Does Freedom of Religion Extend to Letting your Child Die?

I think people should pray for medicine to work the way it is supposed to. Prayer is a supplement for getting better, not a replacement. God can’t help people that won’t make an effort themselves.

Tough call. I suppose my stance would be:

Make that call for yourself if you believe that strongly, but in the case of a child… get the medical treatment and let them grow up so they can make their own choices.

As for what I believe - Catholic so you understand where I am coming from. I agree with Sam in the practice of what I personally believe (use medical resources and pray that they work as it is supposed to) and with you in that as a parent I will do anything I can to make this medical assistance available.

As an American and as a Catholic I believe that all have the gift of free choice which no other individual can take away. I hope and pray I can find the strength to live with the idea .

If an individual can rationally explain their believe and how to practice that then they should be given the freedom to do just that and for the most part I can remove myself and let that be. Even if in my belief I know that to be the direct path to Hell.

However in my country and in my faith I have a responsibility to help stand up for and protect those that cannot protect themselves or rationally express a commitment to a belief structure they are forced to submit to (i.e. a young child submitted to parental beliefs). As an example I believe in the bible of Christianity which includes scripture (which we profess to be truth taught be God to man) that says “spare the rod, spoil the child”. That does not mean that I condone or even tolerate beating children especially not with sticks! Yet if another follower of this same bible does believe that, can/should I step in and stop this behavior? Where would you stand from a Wiccan view? I am not speaking of hitting in anger or emotion but rationale calm “punishment as consequence” for improper behavior.

At what point does community joined together, using and respecting multiple points of view need to take the responsibility to say we need to protect the individual at the risk of offending and/or violating your faith practices? Am I comfortable having my faith structure measured by others that do not “fully” understand my beliefs and submit myself and my beliefs to the same limitations?

I guess what I am saying is I struggle with this often as you do now. I can only put my trust in my faith. I turned to my God in prayer and ask that my will be guided by the greater will of my God. And then I try to listen real hard within me for an answer.

I am a Born-Again Christian. I believe in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus and the power of prayer. I believe in the Baptism in water and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit as Jesus taught. So I do believe in faith healing, as a matter of fact, I’ve seen it happen. I know that sounds nuts to a lot of people, but if you’ve experienced it, you can’t deny it.

I don’t know where people get the idea that seeing a doctor is wrong. Just read the Gospels. Jesus Himself told many people to show themselves to the physicians AFTER He had healed them. Unfortunately, some people go outside of what Jesus taught and deceive themselves, believing false doctrines.

Here’s a little slice from my own personal experience. I have four children- two girls and two boys (in that order). If I believed seeing a doctor was sin, my first daughter and my first son as well as my wife would be dead. My wife would have likely died from complications from diabetes by now. My daughter would have died from an asthma attack a few years ago. My son was still born and brought back to life after 10 minutes. The damage was done and now he has Cerebral Palsy and is a paraplegic and non-verbal. There are at least four times in his short nine year life span that he would have died again if not for medical intervention. We are going to celebrate his tenth birthday this summer and let me tell you, his mother and I are ecstatic over every day we get to share with him! We still pray and believe everyday for a miracle healing for our son, but until that happens we will still seek out every resource possible to help our little boy.

If not for our faith in Christ, my wife and I wouldn’t have been able to cope with the trials that came our way. In a very real way, Jesus comforted us and helped us through these dark times. The trials have even brought us into a closer walk with Him.

I hope you can find some comfort in my post. You are doing the right thing by protecting your child. We should all be outraged by child neglect in any form. When I’m frustrated by stories like that family, I pray for the children and the parents. I can only hope that they’ll open their eyes and change.

The idea that a parent would allow a child to die rather than giving medical treatment is a sign of mental imbalance. I feel I can speak on this as I have 2 children, either of which I would do anything for, including give up my own life.

Any parent that does less is mentally off, and should be treated as such. A parent that allows a child to die should not be prosecuted as such, because it would only waste time and money. If they are not suffering more than what any court could impose, they should be put into mental care - it is the only thing that might help.

Religious fervor can run deep, but the parental bond should be the deepest bond known or felt .

You can kill your child while it is in the womb. Why can’t you do the same when they are 15 months or 16 years old?

This is such an emotional issue, that rational discussion is difficult. I use both allopathic (standard US medical doctors) I also use alternative medicines and a little bit of hands on healing. All of these modalities have helped with various conditions.

One point missing from the other posts is that while doctors save a lot of people, there are accidents, mistakes and unexpected results. There are diseases picked up in hospitals and from transfusions. There are fatal allergic reactions to treatments and medications.

So while most parents would take their child to a doctor, it is impossible to say for 100% certainity that if the child were treated by a doctor, the child would have been cured,

Hey Kat… I’m a Bible-believing born-again Christian, and I am as appalled as you are. This story is proof that ideas have consequences, and it shows how biblically ignorant Christians have become, I’m embarrassed to say.

Let’s keep it simple: the God we worship, Who created this awesome universe and everything in it, also created the science of medecine that saves our lives. Just because I use a doctor doesn’t mean I don’t believe prayer works or I don’t have faith. On the contrary, because I trust God and His providence, I know that he’ll get me the competent medical help I’ll need when I need it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t go to a hospital!

To all my “healing by faith only” Christian brothers and sisters out there: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, go read the Scriptures for all they’re worth. Don’t trust anyone who says “this is what it says, just believe me.” GO FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF.

I’m a Bible teacher, and this is what I have told my study group for years… just because *I* say so, doesn’t make it so. YOU are responsible to learn God’s Word yourself. When you get to heaven and stand before the Judge, “but he told me that’s how it was!” just won’t cut it.

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. Do you* seriously* think letting your child die when a doctor would have cleared up the problem in ten seconds is part of that “abundant” life?

Aklandrof, of the great Orbiting Teapot of Mars, sends greetings.

Alkandrof hears and answers all sincere prayer for relief of human suffering. This includes miraculous cures from mortal illness.

Do not be afraid.

You should also pray that your doctor kmows what he’s doing. I have seen too much shoddy care from licenced MD’s. I personally have little trust in the medical profession. I’m 70 years old and stay away from doctors as long as I can. They tend to over medicate and under educate.