Is purposeless torture moral?

[Greatest I am]

"God" isn't doing anything at all. When it comes to lakes of fire, torture, and retribution from beyond the grave we're talking human beings, human desires, human urges, and human claims. What is or is not "moral" is entirely up for grabs.

I agree.

Arte those who crave it morally justified?

Regards
DL

[Nine]

Please show me were you find the word torture in scripture, if you can not then please drop the subject, this subject has been posted to death.

Matthew 13:50 “furnace of fire…weeping and gnashing of teeth”
Mark 9:48 “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched”
Revelation 14:10 “he will be tormented with fire and brimstone”
Revelation 14:11 “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever and they have no rest day and night”

Maybe not the word torture itself but words to that effect. Unless you consider torment an afterlife pillow fight.

Torment:
- Great physical pain or mental anguish.
- A source of harassment, annoyance, or pain.
- The torture inflicted on prisoners under interrogation.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/torment

[Greatest I am]

Hell is the "stick" part of the "carrot and stick" appeal of christianity, nothing more than a crude attempt to manipulate the weak minded.

No argument but not so crude perhaps if psychology is at work.

http://blog.ted.com/2008/09/17/the_real_differ/

Secular law use the same methods.

Regards
DL

[Ace Otana]

Is purposeless torture moral?

Nope.

Being sent to hell to be tortured for all eternity for simply using your head....no matter how you look at it, it's the most disgusting, vile, inhuman, unjust, barbaric act anyone can imagine.

[Greatest I am]

If its gods will, it cannot be immoral is probably the argument.

Which means human morality and divine don't match, in which case we have a nasty case of wtf are you worshipping then.

I'm telling ya, Lucifer ran a con, the snake was the benevolent god helping adam and eve escape eden.
It makes more sense if you start reversing roles,

Yes and you will note that the original Jewish take is more as you say, an escape. They saw Eden as man's elevation but the Christians reversed that initial success for man to a fall.

Way more $$$$$$$ in a fall.

Regards
DL

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Is purposeful torture moral?

(The Dick Cheney Book of Xtian Morality apparently thinks so.)

I think that we could build a scenario that would say that yes, there may be instances where it could be moral but it would have to include known facts to the torturer and a damned good justification for doing so.

Regards
DL

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I see the monotheistic god as having the mentality of "Piss me off and I will beat the shit out of you, forever. But if you do exactly what I say everything will be okay." Sounds more like a hostage situation to me.

Gulp. There goes free will. Then again, God's idea of free will, do it my way or burn forever, is hardly what a sane person would call free will.

Regards
DL

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Anyone who supports eternal torture is a pathetic waste of flesh, in my opinion. Believing in such madness would make my mornings insanely depressing.

Mine as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF6I5VSZVqc

Better to shovel coal in hell than to spend eternity in heaven watching friends, neighbors and our children in torture and flame forever.
Only a sick mind would conceive of such a situation or wish it upon anyone. That is why God would not do such because then, heaven would be hell.
If those in heaven did not go insane then they could not have once been human or good.

Regards
DL

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Is it moral for God to use or let others choose to use his torture chamber called hell or the lake of fire?

Of course not, but Christians have their mental gymnastics to get around it. You see, rather than judge god on his actions they just declare him to be pure good, therefore no matter how horrible of an atrocity god commits, it must be good.

At least the Greeks were smart enough to see that if there was a god(s) he/she/they had to be malevolent on some level.

Yes. Literalism has killed any morality that the bible had.

Regards
DL

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If I was god I'd enforce a JUST system where finite crimes deserve finite punishment in Hell, and then gradual rehabilitation through Limbo or wherever to Heaven. After they've done the time, and the victim(s) of their actions has enjoyed paradise for awhile, then there's no reason or justification to be angry with the offender any more. Its all about restoring them after that. There wouldn't be anyone left in Hell after several hundred years or so with me in charge, reminds me of the line from Eraser:

"If God was as forgiving as WITSEC hell would be one empty joint."

But alas, theists believe in a cosmic cretin of similar intellect. Infinite punishment is not a real amount or duration of punishment anyway. It can't be reached, therefore, justice also cannot be achieved.

Some think it is eternal while some think that it and its occupants are eventually dumped into a lake of fire and destroyed.

Isn't that asinine of them to think that though? What's the point of resurrecting the damned from oblivion, only to send them straight back to oblivion?

Religious dogma isn't just full of convoluted crap, its just plain silly.

No argument from me my friend.

Regards
DL

[Minimalist]

I think that we could build a scenario that would say that yes

No. You cannot.

Expedience? Maybe. Morality? Never.

[Greatest I am]

Please show me were you find the word torture in scripture, if you can not then please drop the subject, this subject has been posted to death.

Is burning not torture?

Regards
DL

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Is purposeless torture moral?

Nope.

Being sent to hell to be tortured for all eternity for simply using your head....no matter how you look at it, it's the most disgusting, vile, inhuman, unjust, barbaric act anyone can imagine.

Totally agree.

Regards
DL

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I think that we could build a scenario that would say that yes

No. You cannot.

Expedience? Maybe. Morality? Never.

Let me see. A criminal has hidden an A bomb in your city that will go off in less time than it takes to evacuate a million people. He admits this to his torturer.

I think it may be morally justified then to try to torture the information out of him.

The good of the many in this case would need to be placed above the good of the one to be tortured and even above the good mental health of the one doing the torturing.

Do you agree or is it more moral not to try to save a million people?

Regards
DL

[Drich]

[quote='Greatest I am' pid='271106' dateline='1334248500']
[quote]Is purposeless torture moral?

Most governments seem to believe that torture is an immoral and evil thing and most do not have what we would call a torture chambers. Let’s ignore Guantanamo Bay and other exceptions please.[/quote]
Why do most governments proclaim this? So those who kneel at the alter of popular culture can sleep at night. All western governments benefit from "coerced" information.

[quote]Hell is a place of purposeless torture and pain. It is used purely for revenge retribution and cruelty.

Some say we choose hell and some think that God, as our judge, sentences us to it. Some think it is eternal while some think that it and its occupants are eventually dumped into a lake of fire and destroyed. A long period of torture to some and a short term of torture to others.[/quote] Well it can't be said you do not have a fundamental understanding of most Christian views on Hell.

[quote]From a moral standpoint, to even create such a place would not be moral.[/quote]Morality being the standard or self righteousness of man, I can't help but to agree.

[quote]Is it moral for God to use or let others choose to use his torture chamber called hell or the lake of fire?[/quote]Would it be "moral" or Righteous to drag one of you who have been trying to put distance between yourselves and God all of your natural lives, into heaven for an eternity kicking and screaming? If you can not stand the thought of God for 60 or 70 years what makes you think you can tolerate His presents for an eternity?

[Paul the Human]

His *presence for an eternity can only happen if he exists to begin with. We don't spend our lives hating your god, we spend them lacking any belief that he's real. We may hate the concept of that god, due to what we see and hear from it's followers, but that is not the same thing.

[Faith No More]

Would it be "moral" or Righteous to drag one of you who have been trying to put distance between yourselves and God all of your natural lives, into heaven for an eternity kicking and screaming?

How exactly does one distance themselves from something they don't believe in?