Article May 18, 1998 Issue

You can't be duplicated

There's no one else quite like you.

By Eliot Dixon Glaser

When I was quite young, I was momentarily unable to distinguish between my mother and her twin sister during a trip our two families took together. I still get teased about it. Since then, I've come to know and appreciate the unique qualities expressed by both my mom and my aunt. The two of them are most decidedly individual and distinct. Despite growing up in an age when identical twins were usually treated as copies of each other, they overcame that stereotype.

This experience reminds me to dig deeper than superficial, genetic similarities when pondering the nature of individuality. In the light of the attention focused on artificially creating genetic copies of animals—and potentially humans—understanding what really constitutes an individual's identity takes on even greater importance.

I feel that Christ Jesus spoke of God's infinite appreciation of and care for all God's creatures in these words: "Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered" (Luke 12:6, 7). Even apparently insignificant things have permanent identities. For something to exist, God has to conceive of it, and He never forgets what He creates. The fundamental nature of reality, then, is mental and spiritual, not physical.

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