Man Playing God

Playing God: can man do a better job? Sounds like a strange question doesn’t it? If man can do the job, we obviously don’t need God and if God isn’t doing a good job – well, in what sense is He really God? These types of questions seem to lead only to more questions so most people don’t consider them important at all – but, we all soon will be faced with these types of questions and more.

Mark Bedau is a philosophy professor from Reed College in Oregon. That doesn’t make him particularly unique but his “second job” does. He also serves as the chief operating officer of the synthetic biology firm, ProtoLife in Venice, Italy. Here’ what Bedau had to say recently about the work of ProtoLife:

“We are doing things which were thought to be the province, in some quarters, of God – like making new forms of life. Life is very powerful, and if we can get it to do what we want. . . there are all kinds of good things that can be done. Playing God is a good thing to do as long as you do it responsibly.”

This man has an incredible ego. He is applying for the job of “God,” and seems to think he’d be pretty good at it.

I must admit, I’m tempted to laugh out loud as I write this. But, Bedau and those of his ilk are not joking. They believe absolutely in the sovereignty of man – man’s ability to manipulate and control his environment without limits. We are entering very dangerous territory.

The history of man pretty much disposes of any illusion that man – given absolute power – would do more good than harm. History proves just the opposite as one historian remarked, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

The Bible clearly prohibits man acting as God, in any capacity. In fact, that’s the first of the Great Commandments, “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” This includes man “playing God.” That story just won’t end well.