Faith Healing Children - Coursework Example

Faith Healing Children Introduction According to Faith Healing (2001), “Faith healing is the belief that religious faith can bring about healing either through prayers or rituals.” Claims that prayer and rituals can heal diseases have been popular from the past. This is in tandem to religious practices and believes. Many people believe in the New Testament that outlines the essence of belief. This part of the bible also expounds on the essence of faith healing. Many parts of the bible show how the deaf, blind, and individuals with other developmental disorders got healed through believing. For instance, in the book of James chapter 5, verse 15, it is evident that the faith is considered the healing element of the sick. This is also evidenced in the book of Acts chapter 19, verses 11 to 12. According to this book, the handkerchiefs and aprons that touched Paul’s skin healed the sick that had faith in him. From the bible (Mathew 13:58), it is also evident that some people do not get healed because of lack of faith. Laws surrounding Faith-Healing Apart from what is outlined in the bible, some countries also support the Faith Healing belief. For instance, chapter 16 (Child Protective Act) of Idaho’s constitution states “The court may step in and authorize medical care if the parents won’t and doctors petitions for it.” Unfortunately, one can also realize that it supports the Faith Healing belief by the statement “The court must take into consideration any treatment given the child by prayer through spiritual means alone.” To strengthen her support for the Faith Healing belief, the Idaho uses chapter 15 of its constitution to support chapter 16. Under chapter 15 (Children and Vulnerable Adults), “Any person who willfully causes or permits a child to be placed in a situation that its person or health is endangered could spend 10 years in prison.” However, it also says, “Prayer or spiritual means alone shall not for that reason alone be construed to have a duty of care to the child.” From this, it is evident that the religious practice laws also facilitate the overdependence on prayers in healing ailments. It is also evident that Idaho permits the use of Faith Healing in doing away with the diseases that affect their children. How science has established that faith healing is ineffective Despite the success of faith healing in solving many cases of diseases in the past, it is evident that the scientist believes that something else different from faith caused their healing. According to scientists, many people have the tendency of mistaking natural healing process with miraculous cures. For instance, science argues that an individual’s emotional status contribute to the healing of some physical illness. Since this effect can take place in the absence of spiritual believe, it is evident that spiritual beliefs do not heal diseases. Additionally, there are some diseases that have a small percentage of cures that cannot be explained by science. In most occasions, such diseases heal spontaneously. Additionally, it has been found out that such diseases affect both religionists and non-religionists. Thus, it is evident that Faith Healing is not effective. According to science, it is also evident that some illness can go through cycles of either increasing or decreasing symptoms. Such illness may make one believe that a miracle has worked if a patient sort for a prayer from a faith healer. According to Randi’s, the author of the book by name “The Faith Healers,” investigation, it is evident that the faith healers do not do any faith healing to the sick. This is evidenced by his study on the cases of 104 people who claimed to be healed by faith healers. In his study, he found out that the 104 people belonged to three classes (1989 p. 7). First class entailed people who never had the disease they had thought to have suffered from. In supporting this, he gave an example of a woman who had claimed to have been healed of cancer after a faith healer had placed his hand on her forehead. According to him, the woman in question believed that she was suffering from cancer because her mother was suffering from it before her death. However, from her personal doctor, Randi learnt that she had neither signs nor traces of cancer. Additionally, the faith healer proved that he lacked the understanding of what cancer entailed. According to science, cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells. In most occasions, their uncontrolled growth leads to the formation of tumor that leads to death. Thus, the patient who claimed to have been healed from cancer by the faith healer was wrong. The second class of people that Randi examined in his sample of 104 people was the people who had the disease despite being healed by the faith healer. According to him, some people who were suffering from diabetes believed to have been healed after a faith healer had placed his palm on their forehead (1989 p. 7). Unfortunately, there is no record of any person on earth who has been healed from diabetes. In tandem to this, it is evident that it is the only insulin or other types of drugs that can manage to treat diabetes effectively. According to science, it is also evident that the diabetes is not treatable. The cases of the third class of people that Randi intended to interview were shocking. This class consisted of people who had died before he could interview them. In justifying this, he gave an example of an incident that took place in St. Louis, Missouri. On their way to the victim’s house, they met with the body of a gentleman being wheeled out in a body bag. The gentleman had died of the disease he had claimed to have been healed of, just a day before a prayer from a faith healer. In his book, Randi also expounded on people who have been healed by medical treatment claimed to have been healed by supernatural healings (1989 p. 7). According to him, most people give false testimony in order to please the faith healer. According to Humble (1957), if faith healing worked science would have provided detailed information about all types of diseases it heals. It would have also validated it as one of the ways of healing diseases. To justify his opinion, Humble also provided some examples of incidents of faith healing. One of the examples he gave was the case of a patient who had believed that her feet will be healed by believing in the supernatural powers. Unfortunately, her feet remained with the same physical challenges even after spending many hours on prayer. To justify his point that faith healing is not effective, he also gave an example of a woman who was encouraged not only to stand up from her wheelchair, but also throw away her braces in church after the faith healer declared her healed. Unfortunately, her cancer of the spine had overwhelmed her bones and their activities leading to her spine to collapse; she died few minutes after falling down. From this incident, it was evident some of the patients who had walked from their wheelchairs had walked into the church and got offered with wheelchairs. It is also evident that the patient, as well as the faith healer, did not know the effects of cancer. According to science, spinal cancer causes a break in the spine that requires stabilization through surgery. Thus, the cancerous patient died because she preferred faith-healing to surgery that is based on science. From the case “Man wakes up in Kenyan morgue 20 hours after death declared,” it is evident that a human being can lie down as if dead for 20 hours after taking a pesticide poison. Unfortunately, majority of the Kenyans related his rising with the miracles that are outlined in the bible. For instance, majority of the people related his case with that of Lazarus who had died for three days (John 11:39). However, his passing out was as a result of his consumption of a drug that has the potential of making the heart to either stop beating or reduce its beating rate for some hours. According to Horn (2012), emergence of HIV and AIDS contributed significantly towards proving faith-healing does not exist. In her article “Accepted mishaps? Faith healing, HIV and AIDS responses,” she expounds on how Africans believed that faith-healing healed all diseases on earth. In it, she also provides detailed information on how contraction of HIV and AIDS led to the occurrence of many deaths in Africa despite the existence of faith-healers. According to her, it was only through the introduction of health services via churches that the effects of HIV and AIDS epidemics were reduces. Additionally, it is through scientific experimentations that drugs such as antiretroviral drugs (ARVs ) that the mortality rate reduced. Polio is a contagious disease that has the potential to cause paralysis, breathing problems and sometimes death if its severity advances. Though not very common in Western countries, it kills many children and adults in Afghanistan and African countries. To protect its effect, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend people to take vaccination programs seriously. Unfortunately, faith healers have been the obstruction since time memorial. In addition to discouraging people from taking a prescribed medication, they also insist on prayers as the only medication for young children. In tandem to this, Humble provides a case of faith healer, Jak Coe, renowned faith healers in his society. According to him, the society believed that Coe had the ability to heal all diseases including polio (Humble, 1957), a reason as to why most children Miami did not quest for medical attention. Unfortunately, his powers were disapproved when the boy he had declared healed from polio portrayed some signs of having irreparable damage. To make matters worse, Jak Joe also died of bulbar cancer despite having powers of healing. In the article “Faith Healing: Religious Freedom vs. Child Protection” by Harriet Hall, it is also evident that the science has managed to disapprove the effectiveness of faith-healing (Hall, 2013). This article provides case scenarios of Christian Scientists who disregarded the use of medication in healing infections. For instance, it details on the case of Rita Swan’s family. When their baby Mathew developed a fever, Rita and Swan sought for spiritual assistance instead of medical treatment. Unfortunately, their quest for assistance from diverse Christian Science practitioners did not aid baby Matthew in any way. “At the end of the day the desperate parents found an escape strategy: they would take Matthew to the doctor with the complaint of a broken bone (something the Church allowed to be treated by a doctor)” and would not mention the fever (Hall, 2013). To their disadvantage, Mathew was diagnosed with serious bacterial meningitis alongside brain abscess that led to his death during surgery. Another case that has enabled science justify that faith-healing is ineffective is that of Indiana. In Indiana, a 4 year old child by name Joy Mudd had died of tumor that had caused her eye to growing as big as her head. According to the detectives who found her death, her parents had failed to quest for medical assistance because of their faith believes. It was also evident that the church her parents used to go had led to over 100 childhood deaths and much maternal childbirth mortality (Hall, 2013). Statistics on the impacts of faith-healing Statistics on the impacts of faith-healing in diverse societies are occasionally collected by a national group named Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty (CHILD). The main reason for the formation of this organization was to advocate the enactment of laws that will protect children from filthy faith-healing practices. It was also formed so as to spread information on the essence of admission of medications on children. Between 1975 and 1995, CHILD documented 172 cases in the U.S. that outlined how 172 children had met their deaths irrespective of the availability of medicine that could treat their diseases. According to its findings, the parents of the 172 children had willingly barred their children from accessing medical attention in the name of faith-healing (Hall, 2013). However, this was not the only incidents of deaths that took place in the U.S. because of believing in faith-healing, the number must have been higher than this. In tandem to this, Swan, CHILD’s president, also stated the numerous children who became disabled because of religious beliefs that discouraged medical treatments. Some CHILD members also associated their hearing problems to neglect. For instance, one of its members became extremely deaf at the age of seven after experiencing successive infections. Her Christian parents had barred her from accessing medical assistance. In her documents, Swan also cites a polio outbreak that took place in 1972 in the Christian Science boarding primary school. The disease had led to deformation of 11 children. In connection to this, she also detailed on how the neglect had led to many children ending up developing mental problems (Morrin, 2013). In 2013, Morrin also provided detailed information on the dozen of deaths that have been caused by faith-healing in his article “Idaho laws protect faith healing even when children die.” According to him, some of the churches in Philadelphia have contributed immensely towards the increase of young members’ deaths. To justify his statement, he gives examples of two churches in Philadelphia that have led to the death of more than two dozen children since 1971. According to him, the children died of curable diseases in the name of believing in the power of prayer. In his article, he also provided not only a list of parents who were charged with third degree murders, but also a number of children who had died of measles. For instance, “he outlined on how Faith Tabernacle had lost five children to measles after an outbreak” (Morrin, 2013). In their article, Tilkin and Lane also provide a death statistics of children who had died because of their parents preferring prayers to modern medication. According to their findings, the same last names appeared in almost all the graves they visited in one cemetery. In the same article, they also provide detailed information on how Jeff and Marci Beagley were convicted of letting their only child die of a urinary tract infection (Lane & Tilkin, 2013). Additionally, they provided a series of death incidents that have been taking place in Canyon County. For instance, they found out that Garrett Dean Eells, Jackson Scott Porter, Preston Bowers, Rockwell Sevy, and Micah Taylor Eells had died of interstitial pneumonitis, lack of pre-natal care, Down’s syndrome, pneumonia, and intestinal blockage respectively. Sorry to say, all these diseases that led to the death of the children are curable. In his article “Idaho laws protect faith healing even when children die,” Morrin also provides some statistics on the number of children who had died of Faith-Healing practice. For instance, he gave an example of five children who had died from preventable diseases in Oregon because the responsibility of healing them was given to God instead of involving some individuals who were able to cure them. In addition to this, he also argues on how many children have died in Idaho because of the government’s negligence. “Suffer the children: Faith healing horrors in Idaho,” is also one of the articles by Michael Stone that expounds on the number of children who have died of religious superstitions. According to it, religious practices barring the Idaho’s government from holding parents that allow the death of their children accountable. Additionally, it provides detailed information on how over 144 children had met their death and got buried in the church cemetery near Boise. In tandem to this, it provides 12 cases, a recent list of the number children who have died from treatable diseases (Stone, 2013). In his article, “Faith-healing mom sentenced in death of the infant. Nuts or a good example? (Kay Campbell)” Campbell also provides a case of parents who were sentenced to 3.5 to 7 years in prison because of causing the death of their second child because of denying it access to medication. A list of the number of children who have died of preventable illness is extremely high in Africa. Majority of the Africans prefer magical treatments to scientific medications. Additionally, the practices employed by Africans in managing diseases also contribute to increasing of the rate of deaths in Africa. For instance, women genital mutilation is one of the old dated practices that consume the lives of many young girls in Africa. In Kenya, every year young girls die of traditional practices. The Kamba is also one of the tribes in Kenya that adores magic powers and prayers in healing children diseases. Unfortunately, their practice has led to many child deaths; between 2010 and 2013, 20 children have died of polio in Ukambani. How something needs to be done, and how the laws need to be changed in order to combat this problem From all these findings, it is evident that young children are subjected to problems that can result to loss of future generations. It is also evident that potential and bright people are lost in the name of faith-healing. However, there are some things that can be done in order to combat this problem from advancing to future generations. For instance, it is crucial for nations to consider providing free medical care to children. Most of the Africans fail to take their children to hospital because of the unaffordable costs of medicine and services. Additionally, it is possible for many parents to allow their children to be vaccinated against diseases if the services are brought close to their doorsteps. Thus, proximity to consumers is an issue that needs to be addressed so as to reduce the number young children that die of preventable diseases. The price of education needs also to be subsidized. In doing so, the governments will manage to take some of the responsibilities that parents fail to meet. Additionally, it is through the coming together of children in schools that the government will manage to access children and administer vaccination to them. The coming together of children in schools will also enable responsible individuals identify the problems young children might be suffering from, and, as a result attend to it as early as possible. To combat this problem, it is also crucial for nations to come up with laws that will protect young children from parental oppression. For instance, it will be crucial for nations to come up with laws that will oblige parents to take their children to hospitals regularly for checkups. It will also be crucial for nations to come up with a law that will hold any person that claims to cure people without medicine responsible for misleading the public. Additionally, it will be crucial for the governments of nations to come up with laws that will restrict some preachers from performing stage managed miracles. Coming with a rule that will restrict television and radio stations from airing individuals claiming to be faith healers will also aid significantly in reducing the rate of child deaths. In addition to these, it will be crucial for nations to come up with a rule that will require individuals that claim to have powers to have licenses. Enacting these rules will not only lead to many faith healers abandoning their healing to other jobs, but also increase the number of parents who will be visiting health centers for medical assistance. Public awareness is also crucial in handling problems associated with cultural practices. Nations such as Kenya need to hold seminars in rural areas in order to inform the public on the essence of science medication. Additionally, it will aid the public to access medication from licensed physicians. Use of punishment will also be effective in reducing the number of child deaths in the world. For instance, it will bar faith healers from pretending to heal people and, as a result lead to parents to seek medical attention. It will also make parents consider science medications in healing solving health problems of their children. Additionally, it is crucial for religions to change their laws that allow religious leaders and parents to associate in crimes without being punished. For instance, it will be crucial for them to modify their law that recommends for prayers as the only means for treating ailments. It will be also crucial for them to allow their members to access medical treatments by expounding on what Jesus expressed in (Luke 10:25-38). According to these verses, it is evident that Jesus recommended the use of medications. For instance, it will be crucial for Idaho to do some modification on chapter 15 and 16 of its constitutions so as not to create a loophole for the faith healers and parents who believe in prayers. Additionally, it will be crucial for Idaho to come up with other laws that will bar religions from interfering with medication services offered to children. Conclusion In conclusion, Faith-Healing is a practice that entails believing in supernatural powers in order to be treated. It is one of the methods of healing that is well defined in the Bible. However, it is one of the contributing factors for children’s death in the world. It has led to over 200 child deaths in Idaho. It has also led to many deaths in Kenya, a country in Africa. Its abuse is also manifested by some preachers who claim to be faith healers. It will also be crucial for nations to come up with rules that will bar preachers from taking advantage of their congregation. Additionally, it will also be crucial for nations such as Idaho to make some necessary changes in its constitution. References Faith Healing. (2001). Crossway Bibles. Retrieved from http://www.openbible.info/topics/faith_healing Hall, H. (2013). Faith Healing: Religious Freedom vs. Child Protection. Science Based Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/faith-healing-religious-freedom- vs-child-protection/ Horn, J. (2012). Accepted mishaps? Faith healing, HIV and AIDS responses. Democratic Wealth. Retrieved from http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/jessica-horn/accepted- mishaps-faith-healing-hiv-and-aids-responses Humble, B. (1957). The Truth About Faith Healers. Guardian of Truth Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.truthmagazine.com/archives/volume1/TM001071.htm Lane, D. & Tilkin, D. (2013). Fallen followers: Investigation finds 10 more dead children of faith healers. Investigators 2. Retrieved from http://www.katu.com/news/investigators/Fallen- followers-Investigation-finds-10-more-dead-children-of-faith-healers-231050911.html Morrin, B. (2013). Idaho laws protect faith healing even when children die. Mornings KBOI2. Retrieved from http://www.kboi2.com/news/local/Fatal-Faith-Idaho-laws-protect-faith- healing-even-when-children-die-233374791.html Randi, J. (1989). The Faith Healers. New York: Prometheus Books, Publishers. Stone, M. (2013). Suffer the children: Faith healing horrors in Idaho. Examiner.com. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/suffer-the-children-faith-healing-horrors-idaho Read More