# Would you kill your child if God commanded it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 22, 2003, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412 "2003-12-22T05:31:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/21 "2003-12-22T07:28:39Z")
> [@](#): > > Let’s assume this theoretical God does exist. Perhaps He’d really be testing me–do I live by my principles or just blindly obey authority? Then, I would fail the test if I was willing to do what he asked. Precisely. If you can’t ever know the motives of an ineffable being, how can you ever really be sure what it’s up to when it does ANYTHING? If it’s testing you, then how can you EVER know what it really wants. At any time in the future, maybe even after it’s at first told you that you did great, chose right, etc., it could spin around and say that it was all part of an even bigger test that you just failed and hadn’t comprehended until it revealed it to you just now. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/22 "2003-12-22T07:43:44Z")
Where would he want this killing done? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/23 "2003-12-22T08:00:36Z")
I know exactly what to do in case you’re faced with an angry, murderous God. You stand your ground, look him straight in his omnipotent eye, and say: “What does God need with a starship?” ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/24 "2003-12-22T08:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > And then I’d quote him “Thou shalt not kill” citing the Ten Commandments in proper APA style There is no such commandment, so that wouldn’t get you far. The commandment is “Thou shalt not murder”, which was mistranslated in some early European Bibles. It couldn’t very well be “Thou shalt not kill” when in the next chapter it lists dozens of crimes for which the punishment is execution. As an aid to answering, consider that there is one account in the Bible of God accepting a human sacrifice of someone’s child. > [@](#): > > And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD : “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, 31 whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD 's, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.” > Then Jephthah went over to fight the Ammonites, and the LORD gave them into his hands. He devastated twenty towns from Aroer to the vicinity of Minnith, as far as Abel Keramim. Thus Israel subdued Ammon. > When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of tambourines! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh! My daughter! You have made me miserable and wretched, because I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.” > “My father,” she replied, “you have given your word to the LORD . Do to me just as you promised, now that the LORD has avenged you of your enemies, the Ammonites. But grant me this one request,” she said. “Give me two months to roam the hills and weep with my friends, because I will never marry.” > “You may go,” he said. And he let her go for two months. She and the girls went into the hills and wept because she would never marry. After the two months, she returned to her father and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. ---
**Author:** ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/25 "2003-12-22T08:17:03Z")
How could you tell it’s YHWH that told you to kill your child? Since you can’t - you don’t have a reference - how can you be sure? ---
**Author:** ![Kantalooppi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a5b964/32.png) [@Kantalooppi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kantalooppi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/26 "2003-12-22T08:39:05Z")
> [@](#): > > citing the Ten Commandments in proper APA style Okay, I have to know - who would be put as the author? Would it be ‘God’? I mean, consider the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/27 "2003-12-22T11:34:40Z")
I don’t have kids, so first God would have to produce one. If God (or someone passing itself off as Him) were to ask me to sacrifice any person to him, my response would be this: “God, you know I’m a Christian. As such, I believe Christ’s death on the cross was sufficient and complete atonement for the sins of the world. Therfore, God, I refuse to do so and you, whatever you are, can go and lick **Diogenes** ’s balls!” I do believe I should be obedient to God; I also believe that, having been given the gift of free will, I should use that gift and others which have been given me, and not use “I was just obeying orders” as an excuse to do what I know is wrong. CJ ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/28 "2003-12-22T12:26:01Z")
Well I wouldn’t kill my son… but my mother in law yes ! Would that make me a bad christian ? 🙂 Or a “weak opportunistic” one ? (I am not a christian… but fine… ) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/29 "2003-12-22T12:43:50Z")
If God said to me, “Kill me a son” I’d say, “Man, you must be puttin’ me on” If God say, “No.” I say, “What?” God say, “You can do what you want boy, but The next time you see me comin’ you better run” Well I’ll say, “Where do you want this killin’ done?” God say, “Out on Highway 61.” ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/30 "2003-12-22T13:35:25Z")
I would not kill my daughter if God commanded it. God is capable of killing her himself, if he wants her dead, he can kill her. What is more, according to the religion I grew up with, I believed in him and his son and asked once for his forgiveness and that results in a pardon good for all time. I was taught John 3:16 is a nice little contract. A more interesting question to me is this: If God commanded someone to kill his or her child, that someone did, should society send them to jail or death as if for any other crime? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/31 "2003-12-22T13:47:18Z")
> [@](#): > > A more interesting question to me is this: If God commanded someone to kill his or her child, that someone did, should society send them to jail or death as if for any other crime? If that person can get God to take the stand in their defence then no. If not then they are just another killer. Probably crazy so they don’t deserve death, but they should certainly be locke dup for the good of society. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/32 "2003-12-22T14:34:18Z")
If God wants someone dead, let him do it himself. If He kills, or has someone kill, my child, then I will spend the rest of eternity waiting for that moment when He lets His guard down for a moment, and then I will pay Him back in kind. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/33 "2003-12-22T14:38:55Z")
**NO.FUCKING.WAY.** ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/34 "2003-12-22T14:49:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Quasimodal \* > \*\*Abe wouldn’t be able to, but the question was what would I do in that situation. God’s got a papertrail now to watch out for. \*\* Touche. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/35 "2003-12-22T14:56:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NDP \* > \*\*Where would he want this killing done? \*\* Out on Highway 61, of course. 😃 > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by lee_ > **A more interesting question to me is this: If God commanded someone to kill his or her child, that someone did, should society send them to jail or death as if for any other crime?** Absolutely they should go to prison. The law makes no exception for divine commandments, even if they can somehow be proven authentic. God would have to be charged as well. God is not above the law. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/36 "2003-12-22T15:15:57Z")
My heavenward gaze would turn to a :dubious: and I’d wait for the punch line. “Nah, I’m just shitting you, 'luc! Not my style. By the way, that getting lucky at the Xmas party? That was a fluke. You can stop thanking Me.” ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/37 "2003-12-22T15:29:35Z")
OK, here’s an answer for you. The answer is no, but not for the reasons that you are all thinking. Firstly, there is the point that **MaceMan** brought up that my God would not ask such a thing of me. He might ask it of Abraham, since he was a much greater individual than I, and knew that there was a possibility that he could pass such a test (and let’s not forget that, in the end, it was only a test). I, OTOH, could not pass such a test, and He knows that. Secondly, in Jewish tradition, prophecy does not exist anymore and will not again until the messianic age. So, I know that if I hear God talking to me; I should probably start looking in the Yellow pages under “psychiatrists.” Thirdly, even if I did receive such instructions, and even if I didn’t believe I were crazy, I would still seek rabbinic guideance [if for no other reason that I don’t know how to slaughter anything properly]. As such, any rabbinic leader whom I went to would discourage me from following through with this deed. (Indeed, Jepthah is roundly criticized in Rabbinic literature because he could have had his vow annulled and didn’t. And even if he didn’t he still wouldn’t have had to sacrifice his daughter.) Fourthly, and most importantly, I am the father of three (IMHO) wonderful children. I could not (echoing back to my first point) harm them for anything in the world. God may as well ask me to walk to the moon. It’s simply a test I cannot pass. Not because I don’t want to obey God’s command, but simply because I could not harm my own children. Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/38 "2003-12-22T15:41:32Z")
Doesn’t God command the Levites, in exodus, to kill their families because of the golden calf incident? My memory is really fuzzy here, so I can’t be certain this is accurate-but I could swear it is. This wasn’t a test to see if they would do it either, because (again, IIRC) they went out and did it. Again keep in mind that this is an imprecise recollection, it would seem to me that this sort of behavior was expected from God, during ancient times. So putting myself in an ancient’s shoes (without knowledge of schitzophrenia and the like), I probably would kill my first born if I heard voices that _I thought were from God_. Now-a-days I know better, so I’d just check myself into a mental institution. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/39 "2003-12-22T15:49:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Urban Ranger \* > \*\*How could you tell it’s YHWH that told you to kill your child? Since you can’t - you don’t have a reference - how can you be sure? \*\* How did Abraham know? ---
**Author:** ![Capt\_B.Phart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Capt\_B.Phart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt_B.Phart)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412/40 "2003-12-22T15:59:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*Again keep in mind that this is an imprecise recollection, it would seem to me that this sort of behavior was expected from God, during ancient times. \*\* So you’re saying God’s getting _less_ right-wing as he gets older? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by IWLN \*\*\* > God didn’t commit adultry. Gimme a break!_\* So how do you explain those condoms Mrs God found when she took his robes to be dry-cleaned [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-kill-your-child-if-god-commanded-it/220412.md?page=3)