Death of a child

[Gob]

This has been headline news here on all channels/newspapers since it happened.

A nine-year-old girl was fatally shot when a man being chased by a gunman forced his way into her Liverpool home.



Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot in the chest as her mother struggled with the men at the door of her house in Dovecot at about 22:00 BST on Monday.

The gunman "fired indiscriminately", hitting Olivia, her mum Cheryl Korbel in the wrist and the man in the body.

Merseyside Police said the family had no connection to the two men who forced their way into the house.

Speaking at a press conference, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy appealed for anyone with information to come forward, adding that now was "not the time to remain tight-lipped".

Merseyside Police said:

A 35-year-old man ran into their home on Kingsheath Avenue, followed by a man armed with a handgun, after Ms Korbel opened the door to see what the noise was outside
Olivia was fatally shot and Ms Korbel was shot in the wrist as she tried to shut the door
The gunman then fired two more times through the gap in the door, hitting the 35-year-old in the upper body, before running away
The injured man was then driven away in a black Audi, while Olivia and Ms Korbel were left behind
The gunman was described as about 5ft 7in (170cm), of slim build, carrying a handgun and wearing a black padded jacket, a black balaclava and black gloves

Ms Kennedy said it was "a shocking and appalling attack which will reverberate around our communities".

"We need to find all who are responsible for this," she said.

"Not just the gunman, we need to find who supplied the weapon and who arranged this terrible incident."

She added that she wanted to appeal to Liverpool's "criminal fraternity" for information, as Olivia's death was "an absolute tragedy and crosses every single boundary".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-m ... e-62648427

[BoSoxGal]

Stories like this confirm my atheism.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Stories like that confirm my faith.

[Big RR]

How so Meade; personally, they challenge mine.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Big RR, I believe either proposition to be equally ridiculous.

Some people believe God should stop bad things from happening. Of course, they mean the bad things THEY don't like but not the ones they do like. No-one(*) wants an interventionist God to mess with their freedom, not even me.

I suppose that those who deny there is a God because people do bad things are the severely disappointed portion of the first group.

(*) I don't think even those I know who pray for God to cure Auntie Wilhelmina really want him to stop them from smoking or fornicating or lying or watching too much TV or ignoring their kids or . . . Maybe they pray for those things too but not out loud in groups.

[BoSoxGal]

I suppose that those who deny there is a God because people do bad things are the severely disappointed portion of the first group.

I hang with a lot of atheists both IRL and online, and I haven’t yet met one whose sole basis for being an atheist is that people do bad things.

Most are very science minded people who see no evidence supporting any other conclusion beyond the obvious one supported by texts and anthropology, that gods are created from the imaginations and in the image of humans.

You know we are not so different. You just disbelieve in one fewer god than I do. I don’t believe in any of them, and you don’t believe in something like 300,004,200 of them.

[Big RR]

Meade--that I can understand; I just cannot understand how the deathr of an innocent young girl could confirm your faith. Certainly we all know bad things happen too good, or even purely innocent beings, and I think it is understandable that someone would ask why a merciful and loving god would permit those things to occur. I think every believer has to reconcile their belief in such a supreme being with these events, and many of us have reached some sort of an understanding/acceptance of such events without losing their faith. I just could not even imagine how a senseless death of a young innocent would confirm your faith.

[Gob]

Lunacy, god doesn't give a shit about innocent deaths, therefore I believe in him? Small children suffering horrendous painful deaths all over the world means that a just and merciful god exists? Only in the warped and twisted minds or believers.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Big RR and Gob

Is there a sudden outbreak of inability to read of which I was not forewarned?

Big RR, I believe either proposition to be equally ridiculous.

Let's go to VAR:
1. Stories like this confirm my atheism
2. Stories like that confirm my faith
3. Big RR, I believe either proposition to be equally ridiculous (for the third time)



BSG:
a. "I hang with a lot of atheists both IRL and online, and I haven’t yet met one whose sole basis for being an atheist is that people do bad things" And nor have I, so it's a good job I would never propose such a silly thing

b. "You know we are not so different. You just disbelieve in one fewer god than I do. I don’t believe in any of them, and you don’t believe in something like 300,004,200 of them". Now that's funny

[ex-khobar Andy]

Reminds me of the 'there are no atheists in a foxhole' trope. Really? Someone is trying to kill me, and I think 'Wow!! There is a God after all!! All these years I've been sooooooo wrong!!!'

[MajGenl.Meade]

Reminds me of the 'there are no atheists in a foxhole' trope. Really? Someone is trying to kill me, and I think 'Wow!! There is a God after all!! All these years I've been sooooooo wrong!!!'

Judging by the number of (obvious) unbelievers who say "Oh my God!" at the drop of a hat, you may be mistaken.

[Bicycle Bill]

There are gods, and then there are gods.

I recommend reading "Small Gods" by Sir Terry Pratchett.  Your funny bone will thank me.

-"BB"-