- 20 Jan 2020 19:23
#15060522
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). The flip side to this promise is that the non-meek must disappear. Advances in genetics and biotechnology suggest the possibility that aggressive humans can be relegated to the dustbin of history.
We know that genetics plays a large part in behavior. For example, people with the “warrior gene” display higher levels of aggression when provoked. This gene, the low-activity form of MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) is found in about a third of people in Western populations but in nearly two-thirds of some populations that had a history of warfare. (Brown University, January 23, 2009, “Warrior Gene' Predicts Aggressive Behavior After Provocation”) There are several papers documenting a relationship between the level of monoamine oxidase activity and Epstein-Barr, herpes, dengue virus and rous sarcoma viruses. That finding offers the possibility that a virus could be engineered to exploit the low activity form of MAOA.
The inheritance of male aggression is not only rewarded by many societies but is also abetted by women who would rather reproduce with an abusive “bad boy” than be mated to a dull but decent “stick in the mud.”
Aggressive individuals are unlikely to be receptive to voluntary constraints on reproduction. The problem is more likely to be resolved by covert research in an academic environment or possibly by an individual biologist who has access to enough equipment to tailor-make a virus that sterilizes or terminates persons with a genetic disposition toward aggression, or leaves them with permanent scars that make them undesirable as mating partners.
Off the grid
According to an AP story from December 2008, “biohackers” are already trying to create new life forms using homemade lab equipment and a wealth of scientific information available online. An electron microscope, essential to virology, can be purchased used for as little as $5,000 on e-Bay. Many of these amateurs are not working in the biotechnology field or pursuing advanced degrees. They are “off the grid” and largely invisible to Homeland Security. A geek living in his mother’s basement may be doing the Work of the Lord.
Jesus did not know of the potential of biochemistry to literally make the world the exclusive province of the meek. However, as God the Father supposedly knows all things past and present, he probably put the “meek” prediction in his son’s head in anticipation of how this prophecy could be fulfilled in the 21st century.
We know that genetics plays a large part in behavior. For example, people with the “warrior gene” display higher levels of aggression when provoked. This gene, the low-activity form of MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) is found in about a third of people in Western populations but in nearly two-thirds of some populations that had a history of warfare. (Brown University, January 23, 2009, “Warrior Gene' Predicts Aggressive Behavior After Provocation”) There are several papers documenting a relationship between the level of monoamine oxidase activity and Epstein-Barr, herpes, dengue virus and rous sarcoma viruses. That finding offers the possibility that a virus could be engineered to exploit the low activity form of MAOA.
The inheritance of male aggression is not only rewarded by many societies but is also abetted by women who would rather reproduce with an abusive “bad boy” than be mated to a dull but decent “stick in the mud.”
Aggressive individuals are unlikely to be receptive to voluntary constraints on reproduction. The problem is more likely to be resolved by covert research in an academic environment or possibly by an individual biologist who has access to enough equipment to tailor-make a virus that sterilizes or terminates persons with a genetic disposition toward aggression, or leaves them with permanent scars that make them undesirable as mating partners.
Off the grid
According to an AP story from December 2008, “biohackers” are already trying to create new life forms using homemade lab equipment and a wealth of scientific information available online. An electron microscope, essential to virology, can be purchased used for as little as $5,000 on e-Bay. Many of these amateurs are not working in the biotechnology field or pursuing advanced degrees. They are “off the grid” and largely invisible to Homeland Security. A geek living in his mother’s basement may be doing the Work of the Lord.
Jesus did not know of the potential of biochemistry to literally make the world the exclusive province of the meek. However, as God the Father supposedly knows all things past and present, he probably put the “meek” prediction in his son’s head in anticipation of how this prophecy could be fulfilled in the 21st century.
google robert s urbanek