Genesis 2:7 - KJV "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

Romans 5:12 - KJV "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"

THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT WILL NOT GO AWAY, AND IN THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS, WILL BE A VERY REAL PART OF THIS WORLD WE ARE CURRENTLY LIVING IN.

The real bottom line in the stem cell research debate. We are living in a
unique time of human history, where medical science has evolved greatly.
Once a subject of fiction novels, human cloning appears to be more possible
than ever. Science has taken great strides to help man live longer, and
have a better quality of life. I am a big advocate of using all the tools
we have to improve our life here on earth. After all, never forget that it
is God who gives even unbelieving scientists the gifts they have. This
whole battle was on center stage last week (August 2001) as President Bush
announced his decision on government funding of stem cell research. Powerful arguments
were made by those who supported this funding, based on the potential cures
this research may yield for many diseases. Those on the other side of this
issue were those opposed since it involved the killing of life to make the
research possible. Without getting caught up in the politics of the issue,
let me focus strictly on the theological elements, and tell you what the
Bible, our final authority in all matters, says. .

The first fact that can not be ignored is that life is from God. ***No man,
no science, can produce life, only God can. ***Cloning is NOT creating new
life, only an attempt to duplicate existing life. It is a clear Biblical truth
that life comes from God, and only God has the right to end it. The second
important fact is that death is part of the human condition. God originally
made man to live forever. However, one of the consequences of man's sin in
the Garden was physical death. Death is inevitable and something each one
of us will face one day. Taking these two Biblical truths, life is from God
and only God can say when it is over, and death is something we will all one
day face, we can now look at this issue much more clearly. This means that
nobody, no matter how noble the purpose, has the right to end a life God has
created. Destroying a living cell to extract its stem cell is not an
option. Period.

The natural question then becomes, "what about finding cures for these
terrible diseases?" Don't forget, one of our Biblical truths is that death
is an inevitable experience. No matter how advanced science becomes, there
will never be a cure for death. Even if they figure out ways for us to live
to 300 years old, death will still be an event we each will face. Even
Lazarus, who died, was raised from the dead by Jesus, eventually died again.
Would it be nice to find cures for diseases that affect the quality of life
of so many? Of course!!!! But to destroy life in order to try and find
those cures is NOT an option. The fact is, even if we find cures to this
disease or that disease, SOMETHING will lead to the death of each one of us.
THAT IS A FACT! If they found a cure for cancer tomorrow, you will simply
die some other way. One day we will all die from something.

That brings us to the bottom line. Our purpose in this life is to serve and
glorify Him with our lives. God is the one who gave us life, and it will be
God who decides when our life is over. In the middle, our goal should be to
use each moment of each day of this precious gift to serve and glorify Him.
I tell you often to make the most of each day. The Bible clearly tells us
tomorrow is promised to no one. We never know when we will wake up one day
and find we have cancer, heart problems, or any number of health issues. WE
SIMPLY CAN'T TAKE OUR LIVES FOR GRANTED. We need to wake up each day, thank
God for that day, and set out to do all we can to serve and glorify our
Creator. If that is our focus, then everything else in life falls into
place. Including the fact that one day this life will be over, and those who
know Christ as their personal Savior will spend eternity with Him.

I love you and care about you so much. Some will say this was very
cold-hearted of me to say what I have today. That if there is any hope of
curing some of these horrible diseases we should do it. We all have friends
and loved ones afflicted by some terrible disease. But you CAN NOT
compromise the Word of God. Taking life is something only God, the author
of life, can do. There are NO exceptions. So the entire premise of stem
cell research is impossible from a Biblical standpoint. But the real focus
in all honesty should not be trying to figure out to live longer, but live
better...for Him. If we understand and accept that death is an event we
will all face, than the goal should be clear. How can we succeed in
fulfilling our purpose of serving and glorifying Him with the time God gives
us during this brief journey here on earth.

You see, God has a plan for each one of our lives. Surrendering to His
will, His way, to allow His plan unfold should be our number one concern and focus. I pray
daily for the sick. I often have special prayer vigils for the sick. I believe God is
still in the healing business. But don't get confused. God heals for His
reasons,, usually which we never know or understand. But one reason is that
He still has work for the person He heals to do. Until God says our work is
over, we aren't going anywhere. But when HE says it is finished, there is
nothing left in this life for us, we can go on to spend eternity with the
ONE who gave us this life.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller