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[Soadreqm]

We've looked ahead to all the possibilities we can see, and there's absolutely nothing that can go wrong.

If I did not know that you would never stoop to such subterfuge, I might, for a moment, believe that this is a sarcastic remark. 0_0

Also, you just reminded me of that essay by Aaron Diaz, (who is the Caveman Science Fiction guy from page one,) so I'm going to see if I can dig it up.

[The Transcendent Tyrant]

I never understood the Garden of Eden story.

If man had no concept of good or evil then how would he know if it was a good or bad idea to listen to God? Complete innocence means complete ignorance, so of course it's possible for a woman to be tricked by a serpent (there is no bias towards listening to a serpent or to a god if you have no idea which is good or evil).

That's a good point, and it makes me glad I used "Don't play in God's domain" instead of "Don't play God."  Man doesn't have the luxury of being omniscient, and must be careful and conservative about what he does.  "Don't play God" is a valid statement.  In more secular terms, "You don't know everything, so don't act like you do."

"Don't meddle in God's domain" isn't valid, for the reasons I said above.

It's never used in that way, however, it's always used in a way to suggest that man should be limited to what's considered our "natural boundaries". Which I find ridiculous.

If something is created in the image of an infinitely powerful being, then surely it also has infinite potential?

P.S. I learnt alongside a lot of Fundamentalist Christians, and these questions always baffled them. :p It was the Muslims I had trouble with. Damn that whole "Man was created to worship God" line.

[Soadreqm]

Also, you just reminded me of that essay by Aaron Diaz, (who is the Caveman Science Fiction guy from page one,) so I'm going to see if I can dig it up.

Hooray!

[Eagleon]

P.S. I learnt alongside a lot of Fundamentalist Christians, and these questions always baffled them. :p It was the Muslims I had trouble with. Damn that whole "Man was created to worship God" line.

This idea always made me chuckle. What kind of an egotist, no matter how smart, wants something like this? What kind of a person, no matter how powerful, deserves it?  It's always seemed so arbitrary - creating something to respect you has as much meaning to others as creating something to walk in a straight line and quack like a duck. The only difference in God's case is that there is no other equal presented to contradict the meaning he attributes to things, but ontologically he still doesn't escape the question of whether that meaning is truly relevant.

[Zangi]

Given the option/ability to play god?

I WILL DO IT and damn you naysayers to a special place.

[Kogan Loloklam]

I agree that man should be able to advance to godlike potential. I am living in the late 19th century and believe that there is absolutely no long-term downsides to the amount of coal being burned around me to maintain my lifestyle as a proper and forward-thinking individual. The whale oil I use to light my house comes from a population that will never run out. Mankind's understanding of the universe isn't entirely complete, but we have a good idea of what we're getting into with all of these advances. We've looked ahead to all the possibilities we can see, and there's absolutely nothing that can go wrong.

Even those pesky Christians are coming around to the ideas of the infallibility of progress.

Going into the 20th Century will bring us a bright future with no wars, and brighter prospects for all.

They knew about Black lung and pollution in the 19th century. Overhunting and population damage has been known since prehistoric times. Even today we understand some fundamental concepts of the universe.

Know what a better example of playing god was? The slaughter of the Buffalo in the Indian Wars conflict.

[Zangi]

"Me am kill buffalo for fun!"

"You am play gods! Everything die!"

[RedKing]

Except that one of the preferred hunting methods of Plains Indians was to herd buffalo into running over the lip of a canyon, then climbing down and pulling chunks out of the carnage at the bottom. Incredibly wasteful in terms of animals killed vs. quantity of useable meat extracted.

The difference was they weren't able to do so on an industrial scale.

[Zangi]

Compared to shooting em and not even using the meat? 

Yea.  We are going to get nowhere here.

[Leafsnail]

Know what a better example of playing god was? The slaughter of the Buffalo in the Indian Wars conflict.

Doesn't really seem like "playing god" - killing animals isn't a particularly difficult or odd thing to do.  Sure, it's a rather shortsighted thing to do, but...

[RedKing]

Know what a better example of playing god was? The slaughter of the Buffalo in the Indian Wars conflict.

Doesn't really seem like "playing god" - killing animals isn't a particularly difficult or odd thing to do.  Sure, it's a rather shortsighted thing to do, but...

Agreed. It's more of a scorched earth tactic. It wasn't like they said, "Hey...we can build a ladder to the moon out of buffalo carcasses! Nothing can wrong there!"
They knew exactly what they were doing - depriving the Indians of a primary food source to try and break their resistance.

[Criptfeind]

I can see how that's useful for keeping ancient nomadic people under the control of the priests, but... for today?

Your pretty silly if you think anything has changed.

[Willfor]

They knew about Black lung and pollution in the 19th century. Overhunting and population damage has been known since prehistoric times. Even today we understand some fundamental concepts of the universe.

If you were trying to disprove my point, you did a very good job of it. If you were trying to advocate that man is suitable for playing God, then you have done a really shitty job, and you should feel bad. Just saying, bro.

[Itnetlolor]

Know what a better example of playing god was? The slaughter of the Buffalo in the Indian Wars conflict.

Doesn't really seem like "playing god" - killing animals isn't a particularly difficult or odd thing to do.  Sure, it's a rather shortsighted thing to do, but...

Agreed. It's more of a scorched earth tactic. It wasn't like they said, "Hey...we can build a ladder to the moon out of buffalo carcasses! Nothing can wrong there!"
They knew exactly what they were doing - depriving the Indians of a primary food source to try and break their resistance.

I think a more proper Scorched Earth tactic is either drop a nuke or take advantage of the wrap-around walls, and fling a Death's Head at 1000 power and a sharp angle.

Spoiler: A more proper Scorched Earth tactic (click to show/hide)

Make good use of those Spring walls, my friend.

[Eugenitor]

If you really want to play God, use the Funky Bomb.