Father prays while daughter dies

[JesseM515]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5idOw7yXOoyaU14MWjkJIllXXjMoQD99QBD7O0

Anybody else think that sometimes people take "spiritual healing" too far? This is at least the 5th or 6th article Ive read where someones life could have been saved if their family members wouldve taken them to a hospital or called 911 instead of praying.

Also before anyone gets offended and thinks I am religion bashing, I assure you I am not, I just think there is a line where common sense should over power your religious beliefs in cases where someone is ill.

 

[medic417]

How do we know the patient would have lived if 911 was called? We don't.

 

[rescue99]

Poor child. A case of pure ignorance leading to a tragic end. I wonder if the parent would have acted differently had he had a little knowledge?

 

[DrankTheKoolaid]

re

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5idOw7yXOoyaU14MWjkJIllXXjMoQD99QBD7O0

Anybody else think that sometimes people take "spiritual healing" too far? This is at least the 5th or 6th article Ive read where someones life could have been saved if their family members wouldve taken them to a hospital or called 911 instead of praying.

Also before anyone gets offended and thinks I am religion bashing, I assure you I am not, I just think there is a line where common sense should over power your religious beliefs in cases where someone is ill.

Religious people like this have no common sense or things like this would not happen.

 

[csh89]

Really sad to hear about that, and yeah I have heard of cases like this like a few years back a boy was stung over a hundred times by bees or wasp not really sure, but his parents didnt believe in medicine and only in God and so the boy died because he recieved no medical attention, really sad that people think like that, I believe in God, but i dont believe he will save me like that man believed he would save his daughter.

 

[JesseM515]

How do we know the patient would have lived if 911 was called? We don't.

Your'e right. There really is no way to know but as the article states "Doctors testified that Madeline would have had a good chance of survival if she had received medical care, including insulin and fluids, before she stopped breathing."

 

[EMTinNEPA]

There is no guarantee that the girl would still be alive if 911 was called, but it's always better to seek REAL medical treatment than rely on bronze age mythology and tradition.

 

[Smash]

:censored: :censored: :censored:“It is folly for a man to pray to the gods for that which he has the power to obtain by himself.” Epicurus


"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"

Also Epicurus.

And people wonder why rationalists despair...

 

[Cory]

Well, I am a somewhat religious person, but I think people who are so blinded by their beliefs start to think God will do everything for them. I don't know any Church that teaches you to ask God to do everything in life. And I honestly can't think of one prayer that asks God to save someone's life. The only prayers you hear in these situations are ones asking for strength, that is why he needed to come back to Earth and get her some care. R.I.P. child I don't know.

 

[DawnParr]

Aw this is so sad. It's not bad for people to be religous to the point to where this man is, but to think that when someone is not breathing that praying will save them is just unrealistic. I wonder if he has faith anymore? Or maybe next time he will take proper action.:wacko:

 

[EMTinNEPA]

Aw this is so sad. It's not bad for people to be religous to the point to where this man is, but to think that when someone is not breathing that praying will save them is just unrealistic. I wonder if he has faith anymore? Or maybe next time he will take proper action.:wacko:

Trying to save his daughter through prayer is a direct action caused by him being religious to the point he is. And somebody who is that indoctrinated will just chalk the death of their daughter up to "God's will". I'm almost sure that next time he will do the same thing.

 

[DrankTheKoolaid]

A little read for all of you before this thread turns ugly

Faith healing is making news headlines all across America due to a dramatic and groundbreaking court battle. Daniel Hauser, age 13, suffers from Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer. He and his parents belong to a Native American tribe called Nemenhah, which emphasizes spiritual healing, and have been adamantly resisting chemotherapy treatments that could save the boy's life. The government stepped in under accusations of criminal, medical neglect. The Supreme Court ruled against them, and ordered that the child be given chemotherapy. In response, Daniel's mother took the boy and fled. A warrant has been issued for the mother's arrest.

If you see either of these two individuals, please call the police.
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01407/cancer_1407301c.jpg)

Below is a article from Pediatrics which describes many of the details involved in religion-motivated medical neglect.

TITLE: Child Fatalities From Religion-motivated Medical Neglect

AUTHOR: Seth M. Asser, MD <1>, and Rita Swan, PhD <2>

ABSTRACT: Objective. To evaluate deaths of children from families in which faith healing was practiced in lieu of medical care and to determine if such deaths were preventable.

Design. Cases of child fatality in faith-healing sects were reviewed. Probability of survival for each was then estimated based on expected survival rates for children with similar disorders who receive medical care.

Participants. One hundred seventy-two children who died between 1975 and 1995 and were identified by referral or record search. Criteria for inclusion were evidence that parents withheld medical care because of reliance on religious rituals and documentation sufficient to determine the cause of death.

Results. One hundred forty fatalities were from conditions for which survival rates with medical care would have exceeded 90%. Eighteen more had expected survival rates of >50%. All but 3 of the remainder would likely have had some benefit from clinical help.

Conclusions. When faith healing is used to the exclusion of medical treatment, the number of preventable child fatalities and the associated suffering are substantial and warrant public concern. Existing laws may be inadequate to protect children from this form of medical neglect.

**CL Note - this study is from 1998**

 

[DawnParr]

Lol. He is prolly right. I didn't really think of it that way... i thought of it more as a learn your lesson. Maybe the church will teach him the right from the wrong for next time... I'm not an argumentative person... so i'm not going to react badly to the post. i hate fighting.

 

[Cory]

It's not the Churches fault, it's the man's fault. Unless he was some scientologist I don't think he acted totaly on Church teaching. I'm Catholic, attended Church all my life (I'm not a judgemental Catholic holy roller, so don't start thinking that way) and have never heard anything about spiritual healing. We have a sacrament for those who are dying. It is in hopes to "give strength" to the family and the departed. Not to miraculously heal them. This man's problem was he decided God was going to do it for him, he needed to get real. Prayer and religion become dangerous when the practicer is a total numb skull with no common sense or a brain of his own. People like this should never be allowed in Church again, they can't handle "spirituality".