I used to live in Chattanooga and I am very familiar with that area. It's a part of town called Hixson, which is where a lot of the city's upper middle class lives. There is a major shopping center not very far from there. A lot of people are fortunate that he didn't decide to go shoot that up. (Or maybe he was planning to, but he got cut down before he got to it.)

And once again the lapdog media are rushing to call it "lone wolf" terrorism, and repeat the authorities' "no known ties to organized terrorism" statements that they make in every single case. However, I heard a report that the guy's father was on a terrorist watch list. Their neighbors are describing them as devout; his sisters wore the burka.

Amy, I have to say the observation that "unlike the Bible, which is seen as a historical document, written by men" flies in the face of the conversations I've had with fundamentalist Christians (and there are many, many, many of them here in liberal California).

I've been told, quite pointedly and angrily, that their view is the Bible, while written by men, is the Word of God and not to be questioned.

Unless you're a Christian, of course, and then you're free to bitterly denounce any other church or sect, especially the Catholics, for their "wrong" interpretations.

No, it's not the same as murder, but I've met a number of born-agains with firearm collections and stockpiles of food and ammo who are quite eagerly (and vocally) awaiting the chance to "defend Jesus" against the rest of us sinners and non-believers.

YMMV, of course.

Damn, dude. You need a better class of friends or something. They really have that many fundies in CA? I live in Alabama and I hardly run into them anymore, even out in the sticks. If anything, I run into preppers, who are mostly libertarian in philosophy. They're just very pessimistic libertarians. And for every remaining fundie, there's probably fifty meth heads and fifty illegals. I worry about them a lot more than I worry about the fundies.

And, er, I'm sure you know this, but... Catholics are Christians.

Thanks, Cousin Dave, as a recovering Catholic I appreciate it. You wouldn't believe the bizarre conversations I've had with fundies regarding the Catholic church.

Although in one bit of frustration I did ask them who they thought was hanging on the cross in the nearby Saint Whoever's and they had to admit it could, possibly, be a representation of Jesus.

I don't particularly worry about the fundies, but the whole "defend Jesus with a gun" mentality is bizarre.

Now if we could just get the junkies and meth freaks and their criminal pals off the beach, families could take their kids to the boardwalk without stepping on dirty needles in the sand ...

Seriously, you run into that many fundies and end-of-the-world Pentacostalists in California? Wow. Who knew?

Meanwhile, back on the topic, the "lone wolf" theory is already blowing up, as it appears that our Muhammed traveled extensively within the Middle East over the past two years. It's inconceivable that he didn't make contacts with radical groups there.

I never would have guessed that about California either, but I'm sure it depends on location. I have the Catholic debate with my MIL when she tries to impose it on my children and wants them in Catholic schools, while she herself is not even devout or church attending and never raised my husband Carholic either. When he attended church it was a protestant church. I am a Christian (most closely an Evangelical) although not fundamentalist by any means. MIL and I argue over the differences such as Catholicism have rules and beliefs not found in scripture while I adhere more scripturally. Our big one is over all of the saints in Catholicism and how you are supposed to pray to specific saints for certain things (like when she put her house up for sale she had to bury a statue of a certain one upside down by the front door and then light a candle to him and pray before it or the house would never sell "according to The Church). Stuff like that. It ends up being a short, unintelligent debate because she has no basis for why to explain it, where it is in the bible that states these things, etc. It comes down to "Because The Church says so!" Certainly not a compelling argument.

A friend of mine, who is a minimally observant muslim, took to Facebook yesterday to condemn the shooter and how it's making Islam look bad and that he wishes the more moderate muslims would stand up and start speaking out to condemn the "fundamentalists" waging jihad against everyone. I saw a few nasty, threatening comments from a couple people with Arab-sounding names on his post saying he's a bad muslim and trying to stir up trouble and people would get him for it.

So, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez was a "lone wolf" unduly influenced by "small-town Tennessee activity" - guns and hunting and shooting - according to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell and no admonishment of that religion-motivated world-wide terrorism with which he associated himself is necessary. He had nothing to do with Islamism - despite two recent trips to Jordan.

Dylann Roof's actions, however, require that we immediately ban or burn all Confederate battle flags, ban a silly television show, ban a video game, limit freedom of speech, and condemn the entire southern half of the country as racists. 'cause Roof acted in concert with every person who ever watched the Dukes of Hazzard or visited the South Carolina state capitol and those people need to be stopped before they commit a micro-agression against someone.

You wouldn't believe the bizarre conversations I've had with fundies regarding the Catholic church.

I was once told by a Baptist woman with whom i worked that "Catholics aren't Christians." When I sarcastically replied that I'd better alert the Pope since he was operating under a different assumption, she said "you know what I mean." Apparently, the idea that Catholics are not following a Christian doctrine is more widespread among Protestant sects than you'd think.

...like when she put her house up for sale she had to bury a statue of a certain one upside down by the front door and then light a candle to him and pray before it or the house would never sell "according to The Church)

Catholic doctrine says nothing of the sort. That's folk religion, like those flowers and crosses left at sites of accidents, a practice which dates from pagan days. It's like Santeria, which syncretizes Caribbean superstitions with Catholicism to form its own belief system.

Seriously, you run into that many fundies and end-of-the-world Pentacostalists in California? Wow. Who knew? ~ Posted by: Cousin Dave at July 17, 2015 1:39 PM

Out here in granola country (granola: full of fruits and nuts and all mixed up), you find all kinds of belief systems. Don't forget that environmentalism, which is huge out here, is pretty much a secular religion.

That was the first time I'd heard of burying statues of saints to sell things and that it was a church doctrine. I've had many Catholic friends over the years and it seemed like any time a certain situation came up there was a specific saint you needed to pray to for it (protection in travels, healing sickness, etc., specific ones for children, prostitutes, whatever). I find it so bizarre because it's nothing at all like I anything I learned over the years in my church or read scripturally, and actually granting sainthood and/or praying to saints runs contrary to the teachings I was given. Just totally different views I guess. It rubs me the wrong way when someone insists their way is the only way to believe and there is something wrong with you for not having the same beliefs, which is how things end up where my MIL is concerned. If you don't share her exact same Catholic-influenced views you are horrible and eternal damnation to you.

I'd totally buy into burying the statue as a superstitious thing, like you are supposed to give gifts of eggplant to newlyweds so they'll be fertile or put elephants by your front door to conceive, a witch in the kitchen keeps your house from burning down, a broomstick over the door keeps out evil, etc.

Saints are a weird part of the Catholic religion. One prays to saints, asking them to intercede with the man upstairs to give you beneficence about something. Saints are patron saints of things - lost causes, travel, eyesight, etc. Typically, praying to saints is done more by the old ladies of the Bingo society than by the younger members of the parish. Younger members don't have the time to memorize all the saints - and there are a lot of them.

I've heard it described as something that arose with the transition from European polytheism to Christian monotheism.

Old gods repurposed.

I figure that praying to saints is a reflection of how things really work in governments - ancient or modern - as well as the Catholic Church hierarchy: You have to get someone important to intercede with authority for you.