Christians! : What would you do if....

[VermilionUK]

Hypothetically speaking, and assuming God exists:
If you were demanded- by God - to kill an innocent child, would you do it?

[Jayhawker Soule]

That is an absolutely unanswerable question. In order for that to happen the God that I believe in could not exist because he would never ask such a thing. It would go against his nature completely and he says he cannot go against himself.

Abraham and Issac?

I believe that the Akedah, the "Binding of Isaac," is in fact a powerful narrative (midrash) against child sacrifice.

That said, if you're looking for a biblical answer, it would be: refuse until convinced otherwise.

[Pastor4Jesus]

I figured the atheists would be all over this condemning us for sure!

Not only the atheists...

The gods of old have my allegiance from here to Ragnarök... They also know that they would lose that allegiance if I were asked to do evil on their behalf.

Would yo consider killing the child evil? Or a better question may be how would you know that killing the child would be evil? Maybe the child is evil incarnate?

[Pastor4Jesus]

I answered yes. This was assuming that I knew it was God without any doubt what so ever. As you said God would send the child to heaven or stop him from being killed. I figured the atheists would be all over this condemning us for sure!

p4jc

Well, I doubt Atheists will be "all over this condemning" you - however, I am suprised at your response for several reasons and perhaps you would expand your answer to cover these points:
- The child has not done anything negative: ie: It has not sinned
- You are killing the child for no reason other than because God told you
- The child has been denied the chance of "real" physical life

Also, something that is puzzling me:
Why would you not say "no" to God's demands, what stops you from saying "no, I don't think the child deserves to die just because you demand it"?

But yes, an interesting mix of responses to the poll

Sorry I answered before seeing this. If God commanded me to kill the child I would have to suppose that Gods reasons superseded mine and seeing that I understand that God created the morals I obey I would have to slay the kid, and hope for the best.

[Pastor4Jesus]

I answered yes. This was assuming that I knew it was God without any doubt what so ever. As you said God would send the child to heaven or stop him from being killed. I figured the atheists would be all over this condemning us for sure!

p4jc

Well, I doubt Atheists will be "all over this condemning" you - however, I am suprised at your response for several reasons and perhaps you would expand your answer to cover these points:
- The child has not done anything negative: ie: It has not sinned
- You are killing the child for no reason other than because God told you
- The child has been denied the chance of "real" physical life

Also, something that is puzzling me:
Why would you not say "no" to God's demands, what stops you from saying "no, I don't think the child deserves to die just because you demand it"?

But yes, an interesting mix of responses to the poll

Besides the question as to how anyone knows " it was God without any doubt what so ever" why would God ask such a thing?
What kind of a moral force or model is a God that demands you do what you feel or even "know" to be wrong?
"Does the judge of all the earth do right" is still a good question.
It is a story the priest couldn't seem to part with long after child sacrifice had ceased to be a practice while the after life of the practice lived on in circumcision and other expressions.

Well still we must look at this as follows; First we have God creator of the universe and everything in in including your thoughts. The child may be an impostor or any manner of things, so in my consideration of everything I would think Gods morals and judgment perfect and are beyond reproach, therefore I would have to follow his commands. Interesting question though!

P4JC

[Coyotero]

The gods of old have my allegiance from here to Ragnarök... They also know that they would lose that allegiance if I were asked to do evil on their behalf.

Would yo consider killing the child evil? Or a better question may be how would you know that killing the child would be evil? Maybe the child is evil incarnate?

Good questions indeed, all of them!

My first point is thus, and I have said the same elsewhere on these boards: If ever I should make the decision to take a life, that person will be standing, They will be facing me, and they will be armed. Anything else would be an assassination, and therefore an abomination.

True evil exists, and men can posses it... I am not certain that children can. That is a good question. As for a child being "Evil Incarante" I do not believe such a thing to exist. Even the evilest of people are capable of noble emotions like love.

It may be a conflict betwixt my heathen worldview and your Christian one... I don't believe in any sort of penultimate good or evil. (I could go on discussing this dichotomy of good and evil with you for pages if you're game for it.)

For the sake of discussion, I'll take your proposition that a child is evil incarnate... My view is thus: The Goddess knows already that I would trade all of my days in the golden hall from now till the end of time to spare my hands the blood of a child. Furthermore, evil invites destruction, destruction invites chaos, and such systems are impossible to maintain. A being of such vile wickedness would likely be destroyed by it's own machinations in short order. Addtionally, the Goddess is a Goddess of love and love does, in fact, conquer all. Finally, if a God wants someone killed, they ought to be perfectly capable of accomplishing it themselves.

As a final point, if a child were truly, wholly evil, with the full comprehension of their actions, without remorse, love, or any sort of goodness. Would it still be a child? Could it even be called human?

[VermilionUK]

I think we're blurring the question.

If you were demanded- by God - to kill an innocent child, would you do it?

That is the only criteria for the question. The child is not "evil" or an "imposter" - it is entirely innocent. God promises nothing in return, He does not give His motives nor does He declare whether or not the child will go to heaven - any talk of him doing so would be an assumption, so I'd bear this in mind.

[Pastor4Jesus]

The child would be history if a true creator of the universe demanded his death, however his death would simply be another level of existence. I would kill myself if somehow I knew it was God asking me to do it, why not?

P4JC

[VermilionUK]

The child would be history if a true creator of the universe demanded his death, however his death would simply be another level of existence. I would kill myself if somehow I knew it was God asking me to do it, why not?

P4JC

Why not? Because your life is infinately valuable. In killing yourself, you would be throwing away your physical life, with the assumption of an instant heavely reward.

What if God didn't suggest that he would give you a reward/or the child a reward? Would you still do it? The criteria in the OP suggests nothing of a heavenly reward.

[Pastor4Jesus]

The child would be history if a true creator of the universe demanded his death, however his death would simply be another level of existence. I would kill myself if somehow I knew it was God asking me to do it, why not?

P4JC

Why not? Because your life is infinately valuable. In killing yourself, you would be throwing away your physical life, with the assumption of an instant heavely reward.

What if God didn't suggest that he would give you a reward/or the child a reward? Would you still do it? The criteria in the OP suggests nothing of a heavenly reward.

No you said it was God the creator of the universe that asked me to whack the kid. The everlasting life isn't a reward, its the order of things. If God said the child was going to go to a kind of hell and he wanted to kill the child for say the pleasure of killing I would have to decline because it would not be the God that I worship.

P4JC

[JoeyKnothead]

Worship or not, any god that asks me to kill a child will meet my wrath.