why did god create humans

[Rustybeatz]

I came out to my mom recently about my unbelief.  We were discussing belief in god in general and I was kind of throwing a lot at her (I feel a little bad about that now).  She told me she couldn't intellectualize god for me but would like for me to talk to the guy that leads the christian ministries where I'm going to school (they go to the same church).   So I'm talking to this guy and he tells me that the trinity is perfect and needs nothing and that god didn't need to create humanity.  I almost jumped out of my seat and hit the ceiling because this told me that God created a world where there's a chance its inhabitants, who didn't ask to be created, will suffer eternal torture.
So this lead to ask him if God didn't need humanity, then why did he create us?  He sat there for 30 solid seconds thinking and he finally said "I don't know". 
Everybody knows (the story) of how god created humans, but the question is why.  I guess this goes out to the theists.

[Nick]

I think it was for a tax write off.

[Samuelxcs]

Maybe it was a failed experiment, or because god was lonely.

[Dante]

Maybe it was a failed experiment, or because god was lonely.

Perfect beings don't need to experiment, they dont fail, and they dont feel lonely. If any of the above were applicable, the being couldn't be considered perfect.

[Brakeman]

Simple answer, because god is a pervert. He likes to watch us animals have sex. He spent an inordinate amount of time teaching us how it is both good and bad, and the "right" and the wrong way to have sex, and with whom and when we may have sex. It's a major concern to him.

[Quesi]

Ummmm.... I've never really grasped the concept of the trintity.  But isn't the human Jesus sort of an essential part of that threesome?  Or am i missing something really important here?

I understand why god created humans.  It is the same reason I was first drawn to the Sims.  You create these little beings and make them do stuff, and put then in interesting situations and watch what they do on their own, and then make them do more stuff.  Anyone who has ever played the Sims really loves their little sims.  Just like God loves us.  But sometimes you need to dispose of a particular sim to make the story go the way you want it to go. 

[ParkingPlaces]

Maybe he was tired of being perfect. Or he was so perfect he didn't know he was perfect and he f**ked up making us.

Or maybe he made up perfect too. Its just that our standards are so high it doesn't look like it.

Tossing perfection into the story was a mistake. Whoever made it up should have known it would be a weakness in the tale. But to err is human. And natural. And only a non-existent god could hope to do better.

[HAL]

Wasn't there a Twilight Zone episode that had a man and a woman in a town, and they discovered it was all non-functional? The trees were fake, the phones didn't work, the train just went around town and came back to the same place. They heard a child laughing somewhere every so often? The point was they were just another being's toys.

Maybe this universe or even this planet, is just some god-child's playtoy. I thought I heard someone laughing the other day. When it grows up we'll all be put away in the attic and the stars will be turned off.

[Dynamic]

To worship him! He knows what the future will hold too. He knew they would worship him-

Oh wait.
He knew what would happen
He knew they would sin, and most would go to hell
So he created 7 Billion people so far. Most of which are going to "hell" because of the few people that will "worship him"

LOGIC.
GOD HAS NONE.

[victorlarrak]

I understand why god created humans.  It is the same reason I was first drawn to the Sims.  You create these little beings and make them do stuff, and put then in interesting situations and watch what they do on their own, and then make them do more stuff.  Anyone who has ever played the Sims really loves their little sims.  Just like God loves us.  But sometimes you need to dispose of a particular sim to make the story go the way you want it to go.
[/quote]"
Great analogy Quesi ,I may use it sometime (not here...)tough I'll first need to get to know the basics for those sims so maybe I can add up a little.

[GodlessHeathen]

I understand why god created humans.  It is the same reason I was first drawn to the Sims.  You create these little beings and make them do stuff, and put then in interesting situations and watch what they do on their own, and then make them do more stuff.  Anyone who has ever played the Sims really loves their little sims.  Just like God loves us.  But sometimes you need to dispose of a particular sim to make the story go the way you want it to go.

Great analogy Quesi ,I may use it sometime (not here...)tough I'll first need to get to know the basics for those sims so maybe I can add up a little.

Key difference: Sims are not real, sentient people. So we have no responsibility to their "well-being." It's just a fun, goofy game. Although the player may begin to feel "love" for their Sims, it is not a real bond in any meaningful sense of the word, any more than if I decided that I fell in love with Excel or Visual Basic.

@Edit
Fixed quote

[GodlessHeathen]

Sheesh I seem to be having a bad computer day. Instead of clicking "Modify", I clicked quote again.

Mods, feel free to delete one of the redundant posts.

[Rustybeatz]

I've been told it's because god wanted to share life with other beings.  But why do it in such a sadistic manner?  Why put these beings into a situation where they will be eternally tortured if all you wanted was to share life?  That doesn't make sense. 
The guy that runs the Christian ministry at my school (his name is Chris) just had his third child the week before we spoke.  I asked him if his children could ever do anything so bad that he would torture them eternally.  He said of course not so I asked him why he follows a god that leads by that example.  I don't understand it.

[Grimm]

I know, I know, but I had to share on the topic - courtesy of Scenes from a Multiverse (amultiverse.com):

[velkyn]

that's great Grimm 

as others have noted, the best answer seems to be that this "god" is rather like the Squire of Gothos or Q.  Christians always have to depower their deity to even have a chance of making it make sense.  This god suddenly becomes needy.  oh and this nonsense knocks the snot out of their claims that there is free will.

rusty, what did your pastor say about following a god that likes to supposedly torture people aka his children eternally?

[Alzael]

Ummmm.... I've never really grasped the concept of the trintity.  But isn't the human Jesus sort of an essential part of that threesome?  Or am i missing something really important here?

I understand why god created humans.  It is the same reason I was first drawn to the Sims.  You create these little beings and make them do stuff, and put then in interesting situations and watch what they do on their own, and then make them do more stuff.  Anyone who has ever played the Sims really loves their little sims.  Just like God loves us.  But sometimes you need to dispose of a particular sim to make the story go the way you want it to go.

Let's be honest here. Everyone who has played the Sims finds it cool for a little while. Then you just get bored and start locking Sims up in the kitchen with a stove that's caught on fire and watching them burn to death while the fire department bangs at the door to get in. Or build a pool with high walls and fill it with water then drop a Sim in and watch him swim around for hours until he gets tired and drown. Then you take another Sim and lock it a room and laugh as it freaks out from lack of socialization, urinates on the floor because there's no bathroom, then because there's no bed for it to sleep it finally drops to the ground in its own fluids and passes out from exhaustion while smelling like a bus station bathroom due to having washed or changed clothes for five days.

This is the real reason why we created the Sims, and why god created man.

Because the main appeal of creating a beautiful and pristine world is being able to fuck it up later.

[Rustybeatz]

Haha!  That's hilarious, Grimm!  I especially like the part about the 'thou shalt not kill' debacle haha.

as others have noted, the best answer seems to be that this "god" is rather like the Squire of Gothos or Q.  Christians always have to depower their deity to even have a chance of making it make sense.  This god suddenly becomes needy.  oh and this nonsense knocks the snot out of their claims that there is free will.

rusty, what did your pastor say about following a god that likes to supposedly torture people aka his children eternally?

He really didn't say anything, but I didn't press the issue because we were on limited time and we were touching on many subjects in quite a quick manner.  We're supposed to meet up again though so I'm trying to outline things I would like to cover and I think this will be one of them.  Hopefully it will give him time to prepare also because I really don't think he knew why he was showing up to meet me. 
While I've read up a LITTLE bit on Q, I've never heard of the Squire of Gothos but it sounds interesting.  I'll have to look that up.

[velkyn]

^^^^^ think Q but dressed like Liberace:  http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Squire_of_Gothos_(episode)  ]

childish very powerful aliens.  Rather like the aliens that Hal had asked about, I think  when asking how we can tell the difference between gods and aliens.

[GodlessHeathen]

I've been told it's because god wanted to share life with other beings.  But why do it in such a sadistic manner?  Why put these beings into a situation where they will be eternally tortured if all you wanted was to share life?  That doesn't make sense. 
The guy that runs the Christian ministry at my school (his name is Chris) just had his third child the week before we spoke.  I asked him if his children could ever do anything so bad that he would torture them eternally.  He said of course not so I asked him why he follows a god that leads by that example.  I don't understand it.

I proposed a similar question once on a Yahoo! Answers question. I didn't get a single reply from even one Christian, although they usually respond to questions from atheists like vultures. That, to me, is the most serious philosophical problem of Christianity. Everything else stems from that mindset.

[Neonwolf]

I know, I know, not the theist reply you were hoping for.

[Side note: First post here. Hoping i'm going to do well, my Dad showed my the forum and I'm excited.]

I personally believe that if God existed, then he would have created humans as a sort of experiment. Giving each little test tube of humankind a different personality and belief and whatnot, and then leaning back and watching. Raising little miniature Dahmers in a laboratory up in his Sky Palace, if you know what i'm saying?

I apologize if it makes no sense. I have strange thought processes at times. This thought came to me during a debate that a Mormon friend of mine started in Seminar [kind of like home room] today. The idea of a creepy old man in the sky watching as I type this scares me, though...

[Quesi]

 ...my Dad showed my the forum and I'm excited.]

How cool is that?  Is your dad a member of the forum?  Or will he be joining as well?  Is your family atheist?  Mixed belief systems? 

[GodlessHeathen]

Welcome Neonwolf! Hope you enjoy the forum and the discussions!

[rayoflight]

Modern humans have been around about 200,000 years.  Christianity and Jesus has been around about 2,000 years.  The dinosaurs were around about 165,000,000 years.  They existed.  Their bones are on display in musuems.

So dinosaurs ruled the Earth about 82,500 times longer than the time Jesus has been known to humans.  Was God the God of the dinosaurs, too? 

What about the early humans incapable of higher thought?  They existed.  Their bones are on display in museums, too.  They were incapable of thoughfullly knowing God existed - much like a baby might be.  So what purpose would he have had to rule over or present himself to them?  They'd be indifferent.

[12 Monkeys]

Modern humans have been around about 200,000 years.  Christianity and Jesus has been around about 2,000 years.  The dinosaurs were around about 165,000,000 years.  They existed.  Their bones are on display in musuems.

So dinosaurs ruled the Earth about 82,500 times longer than the time Jesus has been known to humans.  Was God the God of the dinosaurs, too? 

What about the early humans incapable of higher thought?  They existed.  Their bones are on display in museums, too.  They were incapable of thoughfullly knowing God existed - much like a baby might be.  So what purpose would he have had to rule over or present himself to them?  They'd be indifferent.

Christianity is where logical thinking goes to die

[stuffin]

Heaven, that wonderful place where you are eternally happy forever, got boring to god. He came up with humans so he would have his own soap opera. After creating humans, he needed to create sin. That was pretty simple by placing the tree and snake in the garden right where Adam and Eve couldn't miss them.

God wants humans to sin because it gives him an excuse to f*uck with us. Sin causes us to worship god and constantly ask his forgiveness. Every so often when god gets really bored, he lets sin get out of hand and that gives him an excuse smite us. 

Basically god created humans as his very own nonstop TBS.

[Neonwolf]

 ...my Dad showed my the forum and I'm excited.]

How cool is that?  Is your dad a member of the forum?  Or will he be joining as well?  Is your family atheist?  Mixed belief systems? 

My dad's username, I belive, is Smalltalk. He's on here already. My father and I are atheists, though I have no idea what my mother's religion is. I know she is religious but we've not bothered to ask because it might spur on an argument and all.

Welcome Neonwolf! Hope you enjoy the forum and the discussions!

I've been lurking for a bit now! And thank you, I certainly will.

Basically god created humans as his very own nonstop TBS.

And when he gets bored he gives us guns and plays his WorldBox360 Call Of Duty: God Edition.