What if Christ Took a DNA Test? | Simon Francis Gaine, OP

Jesus Christ is not only truly God, but he is also truly human, the divine person of the Word in two natures, divine and human. This means that his true human nature is integral and complete, composed of an immaterial soul and a material body. While we believe as Catholics in the human reality of Jesus’ body, it is not a matter of faith that we confess certain facts about Jesus’ DNA, including the mere fact that his human body had and has DNA. Yet theology today has to grapple with the fact that Jesus had DNA, because we know since the discovery of the chemical’s full significance in the twentieth century, that DNA is a fundamental part of the life and genetic inheritance of earthly living things, ourselves, and Jesus, included. DNA testing by commercial companies is a way by which customers can have their DNA matched to relations and regional populations. This paper asks what would be the result of a DNA test taken by Jesus, with particular reference to the fact that Jesus had no biological father. It investigates the question of Jesus’ DNA from different theological perspectives, including the Thomistic tradition, and surveys possible solutions.