Has Man Created Life?

Just days ago, Dr. Craig Venter and his associates announced the achievement of the first synthetic life form, a bacterium with DNA sequenced entirely by computer — a human-designed life form.  The international media have seized upon the news, published officially in the journal Science.  On today’s program, Dr. Mohler discusses this issue with Dr. Stephen Meyer.  They agree that what Dr. Venter and his team accomplished was the synthesizing of the largest-ever piece of DNA. They did not create an organism from the ground up, but used the existing cell of another bacterium.  As we wrestle with this issue, we must think hard about whether this is a journey we are ready to entrust to scientists alone. The most urgent question raised by this new announcement is not so much what it means, but where it leads.