Unravelling DNA: Applying Christian Values to a Genetic Age

By Christopher Paul Wild

We are living through a genetic revolution that is affecting fundamental aspects of our beliefs, values and daily lives. Genetics has the power to change the nature of what it is to be human. This novel technology affects our family life, the way societies function, the nature of our planet and even how we see ourselves. From di

• Language: English
• Publisher: GBJ Books
• Release date: Jul 1, 2025
• ISBN: 9781068227516

Christopher Paul Wild

Chris Wild is a scientist with forty years' experience studying the genetic and environmental causes of cancer. He has a PhD from the University of Manchester, UK. He was formerly Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds (1996-2008) and a senior scientist at the World Health Organization's (WHO) cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France (1987-1996).In 2009 he was appointed IARC Director, working closely with Heads of State, Royalty, Government Ministers, international organizations, leading scientists worldwide and many other partners to influence global cancer control policy. Upon retirement in 2018 he was made IARC Emeritus Director in recognition of his achievements. He has been the recipient of a number of awards for his scientific work. He is known for having developed the concept of the "exposome" to complement the genome in studies of human disease.Dr Wild has a long-standing interest in the interface between science and the Christian faith. He has spoken to church communities and given seminars on the challenges, benefits and risks of genetic advances from a Christian perspective. He recently published an article in the Church Times entitled: "A Theology of Embryology Needed" (31/01/2025)

Book preview

Foreword

We are living in an exciting and dynamic period of scientific breakthroughs in many fields. This includes rapid advances in biological science, some of which have enormous social implications. Novel discoveries in the broad field of genetics make it possible to cure some previously incurable diseases by gene editing and other new tools, but they also bring with them the potential to modify the human gene pool in ways that would go beyond therapeutic interventions to transhumanist enhancements – perhaps changing the very nature of what it means to be human.

As has always been the case, the question of how to handle the great benefits and risks that come with scientific and technological advances is one that many scientists consider to be outside their purview. As you will see, that is clearly not the case for Dr Chris Wild.

Dr. Wild led the prestigious World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France for a decade. Among IARC’s activities is the assessment of the risk of cancer from exposure to environmental agents. The Director of IARC must be not only a top-ranked scientist but also needs to have a sense of the impact of science on society. That is a perfect description of the author of this book.

Unravelling DNA is a remarkably comprehensive and uniquely insightful book on the interaction of the modern science of genetics with human social and individual life. Dr Wild has the breadth and depth of expertise to be able to explore a wide array of diverse subjects related to the impact of genetics. The book is beautifully and clearly written, in a style that is highly accessible even for those with only limited knowledge of the fields addressed, and the author keeps the reader engaged in fascinating, in-depth presentations of so many aspects of the science.

Genetics is a longstanding branch of biological science, with modern genetics generally seen as originating with Friar Gregor Mendel’s experiments with pea plants. Since then we have made enormous progress and are learning more and more every year about the amazing complexity and unending wonder of how the DNA molecule and other biochemical components work to pass on traits from parents to offspring.

Many of these details are such that they tempt us to express our sense of awe at the ingenuity and sheer beauty of nature. But the science of genetics has many implications and consequences that go beyond the pure scientific understanding of how life works. Genetics plays a critical role in many social sciences as well.

The power of this book is that the author tackles these implications with the same fervour and thoroughness that he devotes to the science, and he shows how genetics affect relationships within families, among friends, and between humans and our Creator. Some of the many topics covered in a thorough and easily accessible way include genetic testing and diseases, human cloning, gene-environmental interactions, GMOs, gene patenting, DNA databases, the genetics of behaviour and a host of social issues related to the scientific revolution in genetics.

Suffused throughout the book are the author’s moral and ethical values derived from his Christian faith. Dr Wild never shies away from addressing the importance of these values when dealing with controversial and difficult subjects like human genetic enhancement, saviour siblings, and market forces in health and the environment. For Christians and others concerned about the use and power of genetic science, or those just wondering what it all means in their lives, this book holds the answer.

Dr Sy Garte

Visiting Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at Rutgers University and author of Beyond Evolution: How New Discoveries in the Science of Life Point to God.

May 2025

Chapter 1: Genetics Matters

Inheriting life

A curiosity about stamps led him to rifle through a pile of dusty household papers hidden away in an old cupboard drawer. In among the neglected and forgotten, Donald Lea Wild locked eyes on the words written on a simple brown envelope: Adoption Papers – Alfred Roy Hoy. My father was fourteen when he accidentally discovered that his family, his background, even his name, were not what he had thought. In shock, he uttered hardly a word for weeks, no longer sure of his own identity.

The revelations became more painful when his adoptive parents told him he had been placed in care because his mother mistreated him. Why would a mother do that to her child? They also told him he was an only child, without kin. This lonely status quo changed dramatically some thirty-five years later when my father encountered another life-changing envelope. This one arrived in the post, from Lieutenant-Colonel Bramwell Pratt of the Salvation Army. The letter informed him of a sister who wanted to contact him on behalf of his biological family. This set in motion a period of deep reflection, not without its own apprehensions. Dad’s major concern stemmed from his fear of discovering a family afflicted by cancer. He was anxious that his fate would be writ large in his family history, woven intractably into his flesh and blood by his genetic inheritance. In this he was unknowingly echoing a provocative statement issued around the same time by James Watson, one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA¹, who said: We used to think our fate was in the stars. Now we know, in large measure, our fate is in our genes (1).

In the end Alfred Roy Hoy was reunited after almost fifty years with four older siblings. The effects on my dad of this knowledge about his identity, his origins and biological family were profound. He learned he had been placed into care as a baby because his father had been unable to cope with five children when his mother died, just seven months after he was born. She had never mistreated him. His newly discovered siblings meant he was not alone, he had kin; a burden of isolation was lifted from his shoulders. He became a more peaceful man. The truth had set him free. It does that. Genetics matters. Through the experience of discovering his ancestry, my dad came face to face with one of the important areas where genetics affects everyday life, namely our origins. In turn, because of his decision, my sisters and I learned something significant about our own roots. But the reach of genetics is immeasurably greater than the question of personal identity. It is transforming our world. It is ushering in powerful technologies, which carry with them the potential to radically and irreversibly change our lives, the societies we are part of and the world we inhabit. But for the most part we seem hardly to notice. The changes are largely inconspicuous. From time to time, though, genetics does come into the spotlight and then it can really grab our attention.

Genetic headlines

In 2018 the news broke that a Chinese scientist, Dr He Jiankui, had genetically engineered twin baby girls, Lulu and Nana (2)². When they were embryos Dr He had introduced changes into their DNA, meaning the innate nature of these girls was changed forever; their children and grandchildren too would carry the traces of Dr He’s endeavour. For the first time in history one human being had created another to their own design. Unsurprisingly, the term designer babies was resurgent. It had been in common use at the turn of the millennium when Adam Nash was born. Adam had been genetically selected as an embryo to provide bone marrow for an older sibling suffering from a genetic disease. This latter variation on the designer babies theme was dubbed saviour siblings to reflect the driving purpose of the selection process.

In the summer of 2000, the same year Adam was born, genetics captured media headlines a second time when US President Bill Clinton and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the completion of a working draft of the human genome. The moment was recognised as pivotal in human history. President Clinton said: Today we are learning the language in which God created life (3). The Director of the Wellcome Trust, a major funder of the genome work, said the achievement was more important than the discovery of the wheel (4). A UK newspaper tried to place the event in the context of all-time human achievement with its headline: It’s one small piece of man, one giant leap for mankind (5). Evidently not all the soundbites worked equally well! But there was a sense that by cracking the Code of Life (as the headline in The New York Times put it), the lives of human beings were about to be transformed.

Around a year prior to Clinton and Blair’s announcement, a further well-used genetic headline took centre stage: Frankenstein foods. At the time, the UK media was focused on the issue of genetically modified (GM) crops. This particular episode was triggered by a controversial report about harmful effects in rats fed GM potatoes. However, the storm had been brewing for two or three years, following the EU importation of GM crops, sale of the first commercial GM food (tomato puree) and outspoken critiques by high-profile individuals such as the former Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney and the heir to the UK throne, Prince Charles (now King Charles III). The latter stated that genetic modification of this type took humankind into realms belonging to God and God alone (6). By their meddling, scientists were playing God, a further phrase often linked to genetic advances. Protest against the technology was vocal and active, symbolised by the destruction of field trials of GM crops.

In February 1997, a couple of years before the Frankenstein food storm, media attention had focused on an innocuous-looking sheep called Dolly. On this occasion the reason for all the fuss – in which she seemed to revel, by the way – was that Dolly was the first mammal to be born from one parent. Every other mammal in history had emerged from a mix of DNA from the sperm and egg of two parents. In contrast, Dolly was a clone, genetically identical to the adult female sheep (was it her mother or twin sister?) that had donated her DNA. Immediately this ground-breaking technological advance translated into widespread speculation about the possibility of human clones, inevitably illustrated by legions of sinister cloned soldiers! However, it wasn’t all projected warfare. Time magazine in March 1997 led with a more reflective headline: Will there ever be another you?. For many it seemed a pertinent question.

Revolution by drift

Designer babies, saviour siblings, the Code (or Book) of Life, Frankenstein foods, playing God and human clones are terms which have punctuated our lives over the last thirty years or so. But these are fleeting interludes, disparate in nature. Generally, they create media headlines for a few days. As a consequence, we catch a word here and there – fragments of text but not the whole story. We miss the revolutionary shift. And revolution it is, introducing both benefits and risks. Healthcare is set to be personalised based on an individual’s genetic profile. Genetic disability is being targeted by screening and elimination of affected embryos and foetuses. The option to restore or enhance the human genome by gene editing is debated. Criminals are convicted, paternity cases and immigration claims are settled by genetic testing. A new generation of crops is ushered in by genetic engineering, promising a solution to global food insecurity while raising questions about the environmental impact and the power of global agribusinesses. The elimination of undesirable organisms, like the malaria-carrying mosquito, is planned using a further variation on genetic engineering technology, termed gene drive. Government ministers worry about the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and genetics resulting in a new generation of bioweaponry. Large commercial organisations are taking legal ownership and control over DNA sequences of humans, animals and crops in a patent-led biotech gold rush. Massive DNA databases are accruing the most personal of information, which is held and exploited by multinational corporations, governments and academic institutions, again drawing upon the powerful combination of AI and genomics. And on a more mundane level, millions of us are spitting into a tube and sending off our DNA to be analysed, while agreeing to share our data with others, often with limited awareness of the risks and who is drawing commercial benefit from our genomes.

Yet these breath-taking changes, of wide-ranging consequence, become embedded in everyday life with relatively little fanfare. Collectively we seem oblivious to what is hiding in plain sight as we fail to complete the jigsaw from the pieces. Although there is no malevolent arch-villain pulling the strings, genetics is changing the world by drift. And it truly is the world because access to the underlying genetic technology is no longer restricted to wealthy Western countries as it was a generation ago. The technology is available globally, including in the new economic powerhouses of China, Russia, India and the southern hemisphere. And each country may take a different view of the benefits and risks of this genetic revolution.

Genetics is powerful. Its incursion into our lives is not without consequence. And as already implied, genetic advances are far from being all bad news. As we will see, this new technology does raise difficult, deeply personal dilemmas, affecting some of our most fundamental beliefs and values. But at the same time genetics offers hope in the face of heart-rending suffering or seemingly intractable global challenges such as deadly diseases, food shortages, and climate change. Genetic progress promises a better world. From all angles, genetics matters. But in this book I want to go further than to simply describe the subject. I want to provide a way of thinking that enables truly informed choices, made on the basis of a solid foundation – that of the Christian faith. Evaluating genetic advances through a biblical lens is my primary purpose.

Throughout this book I will refer to four main areas of genetic technology: testing, cloning, engineering and storing DNA, all of which arise in the headline examples mentioned above. Because DNA is formed of a sequence of units of information, similar to letters in a document, we can illustrate these four areas by using the language of word processing: reading, copying, editing and saving the genetic text. I will introduce examples of each of these in Chapters 2 to 5. That introduction to the march of genetics will alert us to its relevance and to some of the ethical and moral³ questions it poses. It will also provide us with a factual foundation to draw upon when making up our minds about how genetics should be used; topics covered in Chapters 6 to 10. Chapter 11 then provides a summary of future steps. But before all that, what is the raw material of this field of genetics? What is DNA?

The nature of DNA

DNA lies behind the workings of all of life on Earth⁴. This molecule punches way above its weight. In a single human cell there are only 0.000000000005 grams of the stuff, yet this tiny amount is the basis for all the wonderfully complex and coordinated actions we see played out in the human body. This is the source of information – the instruction booklet, if you will – that enables each cell to do its job. At the same time, it is no use on its own. It needs a team around it. Instructions to make something, like a flat-packed wardrobe, must be combined with the raw materials delivered with the instructions. In the cells of our bodies the raw materials are not laminated chipboard, nuts, bolts and that confusing myriad of wooden pegs but amino acids. DNA provides the essential instructions for the assembly of these amino acids into the proteins that make us function, such as antibodies, enzymes, hormones and those proteins that give form to our cells. It is the assembly order of the twenty different types of available amino acid which enables production of the full array of tens of thousands of proteins that perform the incredibly complex and specialised work in each of our cells, tissues and organs.

DNA is composed of two long strands of chemical building blocks, known as bases, attached to a support structure. The two strands are twisted around each other to form the iconic double helix, which adorns so many book and magazine covers. There are four varieties of DNA bases: adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine, abbreviated as A, T, G and C respectively⁵. The sequence of bases can be read and represented as a series of letters on a page, hence the analogy with an instruction booklet. Gattaca, an entertaining sci-fi film about a man’s struggle to overcome his genetic destiny, derives its title from a short sequence of these four bases or letters. In total there are around 3 billion letters in the complete sequence of human DNA (the human genome), all tightly packed into each cell. The Human Genome Project (HGP) was the international collaborative effort that allowed Clinton and Blair to make their announcement. The project was a stunning achievement of human endeavour, a true voyage of discovery.

The unravelled DNA of a single cell, invisible to the naked eye, would stretch for about two metres. The sheer enormity of information packed into so little space is difficult to comprehend. In fact, the letters of DNA from a single cell would provide enough text to fill 800 Bibles. At a rate of one letter per second for twenty-four hours a day, it would take 100 years to read out. That is a lot of information, and it is contained in the vast majority of cells in our bodies⁶. DNA combines simplicity and economy with a capacity to produce the incredible complexity and diversity of life on Earth. This combination inspires in me a sense of awe and wonder, resonating with descriptions of God’s majestic creative acts in Genesis, the Psalms, Job and elsewhere in the Bible.

Despite its beauty and elegance, the DNA double helix will achieve nothing unless its text is read. In order to make sense of the string of 3 billion letters, the DNA is organised into a series of large packages called chromosomes, of which there are forty-six in each cell⁷. You might think of these as the chapters of our instruction booklet. On each chromosome are located smaller segments called genes. Genes vary in size, from between a few hundred bases through to a whopping 1 million.

These can be considered as the paragraphs of our booklet. Within a gene the DNA bases are read, or decoded, as sequences of three letters known as codons – for example, AGA. These codons are the words of our text. They determine the order in which the amino acids are assembled to make a protein, while the genes determine the composition and size of a given protein. This simplified description lays out how DNA sequences have the potential to produce specific proteins, which each perform a particular job in a cell at a specified time. For those interested, the Appendix briefly explains further how DNA works, including how the jump from DNA to protein occurs, how DNA is copied and how it is repaired when a fault occurs.

When the human genome sequence was declared complete in April 2003⁸ it revealed between 20,000 and 25,000 human genes in total. It was surprising that something as complex as a human being could be produced by so few genes. In fact, the actual number of human genes is somewhere between those of a fruit fly (14,000 genes) and a mustard seed (27,000). That put us in our place somewhat! It turns out the additional complexity in humans comes not from cranking up the number of genes but from the way the available genes are used. For instance, a single gene can result in several different proteins through a variety of biological processes⁹. Flexibility is the name of the game.

DNA sequences differ between individuals, the most common variation being the substitution of one letter for another¹⁰. The differences do not always have any consequence on function but do allow the DNA of one individual to be distinguished from that of another, for example in blood samples from a crime scene. Sometimes, however, an altered sequence of letters can cause recruitment of the wrong amino acid into a protein, affecting how it works. In sickle cell disease, for example, the change of just one letter (GAG to GTG) causes one amino acid to be replaced by another, making the haemoglobin protein sticky and less able to carry oxygen. So, subtle changes in DNA sequence can have marked consequences. The faulty versions of genes can be passed from one generation to the next on the chromosomes inherited from the mother (egg cell) or father (sperm cell). In addition, because DNA is copied each time one cell divides to produce two new ones, the same inherited healthy or faulty versions of genes are found throughout our bodies.

Accompanying President Clinton at the conclusion of the HGP was its leader, Francis Collins, who said: It is humbling for me and awe-inspiring, to realize that we have caught the first glimpse of our own instruction book, previously known only to God (7). With the book before our eyes we can begin to try and understand its contents. It is difficult to convey the manner in which advances over the last thirty years have transformed the science of DNA, genes and the proteins they code for. A key point to appreciate is the degree to which the practicality, ease, economy and scale of genetic analyses have enabled the emerging technology to permeate many different areas of life, for better or worse. Undoubtedly the innovation brings problems of interpretation, application, management and security. However, it would be churlish and wrong to deny that developments in genetics have transformed our understanding of life on Earth and promise improvements in numerous domains. DNA has been put to work.

It is notable that where concerns have been expressed about genetic technology the focus has been predominantly on safety. This is not enough. There is a great need to pose questions from ethical or moral perspectives. Not only asking what we can do with this knowledge but what we ought to do. These are the questions we will address in the coming chapters, seeking a response faithful to Scripture. Given the impact of advances in genetics, we cannot afford to leave the topic to the experts. In particular, we cannot rely on scientists to self-regulate their activities. Wider society must be involved, including those holding Christian beliefs. There is no inevitability to the progression of any given application of this new technology. We must find the motivation to understand the implications of this tangled web of information and formulate our own opinions.

The motivation for understanding

It is no surprise if the breadth and complexity of genetic advance results in a degree of bewilderment among non-specialists. The subject is made all the more difficult by the pace of change, with breakthroughs announced with regularity. Furthermore, we must digest the new information in order to gain the understanding, knowledge and wisdom that allow truly informed choices. This holds for both individuals and decision-makers. In short, identifying and processing the practical, moral and ethical implications of these advances is a major challenge. On top of the avalanche of information, there is the wrestle with a foreign language: DNA, genes, chromosomes, cloning, gene editing and so forth (see Glossary). These are overlaid with the evocative, albeit less precise, media portrayals of these novel technologies. The risk of being disenfranchised via confusion is omnipresent. How can the ordinary person survive in such a technically complex area? Is it, after all, a debate that is impossible outside the realm of experts?

I am hopeful of a wider societal engagement, mainly because of the enormous appetite for the subject displayed by so many, originating from different perspectives. For example, there is a sense that within our DNA we may learn something fundamental about the origins of life and our species. On a more individual level, we seek genetic insights into what makes us the person we are, our origins, features, character and temperament. There is also the promise of solutions to some of the seemingly intractable problems of humanity. Finally, we have an inkling that genetic advances will change the future of the world, the one which our children and grandchildren will inhabit. We have a stake in that future through our desire for those we love to flourish and be fruitful.

I want to harness this fascination with genetics, rooted as it is in a deep desire for understanding. From that starting point, I hope to stimulate questions about how we want genetics to shape our own future. Furthermore, personal interest can be a launchpad for thinking collectively about how we want this knowledge and its associated technologies to change the world. A shared perspective is more powerful in the long run, outstripping the impact of individual choices at a particular point in time.

The relationship test

A book on genetics for a non-specialist audience risks leaving the reader in the midst of a morass of information and conundrums. It is easy to raise questions, harder to formulate responses. Also, it may be difficult to discern what is close to practice from what remains science fiction. As a consequence, the cocktail of scientific advance and moral or ethical challenges may not result in a discernible improvement in the reader’s ability to make personal or societal sense of what is happening. How are we to bring some order out of the chaos?

In response to the overload, people might be tempted either to bury their heads in the sand or allow themselves to be swept along, hoping those in the know will do the right thing. Both options can lead to a sense of being cut adrift, unable to evaluate the rapid changes against a set of principles and values. The good news is that we need not adopt either of these two, admittedly caricatured, extremes. We are able to exercise wisdom. We can choose. This active path may be helped by recognition of a few simple truths about the science, its impact and the challenge of making informed decisions.

First, there is a lot of science in genetics but you don’t need to understand more than a fraction of it to begin formulating your own opinions. Second, we have a moral duty to develop informed opinions for the sakes of ourselves, our families, society and the future of our planet. This is too important a subject to leave to others. Third, among the confusion, claim and counterclaim, misinformation and rhetoric, we need a well-developed, structured approach to frame the questions and aid our choices, bridging the science and its application to everyday life. The approach should be robust enough to accommodate emerging areas of genetic advance as and when they arise. I am proposing a way that I believe will assist us to think more clearly.

My central approach is to examine each area of genetic advance in light of the effects on our relationships. Why have I opted for this relationship test? First, because relationships are central to what it is to be human: we are all in relationships of different types. And genetics can impinge on all of them. When genetics encroaches on vital relationships we sense a red flag: something important is at stake. Second, relationships have a deep theological significance. God is relational in nature – Father, Son and Spirit. Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. It is no surprise that relationships are at the heart of the two great commandments highlighted by Jesus: to love God and to love our neighbours as ourselves. Relationships are, therefore, a vehicle by which we are able to reflect the image of God by loving others. They enable our witness to His nature. Third, framing our thinking in terms of relationships provides the benefit of future-proofing, introducing a way of thinking that is flexible enough to accommodate genetic challenges now and into the future. To help structure our thinking I have selected four areas of relationships: self, family, society and the world (or environment), which I will introduce in Chapter 6 and cover individually in Chapters 7 to 10.

Christian values in a genetic age

As a scientist, I want to share the excitement and possibilities of genetics with you but I do not want to gloss over the risks, limitations, failures, occasional abuses and difficult dilemmas which come with the terrain. I want you to understand the subject as it is. Necessarily this must take us beyond science, into values and beliefs. I am a Christian and my personal beliefs influence my science and views on genetic advances. I am not exceptional in this regard. No scientist plies their trade in a value-free vacuum. However, my personal background is not the only grounds for believing the Christian faith has something to say on the matters at hand. I hope the faith I practise will resonate with a wider audience because of the principles and values on which it is founded.

Scientific knowledge must be integrated into a broader consideration of understanding, opinions and beliefs, which in turn inform decision-making. This integration includes religious thought, which is both personally and collectively highly influential in terms of moral and ethical standards of behaviour worldwide. In this broader context, a Christian perspective on genetic advances is perfectly valid. For example, the historian Tom Holland relates how influential Christianity has been in shaping Western civilisation, (8). The impact of the Christian faith on the moral values and practices of modern Western society are deep and manifold. Sometimes this conclusion comes from unexpected quarters. The former Chief Rabbi in the UK, Jonathan Sacks drew attention to the search by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for reasons behind the pre-eminence of the modern West (9). The answer from within this secular communist state was that the Christian religion had provided the moral foundation of social and cultural life from which capitalism and democratic politics could emerge. I believe the same Christian foundation is helpful in addressing present and future dilemmas in relation to genetic advances.

Christians have much to offer to the societal debate about genetic advance. The nature of God is love, leading to the ways of compassion, kindness, goodness, justice, mercy and more. Biblical principles and reflection founded thereon should ring true to people of faith or otherwise and lead to applications which take account of everyone’s interests. Francis Collins, former HGP lead and Director of the US National Institutes of Health, is a Christian. Few have been so central to genetic advances over the last four decades. He had these encouraging words to say in relation to genetic testing and disease, which are relevant to our topic as a whole: It’s a debate which can only proceed if you are grounded in some principles. We as Christians are fortunate to be so grounded. Many others find themselves without an anchor, and we have a real role to play here as the debate intensifies (10).

The purpose of our search

The purpose of Unravelling DNA is to enable you, the reader, to work out how