I have a question that has baffled me. How much of our behavior is genetic, and how do we understand this in light of free will? My family has a history of adultery, alcoholism, and abuse on both sides. I was told by someone that genetics may explain this. How do we understand this? How does this go with the idea that our inherited passions are either acted upon or not? Is there a genetic code within our DNA that makes us inclined towards adultery and other bad behaviors? <\/p>\n
Thanks.<\/p>\n\t
Generally, scientific studies do not claim that DNA directly controls behavior. Rather, they state that DNA may make a person more sensitive to certain stimuli, making them lean toward certain behaviors.<\/p>\n
In your case, how much is genetic, and how much is due to being raised in a similar environment? It is more logical that the environment you were raised in has a greater impact on your behavior. “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it<\/em>” (Proverbs 22:6). This would be true for positive and negative moral training. If you are abused as a child and watch others be abused, you are more likely to accept that this is the way life is supposed to be. Thus, you’ll abuse others because you are familiar with it, even if you don’t like it. If you constantly watch others lose their temper, then you are unlikely to know the techniques to use to control your temper. In this way, bad traits are passed from generation to generation.<\/p>\n However, it doesn’t mean those behaviors can’t be changed. Look at the kings of Israel and Judah, and you will find that sometimes, a good father ends up raising a bad son. Sometimes, a bad father ends up raising a good son. “The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself<\/em>” (Ezekiel 18:20).<\/p>\n Instead of shrugging and telling yourself you are the product of your genes and your environment, be determined to be responsible for your personal choices. Choose to follow God and, in that way, change your descendants’ future. “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous<\/em>” (Proverbs 13:22).<\/p>\n “A righteous man who walks in his integrity–how blessed are his sons after him<\/em>” (Proverbs 20:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I have a question that has baffled me. How much of our behavior is genetic, and how do we understand this in light of free will? My family has a history of adultery, alcoholism, and abuse on both sides. I was told by someone that genetics may explain this. How do we understand this?…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[354],"class_list":["post-84679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-responsibility"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8607,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/genetic-links-to-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":0},"title":"Genetic Links to Homosexuality?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0Andrea Ganna, \"Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior,\" Science Magazine, 30 August 2019 The claim is that they found five possible influences toward homosexual behavior in DNA, but at the same time the report is full of qualifiers. \"In aggregate, all tested genetic variants\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":998,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-person-be-born-gay\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":1},"title":"Can a person be born gay?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just wondering if you had any biblical defense for someone saying they are born gay. I think it's a choice and I was wondering if any scriptures helped support this. I recently heard of a friend who had only been a Christian for a year and has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18035,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/nested-coding-in-dna-is-evidence-of-design\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":2},"title":"Nested Coding in DNA is Evidence of Design","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Source:\u00a0\"BioEssays Editor: \u201c\u2018Junk\u2019 DNA\u2026 Full of Information!\u201d Including Genome-Sized \u201cGenomic Code\u201d,\" Evolution News & Science Today, 18 November 2019. \"The paper finds that our DNA contains overlapping layered \u201c\u2019dual-function\u2019 pieces of information,\u201d including a \u201cgenomic code\u201d that spans virtually the entire genome in order to \u201cdefin[e] the shape and compaction\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Issues"","block_context":{"text":"Issues","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/issues\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3307,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-did-cain-get-his-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":3},"title":"Where did Cain get his wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 14, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where did Cain get his wife? Answer: Genesis 5:3-4\u00a0tells us, \"And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16716,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-brain-region-sizes-or-pheromones-prove-homosexuality-is-genetic\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":4},"title":"Do brain region sizes or pheromones prove homosexuality is genetic?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In college, I've been taking a non-verbal communication class which teaches us about different aspects of what some people refer to as \"body language\". Throughout the class, the instructor had made claims that homosexuality has a genetic basis and that there's evidence that may lead us to believe that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/counterfeit-sexuality-sexuality-as-reduced-to-animal-impulse\/","url_meta":{"origin":84679,"position":5},"title":"Counterfeit Sexuality: Sexuality as Reduced to Animal Impulse","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by\u00a0Ethan R. Longhenry Few topics prove as sensitive and yet as controversial as sexuality. The topic generates a lot of interest; sadly, few conversations regarding sexuality prove very profitable. Most people understand their sexuality according to the terms of their culture and the world; few challenge the perspective and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/woman-with-horse-300x198.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}