User blog comment:The Milkman/Extended Expectations/@comment-5030249-20120627005435/@comment-99.251.227.190-20120704091257

"Playing god" is only a 'sin' if you believe that there actually IS a god whose power you're usurping. If you don't believe in some unsubstantiated, supernatural/mythical deity who supposedly is entitled to unilateral control over the fate of everyone & everything in the universe then there is no such thing as-- and certainly no wrongdoing in-- "playing god," there's only the exercise of choice in the context of absolute freedom.

If one chooses synthesis for the greatest ultimate good of everybody, and if it doesn't conflict with one's own conscience, and if, finally, one doesn't believe in any particular human interpretation of 'god,' then hasn't overstepped any moral authority. In a godless universe we have the freedom/'right' to do anything we choose-- the only moral judgment will come from our own conscience and from our community's assessment of the means and the consequences.