How to Prevent School Shootings - Church & State

I've never needed any threat from on-high to recognize that hurting other people is bad. My parents managed to teach me that just fine without threatening divine retribution.

That isn't to say I didn't go to church and learn the 10 Commandments, but any kind of moral education follows similar standards. Murder, theft, and a number of other crimes are reviled worldwide regardless of religion. We don't need some kind of state-mandated religion to understand that.

Two things then I'm out of this thread first off What we need is better parents. Don't blame guns or video games or violent media. Parents are to blame here. Secondly, don't be a fucking jerk to people. No matter if it's co-workers or schoolmates treat people with respect. These kids aren't psychos they cried out and nobody heard them or at least nobody cared. So how do you get someone's attention who isn't listening to you? You MAKE them pay attention. Not saying it's right or justified at all but if someone would have taken a second to listen to this kid and steer him in another path things like this could be avoided.
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@YoThatLimp said:

How about that christian fundamentalist that killed 69 people in Norway just last year?

Or how about all of those crazy bastards who kill they're demon possessed kids?

@astrotriforce: I'd rather parents taught their children that physically or mentally harming or being disrespectful to anyone(etc.) is straight up wrong, and make sure their children take to that teaching without bringing any faith into it at all.

But on the other hand, as long as we can blame someone for what they did instead of ourselves for what we didn't do everything's cool, right?

@Dagbiker: Fear is interpreted different ways. A more proper word might be "awe" (scholar-wise). While people like to parse words, the point was in the fact that they know what happens after they die. While those who don't believe don't. And thus that fear or awe of God and His power serves to keep them following in Jesus' footsteps and not straying.

@ccampb89: Well said.

There's a lot of other things the Bible teaches, too. For example:

"A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed.
(Deuteronomy 22:13-21)

To force children to learn the ways of the Bible would not create believers walking with the valued traits of fear and love, but rather followers of anger and hatred. No child, or in that matter any human, likes to live with a gun to their head. It is this mistake that has and will be the downfall of Christianity and all the religions that associate themselves with the belief.

If you truly love and understand the Bible, you would know that it isn't the Christian's job to force people to see God's will, but rather to inform them about it as the gentle teacher. You should be opening the door for them and giving them the chance to choose whether or not that's the way they want to live, not kicking them through and expecting them to be thankful for it.

You want to fix the kids in our modern day school? Teach them respect for all the people around them.

@astrotriforce: So what about all these paedophile priests? Surely they're not real Catholics? But then again, they're priests so... they've done a pretty good job of pretending up until the point they got caught. The fact is, it doesn't matter how much you believe in A god, if you are a bad person, you will do bad things. I am not religious, I do not care what the commandments tell me to do, I decide what's right and what's wrong, and so far I think I've got it pretty spot on. I'm an atheist. I do not believe in ANY gods. You are christian, I think, you believe in 1 God. That means you don't believe in all the rest, like me. So in reality, you're just 1 god away from being an atheist, but you're ALL the other gods away from choosing the wrong God. I think it speaks volumes that people who fear god only do good to avoid punishment, where as atheists do good because it's good.

@BraveToaster: Nah he won't regard that, doesn't say she's a Christian.

@astrotriforce said:

"they know what happens after they die. While those who don't believe don't"

Wrong. We know what happens when we die a lot better than you do as we aren't deluded by brain washing and magic.

Our bodies are buried or burned and then abso-fucking-lutely nothing happens.

@dekkadekkadekka said:

@BraveToaster: Nah he won't regard that, doesn't say she's a Christian.

I dunno, she thought her dead husband was Jesus. Seemed like she believed a whole lot of stuff based on that article.

Children who are God fearing Christians are less likely to commit school shootings.
 
Children whose hands have been cut off are less likely to commit school shootings.

@TheFreeMan: I clearly spoke out of turn and didn't read the article thoroughly.

There's a lot of other things the Bible teaches, too. For example:

"A marriage shall be considered valid only if the wife is a virgin. If the wife is not a virgin, she shall be executed.
(Deuteronomy 22:13-21)

@Rehtayne: No one said anything about force. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how bad things have gotten in non-moral-based public schools compared to how they used to be. And your opinion on the matter doesn't change that fact.

@TooWalrus: I know you and others find it clever to quote from the Old Testament, but you and everyone else knows that Jesus gave the law that supersedes it. And that law is based on love. The Ten Commandments run parallel with that law, that one verse from Deuteronomy does not. That's like the religious people of Jesus' day, saying He broke God's law by healing someone on the Sabbath. Following the letter of the law is only important if it falls in line with the teachings of Jesus. If it does not, then it is no longer important. Like keeping the Sabbath holy.

@dekkadekkadekka: Can't blame you, it was a hard article to read. Fucked up stuff.

I know there's a few points of discussion that are still going on in this thread, but I'm going to abruptly cut that all off right now and close this thread down before this downward spiral produces any more bucket-loads of vitriol.

Both sides have had plenty of time to bicker in here.