Christian parents should feel obligated to kill their children.
Christianity as a whole has countless different beliefs and interpretations of the Bible, for this debate I am defining a Christian as someone who believes the following:
Hell is a real place where torture occurs.
Children in general, or baptized children are granted into Heaven automatically.
Sinners can repent their sin, and through faith in Christ can be redeemed.
My argument is that a parent, by killing their child, will guaranty that child entrance into heaven and avoid any risk of torture. The parent can then repent for their sin and live the rest of their life as a Christian redeemed through Christ's sacrifice, eventually reuniting with their child and live eternally in bliss, ever illuminated by the shinning glory of God.
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Update:
I now regret this debate as I have surely lost. Atrag has made the very compelling argument that any Christian who believed strongly enough to kill their child would refuse to do so as it would break God's law.
Also those who have less conviction in their faith should logically kill their children to prevent the possibliity of Hell, but they don't really believe strongly enough to actually kill their child.
True
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False
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It's not the only solution to the problem, but I have to agree that it indeed is a simple, yet effective strategy for assuring entrance to heaven. Furthermore this policy also ensures that the entire human race leaves earth in the timeframe of a single generation. This is good, because then we humans won't have to live in suffering on this evil planet; as you know Christianity teaches that this life is basically punishment, and we have to mutulate ourselves to the greatest possible extent in order to escape. So if there's an easy to solution to this problem, yours might just be the easiest. Side: True
Although a good Christian should love God more than their children so wouldn't offend God by committing murder (even if the save their children), the fact is that there are many bad Christians and it is normal for them to love their children more than they love God. Therefore, it does make perfect sense for them to kill their children to send them to heaven rather than risking hell. I think the reason why they don't do it is because 1) They're selfish, would miss their children, and fear jail 2) deep down they know that hell may be just a story and doesn't may not really exist so why would they kill their children to avoid it. Side: True
So if they truly believe enough to commit murder, they wouldn't do it in accordance with God's law Exactly. If they don't take the Bible seriously enough they logically should murder their children, but don't believe strongly enough to do so. Its not that they'd have to not take the Bible seriously enough to murder their children but rather than they would have to not love God as much as they should (i.e. less than they love their children). But yeah then I suspect they don't believe strongly enough in heaven/hell to actually go through with it. Side: True
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I disagree with this conclusion. I think you need to follow the basic message of the gospels a little bit better. God killed Jesus because of the sin of humanity--to SAVE humanity, by opening up its eyes about the destructive effects of sin. The death of innocent people, like Jesus, is suppose to transform us into sympathetic, morally-aware beings. The message is actually very logical when you realize what God is saying with the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Sin is destructive and sin harms the human race. Our sins kill people. If we truly want to avoid this, Christian parents should feel obligated to stop sinning, and to teach their children that sinning is never justified. By not teaching children about the effects of sin, then a Christian parent ( or any parent for that matter ) is actually ENCOURAGING the death of their children! Salvation comes to a community when it teaches those in it about the harmful, life-injuring ways of sin! Life on planet Earth can actually be a wonderful experience if we all reject destructive behavior. If we choose to follow the ten commandments and the Golden rule then horrible injuries and painful, emotionally-draining deaths can be avoided. When more people do this on our planet human life can be a far better experience than what it currently is now. But if we continue to sin, then we are actively working to deprive ALL of God's children of a happy life here on Earth. By sinning, we are injuring and killing the children of God, and depriving ourselves of joy on planet Earth. Side: False
If you are saying true Christians wouldn't want to sin they we are in agreement, as I have put in the debate description. I will disagree about the message of Jesus's death, whether intended or not, Jesus's death sends the message that it's okay to kill someone for the sins of another, and that God would rather watch someone murdered rather than just forgive. I also disagree that life on the planet can actually be a wonderful experience. God has created this planet with far to many problems. Had he not created harmful bacteria and viruses, planetary conditions that cause hurricanes and earthquakes, and a human necessity to eat this would start to look like a more wonderful planet. Side: True
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I understand what you're saying here, stryker. It appears that God DID design life on Earth so that it would include diseases and other methods of death on its inhabitants. The evidence is overwhelming, and so I completely agree with you here. However, I don't defend the position that all life should be saved and free of injury. The truth is some life-forms ( particularly among the intelligent human race ) are incredibly destructive. And though I believe life in general is WORTH defending, there are some people that simply refuse to learn or who simply refuse to contribute to the world; these present a problem. There are individuals that are so greedy, so selfish, so unconcerned that having them around really does make a mess of things on planet Earth. Let me give you an example. Your body is made up of living cells. Typically they all work together to keep you alive and in a healthy state. But among these cells there also lurk injuring parasites, harmful bacteria, deadly viruses, and potentially lethal rogue cells ( such as cancer ). If you want to save the entire individual, you're going to have to eliminate those agents that work to injure the greater individual. Sometimes you just have to destroy a few bad cells to save the greater patient. And how is this done? Medicine ( not always the tastiest thing to consume or the best thing to experience ) has to be introduced into the body. Sometimes a surgeon needs to cut out a malignant tumor or even amputate a limb. Whatever the treatment, the final result is the same: the destructive cells ( or the destructive condition ) has to die. What makes God's job of protecting humanity more difficult, however, is when mankind actively PROMOTES these dangerous individuals, and excuses their actions! Now God's job is much tougher; he has to discipline entire communities for what they permit, what they excuse . . . what they choose to believe! I don't like plague and natural calamities as much as the next person, but that is why humanity should uphold philosophies and policies that genuinely benefit it--and reject behavior that threatens mutual happiness here on Earth. As long as humanity continues to defend greed, racism, arrogance, environmental destruction, promiscuity, violence, and hatred God will continue to grab the attention of the human race with horrible accidents--he has to! Bottom line: we humans have the power to really change things if we want to! And if a person continues in his sin . . . then next time a horrible injustice happens to someone he truly cares about, instead of screaming at God he should reflect on how his own behavior is contributing to the unhappiness of the world. God isn't the only devil in this universe, if you get my point . . . Side: False
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