Running gun violence thread

When images of heaven were taught me as a kid, they included clouds. At about 8, on my first plane trip, I thought I'd see them on the top of the clouds. I didn't. Did it shake my view of heaven? I can't say. I think my grandma, who was on that plane trip, just said, "you can't see souls." Kids may need this imagery because they can't understand deep theology.

And you're right. We can't see heaven. Closest to that is the experiences of people who have been revived - and remember things such as visions of dead relatives they recognize, bright lights, etc. That may not be enough, but it's all we got.

Faith is a belief in what we can't see. Sometimes I wish God would leak an indication of it all that's pretty clear. After all, if the media bought into it, it would be truth, eh?

 

Exactly.

So why the need to force this narrative upon it that confuses children - just as you said it confused you.

 

Because kids can't process in-depth theology? Do you understand everything as an adult the way you understood it as a child? I was told the stork brings kids to families. I don't think I was shattered when I found out that wasn't exactly the process.

 

I think I need to paste the Paul Harvey link again.

 

Can they process the following?

"We're not sure."

 

Well if you want them to go on a scientific discovery, then by all means....

It's almost as if you don't want them to believe, and yet you say you do, well, sort of.

 

I don't care if they do or not. I do care that their decision to believe or not believe is thought through and supportable and stands up to challenge.

Implicit in your posts is the idea that there is something wrong with not believing. Something lesser. Why?

 

Why indoctrinate a child with a single belief system - except as a kind of brainwashing?

Why not present them with the full range of possibilities from Aristotle to Zoroaster and let them choose for themselves when they're old enough to do so?

 

I've found that one of the most difficult emotional experiences in raising children is explaining death to them. I've had to do it twice within a short period of time. I can see why religious faith, in such a situation, can be both comfort and crutch. My son wasn't just finding out that grandpa and uncle died. He was finding out, at the same time, that things die at all. I guess I could have let religion bail me out. But I feel very good about doing it the way we did it. Next: Halt my mother from undermining us ...

 

A 6-month-old girl and her father were seriously wounded this afternoon in a drive-by shooting in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, authorities said.

The shooting occurred in the 6500 block of South Maryland Avenue around 12:45 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The child was shot in the the arm and leg and was taken in critical condition to Comer Children's Hospital, according to the family and Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in serious-to-critical condition, according to Fire Department spokesman Will Knight.

The shooting was believed to have been a drive-by, police said, citing preliminary information. Detectives were trying to find surveillance video from nearby buildings.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-adult-child-seriously-wounded-in-woodlawn-shooting-20130311,0,3502423.story

 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/11-hurt-shooting-dc-apartment-building-18702482?.tsrc=yahooHere%27s%27s%27s%27s%27s%27s%27s%27s

Thirteen people were injured, including one critically, when gunmen in a speeding car opened fire on a crowd standing outside an apartment building in northwest Washington early Monday, police said.

The shooting occurred around 2:10 a.m. in the area of New York Avenue and North Capitol Street, police Chief Cathy Lanier said.

Detectives were reviewing surveillance video showing gunshots being fired as two cars sped down the street in rapid succession, while a group of people on the sidewalk scattered and scrambled for cover. The police released the surveillance video to the public in hopes of gathering information on the gunmen. Police said shots came from at least one of the two cars.