If a voice in your head told you to kill your son, would you?

Yes, I'd kill them.

Voice? what voice?

"C'mere, son".

"I-....I've told you, I'm not your son. I'm your age. Please don't hurt me."

No.

I suspect that the story of Abraham and Isaac was an allegory.

Today, a person who heard such voices demanding that the person kill one or more other persons would be considered schizophrenic, not a true believer in God. Today, a teacher who wanted to instruct others about the importance of faith in God would have to come up with another story line to accomplish the goal.

I hope not. I knew of a double murder when I was a child in which the killer, a parent of the children, may have believed they were being told by God to get the children 'home' to heaven. I cringe at the story of Abraham because of that. Whether God actually tested Abraham like that 4 or 5 thousand years ago, I don't think it goes on like that today. My faith is in a good, loving God who I don't think would want anyone to kill anybody or would He 'test' people like that. Maybe my faith is not as strong as it should be, but I believe God said "Thou shalt not kill", not "Thou shalt not kill anybody unless I say so".

I think it's ironic how people on here mention "Don't get attached to things" when in fact Christians are morally self-centered and attached themselves. Christians do good to seek a personal reward in heaven, and avoid doing wrong because of a selfish fear of hell and punishment from their own God. That would mean that these people are actually considering taking their own child's life on the basis of a selfish reward....

And this is why I am an Atheist...

To answer your original question, no. I would never, ever kill ANYONE, especially if there was a voice in my head telling me to do so...

Thankfully, in your hypothetical situation based on the Prophet Abraham/Ibrahim of Judaic and Islamic mythology, I do not have a son so the question, in my case, is moot!

If one were to hear a voice in his or her head that gave them such directions, chances are good that they would be experiencing severe mental illness or a reactions to a bad mushroom or two...

namaste

This is a difficult question because only persons who are mentally ill hear voices in their head asking them to kill their children. If a person is deluded..same thing.

Andrea Yates is a fine example of this.

Sane people don't hear voices in their heads

Andrea had been tormented by bouts of mental illness, (15) and, in fact, both the prosecution and defense agreed that she was mentally ill. (16) Andrea's life was also distinguished by religious obsession and a steadfast devotion to tales of sin and Scripture, (17) a "repent-or-burn zeal" (18) that led her to believe she was a bad mother with ruined offspring. (19) According to Andrea, she killed her children to save them from Satan and her own evil maternal influences, (20)

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110228549.html

truthfully listening to voices isn't abnormal, and needn't recommend plenty in any respect. Voices can truthfully be a neurological subject. for example, repressed factors of your character could make new neurological connections to different areas of your suggestions, and if that happens to be the auditory section, then your repressed thoughts ultimately appear as audible sounds. see you later as you do not take this heavily, and look at it as a sort of lonely decision of neurons attempting to have their say, you're ok. in case you truthfully, in toto, experience suicidal, you will desire to in the present day call on all factors for intense help. those crises are ultimately conquer.

Never never never. If anything in my head told me to hurt or kill my children I would go and see a doctor immediatley because it would imply insanity. The biblical character known as abraham was obviously mentally sick to even consider murdering his only child.

No, but this is because over the past thirty years or so I have learned to distinguish between the voices in my head and reality.

How can anyone answer this question. If you.re delusional then you would'nt have the rationality to make choices. Deeply faithful people are not all psychotic and a danger to their families are they?

Actually, if I was hearing voices in my head I would get help. Voices in people's heads tend to come from insanity and such nowadays.

And no, if I had a son I wouldn't kill him if a voice in my head told me to.