A New Twist On An Old Question??

Question

Several times, the following question has been asked..."If renouncing your religion would save your child from execution, would you do it?"

Surprisingly, the vast number of respondants said they would NEVER renounce their religion, no matter the cost.

I find this apalling.

Here's the twist.

If you are an Atheist or Agnostic, and someone was threatening to murder your child unless you accept one of the 3 major religions, would you choose to follow God in order to save your child's life?

What religion would you choose, and why?

Religious people, you may answer the question in it's original form, if you'd like.

An interesting pattern is emerging....

RPJoe....I'm not asking you to abandon god to save yourself. I'm asking if you will do it to save your child. Big difference.

Pippy Poo...excuse my typo...appalling.

Answer 1

My religion is Hinduism, and I would renounce it if by so doing, I could save a child. It is not good to be so attached to your religion that you can't give it up, even when a life is at stake. Religion is a means, not an end.

The Buddha tells of a person who needs to make it across a river, and finds a raft. The raft gets him across so well, that he doesn't want to let go of it. So he drags it with him across dry land, but it slows him down. Religion is like a raft. Once it gets you across the shore, it has to be let go.

I think it is a good test of a religion - and what kind of raft it is - to see what someone will do in the situation you described. If our religion has not taught us the value of a child's life, then I question how good it really is working.

If I had to become a Jew, Muslim, or Christian to save someone, I would choose Judaism. It makes the most sense to me.

Answer 2

Whatever religion an atheist accepted in this scenario, it would be nothing more than a pragmatic decision to save the child, immediately renounced once the child is safe. You can't force someone to believe in the absurd. You would have to rule out Islam on the grounds that it is overly infested with psychotics.

Answer 3

I am a born Hindu and if I have a choice to save a life or follow a religious ritual , going by the vedas , save the life as it is more precious than any other, so lie to the person and save the life.

Answer 4

I'm Catholic... And to correct you if I may, you shouldn't call someone of a religion.. (take Christianity for example) a "religious person" ~unless they have promised/sworn their life to God (ex. nun/monk/priest etc.) Everyone else is a "lay men" so to speak, they follow the religion, but are not considered "religious". So you call them -Christians, Catholics, Jews, Muslims... etc. etc.

Secondly, we are to love God first, above everyone/everything else. Above ourselves. Therefore, to renounce my religion to save my child's life, would be to love my child more than God. We can't do this. Instead we should have complete trust in God (who is all knowing and all perfect) that he knows what is to come. Trust that he has a plan that we shouldn't barge in on. What if the denial to denounce one's religion, and love one's God first, even above the son/daughter... were to be such a great example of Faith, Hope and Charity, to the attacker, and that person converted right then and there? We NEVER know what the next minute will bring... So why make that decision... And maybe God wants that child to die an early death, because then the soul was clean of sin... but maybe in his future he/she'd be in a different circumstance and die with an unclean soul? Or maybe that child would have become a great sinner later in life, and lost Faith in God. What if God knew that child would be happier in heaven now, than live a hard/poor life.... all of this you have to take under condsideration.... but it all leads to this:

Trusting that Our Lord Knows best, and has a plan. God is good.

Answer 5

In the 'Inquisition', when they put somebody "... to the question", thay were concerned for the victim's immortal soul... not their life. So, they would torture somebody until they 'came to Jesus'... then, they would kill them, content in the knowledge that they were sending the poor, misguided soul to heaven. If you were, in fact, insincere in your repudiation of your evil ways, and in fact lied about your repentence and acceptance of Jesus... too bad... so sad... off to hell with you. The Inquisitors were satisfied that they had done their jobs to the best of their abilities, and god would be pleased with their work.

My point?... when dealing with real fanatics, the hypothetical situation you described in your question would never occur... they would never create a situation from which you could escape by merely uttering a simple lie.

Answer 6

I would tell you whatever I needed to for my child to survive, all the while plotting a way to stop your madness.

Which religion I had to choose doesn't matter, I would be faking it the entire time, just don't make it Islam. Having to fake prayers 5 times a day would be a b*tch

Answer 7

I don't think it's possible to force someone into accepting a religion. In this case, the person would be claiming a faith in order to protect, not because they believe it. You can't consciously choose to believe in something.

Answer 8

I would lie and say I believe ANY religion to save the child. Why would anyone take to heart a religion that made such demands? It's obviously a cruel religion. Ditto for a religion demanding that I sacrificed my kid (or anyone else's) on an altar. Sheer barbarism.

Answer 9

i would choose christianity because i know the most about it. The fact is, i'm an atheist but i would care more about my child than about saying what i believe. At the end of the day even if i say i'm christian it doesn't mean i am, only I know what i truely believe.

Answer 10

Sure, I would be happy to lie to save my son. I'm a good actress and could put up a very convinceing act. I spent the first half of my life going through the motions of christianity just to please my parents. Pride is not one of my hang-ups. Survival is.