Have you ever been told that you're musically gifted because your family's just like that. It's a genetic thing. Kind of like my high cholesterol. Thanks, family. Well, what if there was a serial killer gene?

Welcome to another episode of The Unlovely Truth. I’m your host, private investigator Lori Morrison. Join me for another captivating true crime story, where physical, spiritual, and emotional safety takeaways are waiting for us. If you are listening, I believe you have a unique calling—to become a different kind of PI, not a typical private investigator, but a person of impact!

This is Season 4, Episode 29. Our book this week is The Murder Gene and we’re so blessed to have its author, Karen Spears Zacharias, as our guest.

I want to investigate Exodus 34:6-7 from the New Living Translation this week.

The Lord passed in front of Moses, calling out, “Yahweh! The Lord! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected—    even children in the third and fourth generations.”

This is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible, being referenced in other passages over 20 times. God is proclaimed to be amazingly loving and forgiving. Then comes the “but”. He is also just and unwilling to simply overlook sin. He forgives, yes - but there must be consequences for sin. I chose this translation because I love how it explains that when someone sins, the entire family is affected. I often talk about the ripple effects of sins and that certainly applies here. The idea that there may exist a so-called “murder gene” immediately made me think of this passage in a new way. What if that effect is more than just having people look at us differently, judging us for a relatives’ misdeeds? What if those misdeeds themselves affect how our genetic code expresses itself? Could that be one layer of God’s intended meaning here?

He knew all about the science of this WAY before we ever discovered it, so I think it’s certainly possible. Let me know what you think! Send me an email a [email protected] or message me on social media. I love it when people are willing to have those hard, but impactful conversations!

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Read an article on the "murder gene"

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