Table of Contents
(Part 4 of a 5-Part Series – Christian Ethics Conference, Carryduff Free Presbyterian Church, February 2008)
Part 1: Adultery
Part 2: Abortion
Part 3: Euthanasia
Part 4: Stem Cell Research
Part 5: Homosexuality
Preacher: Dr Lindsay Wilson
Overview of the Conference and Speaker Background
In February 2008, Carryduff Free Presbyterian Church in County Down, Northern Ireland, hosted a landmark five-part Christian Ethics Conference. This series was a deliberate response to the accelerating moral and scientific challenges of the early 21st century, including debates over abortion, euthanasia, human origins, and emerging biotechnologies such as cloning, stem cell research, and in vitro fertilisation (IVF). The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, founded in 1951 under the leadership of Rev. Ian Paisley, has long emphasised biblical inerrancy, Reformed theology, the doctrines of grace, and strict separation from ecumenism and compromise. The conference embodied this commitment, equipping believers to confront contemporary issues with unwavering scriptural authority.
The gatherings took place over several evenings in the church’s modest yet fervent setting, with each session building progressively on biblical foundations. Earlier parts, including messages by Rev. David McLaughlin on adultery (from Mark 6:14-29) and the sanctity of life from Psalm 139, laid the groundwork by affirming that human life begins at conception and carries inherent divine value. Dr Lindsay Wilson’s session on the fourth evening served as a pivotal application of these principles to advanced biomedical practices, using Genesis chapter 6 as a prophetic mirror to modern society.
Dr Wilson, at the time minister of Castlederg Free Presbyterian Church in County Tyrone, brought a rare combination of pastoral authority and medical insight. A qualified General Practitioner (GP) with years of clinical experience, he had trained alongside 150 peers and witnessed firsthand the ethical pressures within the profession. Just weeks earlier, in January 2008, he had been elected Deputy Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, underscoring his standing within the denomination. Raised in Portadown and influenced by local Free Presbyterian congregations, Dr Wilson has continued an active preaching ministry. Recent sermons, such as one on “Assisted Dying” (from 2 Samuel 1:1-16) delivered in July 2025 at Annalong Free Presbyterian Church, reflect his ongoing engagement with life-and-death ethics, demonstrating the enduring relevance of the 2008 conference themes.
This session, rich in exposition, personal testimony, and urgent warning, remains strikingly pertinent in 2026, as legislative battles over assisted dying (e.g., the Terminally Ill Adults Bill) and biotechnological advancements continue to challenge biblical convictions.
A Solemn Opening: Prayer and Scriptural Reading
Dr Wilson began with a deeply reverent prayer, setting a tone of humble dependence on the Holy Spirit. He beseeched the Lord to fill him “with the Spirit of God and with power,” quoting 2 Corinthians 4:7 to stress that any effectiveness must derive from divine excellence, not human ability. The prayer acknowledged the prevailing cultural drift: a “wicked world” where people “do that which is right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25), and called for hearts prepared to receive the “engrafted word” (James 1:21) that can save souls. He urged believers to hide God’s Word in their hearts to avoid sin (Psalm 119:11), to search daily for His will, and to uphold Scripture as the sole rule of faith and practice.
Transitioning seamlessly to the Bible, Dr Wilson read Genesis 6:1-8, describing it as a “familiar portion” chosen for a “very particular reason.” The passage recounts humanity’s multiplication, intermarriages between “sons of God” and “daughters of men,” the emergence of giants and mighty men of renown, and God’s sorrowful observation: “the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (v. 5). This total corruption grieved God to the point of regretting man’s creation, leading to the decree of judgment—yet Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (v. 8).
Dr Wilson strongly defended the historicity of a universal flood, rejecting localised interpretations as foolish. He recounted a childhood memory from primary school where a teacher claimed the flood was confined to a valley, yet struggled to explain the ark’s resting place on Mount Ararat. “When you go against the word of God… you make a fool of yourself,” he declared, linking such denial to Psalm 14:1 (“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God”). This emphasis on scriptural authority framed the entire message, positioning Genesis 6 not as ancient myth but as a divine warning with direct application to the present age.
Drawing Parallels: The Days of Noah and Our Last Days
Expanding on the Genesis reading, Dr Wilson painted a vivid picture of pre-flood depravity, where moral decay had reached an absolute nadir: every thought was “only evil continually.” He challenged the congregation to compare this with modern society: “I challenge you today that we live in the same sort of world where every imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually.” Pointing to television news, media trends, and cultural shifts, he argued that humanity has again approached a “breaking point” with God.
Central to his exposition was Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 17:26-27: “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” Dr Wilson asserted that we are now in “the last of the last days,” with conditions mirroring those that provoked the flood. God’s unchanging nature—His immutability (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8)—ensures consistent judgment: not by water (as covenanted by the rainbow in Genesis 9:11-17), but by fire (2 Peter 3:7,10-12).
Yet the message balanced warning with hope. Just as God preserved Noah, his wife, three sons, and their wives—the only converted souls amid millions—through the ark, He provides refuge today in the Lord Jesus Christ. “One who can save us, and one who will shelter us from the storm of the wrath of God that is most certainly about to come.” This redemptive promise tied the ancient narrative to contemporary ethics, framing biomedical innovations as symptoms of the same rebellious “evil imaginations” that once grieved the Creator.
The Moral Decay in Medicine: From Hippocrates to Modern Compromises
Drawing from his professional background, Dr Wilson traced the profound ethical decline in medicine. Historically, the Hippocratic Oath—dating to around 400 BC—bound physicians to “do no harm” and explicitly forbade abortifacients, showing ancient awareness of such practices. Until recent decades, doctors took this oath seriously, upholding moral uprightness.
Today, however, the landscape has changed dramatically. Abortion is routine, even among oath-takers. Dr Wilson shared candid observations from his training: while some colleagues, including a Christian professor of genetics, maintained integrity, others succumbed to addiction, divorce, suicide, or professional misconduct. In obstetrics and gynaecology, he questioned how any Christian could function, given the prevalence of procedures that destroy life.
Specific examples illustrated the point: fertility assessments involving human sperm fertilising hamster eggs—resulting in conception, yet discarded—amount to “confusion” akin to biblical prohibitions against bestiality (Leviticus 18:23). Emerging ideas of using cow eggs for human research further exemplify this hybridisation, echoing Genesis 6’s “giants” and moral disorder. Dr Wilson referenced ongoing legislative scrutiny and his involvement in related committees, stressing that ignorance does not excuse sin before God.
Personal testimonies underscored the cost and reward of faithfulness. Refusing to prescribe the morning-after pill (an abortifacient that prevents implantation post-conception) or handle intrauterine devices, Dr Wilson faced potential lawsuits—including claims for child-rearing costs—but experienced divine protection. One incident involved a non-Christian colleague respecting his boundaries, leading to a patient’s dramatic conversion in the surgery: “When you take a stand for the Lord, the Lord honours you” (1 Samuel 2:30).
He extended the challenge to all professions: banking, accounting, or elsewhere—Christians must draw lines based on Scripture, refusing compromise even when “pushing the line” becomes the norm.
Cloning: Human Overreach and the Counterfeit Christ
Dr Wilson explained cloning with clarity: naturally occurring identical twins—where a fertilised egg splits early—share identical DNA and are morally neutral, part of God’s providential order. Artificial cloning, however, seeks to replicate an existing individual: extracting DNA from a somatic cell (e.g., skin), inserting it into an enucleated egg, and stimulating development.
“Therapeutic” cloning aims to produce embryos for harvesting cells or organs, avoiding immune rejection in transplants. Yet this destroys human embryos, violating the sanctity of life from conception. Quoting Romans 3:8 (“Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid”), he rejected the idea that good ends justify evil means.
UK law at the time permitted embryo creation but required destruction after 14 days—no implantation allowed—a moral contradiction that treats life as experimental material. Advances in parthenogenesis (development via electric stimulation without sperm) even mimic virgin birth, raising eschatological concerns: the Antichrist, a counterfeit Christ (Revelation 13), could exploit such technology to deceive, appearing as a miraculous figure bringing false peace.
This section vividly connected ancient corruption to modern hubris, warning that such overreach accelerates end-times judgment.
Stem Cell Research: Ethical Paths Versus Destructive Pursuits
Stem cells, described as “master cells,” hold potential to differentiate into any of 210 human tissue types. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs), harvested from early embryos, promise treatments for Parkinson’s, heart damage, or spinal injuries—but require destroying the embryo, equivalent to taking innocent life.
Dr Wilson contrasted this with adult stem cells (ASCs) from skin, blood, or bone marrow—no ethical issues, and proven successes: bone marrow transplants cure lymphomas (including a church acquaintance); ASCs restore insulin production in diabetics and, in reported cases from South Korea and Russia (2004), enable mobility after spinal cord injury.
Despite these results, funding overwhelmingly favours ESCs, which have produced no verified human treatments and often form tumours or differentiate erratically (e.g., teeth in brain tissue during animal trials). He exposed dehumanising language, such as “pre-embryo” (coined in 1979 to diminish moral status), and the obscured abortifacient mechanism of the morning-after pill in medical references like the British National Formulary.
IVF: A Moral Minefield
Dr Lindsay Wilson devoted considerable attention to in vitro fertilisation (IVF), recognising it as one of the most relevant and emotionally charged issues for Christian couples facing infertility. He defined IVF clearly: “in vitro” (Latin for “in glass”) refers to fertilisation occurring outside the body, in a laboratory dish or test tube, rather than naturally within the womb. Sperm and eggs are combined externally, and resulting embryos are later transferred to the uterus in hopes of implantation and pregnancy.
From a biblical perspective, Dr Wilson affirmed that IVF could be morally acceptable only within the strict confines of marriage—using the husband’s sperm and the wife’s eggs—and under rigorous ethical safeguards. The key conditions he outlined were:
- All viable embryos produced must be implanted; none discarded or frozen indefinitely.
- No selective abortion (known as “foetal reduction”) if multiple embryos implant.
- No freezing of surplus embryos, as this suspends potential human life in a state of limbo.
He explained the standard clinical practice that raises profound moral concerns: clinics typically stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple eggs (often 10–12 or more), fertilise them all, observe development for a few days, and then implant only 2–3 (or sometimes just one, per modern guidelines aimed at reducing multiples). The remaining embryos—if they develop—are either discarded immediately, used for research, or cryopreserved (frozen) in liquid nitrogen. In frozen storage, these tiny human lives neither grow nor die; they remain in suspended animation, often for years.
Dr Wilson described this as deeply troubling: “They’re alive. They have a soul. You can’t wash them down the sink.” He highlighted the irony and tragedy of thousands of embryos stored in fertility clinics worldwide—many unclaimed after couples complete their families or change circumstances. In the UK at the time (2008), unused embryos could become clinic property after 10 years and be disposed of, which he labelled “mass murder, if ever there was.” (Note: UK law changed significantly in 2022, extending storage to a maximum of 55 years with consent renewed every 10 years; failure to renew still results in disposal.)
He recounted receiving regular phone calls from distressed Christian couples offered IVF: “We’ve been at the fertility clinic, and we’ve been offered IVF—what should we do?” His counsel was firm yet compassionate: approach prayerfully, insist on ethical limits, and prioritise God’s Word over success statistics. He advised negotiating with clinics to:
- Fertilise only as many eggs as can be safely implanted (e.g., 2–3).
- Implant all viable embryos immediately.
- Avoid freezing altogether.
- Refuse any “foetal reduction” in case of multiples.
One poignant testimony illustrated the outcome of such faithfulness. A couple followed these strict criteria, returned to the clinic, and were warned that limiting procedures would reduce their chances of success—clinics prioritise high success rates for reputation and funding, often relying on creating excess embryos. The couple signed a waiver acknowledging lower odds, yet trusted God. Ten to eleven months later, Dr Wilson received joyful news: a healthy baby had arrived. “The Lord rewarded them,” he declared, echoing the principle that honouring God brings blessing (1 Samuel 2:30).
Dr Wilson also praised emerging redemptive alternatives, particularly in the United States, where compassionate couples adopt frozen embryos—often called “snowflake babies” due to their unique, frozen origins. These adoptive families have them thawed and implanted, giving discarded lives a chance to be born. He admired this act of mercy, noting it as a way to rescue potential human beings from perpetual storage or destruction. (In recent years, programmes like Snowflakes Embryo Adoption have facilitated over 1,400 births, with hundreds more expected annually, though such initiatives remain limited in the UK.)
He acknowledged the heartbreaking reality of infertility: “Only those who are childless know what it is.” The longing for children is profound, and the offer of IVF can feel like a God-sent opportunity. Yet he cautioned against allowing desire to override principle: “It’s an awful thing to look back and say, well, I did something that was terrible.” Even well-intentioned procedures involving excess embryo creation, freezing, or destruction violate the sanctity of life from conception—a truth established earlier in the conference from Psalm 139.
Triplet (or higher-order) pregnancies pose additional risks: Dr Wilson shared experience from his medical career, noting that while some triplets reached healthy term, the dangers—prematurity, complications for mother and babies—often lead clinics to recommend selective reduction (aborting one or more fetuses). This he deemed unacceptable: “It’s a minefield.”
In summary, Dr Wilson presented IVF not as inherently evil when confined to marriage and ethical boundaries, but as a “jungle” fraught with compromise in standard practice. Couples must seek clinics willing to accommodate biblical convictions, accept potentially lower success rates, and trust God with the outcome. His message balanced realism about infertility’s pain with resolute commitment to Scripture: life is sacred, procreation belongs within the marital union, and no technology justifies the destruction of human embryos.
Conclusion: Standing Firm Amid Imminent Judgment
In the closing moments of his address, Dr Lindsay Wilson brought the congregation full circle, returning to the sobering imagery of Genesis chapter 6 while lifting their eyes to the hope of redemption. He reminded listeners that the world of Noah—where “every imagination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5)—finds its echo in our own era. Humanity’s relentless pursuit of god-like control through technologies like cloning, embryonic stem cell research, and unrestricted IVF represents the same rebellious spirit that once grieved the Creator to the point of judgment. Yet God’s character remains unchanging: immutable in His holiness and wrath against sin, yet unchanging in mercy toward those who seek refuge in Him.
Dr Wilson emphasised that the rainbow covenant (Genesis 9:11-17) guarantees no future global flood, but Scripture warns of coming judgment by fire (2 Peter 3:7,10-12). As conditions mirror the “days of Noah” (Luke 17:26-27), believers stand on the threshold of “the last of the last days.” In this perilous time, Christians are called not to despair or compromise, but to unwavering obedience: “If we honour the Lord, He will honour us” (1 Samuel 2:30). This principle, woven throughout the message, found vivid illustration in personal testimonies—of medical stands against abortifacients that led to divine protection and even souls saved—and in the faithful couple who restricted their IVF options, accepting lower odds, only to receive a child as God’s reward for prioritising biblical truth.
The preacher’s final exhortation was both practical and urgent: in every ethical dilemma—whether in medicine, business, or daily life—believers must return to Scripture as the ultimate authority. “This book” must be studied diligently, its principles applied rigorously, even when the world promises cures through immoral means. The end never justifies the means; life, sacred from conception, cannot be sacrificed on the altar of scientific progress. Dr Wilson warned that such overreach—creating embryos only to destroy them after 14 days, or treating frozen lives as disposable—exposes the depth of modern moral confusion.
Nearly eighteen years later, in January 2026, these words resonate with heightened urgency. Abortion figures in the United Kingdom continue to climb, with projections exceeding 300,000 procedures annually in recent years (based on data from England & Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), meaning nearly one in three conceptions ends in termination. Legislative battles rage over assisted dying: the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, having passed its second reading in the House of Commons in 2025, now faces prolonged scrutiny in the House of Lords Committee stage as of early January 2026. Additional time for debate has been granted, but concerns persist about procedural delays, potential filibustering, and the risk of the bill failing before the parliamentary session ends in spring. Separate developments in Scotland and Jersey further illustrate the accelerating push toward normalising end-of-life choices that Scripture views as usurping God’s sovereignty over life and death.
Meanwhile, stem cell research advances: new induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines and clinical trials progress for conditions like Parkinson’s and diabetes, yet ethical questions linger over embryonic sources and the potential for misuse. Cloning-related technologies, including organoid models and gene-editing tools like CRISPR, edge closer to therapeutic applications, but the core biblical prohibition against destroying nascent life remains unyielded.
Dr Wilson’s message, delivered with pastoral urgency and medical realism, calls believers to a counter-cultural stand. In a society increasingly echoing Noah’s days—where human ingenuity supplants divine authority—Christians must hide God’s Word in their hearts (Psalm 119:11), resist the tide of compromise, and cling to Christ as the ultimate ark of salvation. Judgment approaches, but grace abounds for those who repent and trust in Him. As Dr Wilson concluded, this faithful obedience not only honours God but invites His blessing, even amid gathering storms.
