njust (5). Many Christians are cautious in the genetic alteration of God's creation.Also according to John Paul II, the dignity of men transcends his biological condition (3). Thus, the dignity is more important than our biological well-being, a reason why cloning is denounced.Orthodox Christianity has a very similar position along with Islam. Judaism, on the other hand, has a less firm stand on cloning: cloning is allowed unless it is done for reproductive reasons (even then, exceptions are possible). Cloning for therapeutic reasons, for example, is acceptable. Not without some religious conflicts, however of "the oneness of the human person and the duty to heal oneself' (4).Other religions are most straightforward with other forms of genetic engineering. The Buddhists, for example, believe in the karma of the body, saying that "the only ethical limit is suffering", and thus genetic engineering can be used to improve our physical parameters. "The body is only a vehicle for karma. If the body has been genetically altered or cloned, it's really not very important." The main concern is to avoid pain and suffering (4). The main concept is ahimsa-"non-harming"-respect for the intrinsic value of all sentient beings, not only human life (6).According to the Society, Religion, and Technology Project, a part of the Church of Scotland, it not so much that genetic engineering crosses some forbidden line, as that it affects patterns and relationships in the natural world that we still only partially understand (1). It is a web of life that we are messing with-a web we did not create, a web we are merely a part of. What we do to the web we do to ourselves. "In the givenness of the created order, there is a wisdom we do well to respect. Wider relationships matter as much as the single effect desired by the scientist" (1).In August of 1999, the Church of England was forced to take a stand on the issue of bioengineering after being asked...
