it," I'd have it returned to Marshall Flint's or JC Pennystone immediately.
I have a special attachment to the Flintstones in that my grandparents are the modern Stone Age family. My grandfather could not be any more like Fred Flintstone unless he decided to stop wearing shoes and propel his car with his bare feet. My grandparents spend all their time with my aunt and uncle who bear striking similarities to Barney and Betty Rubble. It's downright frightening. We won't let my grandfather go bowling for fear he will land the ball on top of his noggin or get his finger glued in its holes. I wonder if my grandfather has intimate conversations with a little green Martian that only he can see? It would explain quite a bit about him, really.
Matthew 6:25-30 was the passage written in a book given to me by a good friend and mentor. He wrote it knowing how I struggle with the worries of life on Earth. When life is not convenient for me, I get frustrated. I can barely remember how I lived without computers, a cell phone, and a digital audio player. There are always new worries. Life is not easy no matter how many solutions and fixes we find for it. However, God is always good and will always provide what we need if we depend on him.

Artificial Christianity

I spend quite a bit of my time attempting to invent modern conveniences to simplify every day life. Wouldn't it be sweet to have a clone or at least a highly sophisticated robot Doppelganger to replace you in some of your more mundane, daily duties? I would merely like him to cover for me at the office a few times each week. Sometimes I listen to myself speaking and I don't sound all that different from the artificial intelligence featured in U-Scans at local grocery stores, ATM machines, or Haley Joel Osment (look up that last reference). It's sad really. It's about as sad as the thought I just had that my favorite Meijer cashiers, "Flock of Seagulls Hair" or "Mullet Master," could one day be replaced by machines. At least California has a governor in office prepared for such a "rise of the machines." You know, I would settle for a robot that could make my bed. Why my parents were always so insistent on such a worthless task I will never know. Perhaps my father knows more than I give him credit for. Perhaps he wants to be presentable when the robot king visits to choose slaves worthy of his glory. Truly my imagination defeats my practicality at times.
Many things that Jesus said support the idea that he requires one’s full attention and support. In a world of quick fixes and short cuts, the Christian life is often expected to be easy. Life brings many hardships regardless of whether one chooses to follow Christ or not. The difference is that a Christian faces these difficulties with armed with the hope of salvation. In Luke 9:57-62, Jesus talks about the costs of following him. One who “looks back” when doing the work of the Lord is not fit to serve him. When a follower of Christ looks ahead, he or she is able to see joy in the future. God and his church support us in all we do. We don’t need robots or artificial intelligence to be the followers God wants us to be.

When DEET Doesn't Cut It

I am going to file this week’s news under “WHAT!?” Some respectable scientists in jolly old England discovered that “mosquitoes can develop an immunity to DEET and breed offspring that are also impervious to the bug repellant”. (thestar.com) Female mosquitoes (the annoying ones) use their antennae to find humans. Humans contain the blood needed to fertilize mosquito eggs. DEET, developed in 1958, isn’t completely understood but is believed to interfere with a mosquito’s ability to smell us blood filled humans.
Scientists (perhaps evil scientists), found that some of their studied mosquitoes weren’t reacting to DEET. When the researchers bred these non-reactive “skeeters”, their offspring showed resistance to DEET as well. I suppose this breeding of super mosquitoes isn’t all bad. Supposedly, this research can help us develop alternate mosquito repellants. In the meantime, make sure you are using repellant this summer. Mosquitoes carry some awful diseases.
Satan, like a blood-sucking mosquito, can develop immunity to some of our safeguards. You might not be addicted to pornography or often found gossiping, but we all have our exploitable weaknesses. James 4 discusses full submission to God. We have to examine our motives and allegiances. If we are devoted more to this world than to God, we become his enemy. It is only when we are dedicated completely to God that we can “resist the devil” (James 4:7). Our ultimate goal is purity and there is no finality in our search to obtain it.

Innovation in Times of Adversity

An article I read this morning on dailymail.co.uk sparked my interest for two reasons: 1. I love my iPhone and technology in general and 2. I enjoy reading stories in which innovation triumphs over adversity. The “Mail Online” article I read tells the tale of Martin Brooks, a man whose daughter was born with cerebral palsy. For years, Brooks and his wife “have struggled to understand Mia’s needs by getting her to look at objects or picture cards.”
After buying an iPhone last year, Brooks decided to put Apple’s slogan, “there’s an app for that”, to the test. When Brooks found nothing that fit his 5-year-old’s needs particularly well, he designed his own app. iComm allows Mia (who can’t walk, talk, or control her movements) to point out pictures of food, toys, activities, etc. on the iPhone screen using her eyes. Users can upload photos and voice recordings in order to personalize the app. Mia responds well to pictures of herself doing an activity as well as pictures of friends and family. Brooks said, “It has given her a voice for the first time and allowed us to understand her so much better.” iComm has been downloaded by more than 1,300 people since first made available for the iPhone.
It’s no secret that God loves seeing creativity blossom in the midst of difficult circumstances. When David faces Goliath in 1 Sam. 17, he doesn’t use brute force to take down the giant. He uses a sling and a stone. When Jonah needed some time for reflection, God used a big fish. Jesus is the best example of God’s innovative problem solving. Mankind was sinful and needed to know God. We needed a savior who walked and talked just like us. Plenty of people call God’s creative work “impossible” but “with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). If you keep yourself faithful and open, God can show his innovative plans to you.