The Raelians and Human Cloning
by abuGian
There was a stir among the religious, secular and scientific communities in the announcement made by Bahamas-based Clonaid. They announced in a press conference in Miami last Friday that the first cloned baby named “Eve” was born 26 of December, 2002. The announcement made quite a stir prompting several organizations to condemn what is yet to be independently confirmed claim.
What’s the reaction of the medical community? The medical community is generally skeptical about it and it is ethically put in question. NewScientist.com quoted Alan Trounson of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia saying in the Sydney Morning Herald, "And nearly everything they have said in the past has never been confirmed by scientific investigation."[1] The same science and technology news service quoted Rudolph Jaenisch, a cloning expert at the MIT saying the attempt to clone human is, “irresponsible and repugnant and ignores the overwhelming scientific evidence from seven mammalian species cloned so far."
What’s the reaction of ethicists? The ethicists are seemed to be worried said Fox47 News[2] and the National Right to Life with legislative director Douglas Johnson, said last Friday, “Multiple laboratories in the U.S. are working towards mass creation of cloned human embryos to use in research that will kill them. In order to prevent such human embryo farms, and the other horrors of human cloning that will follow, the (US) Senate must act quickly to pass the Brownback-Weldon cloning ban.”[3]
What about the religious community? The Alabama Christian Coalition led by president John Giles said, "Life is a gift of God and we should never violate that moral code."[4] The Vatican likewise condemned the claim of the Raelians, CNN noted Joaquin Navarro-Valls, a Vatican spokesman saying, "The announcement itself is the expression of a brutal mentality that lacks any kind of human and ethical consideration." And according to TimesDaily.com, “Nathan Diament, policy director for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, said his organization opposes cloning for human reproduction but supports using the technology to develop lifesaving medical therapies.”[5]
What’s the reaction of the Christian Doctors? David Stevens, M. D. Executive Director of 17,000-member Christian Medical Association in the States was quoted in Boston.com saying, “[H]uman cloning shows a horrible disregard for the value of human life.”[6]
What’s the Raelian Movement? This is a UFO- or extraterrestrial-related movement that propagates the concept that human life was created by space aliens or human extraterrestrial race, as they call them, through DNA and genetic engineering by unifying the UFO concepts with the theistic faiths they have learned to believe that through cloning mankind will have eternal life.
Who are the Raelians? The Raelians, pronounced, “RYE-elians,” are the followers of an UFO-related, extraterrestrial-worshipping cult leader who calls himself "Rael"?
When and where was it founded? This cult group was founded in 1973.
Who is Rael? He is a former French auto racing journalist[7]; his real name is Claude Vorilhon who claims to be a direct descendant of aliens who he alleges are the ones who deliberately created human life on earth. He was born September 30, 1946 he claimed to have met with aliens in December 13, 1973 in Auvergne, France. They call the aliens as “Elohim” and according to their interpretation of this Hebrew noun, it should be translated as “those who came from the sky or another planet”). He also alleged that he was physically contacted a second time by the aliens in October 7,1975. You will find him bearded and always wearing white robes.
Do they have a written authority? Rael is said to have published a book called “The Final Message” but they also regard the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and the Jewish Kabala among other sacred writings and Greek mythologies as authoritative but perverting their interpretation in order to harmonize them with their concept of UFO and extraterrestrial human life creation.
What is Cloneaid? This is a cloning company funded and founded February 1997 by the cult group led by Rael (that was after the cloning of Dolly the Sheep). They announced last Friday (December 27) the birth of a cloned child named “Eve.” The Managing Director and of this company is Dr. Brigitte Boisselier who is also a designated as Bishop of the cult group, she claimed, “four other cloned babies are expected to be born by February.”[8] Dr. Boisselier, says ABCNews.com, “holds doctorates in analytical and physical chemistry from the University of Houston and the University of Dijon, France. She taught chemistry for one year at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., but resigned last spring.”[9]
What’s the basic tenet of this group? They believe that the Hebrew Elohim *are* actually extraterrestrial aliens who created life on this planet. They believe life on earth is not a result of random evolution nor the work of the supernatural God but of scientists from another planet using DNA and genetic engineering. Allegedly, the “elohim” maintained contact with humans through the “prophets” like Buddha, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. They believe in the resurrection of Christ but with a blasphemous twist saying, Jesus was resurrected through an advanced cloning technique performed by these extraterrestrial aliens.[10]
How many members do they have? They claim to have 55,000 members in 84 countries[11] in the world. Klas-TV says they have a Las Vegas connection in the States.[12]
What does the Scripture say? Paul warned that in the last days “and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them” and that “because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” God shall send them, “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11). The Hebrew “elohim” does not mean “those extraterrestrial aliens who came from other planets,” it may be a plural noun but the context of how the Hebrews used it in Scripture when referring to God is singular, it refers to the eternal God of Israel (Deuteronomy 33:27), though the Hebrew noun occasionally refers to human magistrates or judges (Psalm 82) appointed by YHVH or Yahweh or Jehovah--Israel’s only true “elohim” (Deuteronomy 6:3).
Also, Jesus Christ was not resurrected by little green men from flying saucers, he was resurrected by the supernatural power of the living God of Israel (1 Peter 1:21), and for forty days (Acts 1:3) his post-resurrected glorified body marked by his suffering (John 20:20) was seen by men of Israel.
Lastly, Adam and Eve were not created in a ET-made laboratory in the Himalayas, they were made by the supernatural power of God through his eternal Logos (John 1:1; Colosians 1:16) from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7) which he also created, ex-nihilo, that is, “out of nothing.” Please see also Psalm 33:6. (aG)
To know more about the attributes of the one true Elohim, please read:
Christian Research Institute's The Attributes of God
To know more about how the one true Elohim created us, please read:
Genesis One and Two: A Commentary
To be saved from the Raelian delusion, please read:
Further readings (off-site):
- Gospelcom.net's exposition on the Raelians
- Watchman Expositor's Profile of The Raelian Religion
(Warning the following are secular):
- University of Virginia's New Religious Movements: Realians (last updated 04/11/2001)
- WashingtonPost.com's An Uncertain Year for Cloning Laws by Rick Weiss (12/26/2002)
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