Mass Shooting at Mormon Church In Michigan

[ceeboo]

Another horrific act of pure evil. Unbelievable.

While I don't know what the motivation was, it seems pretty likely that the motive was hatred of Mormons.

In addition to the many families that will be forever changed by this, my heart also goes out to all Mormons.

Mine, too. But let me run a thought past you:

Sure.

could it be that labeling it as evil leads us in the wrong direction?

Due to differing worldviews (yours and mine in this instance), I don't believe a discussion about this can be productive.

In my worldview (I am not insisting that mine is correct - although it happens to be correct) evil is a thing. Evil exists.

In short: On this particular Sunday, Innocent people (including children) confronted evil. Pure evil that was delivered under the mask hatred.

This shifts our thinking from existential crisis to problem to be solved. The finger pointing and demagoguery over the source of the evil cold into coming together to solve a problem.

I applaud your efforts to solve a problem. Unfortunately, evil, in all of its forms, is way above the human paygrade and it is not something that can be solved by mere human efforts.

Me, I accept the reality of evil and will always try (sometimes I will fail) to bring a small flicker of light to the darkness as evil announces itself to all who are willing to see it.

[Whiskey]

They're a cult for many reasons, but sure, lowering the flags for Charlie certainly fits that.

They're not cultish for not lowering the flags for the Mormons: they've shown they are hypocritical. But it shows their cultish-side that they can't recognize it.

You're an out-group to them, never truly to be one of them.

Well, now I know. Lowering or not lowering the flag is a cult criteria. At some point we will have to redefine define to keep up with this crap.

[canpakes]

Me, I accept the reality of evil and will always try (sometimes I will fail) to bring a small flicker of light to the darkness as evil announces itself to all who are willing to see it.

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

[Whiskey]

Me, I accept the reality of evil and will always try (sometimes I will fail) to bring a small flicker of light to the darkness as evil announces itself to all who are willing to see it.

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

ceeboo, if ever you make any sense of this, let me know.

[canpakes]

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

ceeboo, if ever you make any sense of this, let me know.

And that is exactly the point.

Y’all are catching on, but you don’t see it yet.

[Res Ipsa]

Me, I accept the reality of evil and will always try (sometimes I will fail) to bring a small flicker of light to the darkness as evil announces itself to all who are willing to see it.

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

I think it might depend on the mental construct. Does evil describe a person, the actions of a person, or both? I can wrap my brain around labeling certain acts as being so far removed from acceptability that we condemn them by calling them evil.

To me, the problem is not just deciding who to label as people, but the worldview that sees evil as a necessity. If evil is necessary, then so is labeling people as evil. The danger is in dehumanizing others to the extent that they are viewed as less than human. The extreme consequences are shown by the cult of Chad and Lori or the Lafferty brothers.

[Whiskey]

ceeboo, if ever you make any sense of this, let me know.

And that is exactly the point.

Y’all are catching on, but you don’t see it yet.

ceeboo, if ever you make any sense of this, let me know.

[Whiskey]

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

I think it might depend on the mental construct. Does evil describe a person, the actions of a person, or both? I can wrap my brain around labeling certain acts as being so far removed from acceptability that we condemn them by calling them evil.

To me, the problem is not just deciding who to label as people, but the worldview that sees evil as a necessity. If evil is necessary, then so is labeling people as evil. The danger is in dehumanizing others to the extent that they are viewed as less than human. The extreme consequences are shown by the cult of Chad and Lori or the Lafferty brothers.

For a posse that can't agree on the definition of a woman or a cult, I can see how evil is confusing and problematic.

[canpakes]

The problem rests in how you will decide who is ‘evil’, and for what reason.

And then, what you believe needs to be done about their existence, considering that they may not respond to chants and holy water.

I think it might depend on the mental construct. Does evil describe a person, the actions of a person, or both? I can wrap my brain around labeling certain acts as being so far removed from acceptability that we condemn them by calling them evil.

To me, the problem is not just deciding who to label as people, but the worldview that sees evil as a necessity. If evil is necessary, then so is labeling people as evil. The danger is in dehumanizing others to the extent that they are viewed as less than human. The extreme consequences are shown by the cult of Chad and Lori or the Lafferty brothers.

Exactly.

Now add in what to do with people labeled ‘evil’ by people in power who arbitrarily decided that they were ‘evil’.

[Res Ipsa]

I think it might depend on the mental construct. Does evil describe a person, the actions of a person, or both? I can wrap my brain around labeling certain acts as being so far removed from acceptability that we condemn them by calling them evil.

To me, the problem is not just deciding who to label as people, but the worldview that sees evil as a necessity. If evil is necessary, then so is labeling people as evil. The danger is in dehumanizing others to the extent that they are viewed as less than human. The extreme consequences are shown by the cult of Chad and Lori or the Lafferty brothers.

Exactly.

Now add in what to do with people labeled ‘evil’ by people in power who arbitrarily decided that they were ‘evil’.

If only there were historical examples that we could learn from.