Gene Editing by Dave Barnhart

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volume 23, number 18 september 3, 2017

Biological Revolution

For years, we’ve seen stories about gene splicing and geneti-cally modified organisms. In the last decade, researchers have discovered ways to breed goats who produce spider silk and how to use the genes from jellyfish to make cats glow in the dark. In recent years, a new technology has emerged that allows research-ers to go way beyond this curious mix-and-match approach to genetic modification. This technology allows for much finer con-trol over how we can cut and reassemble the genetic code. The technology that has allowed this leap forward in gene edit-ing is called CRISPR. Recently, it was used to edit a gene from a human embryo in order to erase a genetic heart condition caused by that gene.

We’re likely standing on the edge of a biological revolution. Just as personal computers and the Internet have revolutionized the way we communicate, learn, and gather information in just a few decades, gene-editing technology like CRISPR may change the ways we treat disease, how long we live, and even the way we have children. Scientists, futurists, ethicists, and the media have tended to respond to this new technology with mixed reactions. The four primary responses are:

(1) Skepticism. Some argue that medical breakthroughs like the eradication of HIV and science-fiction scenarios like “designer babies” are nowhere close to reality. They point out that gene-editing technology is still young and there are lots of kinks to work out.

(2) Worry. Every technological advance comes with unin-tended consequences. There are also worries that using such technology would accidentally lead to an environ-mental or biological crisis.

(3) Excitement. Some futurists see gene editing as a way not only to eliminate harmful diseases, but also as a means to extend human life toward virtual immortality. They believe this technology could save the environment and even equip human beings for life on other worlds.

Gene Editing

by Dave Barnhart

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1 Recently, scientists used

a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to fix a genetic

mutation in an embryo. What is CRISPR? What implications does gene editing have for society? How does our faith

inform our responses to this technology?

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(4) Moral concerns. The fact that this technology would be used on human embryos causes ethical issues for those who believe that an embryo is a human person. Other ethi-cal concerns also exist. For instance, there’s been research about how to use pigs to grow human organs for use in transplants. While many religious leaders are okay with this, some Jewish and Muslim leaders would object to the use of pigs on religious grounds. Others would have moral con-cerns about animal welfare in such a scenario.

What Is CRISPR?

To be honest, it’s a little bit complicated. To start, let’s think about bacteria. Most of us think about bacteria as something that makes us sick, but there are both helpful and harmful types of bac-teria all around us. Sometimes bacbac-teria can also get “sick.” Viruses will inject their genetic code into bacteria and hijack the machinery of the bacteria to make even more viruses.

In response to this, bacteria have developed their own immune system to fight back against these invading viruses. In essence, the bacteria takes a snapshot of the virus and stores it for future refer-ence. Researchers call this immune system “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats,” or CRISPR for short. After it takes this snapshot, the bacteria uses an enzyme called Cas9 to target the genetic material of the virus and cut out the viral DNA, rendering the virus useless.

In their research into this process, scientists discovered that this Cas9 enzyme could be “programmed” to target other kinds of DNA. This discovery means that researchers can target specific genes, cut them out, and see what effect it has on an organism. It basically means we can learn what specific strands of DNA do. It also means that when scientists discover a genetic mutation that causes harm, they can cut it out and replace it with a healthy ver-sion of DNA.

Healing Disease

As mentioned earlier, CRISPR was recently used to edit the genes of a human embryo to fix a particular genetic heart dis-ease (the embryo wasn’t implanted). It has also been used to treat sickle-cell anemia in mice, completely extract HIV from a living organism, disrupt the growth of cancer cells, and edit out Hun-tington’s disease in mice. Some scientists even hold out hope that CRISPR could be used to return sight to the blind.

However, there are dangers and ethical concerns that come along with these advances. To understand these, let’s look at mos-quitos. Editing the genes of certain species of mosquito could lead to the extinction of mosquitos that spread dangerous diseases like Zika or malaria. Unfortunately, the complete elimination of even the annoying and dangerous species could have negative conse-quences since we don’t fully understand the role they play in the ecosystem. Alternatively, we could accidentally engineer a species of superbug immune to our treatments. Occasionally, CRISPR

Core Bible Passages

In many passages through-out the Bible, the biblical writers stand in awe of the way God has put together the human body. The author of Psalm 139:1-18 talks about how God “knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb” and says that as a human being, he is “marvelously set apart” (verses 13-14). The author of

Psalm 8 also marvels at humanity’s

place in God’s creation.

Since CRISPR promises to change the way to treat a num-ber of diseases, it’s interesting to note how many different kinds of physical issues Jesus healed. There are stories of Jesus healing blind-ness (Mark 10:46-52), paralysis (Matthew 9:1-8), deafness (Mark

7:31-35), leprosy (Luke 5:12-16),

and infections (Matthew 8:14-15). Jesus even sends his disciples out to preach and heal others in his name (Luke 9:6).

Ancient people often viewed disease and genetic conditions as spiritual problems or even as pun-ishments from God (John 9). How-ever, they did have a rudimentary understanding of heredity. In

Gen-esis 30:31-42, the story of Jacob

and Laban includes a section where Jacob makes a deal to keep only the striped and spotted sheep from the flock. Jacob then selectively breeds the sheep so that the stron-gest would be striped and spotted. Either the author’s grasp of genet-ics was shaky or God worked an unusual miracle because the story says that the sheep who looked at stripes gave birth to striped sheep.

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“misfires” and edits the wrong DNA. In terms of human genetics, this means we could create new diseases instead of curing the ones we have already.

For Christians and people of faith, healing has always been vitally important. Jesus healed people long before the concepts of germ theory or a biological understanding of disease. These mir-acles were also symbolic, demonstrating the power of Jesus over the physical world. They showed Jesus’ followers the way that the kingdom of God would be. Also, since disease was often believed to have a spiritual component, being set free from an illness was like being set free from the spiritual forces of bondage. How would the developments of CRISPR change our theological understanding of what it means to heal?

Engineering a Biological Future

CRISPR gives us a tool much like the “cut and paste” or “find and replace” functions on a computer program. It means we can edit our own genetic code. The most provocative idea that emerges from this ability is that of “designer babies.” Parents would, of course, want to edit out harmful genetic conditions, but should they be allowed to select other traits like athleticism, intelligence, gen-der, eye color, or skin color?

Yet, it’s not even the ethical issues that prove most concern-ing. The fact is, our genetic makeup is the product of millennia of choices and chance. A change affecting a single generation could potentially ripple through the human genetic code forever. Over time, the influence of our active choices could create a humanity that we barely recognize.

Other scientists warn us to pump the brakes on these conversa-tions. Genes interact in myriad and complex ways. It’s not simply a matter of editing one sequence to eliminate cancer or Alzheimer’s or to guarantee that a baby is born with bright blue eyes. They also point out that although the technology for in vitro fertilization already exists, it hasn’t ushered in an era of “designer babies.”

Playing God

According to Genesis 1:27, all human beings are made in the image of God. We’ve wrestled with exactly what that means for thousands of years. Does it mean that we have a “moral nature” that reflects God’s image? Are we mini cocreators, like God’s cre-ative agents? Or does it mean that we should look at our neighbors and fellow humans if we want to see what God truly looks like? All of these understandings of God’s image help us understand how we should approach gene editing.

It takes time to see how new technologies will change our soci-ety, but Scripture, reason, tradition, and experience give us a way to address new moral and social concerns. The church has always had a voice on these issues, and it will certainly have a voice about the impact of gene-editing technology as well.

Frightening Futures

The concepts of “designer babies” or “test-tube babies” have been a staple of science fiction for decades. Twenty years ago, the movie Gattaca told the story of a young man who was born without the benefit of genetic engineering in a world where that practice had become common. He eventually commits identity theft to pass as a genetically superior person in a segregated and stratified society. (The title Gattaca plays on GATC, the four letters that represent the base nucleotides in DNA.)

While such a future is currently unlikely, the line between eliminat-ing genetic diseases and breedeliminat-ing for specific characteristics (also called eugenics) may be fuzzier than it appears. When we look at the current inequality in our soci-ety, it’s easy to see how this tech-nology could lead to problems.

However, it’s also important to note that most advances in

medicine are accompanied by these kinds of concerns. Though organ transplants are now commonplace, early transplant surgeons were criticized for “playing God.” The very idea that we were biological machines with interchangeable parts was a disturbing shift in society. This is the fear Mary Shel-ley played on when she wrote her novel Frankenstein. Yet today we celebrate when friends and loved ones undergo successful transplant operations.

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Other Possibilities

In addition to fighting genetic diseases, CRISPR may give us a new way to fight infections as well. Over the past few years there have been a number of news stories about new strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the dangers they pose to society. While antibi-otics revolutionized medicine, their overuse means that their effective-ness has diminished.

CRISPR technology might be able to help us find new ways to precisely target and eliminate this bacteria. However, research-ers point out that though this is theoretically possible, we don’t yet have an effective delivery method for this strategy, thus limiting its therapeutic use.

Food is another area of daily life where CRISPR could have potential uses. Traditional GMO (genetically modified organism) foods have often been controver-sial. GMOs take genes from one organism and insert them into another in an attempt to spread the traits from that gene. CRISPR would provide a much more pre-cise tool that would allow scientists to discover exactly which genes are responsible for which traits. This would then allow scientists to insert the desired traits into crops more easily. This could also allow for the creation of nonallergenic peanuts or disease-resistant fruit. It might even allow for the creation of crops that are less susceptible to climate change.

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september 3, 2017

United Methodist Perspective

The Social Principles of The United Methodist Church include an entire section dedicated to genetic engineering. Throughout this section, there’s a consistent affirmation that creation belongs to God and that humans are merely stewards of that creation. Regarding issues of reproduction, the Social Principles state, “Human gene therapies that produce changes that cannot be passed to offspring (somatic therapy) should be limited to the alleviation of suffering caused by disease. Genetic therapies for eugenic choices or that produce waste embryos are deplored.”

The Social Principles also posit, “Because its long-term effects are uncertain, we oppose genetic therapy that results in changes that can be passed to offspring (germ-line therapy).” The combination of these statements would appear to flatly reject the use of CRISPR technology on humans.

The Book of Resolutions of The United Methodist Church, 2016 contains a resolution titled “New Developments in Genetic Science” that was first adopted in 1992. It observes that genetic science already impacts many aspects of our lives from repro-duction to agriculture. It makes particular recommendations about the areas of human genetics, agriculture, and the environ-ment; but these recommendations can generally be summarized as, “Be careful.” The resolution calls for the church and clergy to stay informed and to stay in dialogue with both researchers and the government about new developments.

Helpful Links

• The video “Genetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever––CRISPR,” from Kurzgesagt—In a Nutshell, can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAhjPd4uNFY. • To watch a short video from the McGovern Institute for

Brain Research at MIT explaining how CRISPR works, go to

http://tiny.cc/waxbny.

Dave Barnhart is pastor of Saint Junia United Methodist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

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OPEN the Session

Pray Together

Say the following prayer before your lesson: Immanuel, God with us, you created us from the dirt and breathed your life into us. You did not disdain human flesh, but became human yourself and took root in Mary’s womb. You were born and grew up as we do, a bundle of bone, muscle, hormones, nerves, and organs. You experienced the world through your senses as we do. We are fear-fully and wonderfear-fully made. Help us to respect your creation and know you better through it. Amen.

Make a List of Pros and Cons

Make two columns on a large sheet of paper or a markerboard. Before reading the essay, ask participants to list possible pros and cons of genetic editing. This will help you and your group assess their knowledge level for the ensuing discussion. If there’s diffi-culty in starting the conversation, say: Imagine you could change any physical characteristic of a human being. Then ask: Would this be a good thing? How could it help? How could it hurt? Would you allow it? Why or why not?

EXPLORE the Topic

Gather Responses

As a warm-up question, ask: What’s the biggest change that the Internet or personal computers have brought to society? Invite the group to read the section titled “Biological Revolution.” Ask participants to share which of the four reactions best describes their initial intuitive response to gene editing: skepticism, worry, moral concerns, or excitement. Ask them to elaborate.

Learn About CRISPR

Analyze the section titled “What Is CRISPR?” Say: We’ve been able to transplant organs and even create artificial ones for years. Then ask: Is it surprising to you that we can work at the molecular level and transplant genes now? Why or why not?

Discuss Healing Disease

Explore the section titled “Healing Disease.” Ask: If you could get rid of one disease, which one would you choose? Why? (Be prepared: Devastating disease has hit most families in some form or fashion. The goal here is to get at how we think about disease.) What do you think about the possible unintended consequences that could come from using CRISPR for these purposes?

Study the Bible

Invite the group to examine the sidebar titled “Core Bible Pas-sages.” Have participants read aloud some of the healing Scrip-tures referenced there. Most of these are short verses. Ask: What is similar in these stories? How did people respond to healings?

Gene Editing

How does our faith

inform our responses

to gene-editing

technology?

CREATE Your

Teaching Plan

Keeping in mind your

group members and

your group time,

choose from among

the OPEN, EXPLORE,

and CLOSE activities

or from “Teaching

Alternative” to plan

the session.

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Assign two participants to read Psalm 8 and Psalm 139:1-18. Ask: What is the attitude or dominant emotion of the authors of these psalms? How do they understand their place in the cosmos?

Discuss the Future

Assign participants to read each of the following sections aloud: the section titled “Engineering a Biological Future” and the two sidebars “Frightening Futures” and “Other Possibilities.” Depending on how people identified earlier in the session (skepti-cal, worried, morally concerned, excited), steer the discussion in a way that challenges listeners to see a different perspective (for example, if most of your group is excited, push them to understand the worried or skeptical perspective).

Say: There are three kinds of implications described in these sections: social, medical, and agricultural. Then ask: Which area is most interesting to you? Which is most disturbing? most exciting? Why? Are there particular images, movies, or cultural references you think of as you consider these implications?

Ground It in Theology

Summarize the section titled “Playing God.” Ask: What do you think it means to be “made in the image of God”? Do you like the three options here (moral nature, creative agent, neighbor love), or is there another way you think of it? How do you think this affects the way you respond to questions about gene editing?

Consider United Methodist Perspectives

Read the section “United Methodist Perspective.” Ask: If we are stewards of God’s creation, how should we steward our genes? What guidelines do you think are important for using gene edit-ing? Do you think the rejection of gene editing that can be passed on to future generations is a good position? Why or why not?

CLOSE the Session

Revisit Responses

Say: Earlier we talked about four common responses to the idea of gene editing: skepticism, worry, moral concerns, and excitement. Each of you indicated which position described your view. Ask: Are you in the same place now, or do you have a differ-ent response? How has our discussion changed the way you think of these issues?

Say: Just a few years ago, powerful computers we could hold in our hands seemed like science fiction, but now they’re common and part of everyday life. A century ago, organ transplants were viewed in a similar way. Ask: Do you think we will get used to gene editing in the same way? Why or why not?

Pray Together

Read or sing the hymn “Creating God, Your Fingers Trace” (The United Methodist Hymnal, 109) or “O God Who Shaped Cre-ation” (Hymnal, 443) to close your session.

Teaching

Alternative

Watch the videos from “Help-ful Links.” The short one gives a concise description of CRISPR and Cas9, and the longer one gives an animated overview of the social changes that this new technol-ogy may unleash. After watching the videos, ask: Since this is a very complex topic, how well do you feel we need to understand a technology in order to consider its societal implications? Copyright © 2017 by Cokesbury. volume 23, number 18 september 3, 2017

Next Week in

Charlottesville

On August 12, the city of Char-lottesville, Virginia, was the setting for a bloody confronta-tion as a white naconfronta-tionalist rally turned violent. How did people of faith respond to this event? How does our faith guide us as

we sort through the complex issues that led to violence