Prayer or Medicine

Parents should be held responsible for their child's death if they choose not/neglect to use medication that could've saved their child. They're responsible for their child's upbringing and welfare til they're able to take care on their own. Hoping/praying for a miracle is not exactly the best of ideas when you look at it (Its just another option, but its chances are not very great, we should know that). (Though we have free will to do what with our lives, try to live without regrets.)

In sickness, I'd prefer medicine over prayer. I mean, medicine can cure or at least can lessen the pain. Prayer is like te proverbial last rope on a cliff... most people only pray either in desperation, fanatical abidance, or simply faith. Prayer may trigger the "placebo effect" at times but it's not a reliable method in all cases.

Article.

yeah, it is pretty ridiculous. It just goes to show people how die hard some people's faith really is that they will trust God to heal their child (with the rather high mortality rate of such a choice) rather than seek medical care.



Whatever helps speed up the recovery process after the treatment. I just believe it's an asinine choice to choose this instead of actual treatment.

Now, a deeper question for everybody: What extent should the government be able to control somebody to seek not only medical treatment but, a specific type?

It's difficult. First off I'm an Atheist so I don't believe in any semblance of faith, nevertheless faith based medicine. However, to a degree, I'm more than willing to let alone those people who have such a strong conviction in their faith to believe that there is some kind of faith based healing.

Although, it gets really tricky when it comes to life-threatening injuries, especially those who relate to children who do not get their own choice in how to proceed with medical treatment. One on side parents should be allowed to make that decision based on what they believe is the best for their child, and that even should include faith-based healing, but believing full well that there is no such thing as faith healing I can't stand standing idly by while parents let their child be subjected to horrible pain and anxiety in hopes of some miracle that is not going to occur.

It's really just not as easy as picking one side on this matter. There are many things to consider. Religious individuals can't just simply rely on their faith when they are endangering the lives of others, but at the same time those of us who do not believe in the existence of faith-based healing can't very well trample over everything they believe in.

It's a difficult matter that isn't going to be settled easily. I don't really see any decision being made on this matter in the short term future.

Sticks and stones but words will never hurt you.
This works in reverse too.
Modern medicine is your only hope.
I've never heard of praying a finger back on.

1.) Malpractitioners should be stamped out without mercy. "Alternative" healers should not be allowed to claim that their treatment methods work; no false advertising. Not sure how well-publicized the Ryke Geerd Hamer affair is in the U.S. (a psychopathic MD who roamed all over Europe, alleging that cancer was a "good" thing and should be left untreated); in my view he's exemplary of quacks that need to be weeded out.

2.) Methods that have been scientifically shown to be without merit should not be allowed to substitute scientific medical treatment in minors or non-consenting adults.

3.) Methods that have been scientifically shown to have adverse effects should be barred completely.

4.) Adults should not be forced to subject themselves to any kind of treatment against their will.

5.) Legal minors should not be subjected to contraindicated non-conservative non-reversible therapy (earlobe correction, circumcision, ...), even if their legal guardians demand such. They can seek out such treatment voluntarily once they are of age, in which case rule 4 will apply.


To some extent that's plain false, as psychosomatic effects (be it additional stressors or stress reduction) can very well be brought about by words. And boy, should one never underestimate the impact of psychosomatic factors.

I will be dead if i have them.

Things like this make me laugh sometime.
I just can't believe people could actually believe prayer can help cure people
it's just superstition, it's just stupid. if your seriously sick i'd recommend you go to a doctor
something that these parents didn't do and now their daughter is died.
I just really can't believe people can really think that prayer would actually help with her disease.
They should have taken responsibility for their children by taking her to a hospital to get proper healthcare.

I hear that. Word to the wise: False advertising + medicine = danger/death/disaster/etc.

To sum it up, it goes something like this.

Prayers aren't actually bad, as more than one people have said, it helps soothe the mind, calms people down and gives them hope. Hope is nice, calm is good. The way a patient thinks can greatly influence the outcome of a treatment.

With that said, relying only on prayers? That's just... dumb...
Hell, even the cultures that still rely on witch doctors know better, since while they "channel healing power through their gods" or however you wanna put whatever witchdoctors do, they STILL apply "scientific" treatment as well.

What does that say of today's fanatics, i wonder....

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But, seriously.

I dislike it when people, no matter their intentions, purposefully close their mind to the possibilities. The cult of Science has spawned some rather abject terrors, for me at least, that take the form of those who are completely convinced that the universe runs on clockwork, there is nothing out there, and they know everything there is to know that "matters" about the universe.

Besides, if you hadn't noticed, I call holsitics a secondary treatment option. Humans are primarily creatures of flesh and blood, and as far as we/I currently know, no amount of deep prayer and meditation has the power to knit flesh and mend bones.

I don't think this should even really be a debate.
It's true that the mind can effect the body, and this great for overcoming minor pains that aren't signs of major problems. But anything like that only works if you believe in it. Penicillin, on the other hand, works regardless of your belief in it.

The difference between a spiritual healer and a modern doctor is a few hundred years of knowledge on the human body; I can't understand how anyone could see that as a bad thing.

Hmm. I'd say yes. Parents SHOULD be accountable. Being a parent is a full time responsibility which should NEVER be taken lightly.

Yeah sure you can pray, but if a child is suffering or their health is at risk, then better drop whatever the hell you're doing and do what's best for your child. If a parent just sits back and waits for their prayers to be answered, then I say that person doesn't deserve to be a parent.

Medicine over prayer every time. I had my leg in a cast for six months during high school .A few people wrote some nice things on the cast but it still took six months to heal.

As the saying goes, God help those who help themselves.

No, really.

In my opinion religion ends when the life of someone is being threatened and the religion prohibits to help that person. In my opinion as long as a person is deemed self conscious and he / she has a sufficient awareness of the own situation (as in being an adult and being able to make a calm decision - not influenced by other persons of the same religion), they can make their own call if they want to pray and refuse medical help.
However if the person is a minor and the parents decide that it should not receive medical aid, it should be judged the same as another person intentionally and violently inflicting injury upon another, or worse.
So all in all you could say that in case of death of the child it should be considered murder by the parents.

This really depends on how many cases we get of these occurances in the united states. Is it something which is a real problem? If it is, polititions could phraise a law which prevents the parent from interfearing with a childs wants via medicine. If it is not, however, the lack of cases would make this law hard to define and draw the line, seeing as there are too few cases with seemingly ambiguous situations. The big picture of this problem is needed to form the wording of thid law, only then can it be a law.

Basic answer to main question: Do what you can (get the doctor, get medical help,etc) and pray it works.

If you pray to God for that person to heal, give him something to work with. He can make miracles happen, but miracles happen because somebody did something. What's the purpose of God giving us knowledge and wisdom if we can just wish things we want from him?

People like that gives us Christians, and God, look stupid.