winstonjen

From a secular viewpoint, I would say that playing the part of any deity involves interfering with the lives of other people.

King Rat

So, was Gregor Mendel playing god?

Walross

I used to have a great quote regarding that phrase ("playing god"). I can't remember it offhand, but it was something along the lines of : One should play god at every opportunity - to do otherwise is to leave things to chance.

yguy

Using anyone or anything to give you a greater sense of self-worth than you deserve.

Theli

Including medication, and surgery. And eating, and sleeping... everything we do alter living things - ourselfs. That's why I find the term "playing god" to be bullshit and just uttered by people afraid that someone will come and ruin their fragile view of themselfs as humans.
This ofcourse includes science, most of all genetics.

mark9950

there is no commandment against it.

Demigawd

From Merriam-Webster Online:

Main Entry: de·serve
Pronunciation: di-'z&rv
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): de·served; de·serv·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French deservir, from Latin deservire to devote oneself to, from de- + servire to serve
Date: 13th century
transitive senses : to be worthy of : MERIT <deserves another chance>
intransitive senses : to be worthy, fit, or suitable for some reward or requital <have become recognized as they deserve -- T. S. Eliot>
- de·serv·er noun

Flyguy, I understood your statement up until the word "deserve". Care to further explain your stance?

yguy

If you've ever bristled at holier-than-thou "Christians" who try to "save" you, you know what I'm talking about. The're using you to feel holy. If they manage to convert you, they feel like they're hot stuff. If you blow them off, they can feel superior to you because you're hellbound. Not that all Christians are like that, of course, but you get the idea.

OTOH, an atheist can feel superior to a religionist by exposing flaws in his ideology - and just like the "Christian" can turn the situation into a win-win deal for his ego no matter how the religionist reacts, if he's determined enough.

It's all about phony self-esteem.

Demigawd

Unless you maintain a homo habilis lifestyle, you are "playing God". For millenia, humans have been bettering their surroundings through manipulation of their environments. Present-day technology is the fruit of that.

Demigawd

So, someone who acts for completely selfish reasons that harms or discomforts another human is your definition of a person "playing God"? Wow. I was thinking more along the lines of a mad scientist genetically-engineering people with radiation.