Truth Saves - Stem Cells

By supporting the Bible YOU are supporting...

the attack on

STEM CELL RESEARCH

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Responsible Bible claims:

Souls

Born of Sin

Heaven

Hell

There are two main types of stem cells found in all multicellular organisms.

Limitations: can only turn into limited types of cells
Source: found in organs & tissue

Adult stem cell research has been around for over 50 years but it's capabilities are too limited.

Limitations: none
Source: leftover fertility clinic embryos that would otherwise be discarded, DOES NOT INVOLVE ABORTION

Embryonic stem cells have already treat 69 diseases and one day can cure Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, cancer, heart disease and blindness.

These stem cells have the potential to repair or grow into any human tissues or organs making them able to cure every disease or injury a person could suffer.

The Controversy

Embryonic stem cells have the potential to cure every disease or injury a person could suffer from yet many people are against it. Those opposed to the greatest cure in the history of mankind all based their decision on religious theology. Embryonic stem cells require the termination of a 3 day old embryo and many Christians see this as killing a potential human soul. Most Christians have been mislead by dishonest propaganda so let's take a look at what a 3 day old embryo really is and the possibilities of a "soul."

Embryonic cells have NO nervous system or human traits and are no bigger than a pinhead.
At this stage an embryo can split causing identical twins or fuse into one. Does a "soul" split into two or magically merge into one?
The embryos used are leftovers from fertility clinics that would otherwise be discarded

*During every successful pregnancy which results in a live birth up to five embryos are lost. Embryos are destroyed
all the time naturally or by "God's hands" if you believe he is in control of nature. Did these embryos have "souls?"


	What does the Bible say about embryos & souls? Many Christians will say that a "soul" enters the body at conception. They are told by their church that it says so in the Bible and they assume it to be true, but what does the Bible really say? The passage they use that comes closest to supporting this claim is Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed thee in the belly, I know thee…" However this is only part of the passage and is taken completely out of context. The rest of Jeremiah 1:15 reads, "…and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." If you read the whole chapter is very clear this passage is speaking of Yahweh's ability to see into the future. Yahweh had seen that Jeremiah would be successfully born without complications and matures to the age where he could hear that bit of revelation. It says nothing about when the soul enters the body and only talks about one particular person. The earliest timeframe that the Bible ever suggests is when the "soul" enters the body is that of the first breath. Nowhere in the Bible does has it implied the "soul" enters the body any earlier. In fact the Bible even makes it quite clear that the termination of a fetus (which is even older than an embryo) is NOT murder, in accordance with the scriptures. Throughout the Bible we are told the punishment for murder is death. Yahweh makes a few personal exceptions such as the punishment given to Cain but verses like Genesis 9:6 make it quite clear the general punishment for murder is death. In Exodus 21:22-25 we are told the punishment for beating a woman and causing her to miscarry (essentially abortion) and the punishment is not death. Exodus specifically does NOT treat the killing of an unborn child as murder. Instead the punishment is the same as raping a man's wife or stealing his cow, you must pay how much money the judges determine. Again, Exodus 21:22-25 does not give the death penalty for killing an unborn child as it is not considered murder. It only gives the death penalty if after causing a miscarriage the person goes on to kill the women too, since killing a actual person is murder. A life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but not a life for a fetus.

Morals & Ethics

Those who say their stand against supporting embryonic stem cell research is not religious based claim such research is immoral and unethical. The reason why they say this though is because their knowledge of the situation has been clouded by religious propaganda and false claims. Let's see what the truly ethical decision is.

What is Lost?
A leftover 3 day embryo with no nervous system and no "soul" according to the Bible. It would otherwise be thrown away so nothing is lost.

What is Gained?
Countless cures to put an end to the suffering of millions. The greatest breakthrough in medical history.

Protect the unborn? Why not protect the unborn that will be born with life threatening diseases?

The Churches Concern

The Problems

Currently embryonic stem cell research is not being funded at the federal level because of religious reasons. Financial backing is extremely crucial to advance medical breakthroughs.
Religious groups are actively working to make the use and research of embryonic stem cell research illegal.
Churches actively fund dishonest propaganda to turn the public against this research.

The Church's Lies

Churches claim the embryos used are fully developed human embryos instead of a small clusters of cells.
Churches tell their followers obtaining the embryos causes abortions instead of making use of discarded leftover fertility clinic embryos.
Churches even tell people this research will cause teenage girls to risk their lives by performing abortions themselves in alleyways for sakes of selling their fetuses to stem cell research. Again, the stem cells do not and would not come from abortions.

So Why is the Church Concerned?

Why would an organization go so far out of their way to stop research that will saves lives? Especially when their holy scriptures don't even consider the research immoral? There is actually only one reason why they would be against such a life saving field of research, if there is a possibility they might lose power.

Such research involves a closer look and more in depth knowledge of how life begins and reproduces. Advancing knowledge discards ancient beliefs and makes the story of god personally creating each person and giving them a "soul" even more unlikely. If embryonic stem cell research prevails through the religious attacks the overwhelming amount of people saved will cause the knowledge of such research to unavoidably be in the mainstream of the public eye. The more people know the more likely they are to question dogmatic religion and the more Churches will lose their power over the people. How far is organized religion willing to go keep their followers inline?

Ebryo Alternatives

To bypass religious controversy scientist are looking for alternative ways to obtain embryonic stem cells without having to terminate an embryo. Shinya Yamanaka is working on a method to produce induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) that seem indistinguishable from embryonic stem cells, and that are genetically matched to individual patients. The cells are obtained from skin cells and are reprogrammed to act like a cell in an embryonic state. Induced pluripotent stem cells look to be the most plausible alternative but they currently still prove to be unsuccessful. The iPS cells aren't perfect and cannot be used safely to make genetically matched cells for transplants in areas such as spinal-cord injuries. Also the use of iPS cells instead of embryonic stem cells has contributed to cancer in 20% of the mice that the method was used on. Yamanaka is working on fixing these problems and there is a slight chance that a successful alternative to embryonic stem cells may be found.

Time Wasted

Time, research and money is being wasted while searching for alternatives to cater to religious dogma. Because of this people will continue to suffer or die when it could have been avoided. If it takes 50 years to find an alternative the church will approve of that's 50 years worth of unnecessary suffering and death.