Play god

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Playing God , messing God's handiwork , even in the variants Mr. playing God and the dear Lord mess in their business , are phrases that suggest that a designated in this way act of a person or group of people is beyond that to which a person should be authorized. In this context, “playing” and “messing about” indicate that it is a presumption that the actors lack legitimacy and real understanding and thus represent ethically negative statements.

The idioms that are used colloquially and in the media on ethical conflict issues are neither based on specific quotations in the Bible nor are they used in today's theological literature.

meaning

“Play God yourself (with negative consequences)” has a very similar meaning to “interfere in God-given things” or “mess with (the dear) God in the craft” and implies - play, interfere, mess - that this is presumptuous, without wisdom and happens without a necessary understanding of the subject, and therefore it is wrong ethical or moral behavior from a religious point of view.

Examples of uses and their connections

Early use

The following selection explains with examples how these idioms were used in the 19th century.

  • In 1810, the philosopher, diplomat, economist and state theorist Adam Heinrich Müller characterized in a laudable lecture on Frederick the Great , “who stood above the mass of his subjects with a simple will, directing their fate as a whole and in large parts, but never condescending to Guardian, provider and guardian of the individual [make] ”in contrast to this“ bad and talentless statesmen ”:“ They want to play the god who uplifts and belittles the individual, makes them happy and unhappy. ”
  • In 1814, six years after Goethe's Faust , the romantic opera Faust was published . In it the writer and librettist Joseph Carl Bernard Mephistopheles says in a nocturnal monologue about Faust: “You wanted to jump over the barriers of finiteness, for a short time with eternity, play God among people, and create good through the power of hell, in defiance and scorn ! "
  • In 1840, the journalist, literary and theater critic Ludwig Börne issued a warning to Heinrich Heine because of his sharp and polarizing statements, “Not to play God, who only understands how to turn people through errors into truth, through crimes into virtue To lead misfortune to salvation ”.
  • In 1850 the Allgemeine Zeitung München published one of the earliest mentions of "messing about with the dear God" in comparison with plastic surgery - "which cuts down a scrap of forehead skin to make a new nose out of it" - with the work of "plastic diplomats" patching up entire territories into new government units.
  • In 1863, in the Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt, the phrase is used in such a way that it refers to everyone. The statement about Psalm 46 : 10 “Be still and know that I am GOD” is derived and argued .

Use in the media

Today in the public, media discussion ethically difficult or conflict-prone subject areas with “play God” - also in the form of the question “May one / the person play God?” - are introduced or evaluated, although it is not always clear whether the use is really effective religious conception happens or is only used as a dramatic metaphor.

These idioms are mainly found in discussions about two subject areas.

Use in popular culture

Play (ing) God is mentioned especially in English-speaking countries .

  • music
  • Movie and TV
    • In the comedy film Bruce Almighty, TV reporter Bruce Nolan struggles with his life and blames God for it. This gives Nolan godlike abilities, through which Nolan maneuvers himself deeper into chaos .
    • Playing God is the title of a 1997 thriller by Andy Wilson.
    • Playing God is the title of a German documentary by Karin Jurschick from 2017.
    • Playing God is a BBC - documentary from 2012 on scientific and humanitarian progress through changes in the natural environment.
    • Playing God is the 37th episode (second season, 1993) of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
    • The character Light Yagami from Death Note sees himself as a god of a new world by using the Death Note .
    • In the anime and manga series Mirai Nikki , the last survivor assumes the position of a god in a game in which you have to kill each other.
    • The anime and manga series Noragami revolves around the god Yato who can be seen in human form.
    • In the anime television series Neon Genesis Evangelion , the organization SEELE tries to place mankind on a higher, godlike level of evolution within the framework of the apocalypse predicted for the near future.
  • literature
    • In Max Frisch Stiller , the first-person narrator (who is not Stiller) mentions Stiller in connection with the affliction of love: “A real suffering, apart from all of our vanity, because one would also like to play a little goodness, the world out of one's pocket pull, conjure up life on the table. "
  • Games
    • Playing Gods is a satirical board game released in 2008.
    • The designer Will Wright , who developed games like SimCity , SimEarth and Spore , in which the creator can create and destroy, has been named "The Man Who Taught God To Play". Computer games in which the player acts similarly to God are also known as god simulation . Life simulations are also affected by this.
    • As God Mode (German: "God Mode"; also known as GodMode or GodMode) is called in computer games a cheat , which the player invulnerability allows and / or other godlike attributes and functions.
    • Game engines and in-game sandbox editors make it possible to become the creator and designer of a virtual world , which can be interpreted as playing God.
    • In the game series God of War you play the god Kratos.
    • When world tinkering (also world building) fictional worlds are invented, created and designed. Here one usually automatically takes on the role of a god or creator, since one has to take care of inventing languages , designing  maps ,  descriptions of peoples and races,  legal texts  and much more.

Analog idioms in other languages

In English you can find the phrase as to play god or playing god from the 1930s. James Whale , the director of Frankenstein (1931) , came up with the idea that Victor (in the film Henry ) Frankenstein wanted to put himself in God's place. This statement is not found in Shelley's novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus . In the original script by John L. Balderston , which was heavily modified by Universal Studios , Frankenstein shouts at the moment of the reanimation of his creation: "Now I know what it feels like to be God!" This comment fell victim to censorship, but the concept and meme was born.

In French, from the 18th century and increasingly in the 19th century, there was the phrase jouer à dieu and se jouer à dieu , for example 'to act like God'.

Criticism of the use of the term

The chemist, physicist and non-fiction author Philip Ball criticizes the use of "playing God" as an accusation, as this moralizing accusation is "a meaningless, dangerous cliché" that also applies to Prometheus (the use of fire), Daedalus (the ability to fly) and Faust (the relentless attempt to understand the world) had been tried. These behaviors and intentions would have turned out to be completely normal human behavior. This cliché was and will be taken up as a justification for the rejection of conservative and religiously motivated speakers - Ball mentions Paul Ramsey - in the context of the bioethics discussion in the USA: “Men ought not to play God before they learn to be men, and after they have learned to be men they will not play God. "

According to the American professor of systematic theology Ted Peters , Berkeley, California, “the phrase“ playing God ”has very little cognitive value when viewed from the perspective of a theologian ... [it] is and becomes alien to theologians very likely not to appear in a theological glossary ”.

These terms are also not used in scientific textbooks.

Phrase "play with God"

The phrase “playing with God” is hardly used today. It stood for "wanting to deceive God", "not to take God seriously" or "to tell untruth in the name of God".

See also

Individual references and annotations

  1. ↑ Werner Scholze-Stubenrecht and Wolfgang Worsch: Turnings: Dictionary of German Idiomatics . Bibliographisches Institut, September 25, 2015, ISBN 978-3-411-91128-8 , p. 324.
  2. ↑ Melanie Zurlinden: Religious communities in direct democracy: Spaces of action for religious minorities in Switzerland . Springer-Verlag, October 10, 2014, ISBN 978-3-658-07743-3 , p. 101.
  3. ↑ Tomorrow's world: playing God without his wisdom ; accessed on May 10, 2017.
  4. ^ Adam Heinrich Müller: About King Friedrich II and the nature, dignity and determination of the Prussian monarchy: public lectures held in Berlin in the winter of 1810 . Sander, 1810, p. 253.
  5. ^ Faust: Romantic opera in two acts: for the kk priv. Theater an der Wien . Wallishausser, 1814, p. 75.
  6. ↑ Jean-Pierre Papon: Complete history of the French Revolution, from its outbreak in 1789 to the second Paris Peace in 1815: From the French of the Abbé Papon . Hartleben, 1820, p. 306.
  7. ↑ Proussinale's secret history of the Revolution Tribunal. Decision. The Anglo-French campaign of Walechern and Antwerp in 1809. By Rocca. The journey and capture of Louis XVI. to Varennes. According to Vatori and Mustier: 9 . Verlag Konrad Adolph Hartleben, 1816, p. 44.
  8. ^ Ludwig Börne: Judgment on H. Heine: Unprinted passages from the Paris letters. As an appendix: Voices about H. Heine's last book, from Zeitbl Blätter . JD Sauerländer, 1840, p. 7.
  9. ↑ Ludwig Feuerbach: Bd. Thoughts on death and immortality. 1847 . Wigand, 1847, p. 218.
  10. ^ Sächsisches Kirchen- und Schulblatt . Dörffling and Franke, 1863, p. 356.
  11. ↑ Euthanasia - Struck does not want Kusch to play God , Focus Online, July 2, 2008; accessed on May 15, 2017.
  12. ^ Markus Zimmermann-Acklin: Euthanasia . Saint-Paul, 2002, ISBN 978-3-7278-1401-3 , p. 176.
  13. ↑ Eric T. Hansen: Planet America: An American explains his country . Bastei Entertainment, August 17, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8387-1611-4 , p. 202.
  14. ↑ “I don't want to play God” , Spiegel Online, December 30, 2002; accessed on May 15, 2017.
  15. ^ When Doctors Play God , Focus Online, Jan. 19, 2013; accessed on May 15, 2017.
  16. ↑ Biotechnology: When can you play God? , Schaumburger Zeitung & Landeszeitung, July 9, 2012; accessed on May 15, 2017.
  17. ↑ May man play God? , Die Welt, May 19, 2013; accessed on May 15, 2017.
  18. ↑ a b Stefan Rehder: Playing God: In the supermarket of genetic engineering , Verlag Pattloch (2007), ISBN 978-3629021762 .
  19. ↑ Jeremy Rifkin : Will We Play God? , Der Spiegel, January 11, 1999; accessed on June 6, 2017.
  20. ↑ Thomas Eich: God's will in the genome , Die Zeit Online (Die Zeit, No. 37, September 6, 2007); accessed on May 15, 2017.
  21. ↑ Eva A. Richter: Playing God once , Deutsches Ärzteblatt (2001) No. 98 (12), A-732 / B-595 / C-560; accessed on June 6, 2017.
  22. ↑ Transhumanism: The Greatest Danger to Humanity? March 28, 2013, accessed June 7, 2017 .
  23. ^ "Alien: Covenant" Artificial intelligence wants to play God - op-marburg.de / Oberhessische Presse / Zeitung for Marburg - Biedenkopf. Retrieved June 7, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Eric Michael Mazur: Encyclopedia of Religion and Film . ABC-CLIO, 2011, ISBN 978-0-313-33072-8 , p. 198.
  25. ↑ Beth Armstrong: What's Prayer Got to Do with It? . Xulon Press, November 2008, ISBN 978-1-60647-945-2 , p. 33.
  26. ↑ Schoenborn, Christoph Cardinal: YOUCAT Confirmation Leader's Handbook . Ignatius Press, August 22, 2014, ISBN 978-1-68149-643-6 , p. 86.
  27. ↑ Max Frisch: Stiller: Roman . Suhrkamp Verlag, May 22, 2011, ISBN 978-3-518-73530-5 , p. 367.
  28. ↑ Sven Stillich: The man who taught us to play God. In: ZEIT Wissen 2008, No. 5, pp. 56–59.
  29. ↑ Jack Neville Berkman: Playing God: a heroesque comedy in prologue and two acts . The Christopher publishing house, 1931.
  30. ↑ Lee Foster Hartman and Frederick Lewis Allen: Harper's Magazine . Harper's Magazine Company, 1933, pp. 55-63.
  31. ↑ Loosely translated: "Now I know what it feels like to be a god!"
  32. ^ A b c Philip Ball: "Playing God" is a meaningless, dangerous cliché . In: Prospect Magazine . May 24, 2010.
  33. ^ Mémoires pour l'histoire des sciences et des beaux-arts . chez Jean Boudot, 1752, p. 1472.
  34. ↑ Pierre Benjamin de Lafaye: Dictionnaire des synonymes de la langue française avec une introduction sur la théorie des synonymes, ouvrage qui a obtenu de l'Institut le prix de linguistique en 1853 et en 1858 . L. Hachette, 1861, p. 62.
  35. ^ Paul Ramsey: Fabricated Man: The Ethics of Genetic Control , Yale University Press (2009), ISBN 978-0300013740 ; Loosely translated: "People should not play God before they have learned to be human, and after they have learned to be human, they will not play God."
  36. ↑ Ted Peters: Playing God ?: Genetic Determinism and Human Freedon , Routledge (1996), ISBN 978-0415942492 .
  37. ↑ Jucundin Muzner: Moral pulpit speeches on all Sundays of the year: For teaching the common people. From the seventh to the fourth and twentieth Sunday after Pentecost . Wolff, 1793, p. 606.
  38. ↑ Oberdeutsche, general literature newspaper . Upper German state time. Comt., 1788, p. 3.
  39. ↑ Eduard fear: Nachged Schriften: Sermons . Steiner, 1852, p. 165.
  40. ↑ Joseph Ehrler: The church year: a series of sermons on the most excellent religious truths and moral teachings held in the Metropolitan Church of Anser Lieben Frau in Munich . Herder, 1873, p. 364.
  41. ↑ Christoph Lehmann: Florilegium Politicum auctum. That is: Renewed Political Flower Garden: Inside of unread political sentiments, doctrines, rules and proverbs from theologis, jurisconsultis, politics is, historicis, philosophy, poets ... put together . Schönwetter, 1662, p. 948.
  42. ↑ Ludwig Mehler: Blüthen der Neuzeit, or sayings, sentences and parables from the better and better homiletic and catechetical works of the modern era on Christian Catholic dogmatics and morality in alphabetical order: a dictionary for preachers and catechists: [Addition to "Preacher and Catechists"] . Manz, 1857, p. 526.