When the Homily is about Immunology

God knit me together in my mother's womb...

And therefore my violent tendencies are just a reflection of who God made me to be.

Story HERE.

So my question is this: When is the ECUSA going to put together a rite for the blessing of violent acts?

As someone generally familiar with genetics, I often cited this sort of study (of which there are actually many) to my pro Same Sex Union friends in the ECUSA as I was on my way out. (of the church, not the closet!). It is a fair question because the most common argument offered for the blessing of SSU's revolved around the idea that God made people the way they are and so it is "natural." Tough words for the deformed and mentally handicapped I would imagine, and now an easy "out" for those who struggle with issues of temper and violent behavior.

Unfortunately (or not), it just ain't that simple.

The Orthodox Church in her hymnology and her theological treatises often uses the term corruption to describe the human condition under the burden of sin. A brief look at some definitions available for that term was quite telling for me:

1. To taint; contaminate.
2. To change the original form.
3. Containing errors or alterations

Now those last two are particularly intriguing in regards to the "naturalness" of violent behavior or homosexuality for that matter. If you know a thing or two about genetics, then you likely know that even a single "point mutation" (i.e. Your DNA sequence of varying base pairs A,T,G, or C has the wrong base pair in the wrong spot) can be devastating if that mutation is in just the right region.

Proponents of homosexuality are working hard to prove that there is a genetic basis for such an inclination, and while they have no conclusive evidence for it yet I have little doubt that homosexuality does indeed proceed in part from a genetic predisposition. Nor do I doubt the possible validity of the study findings regarding violence and finger-length/testosterone exposure. But the bigger question is: so what?

Genetic defects happen all the time. Each and everytime you are exposed to sunlight you are being bombarded by UV light that is playing havoc with your DNA. Luckily you have enzymes (called "polymerase") in your cells whose job it is to fix these errors, but if a defect is in the right place and the cell divides before it can be fixed, the daughter cell will never recognize it as an error and you have the beginnings of Melanoma: skin cancer. At this juncture, the defect is apart of your body and thus cannot, without swift external medical assistance, do anything to stop it from killing you.

Defects happen in the womb too and sometimes even before the womb in the egg or sperm during its division process long before (biologically speaking) their union. Birth "defects" are horrible and no amount of politically correct language is going to make someone unable to walk feel more "normal." Perhaps the language of the Church could do better in this regard by reminding us that none of us (save a Holy few) are "normal"? In the end I don't think any of us should feel "normal" about our lack of normalcy.

But why should some be "predestined" in the womb with more difficult struggles than others? I suppose I would ask the same of everyday life in which we see the that lesson given to us loudly and clearly outside the womb. Why should a sunlight created base pair mismatch end in melanoma for me, and not for you? Life isn't fair. Didn't our mother's teach us that?

But thanks be to God, the Lover of Mankind, that despite whatever struggles we face, genetic or otherwise, we can work with hope for God's coming restoration and an ending to our state of corruption. The scientist in me wants to hear heaven described as a place (or state of being) where there are no more base pair mutations or deletions, and polymerase will always proofread and copy perfectly.

An end to corruption.