2010 Articles

God's Philanthropia and Human Disease: Theory of Neoplasia and the Orthodox Understanding of Original Sin as a Guide for Ethical Questions Involving Genetic Manipulation

Holodny, Andrei I.

One of the difficult and thorny questions that a person can face both theologically and strictly on a person level is the suffering and dying of children. How can a benevolent and omnipotent God allow such a vast injustice toward innocents? What does the suffering of children say about our universe, her laws and the Creator of these laws? What should be the response of humankind toward such suffering? With the advent of powerful new technologies, especially those involving genetic manipulations, these questions have become much less theoretical and much more practical and acute. In this article is an attempt to outline certain points of contact between natural scientists and physicians, on the one hand, and theologians and pastors on the other. Because neoplastic diseases are my area of endeavor, I focus on childhood cancers. However, almost everything I have to say, both in in terms of science and theology, can be applied to other childhood maladies, especially congenital and inherited diseases.