there are limits to how far we can allow religious superstition to go. this country has freedom of religion so we have to humor the ignorance that seems to follow religious beliefs but when those beliefs are taken literally grownups have to step in and make sure those deluded people donât do harm to themselves and others. rational thinking people know there is no god up there who answers prayers so when people who do take it too far someone has to step in. and just in case you want to just dismiss these people as a few nutcases think again. they do have the theology correct. it does say in the bible that if you pray jesus will heal you. the fact that there is a 100% failure rate seems not to make an impression. case in point: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oregon couple found guilty in faith-healing trial A couple who prayed and rubbed olive oil on their sick infant rather than seek medical care for the dying boy was convicted Thursday of manslaughter, becoming the latest members of an Oregon faith-healing church to be blamed in their child's death. Dale and Shannon Hickman, both 26, are members of the Followers of Christ Church, which has a history of rejecting medical care for congregants' children and relying instead on techniques such as prayer and anointing the sick with oils. Five other church members have been convicted in Clackamas County for crimes related to the rejection of medical care for their children, said Greg Horner, chief deputy district attorney. The Hickmans' conviction on second-degree manslaughter charges typically requires a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in prison. But because of a religious exemption in state law at time of the crime, the couple likely will face no more than 18 months in prison and a $250,000 fine, The Oregonian reported Dale Hickman testified that he didn't call 911 once he realized his infant son was ailing "because I was praying." Shannon Hickman said that as a woman in the church, she must defer to her husband. "That's not my decision anyway," she testified. "I think it's God's will whatever happens." Read more: http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/na...198-5302-af7a-c1b3520ec386.html#ixzz1ZOse40wd ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Members of the Followers of Christ Church in this Portland suburb believe in something, and they believe in it all the way. It appears that as a result, children are dying. An investigation by the Oregonian shows the church to have one of the largest clusters of child deaths among the nation's faith-healing churches. The probe concluded that of the 78 children buried in the church's cemetery since 1955, at least 21 could have been saved with medical care, sometimes as basic as the administration of antibiotics. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19980614&slug=2756030
Religion is all about power and money; it's organized crime. And that does not even include the raping of little boys and the international conspiracy to cover it up. One day it will go the route of Greek Mythology. But that's not going to happen in either of our lifetimes.