I posed this question on CARM a while ago. After 68 views, no answers. (Other than a few wise cracks from atheists. Maybe you guys can help me out:
Evil or good? You decide.
The year is 2110. You are watching the security monitors at a day-care center. Everything's fine, until _____ walks in and begins to kill all the children! This being 2110, the monitoring equipment is able to read _____'s mind. Here is the official transcript of _____'s thoughts as he entered the building:
"I want to be famous. I want to show everyone that I am powerful. And since I am _____, I can kill all these children to accomplish my goals and it is good."
Now, please tell me, was killing all the children in that day-care an evil action, or a good action? The lie detection feature verifies that _____ honestly believed that it was good.
If you need more information about this case, just ask. I have access to all the transcripts and video evidence, including who the parents were and what the children would have done if they had not been killed that day (state-of-the-art What-If technology ), in case you need to know that sort of thing.
Oh, about those blanks: You can discuss whether you need to know the identity of the child-killer before you can answer the question.
So is the basic question here whether or not it's a good thing the children were killed since their killing guarantees heaven? I've heard this related to abortion.
You said you have information on what the children's future would have been...care to share?
So is the basic question here whether or not it's a good thing the children were killed since their killing guarantees heaven? I've heard this related to abortion.
You said you have information on what the children's future would have been...care to share?
Well, that's a red herring (far as my "angle" goes ), but here ya go:
Little Johnny would have grown up to be a respected Pentecostal preacher, who never falls into sin (of any significance), never deviates from the doctrines of his denomination (UPCI, as it turns out), and is well loved by everyone in his congregation.
Little Nancy would have grown up to be a serial killer, and the subject of a hypothetical in another Timmy Talk post.
Little Georgie would have grown up to be the first President of the United States that had absolutely no detractors or enemies of any kind, either in the US or in foreign lands.
Little ... well, you get the idea. It's a mixed bag.
So. Does that matter? Was it evil to kill the kids that would have turned out good, but good to kill the future serial killer, e.g.?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
So is the basic question here whether or not it's a good thing the children were killed since their killing guarantees heaven? I've heard this related to abortion.
You said you have information on what the children's future would have been...care to share?
BTW, no, that's not really the basic question -- whether it's a good thing because it guarantees they all go to heaven. But you can certainly discuss that aspect, if you like. The only question is this: was it evil or good to kill those kids?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
BTW, no, that's not really the basic question -- whether it's a good thing because it guarantees they all go to heaven. But you can certainly discuss that aspect, if you like. The only question is this: was it evil or good to kill those kids?
I guess a good question here would be, if it were your kids who were murdered, would you consider it good or evil?
Who, me? I consider it evil, no matter whose kids they were!
Well, I think I'd go along with you, there. So you're saying that if you knew for certain with this future-knowledge-machine thing you've invented, that your kids would eventually serial killers, you'd still consider it evil? Just makin' sure where you stand on this.
For me, my position here is, it's evil to kill a child regardless of his/her future.
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Last edited by notofworks; 11-30-2010 at 07:50 PM.
Well, I think I'd go along with you, there. So you're saying that if you knew for certain with this future-knowledge-machine thing you've invented, that your kids would eventually serial killers, you'd still consider it evil? Just makin' sure where you stand on this.
For me, my position here is, it's evil to kill a child regardless of his/her future.
Just wait till I invent the time machine and send you back to one-month-old Adolf Hitler's nursery, in 1889! With a gun!
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Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Just wait till I invent the time machine and send you back to one-month-old Adolf Hitler's nursery, in 1889! With a gun!
So this gets us to the predestination argument.....is it predetermined what we will be or do we all have the opportunity for good? One of the common pro-abortion arguments is, "In the dysfunctional environment in which this child will be raised, are we doing him/her a favor with the abortion?"
As far as Hitler goes, what if there had been no Hitler? Was the holocaust only his fault? Could/would it have happened without him? He wasn't the only psycho and there always seem to be plenty of psychos read to go into action. Crazy leaders of nations have been around since the beginning of time, it seems. Some argue this in the case of outing Sadaam Hussein. We knock him out, another will take his place.
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Last edited by notofworks; 12-01-2010 at 10:46 AM.
So this gets us to the predestination argument.....is it predetermined what we will be or do we all have the opportunity for good? One of the common pro-abortion arguments is, "In the dysfunctional environment in which this child will be raised, are we doing him/her a favor with the abortion?"
As far as Hitler goes, what if there had been no Hitler? Was the holocaust only his fault? Could/would it have happened without him? He wasn't the only psycho and there always seem to be plenty of psychos read to go into action. Crazy leaders of nations have been around since the beginning of time, it seems. Some argue this in the case of outing Sadaam Hussein. We knock him out, another will take his place.
Very good questions, all. But we're getting side tracked.
What I would really like to know, from this little exercise, is this: if all the facts of a case are available to us except for the identity of the one doing the action, can we say whether the action was evil (a sin, if you prefer) or not?
__________________
Hebrews 13:23 Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty
Maybe you guys can help me out:
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