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The US Supreme Court's view of life...
also differs radically from the way life is understood, revered
and cherished in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The first line of
the Bible insists that everything was created by a living God: "In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1).
The text is very clear that all living beings, including human beings,
are creatures of God.
The first account of creation...
goes on to teach that all beings have their own inherent value.
This dignity derives from the fact that they are created by God
(Gen 1:12, 19-25). In the second account of creation the man is
given the privilege of naming the animals (Gen 2:19-20). The text
recognises that all creatures, including humans, have a common origin.
They are created from the soil. God invites the man to care for
the animals with a sense of responsibility and good stewardship.
While this gives humans dominion over other creatures, it is not
an arrogant dominion with the right to oppress and exploit. Rather,
it is supposed to be patterned on God's own care and sovereignty,
enhancing God's creation. This is expressed in Psalm 72:4-6 where
the righteous king combines concern for the poor and care for the
creatures of the earth.
Furthermore, in the Judeo-Christian tradition...
creation is an all-encompassing activity. It is not a once-off action
in the distant past by a mechanistic God who immediately abandons
the world to its own devices. God is perceived as living in each
of His creatures in the here and now. God holds together the web
of life and leads all creation into the future (Psalm 104). Our
world is evolving and has its own unique processes. The Bible does
not share the reductionist myopia of the US Supreme Court that saw
life as an isolated entity and as a product of human industry.
Patenting is a fundamental attack...
on an understanding of life as interconnected, mutually dependent
and a gift of God given to all creation. ("Oh, come to the water
all you who are thirsty; though you have no money, come! Buy corn
without money, and eat, and, at no cost, wine and milk." Isaiah
55:1) It opts instead for an atomised, isolated understanding of
life. It is also at variance with the Judeo-Christian conviction
that freedom, openness and possibility are the hallmarks of life
in God's creation.
The Bible recognises...
that humans are companions and stewards of other creations in the
community of life (Gen 2: 15). In Gen 2: 15-17 God settles the man
in the garden and invites him to cultivate and care for it. The
text goes on to place certain limits on the man's use of the natural
world. Yahweh God gives him this admonition: "You may eat indeed
of all the trees in the garden. Nevertheless, of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat, for on the day you
eat of it you shall surely die" Gen 2: 16-17.
The Bible is very critical...
of those who, puffed up with arrogance, refuse to recognise that
they are dependent on God. In the story of the Tower of Babel (Gen
11) humans repudiate God's sovereignty and attempt to storm heaven
under their own steam. It would not be misrepresenting the meaning
of this text to interpret any claim to own life as usurping the
Divine prerogative as the author of life.
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