Alan,
You've hit on a point that I've been thinking about. It has to do with the accountability of a creator to his creations. Let's look at one extreme: God as Creator. Most people who believe in this, respect God and do not hold Him accountable (and sometime, not even responsible) for the evils of his creations. This is clearly related to "the Problem of Evil", but I'm curious about what people think about another aspect; and, I think this aspect is best demonstrated by the another extreme.
Consider Hitler the creator of Nazism. I know this isn't strictly or completely true, but he makes a good example since he is considered by most to be the epitome of evil. Hitler is held accountable for the evils of Nazism by exactly such an opinion. Is Hitler used as a scapegoat by those, who of their own free will, participated in Nazism? If so, does Hitler deserve this and should the accountability of those who participated be mitigated because of it? Should the most common of soldiers at a concentration camp be allowed the excuse, "Oh, sure... it was horrible. But, you know... Hitler made us do it."
I realize this is the ol' "I was just following orders" ethical question, but can it (or even should it?) be applied to God? After all... a soldier can consider an order for a superior to be immoral and choose to disobey that order. But if God says to go smite those Aromites... who's to say, "No."
Greg |
