There was a mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas on November 5, 2017.  Twenty-six year old Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people and wounded 20 more

Why do I care what other people believe? Why should I care? I think most people would tell me to mind my own business. That’s probably very good advice. But like all advice the level of how good it is depends on the situation.

For example it would serve no useful purpose for me to try to convince some friends of mine who like cats, that dogs make much better pets. Whether I succeed in convincing them or not doesn’t make any situation better. On the other hand it serves a very useful purpose for a parent to convince their teenager that certain activities will bring them harm.

There are two subjects that arguing about is commonly frowned upon at social or family gatherings. Those two subjects are religion and politics. Both of these subjects touch strongly held beliefs in many people. The odds are that you cannot change another person’s belief about either of these subjects but you can cause hard feelings or anger. I usually avoid discussing either of these two subjects unless I’m discussing it with someone who has beliefs the same as mine or someone who specifically wants to discuss it. Of the two I find it most difficult to refrain from voicing my opinion about religion.

I can understand how an intelligent person can be either a Democrat or Republican or a Libertarian or adherent to any other political party. I can’t understand how an intelligent person can believe the obvious collection of fairy tales that make up the old and new Testaments or any other book used by any religion to back up their claims that their faith is justified. We get back to the question of why do I care.

I care because it frightens me to realize that so many of the senior United States politicians, such as the Vice President (at the time of this writing) and senators and congressmen and the same level of officers in state governments believe that the world was created 6 to 10 thousand years ago and they literally believe that god created Adam and Eve and Noah saved two of every animal during a world wide flood in an immense wooden ship he built with the help of his wife and sons. 

 I care because those millions of people who hold the delusion that there is a God affects me adversely in many ways. Ignoring for the moment all the horrors committed in the name of religion down through history their direct effect on private individuals is quite substantial.

Everyone pays more taxes because churches, mosques and synagogues and many other religious activities are tax-free. Multitudes of laws limiting personal freedom are the result of action by religious groups.

What would happen if an atheist were brought to trial and charged with Original Sin.  The best witness against him would be God who was present in the Garden of Eden when the crime was committed.  Here is an account of how that trial might go.

The Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions are all based on the fact that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (the Torah). What if Moses never existed and the whole Torah was just a fairy tale?  What if Genesis and the story of creation was just a nice story like the story of Little Red Riding Hood. What if Exodus and the story of the Jews escaping from Egypt was a story like Jack escaping from the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk and the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them were figments of a writer's imagination like the magic beans that Jack used to grow the beanstalk up into the sky. What if Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy were also just made up writings like Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears?

updated 11/07/2017

Question concerning the horrific church shooting in Texas.

There has been an outpouring of heartfelt sympathy for the victims and family and friends of the victims, most of which include an intention to pray. Could someone out there give me some idea of what you would be praying for in the prayers for these people.

Why do I care what other people believe? Why should I care? I think most people would tell me to mind my own business. That’s probably very good advice. But like all advice the level of how good it is depends on the situation.

For example it would serve no useful purpose for me to try to convince some friends of mine who like cats, that dogs make much better pets. Whether I succeed in convincing them or not doesn’t make any situation better. On the other hand it serves a very useful purpose for a parent to convince their teenager that certain activities will bring them harm.

There are two subjects that arguing about is commonly frowned upon at social or family gatherings. Those two subjects are religion and politics. Both of these subjects touch strongly held beliefs in many people. The odds are that you cannot change another person’s belief about either of these subjects but you can cause hard feelings or anger. I usually avoid discussing either of these two subjects unless I’m discussing it with someone who has beliefs the same as mine or someone who specifically wants to discuss it. Of the two I find it most difficult to refrain from voicing my opinion about religion.

I can understand how an intelligent person can be either a Democrat or Republican or a Libertarian or adherent to any other political party. I can’t understand how an intelligent person can believe the obvious collection of fairy tales that make up the old and new Testaments or any other book used by any religion to back up their claims that their faith is justified. We get back to the question of why do I care.

I care because it frightens me to realize that so many of the senior United States politicians, such as the Vice President (at the time of this writing) and senators and congressmen and the same level of officers in state governments believe that the world was created 6 to 10 thousand years ago and they literally believe that god created Adam and Eve and Noah saved two of every animal during a world wide flood in an immense wooden ship he built with the help of his wife and sons. 

 I care because those millions of people who hold the delusion that there is a God affects me adversely in many ways. Ignoring for the moment all the horrors committed in the name of religion down through history their direct effect on private individuals is quite substantial.

Everyone pays more taxes because churches, mosques and synagogues and many other religious activities are tax-free. Multitudes of laws limiting personal freedom are the result of action by religious groups.

What would happen if an atheist were brought to trial and charged with Original Sin.  The best witness against him would be God who was present in the Garden of Eden when the crime was committed.  Here is an account of how that trial might go.

The Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions are all based on the fact that Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible (the Torah). What if Moses never existed and the whole Torah was just a fairy tale?  What if Genesis and the story of creation was just a nice story like the story of Little Red Riding Hood. What if Exodus and the story of the Jews escaping from Egypt was a story like Jack escaping from the giant in Jack and the Beanstalk and the tablets with the Ten Commandments on them were figments of a writer's imagination like the magic beans that Jack used to grow the beanstalk up into the sky. What if Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy were also just made up writings like Cinderella or Goldilocks and the Three Bears?