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Parents Relying on Religion to Heal Sick Children
What should be done when parents rely on religion instead of medicine
to heal sick children?
The distortions of religion in human affairs are well known. Throughout history Jews, women, homosexuals, left-handed people and mentally people have been regularly victimized in the name of religion. These acts have been justified by appeals to such destructive authority claims as biblical inerrancy and papal infallibility. Children have also been abused in a variety of ways by both religious leaders and religious people. The peculiar abuse, to which this question refers, of withholding medical treatment on the part of pious, but misinformed people, is simply one more tragic chapter in the dark side of religious history.
Yes, of course the act of withholding life saving help from a child by "religious" parents is criminal behavior and as such it should be reported to and prosecuted by the state. That will not be easy since parental responsibility is such a deeply private right and the documentation of such behavior is not easy to obtain or subject to objective review. When, however, health care professionals become aware of children who have had their medical treatment compromised by the deliberate act of a parental interference, that behavior should be reported immediately to the authorities for a thorough investigation. The state already has the right to remove from the care of their parents those children deemed to be at risk in that environment. I also think that family members, like grandparents for example, ought to have the right to sue the religious leader personally or the religious institution corporately if either is guilty of encouraging destructive parenting that results in mental or physical harm. Abuse will stop only when it becomes too expensive to encourage.
By
John Shelby Spong
|
June 1, 2009; 2:58 PM ET
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Posted by: rubdel | June 3, 2009 9:35 AM
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In Christianity, healing is a miraculous result of faith for the purpose of bringing glory to God. When Faith is exercised by the receiver of healing or those interceding for the benefactor, then the healing should be recognized almost immediately. When healing does not occur immediately, then believer should recognize God's providence and grace and accept that fact. Medical doctors can be approached for help in those instances, but the guarantee of healing should not be expected. The woman in the New Testament with the issue of blood was dying at the hands of several doctors. Her desperation for healing resulted in having faith that Christ would heal her and the expectation was realized. Christian parents will always seek God for the ultimate healing of themselves and their families. To expect otherwise would go against that belief system. To say that is wrong or irresponsible is ludicrous.