If your deity asked you to kill your child, would you do it?

[Taylor Seraphim]

Why? What's wrong with murder?

I'm serious. I can think of three main things that are wrong with murder, normally:

1. Inflicting pain on others is a form of harm in its own right.
2. Robbing someone of their life deprives them of something valuable.
3. Deciding for someone else when they should die robs them of autonomy.

But...

1. There are painless ways to kill people.
2. If the victim will go to Heaven, then the transition to the afterlife earlier than it would have happened otherwise represents a net benefit, not a net cost.
3. We allow parents to compromise their children's autonomy anyhow.

So if a parent really is certain that their kids will go to Heaven and doesn't believe that God forbids killing them, why shouldn't the parent kill their kids by some painless method?

Because if they thought that then the religion would have died out and we would not have to deal with it today.

 

[savagewind]

I do not know, why do you think anything is actually from your god?

I do not think anything is "actually" from God.
Why do I think something I know is from God? Not from but of. I believe some things I know are really of God because I can't deny the existence of greatness. Unless I am dreaming, I know there is something going on around us. That there is something going on means to me that there must be a pinnacle associated with it. The pinnacle is God.

 

[Taylor Seraphim]

I do not think anything is "actually" from God.
Why do I think something I know is from God? Not from but of. I believe some things I know are really of God because I can't deny the existence of greatness. Unless I am dreaming, I know there is something going on around us. That there is something going on means to me that there must be a pinnacle associated with it. The pinnacle is God.

So your basically saying that the things in nature you do not understand is god?

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Because if they thought that then the religion would have died out and we would not have to deal with it today.

That's where God's command comes into play. Generally, the religions that preach a Heaven that's better than life on Earth also preach that God forbids murder. If this wasn't the case, it would be rational - and arguably the caring, responsible thing to do - for parents to kill their children.

 

[Taylor Seraphim]

That's where God's command comes into play. Generally, the religions that preach a Heaven that's better than life on Earth also preach that God forbids murder. If this wasn't the case, it would be rational - and arguably the caring, responsible thing to do - for parents to kill their children.

There proabaly was a group like that historically that did not last long.

Hell, look at the heaven's gate cult AKA Koolaid church.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

There proabaly was a group like that historically that did not last long.

Hell, look at the heaven's gate cult AKA Koolaid church.

There are plenty of religions that preach a Heaven that's better than Earth and that God forbids killing.

 

[Taylor Seraphim]

There are plenty of religions that preach a Heaven that's better than Earth and that God forbids killing.

*groans*

I was referring to the groups that does not involve the no killing part.

 

[savagewind]

So your basically saying that the things in nature you do not understand is god?

No. I see supernatural things often. Nature and supernatural are different.

edit: Also, I did not say I do not understand the supernatural.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

*groans*

I was referring to the groups that does not involve the no killing part.

I guess it's a good thing that the groups who consider Heaven better generally think that God forbids murder.

 

[Sleeppy]

Yes, I would.

God is God, foremost. When God commands and/or expects something to be done, it is done without exception. There is no free will, not even in God's hands.

We see this type of thing everyday. We saw it in the past (Numbers 31, for the Abrahamics), and we'll see it in the future (you're most likely a proponent of war). So, while anyone can go through this thread and express hopes that children are always safe from their parents, the truth is, children have always suffered abuses according to what already exists beyond time.

 

[use_your_brain]

I risk my life (sacrifice) to save that child. I had no reservations. No fear of hell. No fear of wrath of god. That does not cross my mind in any situation where I can save a life. It is selfish for me to think of myself (keeping promises to god. Wanting to go to heaven) at the expense at another persons life.

God's commandment is a contradiction. How can anyone love a creator that does not value the life he creates?

you were not in the condition where the God commanded the choice namely you choose His commandment or save the child. What kind of His commandment in your case?

 

[use_your_brain]

Why do you think heaven and hell exist?

My religion tells me so.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

you were not in the condition where the God commanded the choice namely you choose His commandment or save the child. What kind of His commandment in your case?

I dont understand exactly what you mean.

I dont need a deity to act to save another person's life. I dont need instructions or an instructor to tell me killing or letting that child get hit by a car is wrong (by reasons I mentioned to another poster).

God didnt command me to do anything. If I listened to the god you are talking about, if he tells me not to save that child, id have to watch her get hit.

Let me burn in hell so a child lives. Force obedience shouldnt be over unconditional love and sacrifice.

I dont know Islam view. It doesnt sound right to my ears.

 

[use_your_brain]

I dont understand exactly what you mean.

I dont need a deity to act to save another person's life. I dont need instructions or an instructor to tell me killing or letting that child get hit by a car is wrong (by reasons I mentioned to another poster).

God didnt command me to do anything. If I listened to the god you are talking about, if he tells me not to save that child, id have to watch her get hit.

Let me burn in hell so a child lives. Force obedience shouldnt be over unconditional love and sacrifice.

I dont know Islam view. It doesnt sound right to my ears.

Does God forbid us to save the child, from car crash for instance?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Yes, I would.

God is God, foremost. When God commands and/or expects something to be done, it is done without exception. There is no free will, not even in God's hands.

We see this type of thing everyday. We saw it in the past (Numbers 31, for the Abrahamics), and we'll see it in the future (you're most likely a proponent of war). So, while anyone can go through this thread and express hopes that children are always safe from their parents, the truth is, children have always suffered abuses according to what already exists beyond time.

That's a really deep post that calls for a lot of reflection. Well done.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Does God forbid us to save the child, from car crash for instance?

I dont know. Whose god? I have to be honest, if any god wants me to kill my son or myself out of obedience, that type of god I wouldnt associate with. In other words, it wouldnt matter given what he commanded. Huge contradiction.

 

[Draka]

Honestly, if something presented itself as a deity and commanded that I kill a child I'd have to say that isn't a deity worth honoring. If a deity at all. I'd refuse. Rather be possibly punished by a psychopath than loved by one.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

If your deity asked you to kill your child would you do it?

Namaste,

That is a no from me. Being a Hindu the worst a "Deity", can do to me for disobedience is..........nothing..lol

And what about you, if your child was in immense pain from some sort of illness which has not got a cure and asks you to end the suffering and pain and to stop the misery by killing them, would you do it?, if i have to ask myself this questions i would say, I don't know, and i won't know unless such a situation arises.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Some of the answers I've seen here are, quite frankly, disturbing. To answer the question for myself: I would not and I'd be astonished if any of the gods I worship asked such a thing of me. I'd refuse out of principal and would most likely walk away from them out of disgust. Dionysus is the one god I worship for whom human sacrifice would seem not too beyond the realm of his character or historical cult - that said, I'd still refuse to do it.

No god worthy of worship by free men would demand such a thing. A god who makes slaves of his or her worshippers might ask such a thing, perhaps.

Speaking for myself, my Goddess is beyond all dualities. "Aum Hrim Chandikayai Namah" means "I bow to Her Who tears apart all dualities". My religion has a strict non-dual view of reality and the Cosmos. She is beyond all notions of good and evil. All opposites are dissolved in Her infinite black void of existence. So all things are Hers. All the terror, all the bliss, all the death, all the suffering, all the bliss, all the love, all the war, all the violence, all the peace, all the disease, etc. She is light but She is also the black hole that consumes all light. We are Her slaves and playthings, but we are also free in Her. So one's calling from Her could be as a peace activist and another's calling from Her could be to commit acts of slaughter.

These are harsh truths, but it's the best representation of reality as it is that I have thus yet found. Meditating on such things can drive you insane. One of Her most revered devotees, Sri Ramakrishna, apparently did go insane for a long period of his life due to his devotion to Maha Kali. However, in this insanity, one can find bliss and stillness.("Insanity" is a subjective thing, anyway. Anyone acting outside of the expectations of the culture at large can be branded "insane".)

I don't expect most people to understand these things. The human psyche seems to have built up certain walls against such things to protect itself. However, Kali wants to help you destroy those walls and burn your ego to ashes.

 

[Deidre]

No.