Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Signs of the End: Within 30 years we will no longer use sex to procreate

Within three decades people will no longer be having sex to procreate, a professor from Stanford University has said.
Hank Greely, the director of Stanford’s Law School’s Center for Law and the Biosciences, believes the reproductive process will begin with parents choosing from a range of embryos created in a lab with their DNA.
Although this can already take place, Mr Greely believes it will become far cheaper to do so and couples will opt for this method to prevent diseases.

The process involves taking a female skin sample to create stem cells, which is then used to create eggs.
These eggs are then fertilised with sperm cells, resulting in a selection of embryos.
Screening of the embryos would highlight any potential diseases and the Stanford professor believes the process will get to a point where parents can also potentially have the ability to choose eye or hair colour.
“I think one of the hardest things about this will be all the divorces that come about when she wants embryo number 15 and he wants embryo number 64,” Mr Greely said at Aspen Ideas Festive, Tribune reported.
“I think the decision making will be a real challenge for people. How do you weigh a slightly higher chance of diabetes with slightly lower risk of schizophrenia against better musical ability and a much lower risk of colon cancer? Good luck.”

Mr Greely argues that this method of procreation would be cost efficient due to the savings that would be made on healthcare.
He argues that if certain diseases can be avoided any expenditure on this method would be offset by reduced costs on potential treatments.

DAYS OF LOT: Oregon now offering third gender on licenses…

July 4, 2017

Oregon has become the first state in U.S. history to offer more than two gender options on identity documents, including driver’s licenses, making it the first to legally recognize non-binary, intersex and agender people on ID cards. The history-making rule went into effect on July 3. Oregon residents now have the option to choose among three gender categories
when applying for driver’s licenses or state ID cards: male, female and “X” for non-binary or unspecified. For Army veteran Jamie Shupe, who in June 2016 became the nation’s first person to legally change their gender to non-binary, it’s the culmination of an emotional, exciting year. “I’ve trembled with the fear of failure and cried tears until I had no more tears to cry, because of the magnitude of what’s been at stake — and now won,” Shupe told NBC News. READ MORE

Top Vatican official Warns Satan hurling ‘anti-creation’ at God

July 5, 2017

When God created the world, the Bible says He saw it was “very good.” A natural order had been established. But mankind fell to sin and death, and that order was destroyed. Still, throughout human history, mankind possessed some inherent sense of what the world should be like. Religion, morality, and law were ways to restrain the depraved impulses of mankind. And in the Christian West, there was general agreement about how society should run. But that consensus has
been shattered. Christianity is being driven from public life. Homosexuality, Transsexuality and other “identities” and sexual activities that were once considered perverse are now regarded by elites as core to Western civilization. Among the younger generation, more evangelicals are accepting of same-sex marriage. And the only time liberals seem willing to side against sexual degeneracy is when it means aiding the cause of the Muslims who are colonizing the West in ever-growing numbers. READ MORE

Say What? Sex robots promise 'revolutionary' service but also risks, says study

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/05/sex-robots-promise-revolutionary-service-but-also-risks-says-study

'Astonishing' rise in demand for exorcisms putting mental health at risk, report finds

An "astonishing" rise in harmful Christian exorcisms is being partly driven by migrant communities, a think tank has warned.
A report by Theos, a think tank focusing on religion, found that experts were concerned that the "booming industry" in exorcisms was putting Christians' mental health at risk.
The report, which examines the relationship between Christianity and mental health, said: "Exorcisms are now a booming industry in the UK, with a number of interviewees noting the astonishing increase in demand – often, as one noted, in defiance of any actual rules or procedures put in place by any church."
It said that this industry was in part "driven by immigrant communities and Pentecostal churches which are very open about their exorcism services".
Research found that interviewees, including mental health chaplains and other Christians working in mental health, said that "in the vast majority of cases, the person in question was suffering with mental health issues which required psychiatric assistance."
Ben Ryan, a researcher at the think tank and the report's author, said: "There has been an increased focus in the Anglican church on exorcisms, and partially that's in response to increased demand. They have been getting more and more people calling them saying there's demand for this.

"Outside the established church, there's a huge increase which you can see with your own eyes. If you walk down the Old Kent Road there are flyers and stickers everywhere."
A spokesman for the Church of England said: “The Church of England takes deliverance ministry very seriously and treats each case in a pastoral and private way. Any case would be dealt with locally through the diocese.
"Our guidelines state that particular caution needs to be exercised, especially when ministering to someone who is in a distressed or disturbed state. ”