My Father's Genes - Part X - Postamble

(As opposed to a Preamble? )

To literal-minded men like Nicodemus (and many of us), Jesus’ command to be “born again” posed a physical impossibility bringing into question the validity of the command itself. Other Biblical commands raise the same logical hurdles to our greater understanding (e.g., “it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (see I Peter 1:16. KJV) How is that possible?)

But if we agree that God does not command the impossible, it would then follow that our task is to apply the intellectual capacities He has so graciously given us so we can begin to understand and enjoy the goodness He intends for us in giving the command in the first place.

In this series, which we have called “My Father’s Genes” (and are now concluding), we have compared the human and spiritual facts of life. This in turn should enlarge our comprehension of what it really means to be born again and to serve, fellowship with, and worship our great and gracious Creator, Sustainer and Heavenly Father!

A quick review:
(Remember, because of the nature of most blogs to show the latest postings first, the series appears on the website in reverse sequence. To review Part I, e.g., and other original and succeeding parts, you will probably need to access the website archives.)

In PART I we suggested that a working knowledge of the science of human conception and birth will help clarify our understanding of Jesus’ command to be “born again”. As the series progressed, some important questions were posed to help frame the discussion.

PART II examined the Biblical connection between the “original” sinful nature of mankind and our common understanding of the propagation of this nature through the human birth process. The subject of human genetics is raised in conjunction with the possibility of the existence of spiritual genetics.

PART III delved deeply enough into the principles of genetics and DNA to equip us with sufficient working knowledge and understanding to progress into a discussion of the whole conception and birth process.

PARTS IV & V compare the rather astounding details of the “complexity of conception” to the simple yet complex act of being “born again”.

PART VI expanded our understanding of the extreme (to us) complexity of DNA. PART VII directed our thoughts to the concept that if we think and/or speak of God’s attributes as DNA, it may help us understand being “born again”. Just as human conception combines two people’s DNA to create a new and distinctive person still containing and reflecting the original DNA contributions, so being “born again” should reflect not only our DNA, but God’s as well.

PARTS VIII & IX clarify the differences between “Gifts of the Spirit” and “Fruit of the Spirit”. Perhaps a clear understanding of these will help us live the joyful “born again” life God wants for each of us.

Our challenge is to correctly prioritize the blending of our DNA with God’s. This blending will reflect God’s will as we give Him preeminence in every area of our lives. As John the Baptist correctly points out in John 3:27b-36 (especially v.30 - ASV), “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

My Father's Genes - Part III - Genetic Principles

I have been intrigued for some time by the science of DNA from a layman’s perspective, particularly in how it and the human conception and birth process work together, as related to Jesus' command to be "born again".

Is being born again easier to understand if we first understand being born at all? What similarities, if any, exist between the two that might help our understanding? We will explore these and other important questions in a multi-part series over the next weeks and perhaps months.

As we now continue on after Parts I and II (already posted below), please forgive the length of this part, but this Part III needs to remain together for best understanding.

*************************************************************************

Genetic Principles

Scientific research has revealed a tremendous amount of information regarding human genetics and how flesh not only gives birth to flesh, but how the genetic material is passed on (downloaded?) from father (parents?) to child. We see the result of this in the child’s physical, mental and emotional characteristics. We see the boy walk and talk and think like his father. We make up cute sayings such as “the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree”. We note the eye and hair color, the visual likeness (“he really favors his dad, doesn’t he?”), the sound of his voice, and on and on. This similarity between father and son is either treasured or abhorred, or somewhere in between, depending on the closeness of the relationship between the two. A loving relationship makes the father proud of his son and the son anxious to please his father.

On the PBS TV program “Nova” there has been shown from time to time a video titled “The Miracle of Life” (a Swedish Television Production in association with TV station WGBH in Boston, MA). This video offers some amazingly helpful knowledge on understanding the scientific details of human conception. Additional research has also shed light on the mother’s DNA contribution, known as mitochondrial DNA. Let me highlight some of the salient points from the video and then make the comparison to spiritual birth and life.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is contained in 46 chromosomes:
• Each chromosome contains thousands of genes (a gene is a distinct segment of DNA which lies along the chromosome).
• It contains all the genetic information of the cell.
• It’s the only living substance capable of reproducing itself exactly. Without DNA, duplication (and therefore life itself) is not possible.
• The DNA in each organism is chemically identical, but its arrangement in genes and chromosomes determines what the cell will become, e.g. animal, plant or human.
• The female’s egg contains 23 chromosomes.
• The male’s sperm contains 23 chromosomes.

In a simplistic description, DNA is either nuclear or mitochondrial:
o The 46 chromosomes created when sperm penetrates egg are found in the nucleus of each cell and are often referred to as nuclear DNA.
o Still within each cell but outside the nucleus is the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is basically DNA contributed by the female but left outside the nucleus and still inside the fertilized cell. Thus, mtDNA perpetuates only the mother’s line. The father’s mtDNA is left outside the fertilized egg and thus is not perpetuated (unless he has a sister who has children of her own).
o Each cell contains about 1,700 mitochondrion and each mitochondria includes an identical loop of DNA about 16,000 base pairs long containing 37 genes. Contrast this with the cell nucleus which contains three billion base pairs and an estimated 70,000 genes. Mitochondrial DNA suffers less damage and deterioration over time than does nuclear DNA, permitting DNA testing along maternal lines of even ancient samples incapable of receiving nuclear DNA testing.

There are some interesting facts and statistics concerning human conception that are useful to our overall discussion:
• Only about 50 out of 200,000,000 sperm that start the journey ever reach the egg. (The average man produces over 2 trillion in his lifetime, at a rate of about 100 million per day.)
• The sperm must survive a highly hostile environment to reach the tube and search for the egg.
• Since the egg must join with the sperm within 24 hours of leaving the ovary and with the sperm’s effectiveness lasting only 24-48 hours, there is a very short window of opportunity for conception to occur.
• Genetic structure is fully formed from the beginning, but is not effective until the egg is penetrated.
• When the sperm finally penetrates the egg, the egg immediately hardens the outer membrane so no other sperm may enter. This is the “crisis experience” of the creation of new life and the beginning of the growth of that new life. One of the phenomena occurring here is the introduction of the father’s genetic material to the egg and its impact on the new life.

The next postings will explore the striking similarities between human conception, birth and life, and spiritual conception, birth and life, i.e., how we really can be “born again” as Jesus so matter-of-factly proclaimed to Nicodemus.

In the next Part, we will discuss The Delivery System.