http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/19/fait...index.html
I believe this was mentioned in the "Raised from the dead" thread, but I thought it deserved a thread of it's own and I'd like to put in my two cents.
When parents go strictly on faith healing and ignore modern medicine and science, they are being irresponsible and stubborn. God never said that we are to look solely to Him for any and every healing and never see a doctor. Luke, one of the Apostles, was a physician himself! If God had frowned upon people seeing doctors, wouldn't he have been displeased with Luke's occupation? He wasn't.
When you pray for healing, who's to say that the way God plans on healing you isn't through your family doctor? Maybe he plans to guide your doctor. The fact is God can heal you any way he wants and he can do it through whoever he wants. But if you are going to ignore medicine, doctors, and all science, you have a higher chance of getting sick and dying early.
The parents of that young man should be prosecuted. They say they might not be because the young man had refused treatment himself and at 16 he's old enough to do that. I say at 16 you don't know squat and your parents should be making the life or death choices for you. Look at where his
whole entire 16 years worth of experience and knowledge got him. This is a tragedy that could have been avoided with a cathader. It wasn't an unknown illness. It wasn't a fatal disease. It wasn't caught too late. It was a simple problem that had a simple solution that everybody knew about and the answer was affordable and right in front of them. Yet they stood around the bed and watched their son leave this world without taking any action. Idiots.
The Lord helps those who help themselves. If you refuse to help yourself, you're asking for trouble.
I say that it's still the parents who are to blame for raising him to believe that he should avoid medical treatment. I do agree with most of what you said in your post 8 ball, but I think this raises a bigger issue.
If god knows the minds of his parents and his mind, and knew that staying in this foolish mindset of avoiding medical treatment would kill him, then why wouldn't god intervene at least in the mind of the teenager to show him the error of his ways. This isn't about his mind being clouded by sin, this is about his mind being clouded by wrong interpretations and doctrines of faith. They were obviously very faithful followers, but too faithful. Why couldn't god have shown them the error of their ways? Was killing their son the way he showed them? Was all of this necessary if a loving god exists? Is this how he wishes to treat his followers by leaving them to their folly, even if it's directly because of their devotion to him?
The Christian god makes less and less sense as time goes on.
"G"
I want to believe, however, I have many questions and many issues with the Christian God...
How much faith is required to get a healing from God? This young man, his parents, and their fellow church members had so much faith that they all put his life on the line expecting nothing short of a healing. If there had been any doubt in their hearts, surely they would have decided to take him to the doctor. So I have to believe that all of these people, including the young man himself, had a tremendous amount of faith. How much faith would it take for you to put your own child's life on the line? Yet God passed him by and let him die of a very, very simple and common ailment. If faith the size of a mustard seed can move a mountain, wouldn't the incredible faith of a few dozen people help one sick boy with a simple ailment?
I have to agree with "G" on this one in that it seemed to be the perfect time to display a miracle. God said that he would not perform miracles just to provide proof. But would he really withhold his mercy and healing simply because someone may take that as proof? Or was it simply the boy's time to go? And if that is the case, why ever pray for healing? If it's your time, it's your time. No amount of faith or prayer is apparently going to help you.
I'm afraid that all this new teaching about God being all loving is sending many people to hell. Yes, He is loving. So much that he sacrificed His own son so we could escape hell. But, the Bible also calls Him angry, just and jealous.
This scripture is from the OT. I know we don't live by OT sacrificial law, but this is what God said to Israel. They are His own chosen people. I think this could very well be applied to the world today. Especially this country.
Hosea 4: 1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
4Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest.
5Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
7As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame.
8They eat up the sin of my people, and they set their heart on their iniquity.
9And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.
10For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD.
11Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart.
12My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God.
13They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.
14I will not punish your daughters when they commit whoredom, nor your spouses when they commit adultery: for themselves are separated with whores, and they sacrifice with harlots: therefore the people that doth not understand shall fall.
15Though thou, Israel, play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend; and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven, nor swear, The LORD liveth.
16For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place.
17Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone.
18Their drink is sour: they have committed whoredom continually: her rulers with shame do love, Give ye.
19The wind hath bound her up in her wings, and they shall be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
There are many, many scriptures that prove God is not ALL loving only.
Hebrews 10:30For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
If you want to know what God is like, go back and read the OT.
And I wonder what reasons god would have to be so unloving to a 16 year old young man. What were his great transgressions, I wonder, that god would both allow his mind to believe something that would not possibly come true, and to suffer the pains of an ill deathbed at such a young age.
Hopefully his faith kept him delusional enough to not focus on the pain of dying this way.
Hopefully he could believe in a god that didn't prove to be as true as he felt it was.
Hopefully he found comfortable bliss in ignorance.
For me, it's hard to imagine.
"G"
Well.I wonder how many doctors should do time in prison for killing patients? You can be sure most cases are covered up by the medical profession.My mother was killed by a doctor who gave her the wrong medicine.The reason I know is because another doctor told me. My brothers wife died because of doctors giving contaminated blood.Reason I know? MD Anderson medical clinic traced it down.
http://www.biblesociety.ca/free_scriptur...stes3.html