The creator always superior to the creation?

[Infinitum]

Most religions I'm aware of teach that the Creator is a higher, better or morally superior being compared to what he/she/it has created. However I've rarely seen any real explanations for why this is the case. Couldn't he (usually it's a he) create them as his equals? Is there something in the act of creating itself that gives him the right to this status?

And a few side-thoughts to go with the question:
People create (reshape, if you will) things all the time. Mostly they're non-living things like cars or art or furniture, but he have started experimenting with both articifial intelligence and artificial life. I think it's likely our computers will eventually evolve beyond our capability of thinking and perhaps even developing something most of us would agree to be a consciousness. When this happens, are we actually superior to our creations by default, or is there a line where the creator actually could become the inferior?

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Not in my religion.

 

[Infinitum]

Not in my religion.

Demiurge, right? Gnosticism seems to be an exception when talking about creators.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

Demiurge, right? Gnosticism seems to be an exception when talking about creators.

That's pretty much so. But it isn't an ego thing to say that we are better than God.

Meister Eckhart taught that God can't be good because God can never improve him/her self and we can. God cannot become better and being that God cannot become better God cannot become best. But we are open to improvement whereas God isn't and that makes us better than God.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Nor is it necessarily true in the physical world (even ignoring evolution since that is contentious)

Humans can design computers, which are basically giant calculation devices. Humans have the capacity to calculate and this particular aspect was replicated by humans into a device to perform that function specifically; the result is a calculation device which while not as powerful as the human brain IS a better calculation device for a designated task - because the human brain is not designed purely for that task, it performs a host of functions.

In computers we have the example of a creation which is supposedly less powerful and certainly less versatile, yet is more capable within a specific domain than it's creator.

Which is superior? That depends how you define superiority.

 

[Bob Dixon]

Creator? Creation? What's that?
Seems to me like some pretty artificial human constructs.

 

[Sunstone]

The fact there can be emergent properties of a thing suggests to me that something we create could, at least in theory, outshine us in some ways.

 

[Bismillah]

Most religions I'm aware of teach that the Creator is a higher, better or morally superior being compared to what he/she/it has created. However I've rarely seen any real explanations for why this is the case. Couldn't he (usually it's a he) create them as his equals? Is there something in the act of creating itself that gives him the right to this status?

Because most religions establish the creator as a being worthy of worship and a being worthy of worship must be greater than his worshipers.

 

[Caladan]

There is a wonderful Hermetic saying: "As above so below"

Earth is inhabited by organisms in competition, by struggle for survival, even by parasites. Likewise the universe experiences destruction, cannibal galaxies, supernovas. This is a reflection of a God. Certainly not an old man who holds a list of 'do's' and 'dont's'.

 

[Infinitum]

Because most religions establish the creator as a being worthy of worship and a being worthy of worship must be greater than his worshipers.

But isn't that actually a kind of circular logic, or do I get something wrong?

 

[Revoltingest]

An omnipotent creator could create beings greater than itself.
This could've already happened, but we'd never know.
Were you them, would you want to associate with us?
I wouldn't.

 

[beerisit]

Because most religions establish the creator as a being worthy of worship and a being worthy of worship must be greater than his worshipers.

This is the greatest argument ever against religion. An entity that created everything is not worthy of our worship. He would be so far above such a triviality as to make it meaningless, as meaningless as a bacteria on my skin worshiping me. Religion is merely a reflection of man's hubris. Is an entity that created everything greater than me? You bet. Would such an entity give a fat rat's **** that I worshiped him? Beyond my capacity to know, but the odds would be so great against it to make the possibility non existent.

 

[Bob Dixon]

This is the greatest argument ever against religion. An entity that created everything is not worthy of our worship. He would be so far above such a triviality as to make it meaningless, as meaningless as a bacteria on my skin worshiping me. Religion is merely a reflection of man's hubris. Is an entity that created everything greater than me? You bet. Would such an entity give a fat rat's **** that I worshiped him? Beyond my capacity to know, but the odds would be so great against it to make the possibility non existent.

It's not about the entity. For God, it's the same whether you worship or not.
Worship is for humans who can benefit from it.

 

[beerisit]

It's not about the entity. For God, it's the same whether you worship or not.
Worship is for humans who can benefit from it.

Yeah I get that. It's just a shame the god doesn't. Coz he's gonna burn my **** for not worshiping him. It must be entirely for my benefit.LOL

 

[Quintessence]

Most religions I'm aware of teach that the Creator is a higher, better or morally superior being compared to what he/she/it has created. However I've rarely seen any real explanations for why this is the case. Couldn't he (usually it's a he) create them as his equals? Is there something in the act of creating itself that gives him the right to this status?

I have a sneaking suspicion that this sentiment emerges out of human familial relationships and social hierarchies being projected onto the gods. Think about the relationship between parent and child. I know of no society where a minor (the creation) is treated as an equal or superior to the parents (the creator) with the exception of protecting them from abuse (and sometimes not even that). This way of thinking is inherent to how we operate as social animals.

That's all I've got. My religion rejects this kind of hierarchical thinking as well as any separation between "creator" and "creation."

 

[beerisit]

I have a sneaking suspicion that this sentiment emerges out of human familial relationships and social hierarchies being projected onto the gods. Think about the relationship between parent and child. I know of no society where a minor (the creation) is treated as an equal or superior to the parents (the creator) with the exception of protecting them from abuse (and sometimes not even that). This way of thinking is inherent to how we operate as social animals.

That's all I've got. My religion rejects this kind of hierarchical thinking as well as any separation between "creator" and "creation."

WO. Sneaking suspicion. The bible and koran are littered with references to the human behaviour and attitudes of their gods, all of them.

 

[CynthiaCypher]

There is a wonderful Hermetic saying: "As above so below"

Earth is inhabited by organisms in competition, by struggle for survival, even by parasites. Likewise the universe experiences destruction, cannibal galaxies, supernovas. This is a reflection of a God.

That's my kind of God. Is he single?

 

[RedDragon94]

Most religions I'm aware of teach that the Creator is a higher, better or morally superior being compared to what he/she/it has created. However I've rarely seen any real explanations for why this is the case. Couldn't he (usually it's a he) create them as his equals? Is there something in the act of creating itself that gives him the right to this status?

And a few side-thoughts to go with the question:
People create (reshape, if you will) things all the time. Mostly they're non-living things like cars or art or furniture, but he have started experimenting with both articifial intelligence and artificial life. I think it's likely our computers will eventually evolve beyond our capability of thinking and perhaps even developing something most of us would agree to be a consciousness. When this happens, are we actually superior to our creations by default, or is there a line where the creator actually could become the inferior?

I think that if we can create something that is greater than us in a certain capacity then the divine most definitely can. And yet I think that the divine is nature, so, factoring evolution into it means that God is actually getting smarter. The more nature grows, the more God grows.

 

[Riverwolf]

Most religions I'm aware of teach that the Creator is a higher, better or morally superior being compared to what he/she/it has created. However I've rarely seen any real explanations for why this is the case. Couldn't he (usually it's a he) create them as his equals? Is there something in the act of creating itself that gives him the right to this status?

And a few side-thoughts to go with the question:
People create (reshape, if you will) things all the time. Mostly they're non-living things like cars or art or furniture, but he have started experimenting with both articifial intelligence and artificial life. I think it's likely our computers will eventually evolve beyond our capability of thinking and perhaps even developing something most of us would agree to be a consciousness. When this happens, are we actually superior to our creations by default, or is there a line where the creator actually could become the inferior?

I actually find the notion of the creator being superior to the creation ridiculous, especially in regards to living things.

Children, for instance, are not the property of their parents, nor are they inferior. I intend my future kid(s) to ultimately surpass me, to be better than me. I think people working on AI technology have similar ideas. Certianly computers right now are superior to us in many respects, such as rapid calculations.

 

[vaguelyhumanoid]

The universe emerged naturally. The gods are natural forces, intertwined with all other living beings. Humans are both creators and creations, why can't other beings (including gods) be the same way?