Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, Killed 13 people after hearing commands from God...?

Question

God has allegedly spoken to lots of people, considered sane/insane and good/evil respectively. For example, Joan of Arc, who went on to kill lots of people in a pretty secular based conflict. Moses through a burning bush (lets not split hairs, it’s a pretty out there way of communicating) and numerous others. He has commanded people to kill in his name LONG before Sutcliffe claimed it (the Bible gives too many examples to list, Judges is a good one though). And let’s not forget, God stuck down the first child of every family, guilty or not, as the final plague against Egypt – so morally dubious actions all over in the sense that people not directly guilty are being made to pay for crimes they are associated with.



So when someone like Sutcliffe goes out and kills mostly prostitutes (who lets face it, are pretty sinful) in the name of God, what basis is there for saying one case is authentic and the other is wrong. Or even more simply put, that one is right and the other is wrong?

Is Sutcliffe a hero in the eyes of God fearing souls for doing as God commanded and clearing up the Streets? Sutcliffe only became officially mentally ill with schizophrenia AFTER his prison sentence began, so was, technically speaking, as sane as you or me when he did it - so save on claims that he was nuts. Its not an answer as we cant prove Moses and Joan of Arc weren't nuts either.

He killed ‘sinners’ to ‘clean up the streets’ after being commaned to by God. How can we say it is any less authentic then many of the other exmaples in the bible or history?

Oh, and Im not trying to justify or excuse Sutcliffe, I am merely musing aloud about what I see as double standards in morality. Im not pushing any agenda or trying to be offensive either... (Cos I always seem to offend someone)

OK Bauhaus B (sorry if I mispelled your name) but then, in the bible some people WERE given preferential treatment, and some of them were people who themselves not that morally pure - take King David for instance. God must have known he had the potential for sin from the word go, yet he had dealings with him... (I hope you wont think I am being offensive in suggesting it was a mutually beneficial arrangement either)

Steven H, that answer is so wishy washy and irrelevant you may as well have not answered! Did the 'random bible quote' generator write that answer for you or could you expand and make sense of that answer?

Thanks for the completely unwarrented personal attack and judgement Marvin the paranoid android! I was asking a question, not putting any of my own veiws down, but I am glad you feel that alone is justifiation to judge me and call me names. I swear I will never ever question anything ever again!

Your answer had a few interesting points, but its also a massive cop out. So somethings are irrelevant and others not, based on age and understanding... and so what basis is there for deciding which is which? If its all open to understanding and interpretation then surely there is no firm basis for right and wrong, so Sutcliffe and others like him are innocent as any of us, as we have no basis to call them right or wrong. If age is an issue, then anything written in the bible (or any ancient text, perhaps anyhting older then a few days old? When IS the next Harry Potter story, I need moral guidance!) is irrelevent.

Red - how can you say God would want prostitutes to be saved when he would not save the people of Egypt's innocent children? Prositutes are responsible for there actions, children arent responsible for the actions of their government.

And Marvin - I wasnt upset, sarcasm doesnt right well, and I wasnt comparing Moses and the Ripper in character, merely saying that their motivations are judged differently despite no more or less evidence that they came from the same source (i.e. the orders of God). I mean, even you must see the issue and the paradox I am asking here.

And if you dont like Moses being used, how about the Judges from the Book of Judges. They killed people cos God commanded them to.. just like Sutcliffe did.

Answer 1

Stop blaming God for murder.

Moses died a long time ago, so did Joan of Arc. What's it got to do with you today? I like what they taught and what they fought for. ("Don't waste time counting the trees if you love the fruit; just eat them. -- Indian saying). Plus all we know about them is hearsay; And people can't be trusted for authentic facts; most just memorize words and interpret according to how they feel (me included). (I know someone who calls "Catcher in the rye" by Salinger a "violent" book -- is the person right? No. Everyone just believes what they understand. There's a good chance they were talking figuratively and no one understood.

(Speculation: People like you most probably will end up burning books like Hitler, which is another type of stupidity.)

Reply to the last addition: Woah! Woah! I was just joking! I said "speculation" and "most probably". :) Don't get all angry now. Anyway, I got your attention, right? Now I implore thee to spend some time thinking about those people who have Moses as their hero -- if it hurt you, must hurt them too, right?

I agree that religion is full of paradox though. Yeah, maybe. Who knows. I only wanted to say, if you don't have the facts, let it be.

BTW, people who read books ('really" read them) don't read them for moral guidance. They read them for entertainment, information, different perspectives of people, and study of human interactions and communications. They believe that no book has anything to do with moral guidance. I am one of them. So, technically, I can only try to stop people with different perspectives from attacking each other's beliefs. I can't take sides. It goes against my belief system to take sides when there is no factual data -- only speculation and emotional argument.

Answer 2

Good point but it also shows the blind hypocrisy shown by fundamentalist Christians when they insist that God is pure and perfect when he displays a lot of that deadly sin called wrath, envy (I'm a jealous God), and pride (as above). Or then again, maybe the Bible's not as authoritative as some of them claim (daft answer from most evangelists when asked a difficult theological question: 'It's been proven to be true - it's in The Bible'[!])

Answer 3

Look at the results.
Would Jesus condemn the sinners and kill them?

In Egypt the believers who followed Gods word had their children spared, remember the lambs blood?

Which story in the New Testament has God or Jesus commanding someone to kill another?

Why would God want prostitutes to die rather than repented and saved?

I think I side with the Pope that violence in the name of religion is wrong and not from God.

Look at the results.......

Answer 4

In the eyes of God we're all sinners. There is no caste system. God doesnt show preference for the the moderate sinners or the light sinners. So God would not have ordered him to kill those Prostitutes. I'm pretty sure he was a nutjob.

Answer 5

I'm not too sure that religious people will take too kindly to the association with the likes of sutcliffe who wasn't a very nice man.....

Answer 6

Apparently there were 2 Rippers (and I am NOT talking about the one that sent the tapes)

Answer 7

you would think that if a god like person did speak they would have something more beneficial to say., Like provide even a gram of evidence or truth behind any of the religions.

The fact that they, he or she has not, proves their lack of existance?

I prepare to be 'thumbs downed' by all those who cant reason with their own religion or accept those who do not believe!!

Answer 8

TV is produced to the cheapest common denominator - i.e., the average IQ of the general public, whereas a publication is written to the best common denominator

Answer 9

I love watching television, The animal is enjoyed by me shows, the medical shows and the Judges and courtroom shows

Answer 10

It is not god who kills but people. It is not god who engages mankind in wars but their selfish and corrupt leaders.