Faith healing is widely practiced by Christian Scientists, Pentecostalists, the Church of the First Born, the Followers of Christ, and smaller sects. Many of these believers reject all medical treatment in favor of prayer, anointing with oils, and sometimes exorcisms. Some even deny the reality of illness. When they reject medical treatment for their children, they may be guilty of negligence and homicide. Until recently, religious shield laws have protected them from prosecution; but the laws are changing, as are public attitudes. Freedom of religion has come into conflict with the duty of society to protect children. The right to believe does not extend to the right to endanger the lives of children.
The faith healing sects truly believe they are doing the right thing when they let their children die; they accept it as God’s will. Some believers even refuse to wear seat belts. Their inconsistent behavior shows that they tend not to have thought things through very carefully. They hypocritically accept care from eye doctors and dentists. Adults often clandestinely seek medical care for both major and minor medical problems while children don’t have that option. In some cases parents saw a doctor for hangnails or mole removal for themselves yet refused to take their child to a doctor for a fatal illness.
Their beliefs come from groupthink and social consensus rather than from reasoned theology or the Bible. Many of them have not read the Bible; when a whistle blower did, he was surprised to learn how much it differed from what he had been taught. They have a supportive, close-knit community and face overwhelming peer pressure. If they resort to medical care, they are shunned by everyone they know and may never see anyone in their family again.
Confirmation bias is a powerful thing, and when a child dies, the death is considered unavoidable and is attributed to God’s will.
I take it that neither you nor "muckefuck" have had children. I have two children plus two grandchildren and this "colors" how I react to this subject. Likewise, I don't want someone telling me what I can or cannot do with my own body, but children must be protected from abusers, sadists and psychos.
Related to this is corporal punishment. This is legal as long as it does not produce serious/fatal injury. A recent case involved a father who beat his 6-week-old child with a wooden dowel. He was told by his "minister" that this should be done "until it hurt." The court and jury disagreed. Incidentally, the use of the dowel did not stop the infant from crying, but did produce serious injury.
Typical comment: "I don't think bruises are telling signs of something bad… The pain is used to tell them 'thus is serious and I need you to obey.'"
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 06:03 am (UTC)The faith healing sects truly believe they are doing the right thing when they let their children die; they accept it as God’s will. Some believers even refuse to wear seat belts. Their inconsistent behavior shows that they tend not to have thought things through very carefully. They hypocritically accept care from eye doctors and dentists. Adults often clandestinely seek medical care for both major and minor medical problems while children don’t have that option. In some cases parents saw a doctor for hangnails or mole removal for themselves yet refused to take their child to a doctor for a fatal illness.
Their beliefs come from groupthink and social consensus rather than from reasoned theology or the Bible. Many of them have not read the Bible; when a whistle blower did, he was surprised to learn how much it differed from what he had been taught. They have a supportive, close-knit community and face overwhelming peer pressure. If they resort to medical care, they are shunned by everyone they know and may never see anyone in their family again.
Confirmation bias is a powerful thing, and when a child dies, the death is considered unavoidable and is attributed to God’s will.
I take it that neither you nor "muckefuck" have had children. I have two children plus two grandchildren and this "colors" how I react to this subject. Likewise, I don't want someone telling me what I can or cannot do with my own body, but children must be protected from abusers, sadists and psychos.
More on this subject here: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/faith-healing-religious-freedom-vs-child-protection/
Related to this is corporal punishment. This is legal as long as it does not produce serious/fatal injury. A recent case involved a father who beat his 6-week-old child with a wooden dowel. He was told by his "minister" that this should be done "until it hurt." The court and jury disagreed. Incidentally, the use of the dowel did not stop the infant from crying, but did produce serious injury.
Typical comment: "I don't think bruises are telling signs of something bad… The pain is used to tell them 'thus is serious and I need you to obey.'"
Chuck