Okay, so this may seem dumb, but I thought about it for a second, and it kind of made my head hurt. So, in this case-scenario there IS a heaven. Science has come a long way, and cloning has begun. We have already cloned a mammal. I know we don't really have reasons to clone humans, but let's say we did, and they both died. Would they both go to heaven? Would they both go to hell? Would they go separate ways? If they did, what would happen? Like I said, I know it seems dumb but I like to discuss dumb ideas once in a while ^_^
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Clones would have identical DNA, but they would not be identical people with identical lives. I would assume DNA isn't the only determining factor for admission into your hypothetical afterlife.
That's still a very interesting way to look at it. It would come down to their own personal beliefs unless you are assuming that everyone gets in to heaven or hell in the afterlife.
A new idea, let's say they made it through cloning, but they died shortly after because of defects (I dunno) and they were going to hell/heaven (where ever he DESERVED to go) would there be two of them? That's a better way of wording it, I guess.
Clones don't have souls like humans do. The clones would die and just simply rot away into the dirt.
Yeah clones will die and that's the same faith that awaits to everyone else. I don't think clones have big difference to ordinary humans like us. They too can feel, can think, can live and eventually will die. It's just that they are not born the same way with us and are not that strong physical mentally and emotionally.
That's a good point! They are people just like us but they were born differently.
If the clone and the cloned have accepted Jesus as their savior, then that should both cruise into heaven just fine.
I would say if there was a heaven both would still be people to their own right and thus independently either one or both could find their way into their respective heaven or hell. I don't believe in clones having the same soul but rather more like twins born at different times just one with a shorter lifespan.
I have another question though while all this is brought up. Does anyone know if the child produced by clones can have a normal rather than shortened lifespan? Thus far clones do not live as long as their uh (first draft) so to speak. I also wonder if you clone a baby if its clone would live a comparably long life?
I don't believe in souls, heaven, hell, or clones (just half-kidding) but I can't resist a good hypothetical question :)
Thinking like a Catholic, clones are created without the dirtiness of original sin, so they would be more likely to get into heaven than any of us born of a marital union! That's probably why the Pope is so against us cloning things, heaven would get to be very crowded very quickly if we started cloning soldiers to fight our wars for us.
According to the Bible, we do not really consider our physical forms when we go to heaven (even though God takes our entire bodies if you're Jewish) so having identical twins up there wouldn't matter to us. There's nothing in the Bible that I know of that would bar the clones themselves from getting into heaven, though Golems are not considered humans and thus do not have souls, again if you're Jewish. I don't know if a clone would really qualify as a Golem, but it's the closest real life thing we've got to it (and it's pretty darn close, if you think about it...).
If it were up to me, clones would get automatic entrance into heaven! As a matter of fact, I think anyone is free to go to whatever imaginary place they want. I can't control your daydreams, after all.
I think it's much more taxing on our brains to believe in Heaven with the views that we have. It's easy to do if you have faith, but when all you have to work with is intelligence, you end up with a headache like the OP got.
I also think that human clones will not be really human in a sense that they cannot be exactly like the natural born human. They could just die immediately or just a dumb. :D
... what about clones, or the cloning process, would make them stupid? They would be *just* like the creature they're copied from, but their organic matter would have a slightly faster rate of decay.
That's really the only difference anyone's found. And actually, every single cell in your body is a clone of the one you started with.
I am not exactly an expert on clones at all but, would clones also have the advances made on the genes of the person or otherwise they were made from? For example, if someone received gene therapy would the clone also have the added benefit of of being reproduced with the result of the gene therapy?
Good question! I'm no clone expert myself, but logically, any genetic material at the time of the cloning process would be replicated into the clone, so if the original subject used a gene therapy that is *permanent* (most at this current time are not) then it would probably be carried forward.
You've got me thinking... I wonder if the temporary gene therapies could be made permanent in a clone's case if they were cloned during the height of the genetic mutation? If this were the case, and given the therapies we've already developped, we could at least give clones super speedy learning ability and ultra fast muscle regeneration to make up for their faster rate of aging. It would be like an entire life, on fast forward :)
Crazy! That would potentially be sort of like seeing your future in ways! Why are the effects of gene therapy only temporary if you don't mind me asking and you know?
Furthermore, does gene therapy actually change your DNA, not sure it does and this is probably why the effects are temporary but if if temporally does, one can imagine the ramifications of this tech getting into the wrong hands.
So far, people seem to be extremely underwhelmed by gene therapies. There are a few on the open market already, though not FDA approved.
Check the back of Maxim or Esquire for a few of my favorites :) The learning accelerator looks remarkably effective, but alas only lasts about 6 months for people who's cells aren't reproducing that fast, aka people over the age of 25ish.
you proved an awesome point here that there is no afterlife :P
Although I doubt if it will be possible that there would be clones that would really be perfectly humans, I think the doings as a person could be a basis of who will be acceptable to heaven or not. :P
Nick it's really lot easier than you think. The answer is plain and simply that until we die we are never going to know if there is a heaven or not. People get caught up in overthinking something that is imposible for humans to understand and the only way to know without dyin is if god decided to finally show up and let everyone know that he is real.