Praying doesn’t cure diabetes. Or anything else.
This little girl, Madeline Kara Neumann of Weston, VA, just died because her parents thought God would cure her diabetes if they prayed enough.
As to why their cruel God decided to take away their kid, the parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, figure “apparently (we) didn’t have enough faith”. They have 3 other children, which at this point are still with them because there are no signs of abuse.
No abuse? Simple medical treatment could have given Madeline a perfectly normal life. She just had diabetes. She really suffered in her last month on earth.
If someone can point me out to the Bible verse that prohibits believers from seeking medical attention, please comment. Dale and Leilani aren’t Jehovah’s Witness or any other sect that typically rejects medical science, so scripture must have dictated their decision.
According to Madeleine’s mom, there’s still a chance she could be resurrected.
What else can you say? Dumb, dumb people.
Posted by God Delusion on March 26th, 2008 9:30 pmThis story makes me very sad. It perfectly illustrates the danger of blind faith in supernatural powers.
Of course there are several ways for the family to rationalize the result (”not enough faith”, “God’s will”).
Ultimately they aborted their 11 year old daughter. Ignorance is not a defense.
Posted by Godless on March 27th, 2008 6:41 amThe following website summarizes over 500 U.S. court cases and lawsuits affecting children of Jehovah’s Witness Parents, including 350 cases where the JW Parents refused to consent to life-saving blood transfusions for their dying children:
DIVORCE, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES
http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com
Posted by Anonymous on March 27th, 2008 9:00 amSometimes people ask me what’s so bad about magical thinking?
Well, here you go.
Posted by Formo-Mormo on March 27th, 2008 9:03 amI knew a young girl (about 15), Jehovah’s Witness, who died of cancer…she told the hospital she would refuse any blood transfusions because “it would be like being raped” to accept someone else’s blood.
Posted by Anonymous on March 27th, 2008 9:51 amA parent teaches their kid that to take blood transfusions is against God’s will and it would be better to die without the sin. Then that kid does so. Manslaughter.
Posted by God Delusion on March 31st, 2008 12:05 pmI’ve written pretty extensively on the legal and ethical issues raised by these kinds of cases (including in a book recently published by Oxford University Press). And, since I’m based at UW-Madison, I’ve commented on the Neumann case specifically in a number of different forums (including CNN).
I won’t drone on here, but if you’re interested in learning more about the Neumann case (and the analogous Worthington case in Oregon), you might check out my “Religious Convictions” blog at:
http://lawandfaith.blogspot.com/
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