Unintended consequences occur when something bad happens when you expected good results instead. It happens in our elections, and it happens when we decide that we know more than God (or nature, which is God’s “handmaiden”).
Scientists have been interested and working on de-extinction, a process of finding some DNA of an extinct species and through genetic engineering bring the extinct animal back to life again. Technically, it is “creating a form of hybrid species that looks like the extinct one by replacing a limited number of key genes." Of course, it is only possible if there is some available DNA from the extinct species and there is none for dinosaurs, so a new Jurassic Park will not happen.
Scientists have long been interested in resurrecting the woolly mammoth, but now have the dodo and the Tasmanian wolf in sight as well. They have cloned a Pyrenean ibex, a female named Celia, but it died of a lung defect soon after birth.
But let’s pretend that a woolly mammoth is cloned. Researchers claim that “Alaska's vast North Slope could support 48,000 woolly mammoths.” They did not report on how the Eskimos feel about the project. The mammoths would “fulfill their ecological role” by increasing how light is reflected back into space as they trample about on the snow.
However, some scientists and researchers aren’t so sure about the idea. One, named Dr Lynch, said that “there would need to be several hundred thousand mammoths to have a significant impact on the climate, and that could put living endangered species in peril.”
They also can’t be sure that the mammoths will stay in Alaska. The gray wolves that were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park are found far beyond that original wolf dumping ground. They go where they wish to find food and survive.
Dr Searle, a research fellow at the University of Nottingham said de-extinction is “literally a pet project of billionaires.” But others argue that any de-extinct species will benefit closely related species and that his company “will still see a big return on investment,” making “a ton of money.” Still others say that it will do more harm than good.
I think the naysayers are right. There are many examples of scientific projects that were ill conceived and went haywire. One was the famous Kola Superdeep Borehole. The Soviet Union decided to drill a hole as deep as possible into the earth's upper mantle. I don’t know what they expected to find, but in 1989, they reached 40,230 feet (12,262 meters), the deepest point to that date. However, temperatures were too hot to handle, and the density of the rock caused the project to end in 1992, and the hole was sealed in 2005. All they learned was that it is very hot down there.
On a more mundane level, in 2014 McDonalds offered a “nutritious option for children,” a bubble gum-flavored broccoli. Fortunately, it never made it to the Happy Meal menu. The Cleveland Indians baseball organization needed a new gimmick to promote attendance so in 1974 they introduced the 10-cent beer night. Various “incidents” happened that night as a result, including when fans launched fireworks into the opponent’s dugout.
There are many examples of unintended consequences in the Bible. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, but he became one of the highest-ranking officials in Egypt. The brothers had to go begging for grain to him in Egypt and the unintended consequence was that their brother saved them from starvation.
Do you remember Haman in the book of Esther? He built gallows to have Mordecai hanged, but the unintended consequence was that he ended up swinging on them himself. David committed murder and adultery, and the unintended consequence was that his new son died soon after birth. And remember the old philosopher in Ecclesiastes, who got everything a man could want but the unintended consequence for it all was like “chasing after the wind.”
Have you had unintended consequences in your own life? Perhaps you didn’t intend to go to college, but you met your future wife there. Some people find God in places they did not intend (like in church) and meet people they did not intend to see or like.
What about your present marriage or job? Any unintended consequences as a result?
For Christians, God is controlling our lives and what seems unintended by us is clearly His intention. “We may make our plans, but God has the last word.” (Proverbs 16.1)
Karl Franklin
