Faith healing

Yet another set of parents has been arrested following the death of their child, a death that was without question, avoidable. To walk the line between religion and common sense is a difficult one, part of the allure of religion is blind faith (something most cannot understand except when that belief is their own). Part of that allure as well is being told what to do as this lessens self responsibility, and many people join religion's whose doctrines are in line with their own beliefs. Obviously, the greater the numbers the stronger the reinforcement.

As I understand the premise of the Followers of Christ church, God is watching over us and will take care of us, all he needs is strong enough prayer to hear about the problem so it can be fixed. There is one major flaw within this belief, and I have a feeling God himself is banging his head against the wall over this one (and I use "him" as a simple qualifier, for all I know God many be a him, a her or an it and right now tearing out hair, scales, or spirit): If the belief is that God will hear your prayer and come down out of heaven and rectify the situation, what do you make of all of the "non-believers" whose kids are cured of the exact same malady as your children, cured not through prayer, rather cured because of their decision to go to a doctor or a hospital? Does God love those who do not pray more than you, why did he save their children, but not yours?

Perhaps it is more due to this: Every day the world evolves, every day something new is developed. If you believe in God, surely you believe that God gave you all of your strengths. If you believe in God, surely you believe in his infinite wisdom and can understand why we are not all exactly the same; a homogeneous world surely be a boring world. (Think about it, if we all were the same, going through life would be like watching yourself in the mirror every day and, unless you're a touch narcissistic, I'd be willing to bet you'd be bored within 15 minutes).

So, if God created all of us, gave us all strengths and differences, doesn't it make sense that God gave us medicine and those smart enough to heal? Doesn't it make sense that God gave us reasoning minds that want to make the world better around us, to help others as we help ourselves? Based upon this understanding, it makes sense that God knows he does not have to come down out of the heavens to cure our ill because he knows he created individuals who can do the necessary work.

So, I ask you to look deeply at your religion and its practices and ask a lot of the question why. Why does your pastor not want you to go to a doctor, would this make them and their church feel less valuable? Why do people believe in things that are different than your own thoughts, do these thoughts take away from your life or harm you, or do they maybe add some new perspective?

Our children are our future, the lessons we teach them every day, both good and bad, grow within their daily lives and mold them into who they as adults. It is my belief that the saddest lesson taught is when someone's decision takes away the life intended to learn these lessons.