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The day I accidentally killed a little boy

bbc.co.uk

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Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#511

Post by Xeoncross »

rnd33 wrote: post #500
Xeoncross wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is God not able to try and judge people just as we do? If someone murders another, humanity has long believed it ok to imprison or execute them for their crimes. I fail to see how an all-knowing God is not qualified to make the same judgement. > "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He…

> The idea of an "Old Testament God" and "New Testament God" is rejected by all the Jews and Christians I know. How many Jews and Christians do you know? How many theologians do you know? I could just as easily state that it is abundantly clear that the Old Testament and the New Testament are written by completely different people at completely different points in time. Are you saying that all acts of cruelty by God…

> Any kind of sin can be punishable by death

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. - Romans 6:23

You don't see sin as a big deal, but God does.

> including innocent men, women and children

That's the problem. What innocent people? All of Sodom and Gomorrah were doing some really, really bad things like burning children alive and torturing people.

> And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. “I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD. Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? “Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”... ...Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.” - Genesis 18:20-32

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#512

Post by nkrisc »

Xeoncross wrote: post #497
nkrisc wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is impossible for men to have written the bible. That's quite the claim, since historical evidence sure seems to show every known biblical text was scribed by human hands. > yet it's unified in the story That's certainly open to interpretation, to say the least. Many of the story elements and arcs can be found in cultures that pre-date Christ. > much of which was has already come to pass about nations or events…

> show every known biblical text was scribed by human hands Yes, the bible itself claims this (2 Peter 1:21). I was referring to men coming up with the idea and colluding over a millennia. > Many of the story elements and arcs can be found in cultures that pre-date Christ. That is because everything in the New Testament (including Christ's life) was an extension of what had already be told for thousands of years earl…

Is there any proof these prophecies were written before the events occurred? The simplest explanation is that they were written after the events then pointed to as prophecies to prove the texts are prophetic. That would align very well with what we know about the world and the deceit Man is perfectly capable of.

While many people collectively editing and revising a text over millennia is certainly impressive, there is nothing impossible about it nor is it on its own proof of anything supernatural.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#513

Post by jacquesm »

rdiddly wrote: post #462
jacquesm wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks to me as if you have missed out on the last 100 years or so of social developments. If you want to go back to an age before cars then that is fine by me but no amount of guilt tripping language is going to make that happen. I cycle where and when I can, I drive when I have to. In fact, I would be highly surprised if you biked more than I do, which - incidentally - got me rather severely injured a while ago.…

It's obvious you kind of think I'm right, by your use of the term "guilt" regarding your use of a car, and the use of "good" regarding riding a bike often. Not everyone is me, that's painfully obvious... but you and I agree at least. The guilt you indicate represents that which is highest and best within you - the desire to protect & preserve human life. Stop fighting it, which includes trying to turn it outward and…

The number and degree of your assumptions about me, my life and what I am or am not exposed to is so far besides the truth that I think it is ok to stop the discussion here. Much good luck to you.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#514

Post by jdmichal »

nogridbag wrote: post #249
osullivj wrote: post #125

25ish years ago I was driving my Toyota MR2 along the Cowley Road in Oxford on a Sunday morning, heading for an out of town supermarket, to pick up some groceries. Two teenage girls ran out from behind a bus that was waiting at a stop on the other side of the road, right into my path. Those who've been in a road traffic accident will know that time slows down the instant you know things are out of control. I stood on…

As someone who used to love sports cars and driving, I can't wait for the day when self driving cars become a reality. I also had an incident around the same age. At the time I was driving a slightly modified Miata/MX-5 with a loud exhaust that doubled as my weekend autocross toy. The neighborhood kids used to yell "nice car!" as I drove by every day. One day I left late at night to meet some friends and I was drivin…

> I don't know what I was thinking (I didn't really have time to think), but instead of braking, I just slalomed around them as if they were a cone.

I don't think having a default response of standing on the brake regardless of the circumstance is the best response. I have no idea whether or not you were far enough away to brake successfully -- it sounds like maybe you didn't at the time either. But if you evaded a collision then you 100% made the right choice.

The only collision that was ever my fault was from sliding attempting to brake in wet conditions. If I had attempted to maneuver, I maybe would have avoided it.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#515

Post by megy »

Aloha wrote: post #403
lsc wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that the lesson of the article is not that weirdos or strangers make the world a dangerous and ugly place, but that we, the regular people who vote for and move to areas with zoning densities that make public transit impractical, who commute long distances in cars, make the world a dangerous and ugly place. Every time we get into a car, we are choosing to take a risk not only with our own life, but with the l…

I don't think this is the argument the author of the article was trying to send at all. This accident could have just as easily happened in a dense urban core, as it could have in suburbia. The message was something else - sometimes, bad things just happen to people, and there is little you can do about it other than move on, and learn from the experiences.

Sure, that is the message they want to give over.

However, the message I take away from this is that somehow we have accepted into society this incredibly dangerous thing which while convenient it not necessary at all. While we make everything else in society safe, we seem to ignore the most dangerous thing around us, that kills around 1.3 million people every single year.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#516

Post by megy »

thomastjeffery wrote: post #486
Theodores wrote: post #464

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a glancing blow at 70 mph with a car doing a similar speed coming the other way. I was in the last mile of a cross country drive and was thinking of getting to the pub. It was the bit of road I knew best. I drove a couple of times after that, but the screaming kids in the back of the other car was enough for me. Now I cycle everywhere. Or get the train. I was not prosecuted or anything but I didn't want to almo…

Not to tell you your reaction is wrong, but it's important to remember that cycling is generally more dangerous, and that while you aren't taking action dangerous to those around you, you are likely taking action that makes everyone around you dangerous to you yourself. Even so, cycling is wonderful. I certainly recommend it.

It is not more dangerous to other people on the road.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#517

Post by dragonwriter »

Xeoncross wrote: post #104
phkahler wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> Is this what people consider "biblical"? An angry person? I've spent years reading the Pentateuch, writings, and new testament... No, it's the old testament god. The one who punished Adam and Eve, the one who decided humanity was such a disgrace he flooded the world to purge them - that angry god.

Is God not able to try and judge people just as we do? If someone murders another, humanity has long believed it ok to imprison or execute them for their crimes. I fail to see how an all-knowing God is not qualified to make the same judgement. > "Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He…

> The idea of an "Old Testament God" and "New Testament God" is rejected by all the Jews and Christians I know.

Jews reject the New Testament entirely; Christians are the ones who came up with the distinction (which doesn't distinguish different actual gods but either different human understanding of God or different stages on God's relationship with humanity.)

Well, there's also (some subset of) Gnostics, who viewed them as literally different gods, and identified the OT God with the evil(-ish, at least) demiurge. But that's a whole other kettle of fish.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#518

Post by megy »

Pigo wrote: post #7

I can barely bring myself to read stories like this now. I never really thought about it before my son was born, but there's always this dread you live with in the back of your mind. This little helpless person has your life in it's hands. The world and fate is trying to take them out, and if they succeed you'd never recover. You can learn to live with pain, but I don't believe you ever get over something like that.

You can't read the story, but I bet you still drive?

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#519

Post by rootusrootus »

RHSeeger wrote: post #476
leonroy wrote: post #389

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Excellent points. There was an article where the author interviewed a bunch of kids a few decades back and examined how they played and then revisited them 20 years later to see how their kids played. The original group of kids played across a very large area (something like a couple square miles of woodland) and roamed across their hometowns with little oversight. Two decades later their children by comparison were…

Part of it is society, too. If you were to let your (young) children play in the woods at a mile from your house... and something happened to them, there's a fair chance that society would blame you nowadays. Heck, I'd venture to guess that there's a fair chance the court could take away your parental rights in a situation like that. What is considered acceptable by society has changed a LOT over the years.

I would say 100% of it is society, to be honest. I grew up roaming the neighborhood, just like a lot of kids back in the 70s and 80s. It's not that our free-roaming childhood turned us into paranoid parents, it's that the very culture of the USA became vastly more paranoid.

Re: The day I accidentally killed a little boy

#520

Post by fenwick67 »

amch wrote: post #482
billmalarky wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine ambulances save more lives than automobiles take.

Seems pretty easy to quantify - it looks like there are ~37K motor vehicle deaths in a given year [0] and "Approximately 6.2 million patient transport ambulance trips occur annually." [1] Ambulances would need to save their passengers' lives [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_motor_vehicle_deaths_i... [1] https://www.nhtsa.gov/staticfiles/nti/pdf/811677.pdf

Many many ambulance trips are non-emergency.

Even the emergency trips, it's difficult to say whether the person would have died if they didn't have an ambulance.

Overall this would be pretty hard to quantify.

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