Abraham's Test: Would You Pass?

[ThankQ]

This test assumes you believe in God. If you do not, I suppose you can answer this however you see fit.


The test should be pretty obvious. You honestly believe that God has communicated to you that he wishes you to sacrifice your child to Him. Do you do it? Do you kill your child as directed by God?

If the answer is yes, I'm also interested in what you think, if any, should be the earthly consequences resulting from your actions?

 

[Kemaiku]

Even if A) he existed and b) he directed me to sacrifice my child I would not. No matter what would happen because of that defiance.

 

[Jan]

The entire idea of blood sacrifice for any reason is so barbaric that I'd automatically assume that any entity requiring it couldn't possibly be the god who created atoms and solar systems and everything in between.

Jan

 

[RoJoHen]

The entire idea of blood sacrifice for any reason is so barbaric that I'd automatically assume that any entity requiring it couldn't possibly be the god who created atoms and solar systems and everything in between.

Jan

I might believe it, but I sure as hell wouldn't worship him.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

Yes.

Earthly consequences? I'd accept them.

 

[Kestra]

Yes, I believe in god, and no, I would never sacrifice my (hypothetical) child purely because god wished it.

 

[nevermore]

I would never blindly worship anything, let alone a blood-thirsty, vengeance-crazed megalomaniacal asshole.

 

[trampledamage]

I have two children. I am more likely to wage a war against heaven to save my children than I am to sacrifice one of them - no matter who's asking.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I would never blindly worship anything, let alone a blood-thirsty, vengeance-crazed megalomaniacal asshole.

I couldn't have said it better.
To the person who answered yes: what color is the sky in your world?

 

[auntiehill]

Blood red, I would imagine.

 

[Amaris]

When I was a devout Christian, I would have said no.
I have no belief in any god, but if I did, I would still say no.

The idea of sacrificing a child to a god? Monstrous.

 

[Danoz]

If I started hearing "God" tell me that I need to murder anyone (let alone a close family member) I would check myself into an insane asylum and tell them I was a severe risk factor.

One thing you should note, is that the story of Abraham has absolutely no value without putting it in context. It's a common belief that God was "testing Abraham's loyalty." However, seeing as how child sacrifice was a common practice in many cultures at this time, it was actually far more shocking that God "stopped" Abraham-- which served as a statement against human sacrifice. Seeing as how we don't live in an age where human sacrifice is commonplace, the entire story just comes off as completely nonsensical.

I'm not an apologist or anything, but I saw this on History channel and found it pretty interesting.

 

[RJDiogenes]

This is a pretty weird story. God tests Abraham's loyalty by commanding him to kill his own son, but he is only kidding; yet he considers Abraham loyal because he agreed to do this revolting thing without question. Nice guy, this God. Nice guy, this Abraham.

Me, I wouldn't kill a kid for anything. If the god were real, I'd defeat it and take over Heaven. If it wasn't, I'd check myself in for hearing voices.

 

[Jetfire]

When I was a devout Christian, I would have said no.
I have no belief in any god, but if I did, I would still say no.

The idea of sacrificing a child to a god? Monstrous.

Same.

 

[Plomeek Broth]

Considering we do not live in Old Testament times (when things were just a wee bit different), the question is not relevant to today's society. Apples to oranges.

 

[The Boy Who Cried Worf]

Well I don't believe in God, but yeah if I did and he asked I probably would. I figure him being omniscient and all he'd probably have a good reason. A more secular question might be something along the lines of if you knew your kid was going to grow up and become Hitler would you kill him?

 

[ThankQ]

Considering we do not live in Old Testament times (when things were just a wee bit different), the question is not relevant to today's society. Apples to oranges.

Well, you're right, and I don't want to make this a religious debate, but since many people seem to use the OT to support certain positions, I would say, to those people, posing this question is more than acceptable.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

God wouldn't do that. He knows my heart, and doesn't need me to kill anyone. I have nothing to prove. So the question is meaningless.

if you knew your kid was going to grow up and become Hitler would you kill him?

In that case, I'd be more likely to kill *myself*, since if my kid grew up to become the next Hitler it means that I seriously fucked up in raising him.

Hitler was a product of his upbringing. It's not *all* his father's fault, but a lot of it was. So if I somehow knew in advance what was going to happen, I'd work to change it. Raise the kid to NOT be Hitler.

 

[Plomeek Broth]

Considering we do not live in Old Testament times (when things were just a wee bit different), the question is not relevant to today's society. Apples to oranges.

Well, you're right, and I don't want to make this a religious debate, but since many people seem to use the OT to support certain positions, I would say, to those people, posing this question is more than acceptable.

It's all good. I laugh when I hear someone say they are going to go Old Testament on somebody . It's brutal and a lot different than the New Testament. If Abraham literally did this - wow. But this could also open the whole debate of whether everything in the Bible literally happened or is merely a parable, allegory, etc. Complicated stuff.

 

[Jetfire]

A more secular question might be something along the lines of if you knew your kid was going to grow up and become Hitler would you kill him?

No.

Because you know and now you can shape his future to become better.

Even if you couldn't...killing a child for something that have yet to do is horrible.