ABSTRACT
The objections raised in the nineteenth century to a designer God, biblical accounts of creation, and the uniqueness of the human mind and soul have continued until the present time. Evolution wedded to genetics has raised questions about the nature of humanity and has posed problems for ethics by germline engineering, therapy and cloning. Science in this area has become involved in issues which call for ethical and religious judgements since they concern not only where we came from but who we are and what we might become. The relation of mind and brain is important since some scientists think that the latter is a kind of supercomputer and certain conclusions have been drawn from it. We will consider this in Chapter 13. Religious responses to these developments are considered throughout this chapter and the next.
