Certain parts of the interwebs are atwitter with the news that scientists in the United States have managed to create a cell containing a synthetic genome (that is, one that was manufactured as a copy of an existing genome) that behaves like the original copied cell.
Now, I grant this is somewhat inductive on my part, but what have these scientists proved? From my point of view, they have proved that it is possible for an external force to create life that shares consistent genomic traits from one form to another. The life they created did not organize itself from a collection of acid molecules suspended in a fluid medium but as the result of the specific, dedicated work of a team of creators trying to achieve a specific result.
I have little doubt that humans will probably achieve the capacity to manufacture forms of fully synthetic life, probably before the end of the century, but what will be most fascinating about this synthetic life is that it will have begun as a creation, not as an accident. Yet, the weight of that reality will be ignored by almost everyone because most people do not want to deal with what it probably means.
Creation testifies to the Creator, even when it is creating its own creations.
DLH
