Theologically Modified Genetics: Further Theological Reflections on the Practice of the New Genetics

A recent suggestion that public responses to developments in agricultural biotechnology raise deeper theological questions indicates a need and an opportunity for Christians to articulate a theological vision that might constructively shape the nature and priorities of research in modern genetics. In this article I draw on a cultural-hermeneutical understanding of the practice of science and a Christologically grounded conception of imaging God in the created order to outline ways in which the practice of genetics could be revisioned within Christian communities: at the levels of mythos, world view, social practice and cultural reflection.