I have a theory needs ascientific answer?

Question

me not scentist me laymen. THE THEORY.If a person has a bad gene that makes him do something bad or stupid. And Gods law offers that the sin can effect their children and their childrens children unto the third and fourth generation, and yet provides the law of repentence and forgiveness does this mean that man can alter his own gene by the power of will so as not to hand down to the generations a bad gene

Answer 1

Recent studies in genetics have supported the idea that the genetic make up of an individual can be influenced by the environment in a way which is much quicker than evolutionary theory could explain In fact in just a single generation. It could therefore be possible, in theory, for a gene that predisposes an individual to unsociable (bad) behaviour to be altered. The science is of course independent of any theological ideas. It is also accepted that genes pass on more than just physical traits such as hair colour and intelligence and many 'personality' traits can be aquired genetically.

Answer 2

Dear Trucker:

It is fairly obvious that you have been afflicted with the
teachings of Christianity and have not had time to rationalize them within your own life and circumstances.
In the days when the bible was written there was no
understanding of genes as there is today. There were also a lot of old wives tales and mysteries that found their way into the good book one way or another.

Sins are violations of rules or laws written by the church which you happen to attend, or in some cases, laws written by the hand of God onto a stone tablet on top of the Mount if you wish to follow that teaching. If you are forgiven of your sin, that is it. It is forgiven. Do not concern yourself with it further. Only a zealot will harp on the old testament and attempt to frighten you beyond belief for the welfare of your children and their children.
Zealots are extremeists and we find them in all religions.
If you feel oppressed by some outside influence, abandon it and surround yourself with good people who are not so strict in their beliefs and teachings. There are many good, God Fearing moderate people in this world who avoid extremeist thoughts.

Go in peace.

Answer 3

The problem with your question starts with the very first "if". People do not HAVE bad genes that make them do something bad or stupid. Genes do not control behavior. It is not valid to blame your genes when you do something bad or stupid. If you have broken God's law it is not the gene you are passing down to your descendants but the ire of God. Take the genes out of your theory and you have your answer.

Answer 4

Step one for a scientist is to remove God from the equation. That does not mean scientists do not believe in God, but it does mean God is bad science - the idea of science is to explain things repeatedly, if a God can just change anything then science is pointless.

Second, your theory is not new. Look up "Lysenkoism" on the web. He was a geneticist in the old Soviet Union who believed that. The Communists really liked his theory because it meant that the suffering people went through to build communism (under Stalin and Lenin) would help their children. Unfortunately for them, science does not server the State, and their stubbornness in holding onto this theory set their genetics work back decades.

Answer 5

I guess you can interpret this...

If a person has a tendency towards badness in his family, it is possible that this can be altered through the social means of his turning away from the bad and setting an example of good behaviour for his descendents.
Thus by 'repenting' (realising he has to change things) he can alter his behavious in such a way as to affect others behaviour in a good way.

As an example, take Dwayne 'DOG' Chapman of the series Dog the Bounty Hunter who changed from being a Hells Angel charged with murder to a Bounty Hunter who believes in God and tries to promote good where he can.

Answer 6

This is not a theory it is a hypothesis, and a bad one at that. Theories require a lot of factual evidence presented in a logical argument. Also, Science doesn't deal with subjects that cannot be tested experimentally. Whenever you enter the word "God" into a sentence it automatically leaves the Realm of Science and enters the Realm of Theology. There is your scientific answer, but I don't think you will like it.

Answer 7

We have free will, right? Allegedly we can do whatever we want to do with our lives. We can make any decision, take any path and do anything we want to do. I believe that just because a human being is predisposed with a temperament or a trait it doesn't neccessarily follow that that person has to succumb to it. If one's will is strong enough then a genetic predelection can be overcome, aside of course from the obvious exception to the rule of one's lifespan. We all make choices in life to varying degrees of importance and the more sane minded of the population will find it easier to dispense with the anomalies inherrent in the genetic make-up of existence more readily than those possessed with little or no intellect.

Answer 8

No, this does not mean that man can alter his own genes by the power of will.
The Bible here is referring to a cultural thing -- if a man is a wife abuser, he might teach his sons (by example) to do the same thing -- and they'll teach their sons, and so on. It's not a genetic thing.

Answer 9

I assume that you are referring to the God of the Jews who is known to be a jealous and vengeful God (it says so in the old testament). So presumably, he does spread his punishments over several generations.

On the other hand, man has been given free will. This means that there is no such thing as "God's law", just a number of God's suggestions on how to behave. So, no law, no punishment unless God is irrational as well as jealous and vengeful.

Answer 10

I think you need a religious fundamentalist answer, not a scientific answer.

Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on empiricism, experimentation, and methodological naturalism, as well as to the organized body of knowledge humans have gained by such research. This article focuses on the meaning of science in the latter sense.