Back Fence Ramblings

• 14:26 Eeeeeeheeheeheeheehee! *happydance of VICTORY* #
• 14:32 @dodgyhoodoo Just of Ch18. Still, all things considered, VICTORY IS MINE! #
• 14:37 @dodgyhoodoo Okay then - chapter of stabnation on its way. :) #
• 14:38 @dodgyhoodoo Oh, yeah, and it's actually Ch19 I finished, not Ch18. They were each equally as hard, so ... eh. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

7th Son: A Theological Perspective

I've been giving my favourite podcasts a re-listen, and while listening to 7th Son: Descent (first of a trilogy, which is now available for purchase in paperback), I had a few thoughts on the religious aspects touched on in the work.

Quick summary, very little that you can't get from the back blurb: the US president is murdered by a four-year-old boy. Three weeks later, seven men are pulled out of their varied and more or less normal lives and thrown into a room, where they discover that they have, essentially, the same name, the same face ... and the same childhood memories. It turns out that the seven John Michael Smiths are part of an experiment in human cloning, a 'nature versus nurture' thing. Now they have been brought together to help apprehend the man who orchestrated the president's assassination: John Michael Smith Alpha, the man from whom they were cloned. Over the course of events, they uncover a deadly global conspiracy and not a little about the real reason behind the '7th Son' experiment. I highly recommend the entire trilogy as a very intelligent sci-fi-ish thriller, just to say right up front.

This story is interesting because of how it deals with nature versus nurture and how certain traits can potentially vary even amongst genetically identical subjects - things like hairline recession, eyesight degradation, mental illness and sexual orientation are touched on in the course of the first book. That all bears discussion at some point or other, but the bit I'm focused on right now is the theological issue brought up by one of the clones being a Catholic priest.

( You can imagine a priest being thrilled with finding out he's a clone... )

I don't know when I think the soul actually becomes a factor in human development. Somewhere between conception and birth is my best guess. However, I honestly think that in the case of multiple human cloning, a less shell-shocked priest might consider the 'mysterious ways His wonders to perform' clause at some point. But then, maybe not. I am not now nor have I ever been a Catholic, and certainly not ... well, they wouldn't let me be a priest anyway, but maybe a nun? ... so I really don't know the viewpoint very well. However, 'mysterious ways His wonders to perform' does seem to cover a multitude of ... *ahem* 'sins'.