If mankind is superior to other animals because we can think, build, and make free decisions...?

Question

Then explain the holocaust to me.





thinking, building, and free will?
I'm not impressed...

not until you tell me what you're thinking, what you're building, and what decisions you're making.


I don't think that we should be judged by our potential, but by our actions.

And based on the actions of mankind, I'm not impressed.
I doubt that "god" is.

Answer 1

"
Man has always believed itself to be the most intelligent species on the planet, because it has accomplished so much -- New York, the wheel, wars, and so forth. In contrast with dolphins who only ever swam around in the sea and had fun.

Dolphin, on the other flipper, always considered themselves to be the most intelligent species on the planet, for exactly the same reasons.
"

Both were incorrect.

Answer 2

You are building on your previous question (or at least the other question you posted that I noticed).

Why is mankind different. Well, apart from the fact that God breathed the Breath of Life into us, meaning a soul...but that comes from the Bible.

We are different from other species in the ways you have indicated. We think, we plan, we make choices. We build, but so do beavers and termites. Insects build up food stores, so they plan ahead. As for thinking, well, I'm not sure if animals actually think or not.

But, we are different in that we do all of these things to a greater degree than any other lifeform. We also sin, which makes us different. Kind of depressing to think that one thing that makes us different from all else is that we do bad things, but it is true. It comes from free will. We have the capacity to know what is right and what is wrong and then act on that knowledge based on our own convictions.

Yes, we should be judged on our actions. We have the capacity for love and compassion, although many do not show it. We have the capacity for recognizing those who are in need and helping them out, but few do. We have the capacity for declaring war on each other, which many are very good at.

Our actions set us apart, but our potential does as well. Some have proven through their actions that we have the capacity to do good, just as some have shown that we have the capacity to do bad or evil. God certainly created us different from the other lifeforms He created, but we have not done a very good job at all in using the gifts He gave us.

Is God impressed? I don't think so either, not with most of what we have done. He got really mad and brought the Flood in the past. Looking to the future, He is going to pour out the seven bowls of His wrath and destroy pretty much everyone and everything. Then, about a 1000 years later, He is going to judge Man and then throw the whole works, Earth, Heaven, Hell and everyone who does not believe in His plan for salvation, into a big burning lake.

He is impressed and pleased with a few, those who accept His Son (and those who followed His Laws prior to Jesus). But with the rest of what we have done, even our greatest deeds are nothing but dirty rags to Him (Isaiah 64:6). Sorry, I had to throw at least one verse in there. But you can agree with this verse, can't you?

Answer 3

Genetically speaking all life that exists right now has been equally good at survival so they all essentially rank equal. If we rank living things on how likely they are to be on the planet in the next century or millenium by their own collective behavior, we'd probably come in on the bottom of the list. While, we've taken great strides in getting more people to survive on less resources we've also come up with ingenious ways to wipe out massive numbers of the human population and whatever else we haven't caused to go extinct. Would roaches do that?

Answer 4

All creatures, think, build and are of free will. Think of ants, and bees. They think, build and are of free will. We have become a society of hate, if others do not think the way we do then they are wrong. My idea is that people do not have to think the same, just not force your ideas upon me if I am not hurting you and I believe differently. We as a society are clashing and the most powerful society wants to rule and force their ideologies on as people as it can. Take Iraq for instance, Iraq may have been better of if we didn't invade, sure Saddam Hussein was a ruthless dictator but he kept his country in control and less people would have died if we would have not invaded. The Middle East had not been a democratic place ever, and they survived for centuries being just the way they were. Sometimes you can't force change upon nations that aren't willing to change and are bent on retaining their historical heritage. It would be like trying to make the Amish drive cars or watch television. I think we shoud not try to police the world and force our style of democracy upon others whom aren't willing to change. Many in this world doubt that there is an all mighty God, over seeing all. We should live and let live as long as it does not directly threaten us as a whole, meaning us Americans. I hope that the world will prevail but I doubt it will for much longer because of the few that want us all to be alike and the same.

Answer 5

So our potential to destroy is a reasonable standard to judge us? How biologically evolved we are is a neutral claim. Our capacities for good and ill go hand in hand in that level of development. If you choose to focus on the negative, that does not mean the positive does not exist. But the ability of humanity to "impress" you is decided by what you focus on.

Answer 6

The fact that these people chose to kill those people, proves they have free will. They chose to follow a brainless idiot and kill millions of people for no reason. All humans have free will and the ability to make their own decisions, but that doesn't mean all humans will make the right choice. Their actions just prove there are bad people, but there still are good people out there.

Answer 7

That's what you get when you load up a free-will planet with a bunch of fear-based humans with ego imbalances.

Answer 8

You're mixing the capability to act with value assessment of acting, they're not the same thing.

Answer 9

OK, humans are suckers for hatred, obviously as demonstrated by Hitler with the holocaust. AND, still being demonstrated by multitudes today.

Answer 10

Totally agree, not very impressive is it.
We were given the ability to do great things yet we destroy, why can't we learn to live in harmony.