Bombing in Sri Lanka

Witzend, yes some folks with tendencies to be fanatics may be drawn to some religions. The same personality types may be drawn to extreme fanatical politics. I don’t agree with you that religion tends to attract fanatics.

It's absolutely shocking. All our MP's can argue about is bloody Brexit, which lets face it pales into insignificance compared to the horrors that have happened in Sri Lanka. FGS just stop quarelling and sort it out!!! I'm a remainer, but now, after watching the news this evening, just stay in the damned EU if that's what it takes to shut you all up!, I simply don't care anymore!

What could our MP’s do?

I suspect it needs confirming, but IS have claimed responsibility.

Heartbreaking watching the news tonight, various testaments of those people who had lost loved ones, some were grandparents who had lost several generations. Meanwhile the grainy film was shown of the bomber trying to enter the church with a huge great rucksack. One of the women interviewed, I think she ran the kindergarten at the church said her husband apprehended him before he entered, the bomber said he had come to film, the next thing they knew the bomb had gone off, her husband was one of those who lost his life, but many more would have been killed if he had got inside the church. So many people left to bury their loved ones. Just awful

There's something that's puzzling me about the reaction to this dreadful event in Sri Lanka. After the recent massacre in New Zealand and the fire at Notre Dame last week (to quote just two examples) people on my Facebook were posting statuses* about solidarity with New Zealanders or the French, putting those country's national flags on their profile pictures and so on.

Yet not one person has made any comment about Sri Lanka. No flags. No solidarity. No 'mourning with them'. Why not? What's different about this event? I find it really hard to understand why some events are more newsworthy than others.

*I don't post statuses like that myself. My FB is mostly about cats.

I don't really know Annie! Seeing the suffering and despair of those poor people just made me feel angry at the sight of our self serving politicians going on and on about this never ending saga. I know I'm being irrational, but it's how I feel!! Sorry!!

So angry when I see some despicable idiot behind this atrocity with his finger pointing upwards, towards God presumably. How do their minds work thinking a supreme being would sanction the wickedness of taking all those innocent lives. Same with the irrationality of the white supremacist behind the mosque atrocity. All awful, peaceful people going about their worship, on the most important day in the Christian calendar in this latest outrage.

It says it all when you note how many have contributed to the Nigel and climate change threads as opposed to this one. 6/7 times as many, even taking into account that this thread was added a few days later.
I'm sure that we all feel absolute horror at the atrocity but, on this thread, there is little to say except agree with everyone else whereas the politics thread is evolving.
Things have come to a pretty pass when we have to very carefully consider how and to where we travel or what buildings we visit and look askance at passengers or people behind you in queues to see if they have bulky backpacks.
Troubled times in more ways than one.

This atrocity is beyond words awful. I haven’t got words to describe how desperately sorry I feel for all those affected, or how angry I feel at the people who did this. For what? To achieve what exactly? Senseless murder for no purpose whatsoever. Maybe the purpose is to make us afraid, make us grieve, make us feel helpless.

The elephant in the room hasn’t been mentioned (I don’t think) but this atrocity has been committed by Muslims. ISIS have taken responsibility. We mention that the victims are Christian and/or westerners. We don’t mention that the murderers are Muslims. Has political correctness gone so far that we dare not mention the religion of the murderers? This crime has been committed in the name of religion. The Islamic religion. And no, before anyone says so, I am NOT a racist, but I do call a spade a spade. And so should we all.

GabriellaG54 21 April 16.11...…..^The first humans on the planet didn't know anything about religion, as it didn't exist^

How far back are you going?

Transitional humans (still ape like) may be, but lots of evidence exists to support a religious belief system for at least 0.5 mya.

There is very strong evidence that religion is the sole reason for the change from a hunter gatherer society to a farming society and later civilisation.

Just saying its always been an important part of human existence.

You are of course free to choose for yourself what you believe.

Sorry to adulterate the thread with my above post.

SueDonim….I felt the same way.

Maddyone….Thank you for mentioning the elephant!

These are cowardly inhuman acts, regardless of the religious pov.

My heart and thoughts go out to all the people suffering.

Some of the earliest people to be discovered were buried with simple gifts such as flowers and natural tokens of love, which to me indicated a belief system of some kind -

But even people who are free from religious belief adhere to "something" -

I'm afraid we are just in the early stages of what's yet to come as extremists of every type scramble to rise above each other's thunder, with shock, havoc, atrocities, destruction - Even some of the most peaceful people are succumbing to adopting extreme world views - I think Arab Spring was a catalyst -

Seems like Security and Intelligence chiefs in Sri Lanka are out of a job now. Intelligence about the likelihood of these attacks and more was not passed on.
Tragic to see the despair and grief of the families, so many people affected by this.

The possibility of it being an Islam inspired attack was certainly mentioned in the immediate aftermath of the bombings in the Western media outlets I follow. It was my immediate thought( as I’m sure it was many others) although being aware of the political/religious history of SL I also knew that it was also a possibility of it being the hardline Buddhists as well. Speculation in the immediate aftermath of an atrocity is very dangerous as it can and does lead to revenge attacks. That was one reason why the SL government closed down social media. All the religious minorities in SL have been subject to varying degrees of discrimination and violence in an overwhelmingly Buddhist country. As is also the case in Myanmar. To talk of elephants in the room re discussions of the SL bombimgs is utter tosh.

If you Google church fires in France in the last year you will find an extraordinary high number.

The majority of these have been put down as "electrical faults"

That's definitely an elephant in the room, Christians and their places of worship are now a legitimate target.

And politicians worldwide are not acknowledging this.

And if you google church fires in the US you’ll find they are nothing to do with Christianity and everything to do with race. The emerging conspiracy theories on attacks on Christians and their places of worship conveniently omits the wider context and are basically racist dog whistles

For the avoidance of doubt of course attacks on anyone’s place of worship is unacceptable - but so are attacks on people anywhere- at concerts, walking across a bridge, at a festival, having breakfast in a hotel. I simply cannot subscribe to the idea that there is a hierarchy of places where it is worse to be blown up than others.

rosecarmel
But even people who are free from religious belief adhere to "something -
That is clearly a statement and I'd like to know how you conclude that to be the truth.
I, as a non-believer do not adhere to anything so your conviction is wrong.
Of course, unless you personally investigate a good few thousands of non-believers to ask their views, that part of your post is nothing but an assumption.
GrannyGravy13
How many of the churches you mention as having been burned, had a wooden structure?
Namsnanny
As I originally said, religion is a man made tool and, if you go back to the dawn of time (and your post mentioning ape-like species) that puts to rest the story of God creating Adam and Eve and being depicted as human beings looking much as we do today.
I doubt whether apes ate apples or tomatoes, athough if you know differently then I'm open to reading about it.

maryeliza54 Conspiracy theories? I think the fact that the French Church Fires are in 3 figures is somewhat more than "conspiracy".

USA has always had a racial under belly.

Racist dog whistles, you brought up the "race card"?

There are some interesting discussions on the accuracy of those statistics and the motivation for their compilation in that format. And yes racism is a factor

A Breitbart report on snopes.com discounts the assertion that 12 fires
were started in Catholic churches in France.
Many were acts of vandalism and none have, as yet, been attributed to racist attacks.
Evidence is 'light' according to the report but read for yourselves.

I meant racism is a factor in the conspiracy theories that churches are being attacked because they are symbols of Christianity and there is racism in how the ‘statistics’ are compiled.

I was so moved by the film of the children in the Sunday School taken 20 minutes before the bomb went off. It saddened me to realise that some of those children are now dead or maimed.
I visited Sri Lanka as part of a teacher exchange programme - everyone we met there was very friendly and welcoming. While I was still working I hosted groups of teachers in my home - again every one was very friendly and respectful of each others beliefs. My visitors were Buddhist, Muslim and Christian - some had no faith at all. Some were Tamil; some were Sinhalese.
Please stop arguing and think about the people of Sri Lanka now mourning and burying their dead.

Tabby whatever your personal experiences, discrimination and attacks on the minority religions in SL is commonplace and has a long history. It’s not arguing to want to try and understand what’s going in - and it’s very complex.