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In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). The flip side to this promise is that the non-meek must disappear. For centuries this has seemed an impossible dream, but recent advances in genetics and biotechnology offer hope that aggressive humans, like the Neanderthals, can be relegated to the dustbin of history.
We know that genetics plays a large part in behavior. For example, people with the “warrior gene” display higher levels of aggression when provoked. This gene, the low-activity form of MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) is found in about a third of people in Western populations but in nearly two-thirds of some populations that had a history of warfare. (Brown University, January 23, 2009, “Warrior Gene' Predicts Aggressive Behavior After Provocation”)
While there appears to be no literature showing a connection between MAOA and viruses, there are several papers documenting a relationship between the level of monoamine oxidase activity and Epstein-Barr, herpes, dengue virus and rous sarcoma viruses. That finding would seem to suggest the possibility that a virus could be engineered to exploit the low activity form of MAOA.
Aggressive individuals are unlikely to be receptive to voluntary constraints on reproduction. The problem is more likely to be resolved by covert research in an academic environment or possibly by an individual biologist who has access to enough equipment to tailor-make a virus that sterilizes or terminates persons with a genetic disposition toward aggression, or leaves them with permanent scars that make them undesirable as mating partners.
Off the grid According to an AP story from December 2008, “biohackers” are already trying to create new life forms using homemade lab equipment and a wealth of scientific information available online. An electron microscope, essential to virology, can be purchased used for as little as $5,000 on e-Bay. Many of these amateurs are not working in the biotechnology field or pursuing advanced degrees. They are “off the grid” and largely invisible to Homeland Security. A geek living in his mother’s basement may be doing the Work of the Lord.
Jesus did not know of the potential of biochemistry to literally make the world the exclusive province of the meek. However, as God the Father supposedly knows all things past and present, He probably put the “meek” prediction in his son’s head in anticipation of how this prophecy could be fulfilled in the 21st century.
We know that genetics plays a large part in behavior. For example, people with the “warrior gene” display higher levels of aggression when provoked. This gene, the low-activity form of MAOA (monoamine oxidase A) is found in about a third of people in Western populations but in nearly two-thirds of some populations that had a history of warfare. (Brown University, January 23, 2009, “Warrior Gene' Predicts Aggressive Behavior After Provocation”)
While there appears to be no literature showing a connection between MAOA and viruses, there are several papers documenting a relationship between the level of monoamine oxidase activity and Epstein-Barr, herpes, dengue virus and rous sarcoma viruses. That finding would seem to suggest the possibility that a virus could be engineered to exploit the low activity form of MAOA.
Aggressive individuals are unlikely to be receptive to voluntary constraints on reproduction. The problem is more likely to be resolved by covert research in an academic environment or possibly by an individual biologist who has access to enough equipment to tailor-make a virus that sterilizes or terminates persons with a genetic disposition toward aggression, or leaves them with permanent scars that make them undesirable as mating partners.
Off the grid According to an AP story from December 2008, “biohackers” are already trying to create new life forms using homemade lab equipment and a wealth of scientific information available online. An electron microscope, essential to virology, can be purchased used for as little as $5,000 on e-Bay. Many of these amateurs are not working in the biotechnology field or pursuing advanced degrees. They are “off the grid” and largely invisible to Homeland Security. A geek living in his mother’s basement may be doing the Work of the Lord.
Jesus did not know of the potential of biochemistry to literally make the world the exclusive province of the meek. However, as God the Father supposedly knows all things past and present, He probably put the “meek” prediction in his son’s head in anticipation of how this prophecy could be fulfilled in the 21st century.
