Humans as Creators of "Life" in a Philosophical-Theological Perspective

Due to current developments in synthetic biology, the question if humans can "create life" has arisen as an issue of public concern. The traditional idea of humanity "playing god" finds expression in many legends and myths. After a short overview on some of these, I will turn to analyze philosophically and theologically whether we should consider ourselves as "co-creators" given our new technical abilities-and what this would mean in ethical terms. I will then argue for an anthropology of humans as creators of the living and an ethics of creation based on natural theological reasoning and eschatological imagination.