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[The Transcendent Tyrant]

I don't get this saying.

At least, I don't get it when it's said by Christians. :|

I mean, doesn't it say in the Bible (and I think the Torah too, not the Qur'an though) that "God created man in his own image"? That doesn't just mean we look like some giant bearded face in the sky, does it? It means we possess the qualities embodied by God himself and the responsiblities that go along with it. So, surely, it's man's job to play God, right?

Can anyone explain why people (who, as a general thing, are Christians) argue with me with the saying that man shouldn't play God, then?

[Kogan Loloklam]

I think it's a respect your elders issue, and I guess the concept of children should be seen and not heard.

Not letting children play with powertools and all that....

[ed boy]

There are mayn ways to interpret it, but I tend to interpret it along the lines of "there are things which you can do, and things which you can do responsibly, and surprisingly little overlap".

It's basically about being modest enough to know that you do not know the best way to do things, and thus avoiding acting like you do and doing something bad.

[RedKing]

Yeah, I think it's more of a caution against hubris, especially when TEH SCIENCE is involved. Not unleashing forces beyond mortal comprehension and all that.

Oh, and just because it's obligatory:

Spoiler: ME AM PLAY GODS! (click to show/hide)

[Ephemeriis]

The whole "man should not play god" thing is generally rolled out when you're talking about fancy medical science stuff like cloning and genetic modification.  The general idea is that only god should be creating life.

If you look at Genesis you'll see that while we may have been created "in his image", we were not really intended to be godlike.  That's where the whole apple thing comes in.  It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and we weren't supposed to eat from it.

So it's fairly obvious that, at least from a biblical perspective, we were never intended to be on an even playing field with god.  We were created to be subservient, obedient pets.  We were not supposed to know good and evil.  We were just supposed to live blissfully in our garden and praise our creator.  And then Eve went and screwed it all up.

Personally, any time I've heard that whole "man should not play god" thing it rings in my ears like some abusive husband telling his wife to get back in the kitchen.  It's an arbitrary limitation imposed by somebody with authority upon somebody else to keep them in their place.

[Duke 2.0]

 Calls back to the Greek Pantheon as well. Nothing good ever happens when a mortal tries to act godlike.

 And we were so close to keeping this thread good. So close.

[Dakk]

Meh, I'm one of those wacky people that think that if we can possibly turn humanity in a race of super intelligent immortal beings with control over the very building blocks of life and matter, why not try? Its not like God is doing anything special anyway

[RedKing]

Personally, any time I've heard that whole "man should not play god" thing it rings in my ears like some abusive husband telling his wife to get back in the kitchen.  It's an arbitrary limitation imposed by somebody with authority upon somebody else to keep them in their place.

To play devil's advocate here (God's advocate?), you could argue that it's more like a parent telling their 2-year old not to play with matches. Yes, the adult gets to play with matches, but that's because we're (hopefully) more mature and careful because we more fully comprehend the danger.

[Eugenitor]

fuckin' sigged

[Muz]

IMO, it's about people who think they have Godlike rights. Man shouldn't have the right to determine who lives and who dies, that kind of responsibility is in the hands of God. So if God mandates that murderers be killed, that's fine. It also counts for things like privacy - some people claim that privacy isn't a right because God sees everything that you do anyway. But man is not God and shouldn't be able to see what God does.

Ephemeriis said the rest of what I would.

Personally, any time I've heard that whole "man should not play god" thing it rings in my ears like some abusive husband telling his wife to get back in the kitchen.  It's an arbitrary limitation imposed by somebody with authority upon somebody else to keep them in their place.

To play devil's advocate here (God's advocate?), you could argue that it's more like a parent telling their 2-year old not to play with matches. Yes, the adult gets to play with matches, but that's because we're (hopefully) more mature and careful because we more fully comprehend the danger.

It's more like a 3-year old telling a 2-year old not to play with matches.

[Duke 2.0]

 Still, it's not as arbitrary as Ephemeriis makes it out to be. One way a person can take these is advancing ourselves 'till these things are no longer godlike. Electricity would be considered godlike a thousand years ago, and they likely wouldn't know what to do with it. Then you have stuff like gunpowder where you know it'll be used as irresponsibly as we have used it. We shouldn't play with things that we cannot handle, as we could hurt ourselves. We should play human, working with what we understand.

[Itnetlolor]

I always thought of the whole "Created in God's image" thing in the sense of "If we've been created in God's image, then we're as much gods as He is one of us.". An unfortunate thought about that is, last time God was one of us, we listened to him for a good while, then killed him after we were through with Him. Not only that, but also tortured the crap outta Him before killing Him.

Now imagine if we had the same capabilities God has, or has bestowed us. If we killed God as Man, then it's no wonder wars have been fought pretty much constantly, or why power has been so valuable to people over the ages. You have the title of a god, then you call the shots. Or at least, that's the common concept people have had since creation. It's unfortunate that "The power of God" is treated more like an entitlement, rather than a privilege. The best example of that I can think of at the moment is politics and celebrity behavior. To be a god is like playing the game. You just lost it.

[Creaca]

"Don't play God" should only ever be uttered in B-Movies to the scientist who created the Rabid-Flying-Amphibious-Sharks that were created to clean up oilspills before he releases them on the world.

[DJ]

If you look at Genesis you'll see that while we may have been created "in his image", we were not really intended to be godlike.  That's where the whole apple thing comes in.  It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and we weren't supposed to eat from it.

Oh please, why did He put the tree in the garden if He didn't intend Adam and Eve to eat from it? Forbidding them to do so is just basic reverse psychology.

[Itnetlolor]

If you look at Genesis you'll see that while we may have been created "in his image", we were not really intended to be godlike.  That's where the whole apple thing comes in.  It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and we weren't supposed to eat from it.

Oh please, why did He put the tree in the garden if He didn't intend Adam and Eve to eat from it? Forbidding them to do so is just basic reverse psychology.

That thought gave me a interesting thought to go along with that as well. What if God and the Devil have never really been at war with each other, but instead, have been playing us like a succession game or something. I mean, God had to have created the Devil as well, and despite the whole "fallen angel" status that was carried by the Devil, things would be carried more as a friendly rivalry, than as a full-blown war between Heaven and Hell with Earth as the chosen battlefield. Everything needs a purpose, and last I recall, Hell had more purpose as a prison (or "Time Out Zone") for demons, than fallen Man that have done much wrong.