Keeping on the topic of religion and spirituality I wanted to know what everyone thought? If you do not have a personal spiritual belief about God, then replace "your" with "a", and reference it to a current hypothetical representation of God.

When creating existence did "your/a" God take into account the creation of "malware", and is it a sin?

If so, then is helping to fight "malware" considered an angelic act?

And at the time of your judgment, will it be taken into account how you helped spread/fight malicious software on the internet?

hmmmmmmm?

be well,
Neerdy

To summarise, I think there are four main questions here:

1) When creating existence did God take into account the creation of "malware"?

2) Is it (malware) a sin?

3) If so (i.e. a sin), then is helping to fight "malware" considered an angelic act?

4) Will it be taken into account how you helped spread/fight malicious software on the internet?


My brief personal (but unscholarly) answers are:

1) One can basically ask this question concerning almost everything, i.e. did God take into account when creating metal that it could be used to create tanks and missiles to destroy nations? Did God take into account when creating mountains that there is a chance that it could erupt and kill thousands of people? Did God take into account when creating... etc. So my basic answer is God knows everything on Earth and in the Heavens and He created things which might lead to harm (like the metal). The malware creator had to use a Programming language in order to make the malware. But that Programming language could be used to create thousands and millions of good things. It's just like the metal. You can use it to create lots of benefit, i.e. to make trains, aeroplanes, cars... but they can also be used for bad stuff like missiles, etc.

2) It depend's on the malware creator's intention. If it was to harm (which usually is, i.e. someone who creates a virus to damage someone's system), then he most likely sinning. But if it was an unintended harm, i.e. one that he created so as to test it on his system (so as to come with a solution for prevention)... and then become accidently released.

3) This answer will probably depend on the malware fighter's state, i.e. does he believe in God whom he expects a reward from for undertaking such a task? If he/she does not believe in God, then the act is futile in terms of reward from a higher being, since you do not believe in one. I guess you would just be doing the 'right/good thing', maybe not a 'righteous' act.

4) Probably, but it is not the major things to account for. In other words there are more important things one would be accounted for than this. For example, belief in the existence of God, committing worst of evils: murder, rape, robbery etc.

Anyway, those are some of my brief (personal) views/Beliefs.

I just checked -

my God is using a Mac!

God created Bill Gates.
Bill Gates created Windows.
100% of malware runs on Windows.

God created Linus Torvalds.
Linus Torvalds created the Linux kernel.
No malware on Linux.

Which one goes to heaven?

My agnostic-yet-nerdy two cents:

Windows was just finally looking good, that's why they had to make Vista...

Linux has always been solid...Mac is just "along for the ride..."

...and I'm pretty sure that a one-button mouse is the tool of the devil!





Uh oh John, religious holy wars between the Church Of PC and the Church of Mac are flaring up...

Linux malware

Apparently, neither.

Haha be careful what you say about Vista round these parts, Bill Gates trolls these forums under different names and will call you noob for dissing Vista.

Dos prompt or Shell? hmmmmmmm

Firstly, is Bill Gates a necessary being?

Ohh you did it now, when your computer catches on fire you'll know why

Oh pleaseeeeeeeeeee

AHEM! Getting back to the original topic of discussion...
I believe that Juha is right, intention is everything in the world of religion. If you created malware because you wanted to give the world a hard time, well then that would be doing damage, and likely considered a sin. If you created malware to steal bank account information. Stealing is a sin. If you created malware to target a particular person's computer whom you didn't like, and had it download a bunch of obnoxious fetish porn because you wanted his wife to leave him; well... coveting thy neighbors wife... BAM sin.

Did god take into account the creation of malware? For me, its hard to believe that someone who would believe in a supreme being and ultimate creator of all things would not believe that this supreme being would take everything and anything into account. And when you think about it, the original ten commandments damn near take into account every heinous act that could be commited in the modern world in some context or another.

The next two questions have answers which depend on your particular faith. In a faith where good deeds determine whether or not you go to heaven, well then yes it would be taken into consideration, and though perhaps not considered an "angelic" act, would at least be considered a good deed. In many modern forms of christianity however, you automatically go to hell if you don't actually believe in the said supreme being or form of religion. In that case, it doesn't matter if you wrote a program to destroy all the malware in the known internet, you're still going to hell.

-Garric

this topic makes no sense

try proving to me first that god exists, then we'll talk

god had no intention for malware to come up. He created humans and let them think for themselves. If malware was a sin, which i believe it is, then he would judge u upon it. but he didnt create "malware". like he didnt create murder or rape.

Human beings created malware. Humans have been trying to frame all their sins on this God guy ever since we arrived on this planet.

Fortunately, there are human beings that try to do something about these different sins in various ways.

This site is one of them.

OK, I will try?

Forget about the oldie, "Which came first, the Chicken or the Egg?"

Try "Why the Heck do Mammals lay Eggs?"

Only a God could allow that to happen.

References below. I might add that they are done by Aussie Kids.

http://teachit.acreekps.vic.edu.au/animals/echidna.htm

http://bpusnichka.blogspot.com/2006/06/nat...l-platupus.html

These are more serious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus

Funny enough? the Kangaroo and Emu that stands each side of the Australian Coat of Arms, are Creatures that can never walk backwards.

Some God made them like that. We Humans never had a chance.

Just imagine not being able to walk backwards?

There is a God!

Prove God doesn't exist.

i think we r getting off subject

Well, if you insist.

My answer is, as Wiki - Sin ....then yes, malware is a sin.

if u want a debate on the realism of god, make a thread ryan

Try looking at it this way, bear in mind I'm just quoting what I've been told by followers of this faith - truthfully, my beliefs do not revolve around a god or higher power, but that's irrelevant. The conventional Christian God resides outside the realm of 'time' in what is known as 'eternity', therefore I would assume that, past present and future are one and the same to this being. They are all laid out nicely on the table. So surely God would have taken this all into account, the motives behind all this is really beyond me and my concerns.

When God created free will, God created Good and Evil and therefore sin. Good and Evil are in essence what you make of it, its all mortal perception. Like the old hypothetical situation, 'If a man steals a loaf of bread to feed his family, is he evil?'

But that drifts away from the conventional sense, it's all in the commandments. Malware tends to break "Thou shalt not steal.", which is a sin. Ergo, malware is a sin.

In relation to how good the act of combating Malware may or may not be, it rests in the intentions I suppose. I could re-use the old phrase from before 'A man steals a loaf of bread to make some cash' would be deemed more 'good' than the former mentioned above.

I would dare say, at one's judgement, their intentions behind their actions would be judged. On one hand, I could break up a drug dealing ring in my neighbourhood simply due to the goodness of my own heart. On the other, I could be jealous of all the money their making and put an end to it. Same act, different intentions see? But generally speaking, fighting malware is regarded as a good deed as there isn't much in the way of selfish rewards that I can see.

omg, i am sorry, but you may be a few marbles short of even having a few marbles.