Would a Creator want it's creations to kill each other?

[KingOtter]

Most religions claim that they're derivative of a creator's intentions. Some kind of creator, in some type of way.

So in my drunken thought ramblings while I watch porn and gamble my gambling bankroll away the following thought creeped into my head. But first I must make some statements of apparent religious fact:

1. God/Creator cares about his creations.
2. God/Creator cares whether or not his creations believe He exists.

Any 'religion' that destroys of any Creator's creations (no matter their current beliefs) that can recognize a Creator robs the Creator of possible believers. Therefore, such a thing would be 'bad'.

He made us. Why would He want us to destroy each other? So any dogma that claims that destruction of any type of other creation that can believe in Him (since He obviously derives pleasure from that; He rewards it so well....eternal life, virgins, etc) that is intelligent enough to recognize a Creator must be invalid. After all, any of them could recognize the Creator at any time, so killing them before they have a chance to recognize Him would be a bad thing, no? Why not just evangelize them? Why kill them? Because some dude ate an apple he wasn't supposed to?

Even if THE ENEMY preached against your word, and stole your followers, would it be better to kill THE ENEMY's followers, or continue to seek your own? HOW could THE ENEMY have a 'better message' than yours... ever? Because THE ENEMY appeals more to the basic instinctual drives that you implanted in your creations than Your Own Message? Why would You ever do that?

If not, we're all just fighting dogs in a pen, at which point it doesn't matter who wins.

Disclaimer: I'm an atheist. Some might call me an agnostic because I don't really believe a Creator can be 'known' unless he presents himself in an unquestionable manner. But I don't understand why a creator would ever present himself in a questionable manner, so I have no faith/belief in the judeo-christian god. I've not explored other belief systems.

[siegfriedandroy]

[ QUOTE ]
Most religions claim that they're derivative of a creator's intentions. Some kind of creator, in some type of way.

So in my drunken thought ramblings while I watch porn and gamble my gambling bankroll away the following thought creeped into my head. But first I must make some statements of apparent religious fact:

1. God/Creator cares about his creations.
2. God/Creator cares whether or not his creations believe He exists.

Any 'religion' that destroys of any Creator's creations (no matter their current beliefs) that can recognize a Creator robs the Creator of possible believers. Therefore, such a thing would be 'bad'.

He made us. Why would He want us to destroy each other? So any dogma that claims that destruction of any type of other creation that can believe in Him (since He obviously derives pleasure from that; He rewards it so well....eternal life, virgins, etc) that is intelligent enough to recognize a Creator must be invalid. After all, any of them could recognize the Creator at any time, so killing them before they have a chance to recognize Him would be a bad thing, no? Why not just evangelize them? Why kill them? Because some dude ate an apple he wasn't supposed to?

Even if THE ENEMY preached against your word, and stole your followers, would it be better to kill THE ENEMY's followers, or continue to seek your own? HOW could THE ENEMY have a 'better message' than yours... ever? Because THE ENEMY appeals more to the basic instinctual drives that you implanted in your creations than Your Own Message? Why would You ever do that?

If not, we're all just fighting dogs in a pen, at which point it doesn't matter who wins.

Disclaimer: I'm an atheist. Some might call me an agnostic because I don't really believe a Creator can be 'known' unless he presents himself in an unquestionable manner. But I don't understand why a creator would ever present himself in a questionable manner, so I have no faith/belief in the judeo-christian god. I've not explored other belief systems.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, in response to your title. but 'the wages of sin is death'. once sin entered the world, through the free choice of man, death inevitably and necessarily resulted. (thought of more to say while reading through your post, but that's it for now)

**btw, dont gamble your bankroll away when drunk (or ever) /images/graemlins/smile.gif ive been known to drink a dos equis once in awhile, and once lost 300+bb in a single day in the midst of a drunken episode. i did win an impossible and sweet pot though at a limit six times above my (then) regular one w/ 88 by betting and betting, betting and betting more drunkenly and foolishly in a pot where it was absolutely and definitely impossible that he could fold even if the hand was played and replayed in every dimension of every existing universe that then existed. wtf?? lol rolf hahaha funny when donks (like myself) criticize other donks for great play. lololol rofladfaj ...anyway, just meant in this postscript 'dont tilt your roll away'...recently i made a vow w/ god to never again gamble drunk. (i allow myself one hour of recovery per beer). also (part of the vow) i will never ever ever play at any given limit w/o at least 1000bb roll. ie if playing 20/40 i would need 40000. if ever in danger of losing one a single pot of 12 big bets that would drop me to 39999 i immediately would drop down, according to my vow. i suck at poker (and chess) and basketball so i will make approx 100k this year but oh well i know i am not a genius and money indeed determines my intelligence what the [censored] would it be like to have a 200 plus iq? i am like 55 points away, so i will never know. i suk i suk i suk. however in response to the initial verse way above 'there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'. my friend (who died on tues) is in heaven. we would never exist if there was truly 'nothing' 'in the beginning'.

**foster's time!! btw, ive been known to drink a fosters or two once in awhile so if you are ever in westwood we can drink and (not) watch porn (i gave that up too - part of the vow /images/graemlins/smile.gif ) and tilt away every last penny till we are down to 1000 bb at our limit /images/graemlins/smile.gif jk i guarantee i will quit poker when my roll is 7 figs cuz i dont even enjoy the game just want the woman i love to live comfortably forever por sempre eternamente. chess is FAR greater than poker though i dont like chess either. i am a 'C' player at chess (probably C- at poker) bye god bless

[arahant]

Well, i say 'yes'.
It may apply to all religions, but let's look at Christianity. Generally, people that die before having the opportunity to find God can get saved. So by killing them before they have the chance to reject God, we are doing them a big favor. When I think of all the poor children who might grow up and go to hell, it just makes me want to go out and commit infanticide. Or at least perform some abortions. I think this is probably what God would want.

In the case of animals, remember, God gave man dominion over all animals, so it is ok if we kill them and make them suffer for our benefit.

I hope this helps.

[Siegmund]

He wouldn't want them to kill indiscriminately, but there's no reason why he would consider 'killing for a reason' to be bad.

The arguments about having dominion over animals have already been made.

I will offer an analogy about other types of creative activity, which you may or may not find appropriate:

It is not unusual for an artist to create something, change his mind about it, and destroy it. Any idea how many scores of symphonies and manuscripts of operas have been burned? (Usually with the few 'good parts' their creators liked preserved.) That's sort of like the flood... maybe sort of like giving up on the garden of eden sometime after Adam and Eve were expelled from it but sometime before humans explored the earth and failed to re-discover it... maybe there had been whole races created and destroyed before Adam. Who knows.

It's also not unusual for an artist to create a dozen pencil sketches or plaster casts before he chooses one 'best one' to do in oils or in marble. He may even create several full-fledged 'finished versions' of a work and later seek to suppress all but one of them. Traditionally the artist did this choosing himself. Not always anymore. We have contests to design everything from new stamps to new state license plates to new World Trade Centers. The creators and the riffraff alike vote on which one they like best, and the others get buried in some drawer.

That's how the biological world works, too. Think you've created an animal with better genes? Each baby it has counts as one vote in favour of letting that be the animal of the future. Each one that gets killed by a predator, or otherwise expires before it reproduces, doesn't. Why can't God say, hey, I've got a few different ideas for how I'd like people to look, or what I'd like them to eat, or how I'd like them organized into tribes and countries... I'm gonna make some of each, sit back and watch how they do, and then pick the one I like best?

Hey, the story of how he'll pick the ones he likes best -- well, of how the apostle John thinks he'll pick them -- is even in Revelation.