question for christians?

Question

As an atheist I have a question for christians.

When a christian hears God telling them to kill their kids, how do they know if they are "chosen" like Abraham, or nuts like Andrea Yates?

It seems that if Andrea Yates was an atheist she would have known she was crazy when she heard the voices, and would have gotten some help instead of thinking she was "chosen" and killed her kids.

Answer 1

When people hear voices, they're suffering from schizophrenia. Most christians are.

Answer 2

Here is the differences between Abraham and Andrea Yates.

1. Abraham had in the past talked to God, even face to face. If you remember the covenant he God made between each other. He was promised as long as he kept the faith, he would be known as the father of many nations. He was promised a son would be born from his wife Sarai (later changed to Sarah) even though they were in their 90s. Andrea Yates heard voices in her head.

2. Abrahams experience of discerning a command from God and knowing the voice of God is a big hint since he was also a messenger from God. Andrea Yates as far as I know did not have that experience.

3. Abraham was commanded to offer Isaac as a sacrifice and that the voice never told him that his son was evil or a demon. Andrea Yates voices told her that her children were evil and demons.

4. This is the most important difference. Abraham obeyed God and when he had started the process of sacrificing Isaac, an angel of the Lord stopped him saying that this was a test of his faith and obedience to God. Then a ram, stuck in some thickets was used instead for the sacrifice. Adrea Yates completed the crime by murdering her children.

You can believe it or not, that is up to you. What Abraham did is written in the Bible. Of course, atheist only believes that the Bible is fiction and cannot be relied on for factual reading. There are schizophrenic atheist that also hear voices. It's not just Christians.

Answer 3

First off Andrea Yates suffered from a mean case of post-partum depression...She was hospitalized previously for mental illness, and the doctors told her and her husband (I am in NO way blaming him) that they should NOT have anymore children...so what did they do..had another child not real bright..

God does not tell Christians to kill our children..on the contrary we are told though shall not kill/ commit murder. So frankly she was crazy and it did not matter her religious background..she could have been an atheist and done the same thing..she just used what I call the God cop out...she didn't think and that was the problem, if she would have been really immersing herself in prayer and seeking counsel and medical attention for the problems she Knew she had, then chances are those precious little children would still be alive and she would have been trying to get healthy...God will not ask us to kill our kids and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot (not saying that about asker) and is obviously a sick person...Christians, Atheists, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims...there are bad ones in every bunch no religion or non-religion is free from mental illness.

Answer 4

Since you do not know, allow me to inform you that:

1) Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac is in the OLD testament, so this story is familiar to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.

Except, I read somewhere, that Muslims believe it was Ishmael about to be sacrificed.

2) God stayed Abraham's hand, and substituted a ram.

3) Thus, the three religions understand that God NEVER intends to ask parents to kill their kids.

4) Andrea Yates, and I really think it is UNCHARITABLE for you to bring her up, was under medication for depression, prescribed by her doctor, and known to her nurse-husband!

The poor woman, as you said, was 'nuts'.

Cheap trick! BUT, I get two points.

Answer 5

God was testing Abraham. Abraham was God's friend, but he wasn't such a good husband or father. Case in point: twice he gave his wife, Sarah, to other men, kings, because he was afraid of what the kings would do to him. He sent his wife, Hagar, and their son, Ishmael, out into the dessert where they nearly died of thirst and heat. God sent an angel to bring water to the surface for them and to save them. The Bible says God told Abraham not to worry about them, but then right after that God told Abraham to go sacrifice the only son he loved. I believe that on the human level, it was an object lesson for Abraham, who didn't love his elder son enough to stand up to his first wife on his behalf. And on prophetic level, it was an enactment of the promise of the Messiah. It was case specific, AND God didn't have him go through with it.

People who are hallucinating that God is telling them to kill their kids can't know they're hallucinating without help. They are very, very ill and need to be hospitalized because their illness has made them dangerous.

I've been a Christian for a very long time, and God has NEVER told me to kill my kids. In fact, He's never told me to kill anyone. If He did tell me to kill my kids, I'd just have to say no and accept whatever the consequences would be from Him.

Answer 6

First: I think the trouble with psychotics is that they are incapable of realizing they're not sane. So whether she was a believer or not, Yates probably was not capable of stopping herself.

Second: If I understand the other answerers correctly, the difference between Abraham's near-crime and Yates' actual crime is that his story made it into a "holy" book and hers never will. End of argument.

Pardon me if I'm unimpressed.

Answer 7

Fortunately, we have more than one witness. We aren't dictated to by voices inside our heads. Your presumption is that God would tell anyone in this day and age to kill their children, which is ludicrous at best. For the Christian, any voice, whether inside their head or out, has to agree with what the Bible says. Otherwise they could end up like Andrea Yates.

Answer 8

Just to clarify first off...killing your children is by no means an exclusively Christian thing (in reference to atheists seeking help) But to answer your question directly. Its clear in the bible that "killing in the name of God/For God/etc is not biblical post Jesus. I believe she was suffering from delusions that were from the enemy which made her see her kids as demons or evil. Such a tragic story, I still get goosepimples when I think about what she did.

Answer 9

Andrea Yates was tormented by demons. I do not believe GOd told her to do that. That is what she said, however she had Post Partum Psychosis, she truly was not in her right mind.She was supposed to be on meds and her husband knew how fragile she was and he choose not to help her.
Sometimes Christians, Atheist, MOrmons,Baptist, Catholics etc.. etc..make horrible choices and we have to liv ewith them and our families have to pick up the pieces. However, one act by one person of Faith should not determine someones belief in the whole religion.
I hope this helps.

Answer 10

Abraham did not kill his son. He trusted in the promise that God made to him. That his son would be the father of nations and that is where Israel came from. This was a test of Abraham's faith and in having faith in God the promise came forth. Next time read up on it and get it right before you post a question.
GEN:22

Answer 11

First off you have to assume her defense is real. That she is telling the truth.
Then unless you are in the same boat assume she is a nut case either way.
Also consider that God did not let Abe kill Issac. Then the other result.
If your discernment isn't better than this we have an explaination of why you are an atheist.