They mastermind our lives, shaping our features, our health, and our behavior, even in the sacrosanct realms of love and sex, religion, aging, and death. Yet we are the ones who house, perpetuate, and give the promise of immortality to these biological agents, our genetic gods. The link between genes and gods is hardly arbitrary, as the distinguished evolutionary geneticist John Avise reveals in this compelling book. In clear, straightforward terms, Avise reviews recent discoveries in molecular biology, evolutionary genetics, and human genetic engineering, and discusses the relevance of these findings to issues of ultimate concern traditionally reserved for mythology, theology, and religious faith. The book explains how the genetic gods figure in our development--not just our metabolism and physiology, but even our emotional disposition, personality, ethical leanings, and, indeed, religiosity. Yet genes are physical rather than metaphysical entities. Having arisen via an amoral evolutionary process--natural selection--genes have no consciousness, no sentient code of conduct, no reflective concern about the consequences of their actions. It is Avise's contention that current genetic knowledge can inform our attempts to answer typically religious questions--about origins, fate, and meaning. The Genetic Gods challenges us to make the necessary connection between what we know, what we believe, and what we embody. Table of Contents: Preface Prologue 1. The Doctrines of Biological Science 2. Geneses 3. Genetic Maladies 4. Genetic Beneficence 5. Strategies of the Genes 6. Genetic Sovereignty 7. New Lords of Our Genes? 8. Meaning Epilogue Notes Glossary Index Reviews of this book: Our genes, [Avise] says, are responsible not only for how we got here and exist day to day, but also for the core of our being--our personalities and morals. It is our genetic make-up that allows for and formulates our religious belief systems, he argues. Avise does not eschew spirituality but seeks a more informed, less confrontational approach between science and the pulpit. --Science News Reviews of this book: For the general scientific reader, the book is an excellent distillation of a broad and increasingly important field, a course of causation that cannot be ignored. From advising expectant parents to getting innocent people off death row, genetics increasingly dominates our lives. The sections on genetics are expertly written, particularly for those readers without in-depth knowledge. The author explains slowly and carefully just how genetics operates, using multiple metaphors. His genetic discourse proceeds in a neighborly fashion, as one might tell stories while sitting in a rocking chair at a country store. He seems to be invigorated by genes and just can't wait to tell about them. --David W. Hodo, Journal of the American Medical Association Reviews of this book: As a whole, this book is quite informative and stimulating, and sections of it are beautifully written. Indeed, Professor Avise has a real gift for prose and scientific expositions, and I would suspect that he must be a formidable lecturer...At its core, [The Genetic Gods] is a survey, and a very nice one at that, of evolutionary genetics, the field of the author's major research interests. There is a strong sociobiological cast to the arguments, and the work and ideas of E. O. Wilson figure prominently. The presentation of evolutionary genetics is imbedded in a more general discussion of modern human and molecular genetics...However, this book is, most of all, a philosophical treatise that attempts, admittedly with the bias of a biologist, to examine the intersection of the fundamental premises of evolution and religion. Professor Avise has given us plenty to think about in this book [and]...it was a real pleasure to wrestle with the ideas he was presenting. I would suggest that other readers give it a try. --Charles J. Epstein, Trends in Genetics Reviews of this book: [Avise's] account of the role genes play in shaping the human condition is wholly involving, paying particular attention to issues of reproduction, aging and death. In addition to presenting ample biological information in a form accessible to the nonspecialist, Avise does a superb job of discussing many of the ethical implications that have arisen from our growing knowledge of human genetics. Just a few of the topics covered are genetic engineering, the patenting of life, genetic screening, abortion, human cloning, gene therapy and insurance-related controversies. --Publishers Weekly Reviews of this book: Avise explains thoroughly how evolution operates on a genetic level. His goal is to show that humans can look to this information as a way to answer fundamental questions of life instead of looking to traditional religious beliefs...Avise includes some very interesting discussions of ethical concerns related to genetic issues. --Eric D. Albright, Library Journal This is a splendid account of a subject that affects us all: the breathtaking increase in understanding of human genetics and the insight it provides into human evolution. John Avise speaks with authority of molecular evolutionary genetics and with affecting compassion of what it might mean. --Douglas J. Futuyma, State University of New York at Stony Brook The Genetic Gods is many things. It is a wonderful introduction to modern molecular biology, by a man who knows his subject backwards. It is a stimulating account of the ways in which genetics impinges on human nature--our thinking and our behavior. It is a remarkably level-headed and sympathetic account of the implications of our new findings for traditional and not-so-traditional issues in philosophy and religion. In an age of genetic counseling, cloning, construction of new life forms, the book is worth its weight in gold for this alone. But most of all, it is a huge amount of fun to read--you want to applaud or argue with the author on nigh every page. Highly recommended! --Michael Ruse, University of Guelph The Genetic Gods makes a valuable contribution to the on-going task of sorting out the implications of evolutionary biology and genetics for human self-understanding. Avise addresses, with authority and grace, the most consequential intellectual issues of our time. A challenging and insightful book. --Loyal Rue, Harvard University A wonderfully informative and engaging book. Avise offers a lucid, accessible primer on our genes, angelic and demonic, and examines religious and ethical issues, all too human, now confronted by genetic science. He makes a compelling case that anyone seeking to 'Know Thyself' should study the DNA molecular scriptures, our most ancient and universal legacy. --Dudley Herschbach, Harvard University, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

This book argues that the phenomena of religion can not be reduced to the phenomena of biology.

Have you ever been confronted with the questions, Can God become a man? Is not incarnation a violation of the natural law? The Christian says incarnation is the pulsating beat of the heart of Christianity and that God became a man, yet the formidable question is, how? Has theology or science found a solution? The historical Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most influential person ever to walk on the face of the planet Earth. For the past 2000 years, thousands of books have been written about Him, and yet, no book has been written about the mechanism by which the eternally existing God - the Christ - became Jesus, the Man in the Flesh. This book precisely explains this mystery by looking through the prism of the scientific discipline of genetics. In this book, you will: ● Discover how science (genetics) has already shown what the Scriptures have promised. ● Gain scientific understanding about how God became a man. ● Understand the scientific basis for the phrase, "Word Became Flesh." ● Acquire scientific knowledge that will revitalize your spiritual life and empower you to defend your faith. Sam Rose is a former senior post-doctoral research scientist at Columbia University, New York and a research fellow at Rutgers University, New Jersey (University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey). He spent more than fifteen years studying the intricacies of the immune system. His genetic research has focused on the role of HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) genes in human autoimmune diseases and HIV/AIDS. In 2000 he was struck by an insidious illness and confronted by the last visitor, but God preserved him for a unique purpose. Since then, he has been examining the relevance of science (genetics) and theology with particular emphasis on Christianity. After 18 years of clinical trials, he lives to tell one of the greatest mysteries God has revealed to mankind. He holds a Ph.D. in Immunogenetics from AIIMS (All India Inst of Med Sciences, New Delhi India). He is the Founder and President of Incarnate Word International. He lives with his wife Shelonitda Rose and children.

An in-depth study of humanity’s Anunnaki origins and the Anunnaki battle for an intelligent versus enslaved humanity • Explains the genetic engineering of humanity by an Anunnaki scientist Ninmah • Shows how the concepts of sin and the inferiority of women arose from Enlil’s will to keep humanity underdeveloped, clashing with Enki’s and Ninmah’s plan to make us equal in intelligence • Reveals how humanity’s long history of conflict was shaped by the battle between Enki and his brother Enlil Further developing the revolutionary work of Zecharia Sitchin, Chris Hardy shows that the “gods” of ancient myth, visitors from the planet Nibiru, created us using their own “divine” DNA--first through DNA extraction from their own ribs’ marrow and later by direct relations with early human females. Drawing upon multiple sacred texts, Hardy details the genetic engineering of humanity by Anunnaki scientist Ninmah, with the help of Enki and Hermes. She reveals how Ninmah’s first female human creation, Tiamat/Eve, contained more alien DNA than the earlier male one, Adamu, and how the biblical Noah represents the perfection of her work. Examining the war between Anunnaki brothers Enki and Enlil, Hardy reveals how the concepts of sin and the inferiority of women were born out of Enlil’s attempts to enslave and then wipe out humanity, repeatedly thwarted by Enki and Ninmah. The author further explains how the sacred sexuality taught to humans--still seen in Tantric practice--became suppressed millennia later by the patriarchal concept of original sin and how innocent Eve took the blame for the expulsion from Eden and fall from Grace. Showing that the god who created us was not the same god who expelled us from Eden, Hardy explains that there will be no apocalypse because the Good/Evil duality has never truly existed--it has been only enemy gods fighting and implicating humanity in the wake of their own competition for power. With a full psychological understanding of how the ancient “gods” have shaped humanity’s ongoing history of conflict, we can move beyond the framework of “(my) Good versus (your) Evil” imposed by Enlil and begin to steer our own planetary destiny.

The overwhelming majority of Americans believe in God; this conviction has existed since the beginning of recorded time and is shared by billions around the world. In The God Gene, Dr. Dean Hamer reveals that this inclination towards religious faith is in good measure due to our genes and may even offer an evolutionary advantage by helping us get through difficulties, reducing stress, preventing disease, and extending life. Popular science at its best, The God Gene is an in-depth, fully accessible inquiry into cutting-edge research that can change the way we see ourselves and the world around us. Written with balance, integrity, and admirable scientific objectivity, this is a book for readers of science and religion alike.

In one case after another, Charles L. Bosk reveals the process by which parents, physicians and other health professionals come to guide decisions about pregnancies. A story of both extraordinary drama and ordinary routine, this is a pioneering case study of authority and control in a pediatric hospital, showing how genetic counselors work with colleagues and with parents to be, and how they deal with their powerlessness to control life-and-death decisions that they must address.

Dr Francis S. Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, is one of the world's leading scientists, working at the cutting edge of the study of DNA, the code of life. Yet he is also a man of unshakable faith in God. How does he reconcile the seemingly unreconcilable? In THE LANGUAGE OF GOD he explains his own journey from atheism to faith, and then takes the reader on a stunning tour of modern science to show that physics, chemistry and biology -- indeed, reason itself -- are not incompatible with belief. His book is essential reading for anyone who wonders about the deepest questions of all: why are we here? How did we get here? And what does life mean?

What would you do if you found out that everything you knew about your life was a lie? What if all the myths and folklore you grew up with-deities pitting good against evil, the avatar whose coming foretells the end of the world-turned out to be reality? What if there really was a boy who could bridge the worlds of gods and humans because he carries the rare biological marker called "the god gene"? And what if, one day, you find out that you are that boy? Based on Hindu mythology, its pantheon of deities including Vishnu and Shiva, and the Dashavatara narrative, and inspired by the Underworld series, The God Gene Chronicles is an alternate world where myth and lore lay the foundations of history. A world where gods walk freely on an earth overrun by thugs. A world that waits desperately for the last incarnation of Vishnu to return to earth as the protector. A world about to be changed by a long dormant marker in the blood of a rare few-the god gene, where heaven and earth intersect in the form of a boy who may just be the saviour the world has been waiting for.

The crowning work of the best-selling Earth Chronicles series • Reveals the existence of physical evidence of alien presence on Earth in the distant past • Identifies and describes the demigods, such as Gilgamesh, descended from these visitors • Outlines the tests of this physical evidence of alien presence that could unlock the secrets of health, longevity, life, and death In whose genetic image were we made? From his first book The 12th Planet on, Zecharia Sitchin has asserted that the Bible’s Elohim who said “Let us fashion The Adam in our image and after our likeness” were the gods of Sumer and Babylon--the Anunnaki who had come to Earth from their planet Nibiru. The Adam, he wrote, was genetically engineered by adding Anunnaki genes to those of an existing hominid, some 300,000 years ago. Then, according to the Bible, intermarriage took place: “There were giants upon the Earth” who took Adam’s female offspring as wives, giving birth to “heroes of renown.” With meticulous detail, Sitchin shows that these were the demigods of Sumerian and Babylonian lore, such as the famed Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh as well as the hero of the Deluge, the Babylonian Utnapishtim. Are we then, all of us, descendants of demigods? In this crowning oeuvre, Zecharia Sitchin proceeds step-by-step through a mass of ancient writings and artifacts, leading the reader to the stunning Royal Tombs of Ur. He reveals a DNA source that could prove the biblical and Sumerian tales true, providing conclusive physical evidence for past alien presence on Earth and an unprecedented scientific opportunity to track down the “Missing Link” in humankind’s evolution, unlocking the secrets of longevity and even the ultimate mystery of life and death.

Genomic science indicates that humans descend not from an individual pair but from a large population. What does this mean for the basic claim of many Christians: that humans descend from Adam and Eve? Leading evangelical geneticist Dennis Venema and popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight combine their expertise to offer informed guidance and answers to questions pertaining to evolution, genomic science, and the historical Adam. Some of the questions they explore include: - Is there credible evidence for evolution? - Do we descend from a population or are we the offspring of Adam and Eve? - Does taking the Bible seriously mean rejecting recent genomic science? - How do Genesis's creation stories reflect their ancient Near Eastern context, and how did Judaism understand the Adam and Eve of Genesis? - Doesn't Paul's use of Adam in the New Testament prove that Adam was a historical individual? The authors address up-to-date genomics data with expert commentary from both genetic and theological perspectives, showing that genome research and Scripture are not irreconcilable. Foreword by Tremper Longman III and afterword by Daniel Harrell.