THE ISSUE OF stem cell research for Christians is a matter of great ethical concern. The concern arises out of the sacred character of human life, the beginning of which is understood by Christians to have begun by the divine statement in Genesis 1:26, “Let us make man in our own image.”

[Page 458]Theologically, the anthropology of Christian theology has been that human beings are created in the image of God. Historically, this has been stated in the Western Latin Church as the imago Dei.

The image of God in Genesis was given tremendous reinforcement in the teachings of Jesus, when he was presented with a trick question by his enemies during Holy Week. The issue was whether or not the faithful should pay taxes to Caesar. ...